Trading Card Specialist

At Lids Sports Group, we don’t just sell hats — we fuel fandom. As the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, we bring sports, fashion, and culture together in more than 1,300 stores nationwide. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lids delivers premium, fan-driven products and unforgettable retail experiences.

Trading Card Specialist

At Lids Sports Group, we don’t just sell hats — we fuel fandom. As the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, we bring sports, fashion, and culture together in more than 1,300 stores nationwide. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lids delivers premium, fan-driven products and unforgettable retail experiences.

Our stores feature officially licensed headwear and apparel from collegiate and professional teams, alongside top brands like Champion, Nike, New Era, Lululemon Athletica, and Mitchell & Ness. We’re also the industry leader in on‑demand customization, offering in‑store embroidery that turns everyday gear into one-of‑kind statements.

From specialty concept stores for the NBA and NHL, to iconic clubhouse destinations for the Yankees and Dodgers, we create immersive retail experiences that appreciate the teams fans love. Through collaborations with brands like Marvel, Peanuts, and The Walt Disney Company, Lids continues to redefine how fans represent their teams — in style.

The Trading Card Specialist serves as the in-store subject matter expert for all things trading cards and collectibles. This role creates a best‑in‑class hobby experience for customers by providing expert product knowledge, educating collectors, maintaining category integrity, and driving sales within the trading card business. The ideal candidate possesses a deep understanding of the trading card ecosystem, including sealed wax products, singles, grading services, authentication, live breaking, hobby market trends, trading card manufacturers, distribution channels, and counterfeit detection.

The Trading Card Specialist is passionate about the hobby, actively engaged in the collector community, and dedicated to helping customers of all experience levels build their collections with confidence.

• Serve as the primary in-store expert for selling trading cards, collectibles, sports memorabilia, and hobby-related products
• Educate customers on product releases, card values, collecting strategies, grading processes, authentication standards, and hobby best practices.
• Maintain current knowledge of major trading card brands and manufacturers, including Topps, Panini, Upper Deck, Fanatics Collectibles, Pokémon, Magic:
  The Gathering, and other emerging categories.
• Understand and communicate the differences between hobby, retail, blaster, mega, hanger, and premium product formats.
• Stay informed on current market trends, player performance impacts, product demand, chase cards, and hobby-related news.
• Assist customers with questions related to singles, rookie cards, autographs, relic cards, parallels, inserts, serial‑numbered cards, and graded collectibles.
• Educate customers on grading services offered by PSA through Lids, including the submission and authentication process.
• Possess working knowledge of live breaking, group breaks, hobby community practices, and major hobby platforms.
• Maintain familiarity with leading hobby retailers and marketplaces including Dave & Adam's, Blowout Cards, Fanatics Collect, eBay, Whatnot, Goldin, and other significant industry participants.
• Drive category sales through customer engagement, relationship building, product recommendations, and exceptional service.
• Support merchandising standards, inventory management, visual…