POLAND, Ohio - Collecting baseball cards was a hobby for a lot of us growing up. These days, sports cards are back in a big way, but it's not exactly the same playing field.

Instead of a couple bucks for a pack, a single card can go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars as soon as you open the pack. 

It's led to a big increase in business for a place like Youngstown Sportscards in Poland.

For those of us who grew up with binders full of baseball cards, it is a much different scene these days.

The cards themselves are still at the heart of it, but now it's big money.

"I don't ever remember growing up paying more than two dollars for a pack of cards, I really don't," said George Samonas, who owns Youngstown Sportscards. "Our standard box is 200-300 dollars. We can't keep them in stock."

That's the reality these days and it's only picking up steam.

Samonas opened Youngstown Sportscards a little more than a year ago and he's already expanding to a second location.

It's one of the rare cases of a business taking off during the pandemic, thanks in part to using Instagram as a showcase for what are called "breaks."

"With the way boxes are and how expensive that they are now, we all can't come in and buy that $500 box. That's someone's paycheck for the week," said Samonas. "We build this little forum community that we're all coming into and they can spend $20 and buy a portion of it and still have an opportunity to hit that $1000 card or $2000 card that comes out of the box if you're lucky enough."

Back in the 1980's and 90's, it was all about quantity; collecting lots of cards that mostly weren't worth much of anything.

Now it's all about finding that rare gem.

"What they do now, everything is numbered," said Samonas. "Very, very short print."

And with so many ways to watch games these days and so many ways to buy and sell online, it's like a sports version of the stock market, changing in some cases by the minute.

"Because of EBay and internet... during games, values of cards they just start accelerating. It's crazy," said Samonas.

On the flip side of it, there's a real community, almost like a barbershop vibe inside the shop.

Despite all the money involved, it all still boils down to the thrill of the chase.

"The excitement that I see on a ten year old, I see the same thing on that 80 year old when he opens that box. I know it was probably a nickel when he was opening it back then, but it's the same smile," said Samonas.

So the money has changed, but the experience is still the key for an industry with a new look in 2020.

The flagship location for Youngstown Sportscards is in Poland, with a second location expecting its soft opening next Friday, December 18th on route 224 in Boardman across from the Southern Park Mall.