Meet The Man Bringing The Hobby Into New Spaces
For the last three years, The Fan Stand’s state-of-the-art trading card vending machines have provided collectors with a tailored retail experience built on ease, convenience, and product information—all at the press of a button. Topps RIPPED sat down with owner Joe Daley to talk about his ambitious company.
How The Fan Stand Got Started
Daley has been involved with The Hobby for much of his life. “I’ve been collecting since I was a young kid. When my two sons picked it up, we started to enjoy The Hobby together. As we collected as a family, we saw an opportunity for a new selling channel.”
The light bulb moment came as a result of another collecting passion. “I like to collect vintage vending machines, like old Coke machines. I got this old-fashioned card vending machine, coin-operated. It got things going in my mind.”
While The Fan Stand originated from Daley’s love of cards and collecting, his know-how from two-plus decades as a mechanical engineer turned the dream of The Fan Stand into a reality.
“It’s like a mini shop”
No stranger to The Hobby and design, Daley has created a platform that gives users an interactive retail experience beyond traditional-looking vending machines. “With ours, you’re going to see the product. A lot of machines are really just a box with a screen. The Fan Stand prioritized seeing a beautiful display of product.”
Likewise, rather than a simple keypad, the Fan Stand has a large digital touch screen to browse. “You’ll see prices, images, videos, and descriptions. You just add your items to the cart and checkout. It’s a straightforward user format.”
The Fan Stand machines also pack a punch. “In a standard configuration, we’ll have lanes of sports value boxes, mega boxes, and individual packs. It’s like a mini shop.”
Keeping the Wax Safe
A collector himself, Daley understood that keeping the cards in mint condition and delivering them safely was paramount to The Fan Stand’s mission. “There are two keys. One is an elevator system that gets the product to customers without any drop. Secondly, individual packs are placed in a small acrylic box, giving another layer of protection.” This is doubly important for buyers who are often purchasing on the go. “Our customers are often out and about. They need somewhere to hold their cards safely.”
What’s Next?
A recent appearance at Topps Hobby Rip Night at Nashville’s GEODIS Park was a bit of a homecoming for The Fan Stand, which launched three years ago in a couple of the city’s malls. “We’ve steadily grown,” said Daley. “We’re in shopping malls, youth sports complexes, airports. We have machines on Royal Caribbean cruise ships!”
Daley believes that success for The Fan Stand is success for The Hobby. “We think we’re additive to The Hobby. We can get placements in high-traffic locations and attract new collectors.”
Fan Stand did make an appearance at this year’s Fanatics Fest in New York City. “We’ll be doing more Fanatics Fest shows as we move forward,” said Daley. As for The Fan Stand’s next evolution, Daley says the company has plans for a huge 2025. “We’re always adding new locations. Next year, we’re targeting some big partnerships and locations. We’re very excited with where this is heading.”
