Behind the Business — Twin brothers, longtime collectors, open Sonoma sports memorabilia store

Ripping open a pack of trading cards is a gamble every time — you could end up with a card worth cents or $250,000. But there’s always a childlike excitement surrounding the surprise.

Justin and Ryan Channels, managers of California Roadshow Shop — Sonoma’s new sports cards and memorabilia store — have married that sense of wonder with years of experience. At just 27 years old, the twin brothers have nearly two decades of experience collecting, trading and selling cards.

The sports card industry is all about taking calculated chances and capitalizing on the right players at the right time, but the Channels’ entire life has been a gamble, and it’s a ride they’re always willing to take.

When they were born in 1996, they each weighed 2.5 pounds and were each given a 50% chance of survival. It inspired a personal and professional love of beating the odds.

It started in elementary school with Pokémon cards on the playground at St. John’s Lutheran School in Napa, where the twins were raised. They loved ripping open packs and arranging trades. The game continued into high school, when they created an eBay account to sell cards in 2012 during their sophomore year at Justin-Siena High School.

By the time the two started college together at the University of Arizona, they had a decade of professional experience and started to make real money reselling cards online, gaining popularity and credibility through social media.

“We were so passionate about it from the start,” Ryan said. “Sharing it with other people is what makes it fun.”

According to a 2021 article by The Athletic, “A solid market for vintage and new cards began ramping up in 2016 but then turned white-hot over the past 12 months of the pandemic. Especially rare cards are being scooped up as alternative assets by the ultrawealthy for millions of dollars, and there is skyrocketing demand from the public for almost anything card manufacturers Topps and Panini can put on store shelves. People hope to find a rare card that can be flipped for profit.

“In response, there’s been a wave of card-industry investment by Wall Street, celebrities and athletes.”

The Channels were in the right place at the right time.

After a year in Arizona, they transferred to Sonoma State University, close to where they already had a strong network of buyers. They graduated in 2020, into a bustling market.

A pack of Major League Soccer cards that Justin bought for $90 in 2018 was suddenly worth nearly $1,000, while the value of their personal collections skyrocketed.

Ryan has long been a Steph Curry collector. He invested well before the Golden State Warriors reached professional superstardom, meaning the collection Ryan spent tens of thousands of dollars curating is now worth hundreds of thousands.

Before they got an offer to start up and manage the only California branch of the Roadshow Cards franchise in 2021, they almost had “normal” careers.

Ryan was working in the membership division at a winery, and Justin had just finished his master’s in museum studies and was about to move to Indiana for a job as a curator.

“I was this close to moving away and then this happened, and I’m so glad because I get to work with Ryan every day,” Justin said.

From the beginning, the brothers always had each other to talk shop, ask for advice on purchases and share in the excitement of pulling a great card.

“One of the most important things for me, I believe, was having each other,” Justin said. “There’s no one better to talk to than your twin brother.”

Ryan handles business operations at the store and doesn’t mind looking at spreadsheets. Justin prefers to be more customer-facing, and often spends long periods of time teaching people who are new to cards everything they need or want to know.

Half of their business is driven by online sales. The other half comes from going to card shows and curious kids and adults who walk into their West Napa Street shop.

A lot of times, people come in with cards they own, and ask, “What do I do with this?” Like the little girl last week who walked in with a pink binder filled with her WNBA cards.

The Channels have made it their job to know everything about the contents of each pack they sell, which players are valuable, which ones have the potential to be valuable and, of course, the correct way to sell, buy and price items.

According to Justin, someone could walk in with a card he knows nothing about and, in five minutes, he could do the research to determine its worth.

“We’ve made our reputation very clear of people who are there to elevate the industry and make people happy,” Ryan said.

When attending card shows, which can feature sellers and buyers from all over the world, Justin and Ryan tend to walk in with sales already confirmed. They’ve spent years cultivating relationships because, in the world of card trading, collections can become sentimental and the seller wants to make sure their prized possession ends up with someone who knows its worth beyond the dollar amount.

“Every card tells a story and there’s meaning in them and everything has a story,” Ryan said.

California Roadshow Shop, the only West Coast branch of the Roadshow Cards franchise, came to fruition in 2021 following the card boom. Owner Jimmy Mahan is one of the twins’ mentors — he even officiated Ryan’s wedding — and when he decided to open a California branch, he called the Channels, who eagerly took the gig.

Ryan still lives in Napa, but the twins agreed Sonoma, where Justin lives, would be a better place for the shop. It took them 18 months of planning before the business opened on June 9.

Though the shop is new, they’re already sponsoring a Sonoma Little League team, and giving them baseball cards to sell at the snack-shack during games.

“The passion and experience we have, we are so eager to share that,” Justin said. “We wanted to build this business and bring it to our hometown.”

You can reach Staff Writer Rebecca Wolff at rebecca.wolff@sonomanews.com. On Twitter @bexwolff.