Level Up Games With Store Owner, Luke

In this episode, we're talking with Luke, owner of Level Up Games in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Luke started his journey into gaming at the age of 6. The first game he ever played was Pokémon. However, he took a hiatus from card games until he was 16. As time progressed, Luke realized he enjoyed buying and selling cards more than playing the game; which he didn't feel he was very good at. Before launching the store in 2021, Luke had worked vending for a company on the Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix circuit. During this time, he never envisioned opening a brick-and-mortar store. He was hesitant about varying factors doing so compared to selling online. However, he was aware of the larger inventory that could be had with a physical location. Luke is down on sealed products due to the low margins, but he says that Level Up Games sports the deepest and broadest collection of single cards. He maintains a philosophy of always buying more cards whether from locals or when attending conventions. Luke is always buying due to the number of enfranchised players in the Glen Burnie area. He says those players don't necessarily purchase sealed products as much as they buy singles. Luke states that a benefit of his store location is brand loyalty. The physical location he's in previously was the location of a store called, MTG First. This store was very well-known to those in the area. The location has existed for about 10 years, he says. Luke operates under the business philosophy of being comfortable with risk and moving on when something doesn't work out. One venture he wants to explore is attending conventions that aren't Magic: The Gathering focused. For example, he's looking at conventions geared towards sports cards and collectibles.