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Fullerton’s Trading Card Community Brings Back Timeless Hobby

Card Addiction keeps trading card culture alive and thriving through tournaments and active participation in the market.

While a great majority of customers are away at a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament in Texas, Card Addiction’s late-night hours cultivate a safe space for friends to bond through their favorite collectibles. Photo courtesy of Rachel Mendiola, Culture OC

Trading cards, once known as “trade cards,” emerged in popularity thanks to the rise of color lithography in the late 1870s to early 1900s. With its early history, you would think that trading cards are a thing of the past, but that’s not quite the case. In between the thrill of hunting for the rarest card out there and the opportunity to socially connect with others, trading card culture is a timeless hobby that continues to evolve and transcend throughout Orange County.

Card Addiction, a local trading card establishment in Fullerton, keeps trading card culture active and thriving.

A small business with a big following, Card Addiction is managed by owner Kevin Phoeng and store managers Brandon Smith and Logan Davis. Although it's based in Fullerton, the business has expanded, owning a booth at Frank & Son Collectible Show in the City of Industry.

The trading card hub sells cards, hosts tournaments, and provides a space for followers of popular franchises to gather and explore competitive play. Popular tournaments include franchises like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon and some new up and comers: One Piece and Disney’s Lorcana. The community at Card Addiction is both competitive and friendly, encapsulating a fun mixture of compelling duel and community.

The store’s tournaments and events are held in the evenings and continue until late hours in the night, allowing people to come by and enjoy their hobby after an average work day. This system has generated success, redefining Fullerton’s bustling nightlife by appealing to people from different walks of life and encouraging them to come together in a home away from home.

“(Tournaments) are really fun. We’ve had 8-year-olds, people in their late 20s, and early 30s. We also have our people in their mid-40s and such. We’ve had older gentlemen and ladies come in and sit down to casually play Magic the Gathering,” says store manager Smith.

While a great majority of customers are away at a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament in Texas, Card Addiction’s late night hours cultivate a safe space for friends to bond through their favorite collectibles. Photo courtesy of Rachel Mendiola, Culture OC

Tournaments, however, are not the only point of excitement. Card Addiction also partakes in a living, breathing trading card market. Community members are able to bond through the experience of buying, trading and selling cards during a shifting market. Cards worth hundreds of dollars can drastically shift in value depending on the “meta,” which refers to the cards and strategies currently in popularity that can be expected to commonly appear in tournaments or casual matches.

“(Card Addiction) provides welcoming and knowledgeable staff that are able to provide insightful card recommendations for the current competitive climate,” says customer Jovanny Gonzalez. “The late hours and large play area are perfect for people just getting out of work and to socialize with large groups of people.”

Hundreds of unique cards rest in glass shelves for members of the trading card community to trade and sell while keeping up with the market’s unpredictable excitement. Photo Courtesy of Rachel Mendiola, Culture OC

“There’s definitely still a market for keeping people engaged with other people in the flesh, which is nice to see,” Smith says. “As much as I love seeing my computer, I’d rather see a human face as my opponent versus a computer screen. It’s nice to still see that in this day and age.”

At Card Addiction, trading card culture and community continue to evolve from the depths of history and nostalgia. A hobby that never really left us, trading cards connect the past and present through their ability to unite those of underrepresented communities with niche interests.

The store has an exciting roster of upcoming events. Events include tournaments on designated weekdays.