Views from the Shore
By Brian Cahill
Early in my marketing career, I was lucky enough to work for Ken Goldin, a world-renowned leader in the collectibles industry who is the star of a new Netflix show called “The King of Collectibles.” Ken is a pioneer in many ways, including being among the first to market a product to a mass audience on television. Ken was doing this in the late 1990s, long before smartphones, let alone streaming services, were part of the mainstream.
It had been a long time since I met someone like Ken, that is, until our most recent Somers Point Business Association networking breakfast. During the “round robin” introduction, a new face in the crowd emerged. He introduced himself as Dillon Pearson, founder of a new business in Somers Point called Holographic Hobbies.
As a former hobbyist myself, I was intrigued by his business, so I went to check out this new shop. There I met Dillon and his colleague Alex Henry, a former Military Police Officer in the US Navy whose childhood dream was to work in a Pokémon store.
The store shelves and display cases (built by Dillon) were filled with boxes of cards, card accessories, Funko Pops, model kits and paints, stuffed Pokémon characters, legos, and anime characters.
“We focus on the gamer side of collectibles,” said Dillon. “We have the resources to fulfill almost any request a customer has. If they want it, we will get it.”
While the store itself is worth checking out, the true gem is their streaming business. Its studio inside the store and allows them to reach audiences around the world.
The main attraction of their streaming is “ripping and shipping” card packs via Drip Shop. Like Goldin used to go on TV and sell sports collectibles, Dillion appears live on camera and “rips” packs of cards. Among the most popular “rip and ships” is Pokémon, which counts Pikachu among its stars, as well as other collectible cards.
“Pikachu is timeless – here’s right up there with Mickey Mouse at this point,” said Dillon with a smile.
He then went on to explain how the business works. “We schedule a time to live stream the ‘ripping’ of a pack of Pokémon cards. A viewer of the stream buys the pack, and then we ‘rip it’ (that means opening it) in front of the audience. When the pack contains a rare ‘chase’ card, it’s like the lottery just hit, and the audience goes nuts. It’s awesome. We then take that pack and ship it to the buyer.”
Dillon connects with his audience – both via stream and in person – because, as he puts it, “everyone has good vibes, and there’s a sense of community and nostalgia among those who enjoy collectibles.”
Holographic Hobbies is located at 426 Shore Rd, Suite A, in Somers Point. Open Tuesday through Sunday, Noon – 7 p.m. To learn more, call 609-904-6560 or visit www.holohobbies.
Brian Cahill is the Director of Marketing for Shore Medical Center and Shore Physicians Group. He serves on the Board of the Somers Point Business Association and is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at Stockton University.
