BROWNSVILLE, Wis. (NBC 26) - With no live sports to enjoy, many fans are turning to memorabilia to get their sports fix.
The owner of "Real Breaks," a Dodge County-based sports card business, says his company's output has more than doubled over the last two weeks.
"Two weeks ago we had a huge uptick, we couldn't even meet our demand," Tom Kulczewski, the owner of "Real Breaks" said. "Everyone is staying home. There's no sports to watch. So now in the last week we've had 70 cases, we've almost doubled our output."
Kulczewski runs the business out of his home in Brownsville. He said it's not just sales that have soared - exposure is on the rise, as well.
"We used to maybe get 200 viewers for a video after a week time," he said. "And now we're getting two to three thousand. We're getting thousands of views on our videos. It's crazy, it's absolutely crazy."
"Real Breaks" serves not only as a shopping source for card collectors, but also as a form of entertainment. Customers buy into what's called a "break." They then watch live over Facebook or YouTube as Kulczewski draws their cards.
"We take cases of cards and sell individual teams and then we open them live online and you get the team that you buy," he explained. "So if you're a Brewers collector instead of spending 100 dollars on a box, maybe you spent 30 dollars and then you get all the Brewers from that case."
Kulczewski said his new customers vary in style. He said some have just picked up the hobby as they are looking for some entertainment without any sports happening.
Many are veteran collectors, looking for a new source after their local card shop was forced to close.
Others are tuning in just to see the show.
"If you want to enjoy sports It's a great thing to watch" Kulczewski said. "And you don't have to buy in to have fun and enjoy it."
