When one thinks about Baruch College as a business school, the immediate image people conjure up about graduates starting companies that would hopefully grow into enterprises worth billions of dollars. But for one avid sports fan, the entrepreneur drive steered him into a more low key, but intimate direction.
One classic sports tradition that is the trading and selling of baseball cards. Knowing that there is quite a sizable amount of money to be in this hobby, Baruch alumnus Ralph Schneider dived headfirst into this area with a rapidly growing enterprise exclusively on social media called Ralph’s Rips.
“I’ve played a lot of sports when I was younger, but it’s always been baseball. I’ve been collecting cards for ten years. It started with my local card shop in Brooklyn. And I still go there to this day.”
After a decade of collecting baseball cards from various eras, Schneider realized that his simple hobby could also turn out be very lucrative business. Earlier this August, Schneider opened both a Facebook and Instagram page for Ralph’s Rips. While sharing sentimental memories towards brick and mortar card shops, the decision to make it as an online only enterprise was due to changing trends in retail.
“As much as I love the local card shop, as a platform for buying and selling cards it’s dying out unfortunately. While people should always support their local stores, it’s not a wise decision business wise to do physical retail in the world of internet commerce.”
While Schneider started the business on his own accord, he gives a lot of credit his father, who encouraged him to start collecting cards—perhaps as a means of vicariously living out his own dreams.
“My dad really started taking me to purchase cards and it made me interested in the hobby. In fact, he used to have a complete set of 1969 Topps baseball cards that would be worth a lot of money today. But his mom, my grandma, made him get rid of them. So I guess he wanted me to keep all my cards.”
People interested in checking out Ralph’s Rips can follow them on their Facebook and Instagram pages.