Interview with Daniel Noethe of ‘DMN takeover’

Daniel Noethe of DMN Takeover

You can find cards to buy in many places; eBay, local card shops, card shows, and websites, just to name a few. Another place you can always find cards for sale is Twitter. One of those Twitter card sellers is Daniel Noethe. When not spending time with his wife and daughter, the Minnesota resident sells thousands of cards on social media. Daniel was kind enough to give us some insight into his collecting, his start selling on social media, and his views of the hobby.

 BU: How were you introduced to the trading card hobby?

DN: My Great-grandmother was my introduction into card collecting. I remember one birthday, at a very young age, she gave me a card binder, and a bunch of packs to open. I’ll never forget the feeling of opening those, putting them in the sleeves, and religiously looking through that binder. I’ve kept it my whole life.

BU: What do you currently collect?

DN: Currently, I collect Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Ben Wallace, and Derrick Henry cards.

I’m also a collector of any and all Baltimore Ravens cards.

BU: Have you always collected, or is it something that you picked back up after a break (like myself, and a lot of other collectors)?

DN: Oh, I definitely took a break! I feel like my whole high school/college years were a break. But in 2011, I found my way back in.

BU: I am with you there, as I really wasn’t involved in the hobby during my high school years. So what exactly is a DMN takeover?

DN: A DMN Takeover is a first-come, first-serve sales blast that I run exclusively through Twitter. Basically, I tweet out a card, and the first person to tweet back saying that they want it, gets it.

BU: How did you decide to start these twitter sale “takeovers”?

DN: I was sitting at a card show that I had a table set up at, and it was a particularly slow day. I started thinking about other avenues for selling that I could throw into the mix. I thought about how eBay was a good selling platform, but I really wanted it to feel more like a card show than a storefront.

I immediately thought back to previous years of life that I spent touring in a rock band, and how success in that was very much built upon having a community, and being very personal. Twitter struck me as the perfect platform for this idea, as I could converse on the spot with other card collectors, while selling to them (just like I could at a card show).

I decided to give it a shot, and it honestly started VERY slowly. I remember running two sales one week early on where I sold about $5 worth of cards for all the hours that I had put in.

But I just had this idea that consistency and relationship building would pay off. I made some tweaks, and just kept grinding. And now it has grown into quite the community.

BU: What kind of items could people expect to find for sale during your DMN takeovers?

DN: You can find a little of everything. I try to steer it towards being mostly patches, game used, autographs, and low-#d cards as much as I can. But you’ll find anything from base cards to 1/1s.

BU: Where do you get all of your product to sell?

DN: Twitter, eBay, and card shows. I go to way less shows than I would like to, but between the lots I find on eBay and twitter, I get stocked in advance pretty quickly. Often times my buyers on twitter become some of my best people for me to buy from or do consignment sales for.

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BU: How do you think social media had changed the hobby? 

DN: Social media is such a game changer. I think it forces people to build communities and be involved in it. If you’re on social media and not personable and humble, people will see through that quickly and not want to buy from you. I think it makes for a quicker place to buy and sell, and people are so helpful with spreading the word when you’re looking to make something happen.

It brings a warmth to collectors that can’t be found on other selling platforms. You feel like you’re talking to a human being, and not a store.

There are certain issues that come with the hobby and social media too, but that’s a long conversation haha.

BU: What is your opinion on the current hobby landscape? Anything you would like to see changed?

DN: I see a lot of good, and I also see a lot of shortcomings. One of my fears I’ve had for a long time is the mix of greed, lack of fun, and oversaturation that can occur. And they all seem to come together.

It’s always sad when I watch someone who once loved collecting get so sucked into the gamble of it all, and overcome by greed, and then not have a fun experience anymore, but remain so addicted to that chase. I’ve seen some people unravel and become bitter.

I’d like to see a few more products slip in there that don’t guarantee an autograph. I think that we need a little more scarcity in that, just to make sure that the hobby doesn’t over-saturate.

One thing that I do like that I’ve noticed lately is it seems to me that younger and younger kids are getting into collecting. Which is something that we need if we want this hobby to thrive and survive.

This all is also part of my motivation for starting the takeover. Opening boxes here and there is great, but I wanted to be able to offer up a way for collectors to grab some really sweet cards at a fraction of that price, and minus the gamble. And you still get a thrill out of the experience since you have to be very quick to be the first to the cards.

BU: Anything else you’d like to share?

DN: Just how much I appreciate everyone in the hobby, and you for asking me to do this interview.

And for those of you selling out there, please, please, please do not give up. I did not start out successful, but I just kept going, kept planning, and kept tweaking ideas as I went.

And above all, treat everyone in this hobby well, and don’t lose the love for what you do.

Daniel Noethe
@dmntakeover

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