Lads n Dads TCG, Pudsey: ‘My son and I have sold over 200,000 packs of cards in less than a year’

The business has grown exponentially in just a few short months - they have racked up more than 30,000 stream followers and have sold more than 200,000 packs of cards since their adventure began.

The duo is now expanding into the unit next door to add a gastro pub-style cafe.

Dale said: "My son was an avid collector of cards and watched streamers.

“He wanted to start streaming, but at the time, he was only 11."

Dale supported his son by starting a collectibles channel together on TikTok.

He said: "People liked the dynamic of a lad and a dad together."

The pair began to sell cards through their channel, which proved popular.

Last year, their Lad n Dads channel was signed up exclusively to WhatNot.

WhatNot is similar to TikTok Shop, but it’s where people buy, sell, and go live sharing collectible items only.

This fuelled father-of-three Dale - who already ran a successful vape business, to explore the idea of starting a business that involved his kids.

Dale already had a vape shop inside his current premises on Lowtown in Pudsey, which he transformed into a trading cards and collectibles shop, with The Yorkshire Vaper now opposite.

He said: “People get a thrill from chasing the top cards.

"We set up four months ago, and it's already going better than we thought.”

A core part of the shop is a livestreaming area, which staff use to stream to WhatNot.

They sell packs of cards, and selected traders also sell rare collections to them.

Dale said: “We’re known online, so we get approached by people with rare collections which we stock in store and online.”

The shop’s staff all have a special interest in certain games, and they also run free games nights for young people.

“If kids can’t afford their own pack, we will give them a deck for free to get them started”, Dale explained.

Lads n Dads can currently seat up to 26 people, and they are busy transforming the retail premises next door to expand into a cafe.

Dale said: “It will be more of a gastro pub style serving food and drink.”

The new cafe is set to be named Mary’s Kitchen and Wilfred’s Bar after Dale’s grandparents; expected to open in June.

For now, Lads n Dads are busy streaming online at least twice a day, serving customers, and posting out sold items.

Dale said: “We’ve just reached 30,000 followers on WhatNot, whenever we reach a milestone like that, all the staff get dressed up as characters and do a video.

“We worked out that we've sold over 200,000 packs of cards alone in less than a year since starting online.”