Finnigan's Sportscards

Open on Central Avenue since roughly 2001 with a claimed four million cards in stock, Finnigan's is Albany's deepest baseball and football singles dig.

Twenty-five years is a long run for a dedicated sportscard store, and Finnigan's has been at it on Central Avenue since around 2001 — long enough to have survived the hobby's collapse in the 2000s and its explosion in 2020. The shop claims over four million cards on hand, and the 4.8 Google average is the highest of any card shop in the Albany area.

This is a collector's shop rather than a play space. Unit 4 is a compact strip-mall storefront: boxes of baseball, football, basketball and hockey singles to work through, sealed hobby boxes and retail wax on the shelves, graded slabs and autographed memorabilia in the cases, and supplies at the counter. Vintage runs deep, particularly pre-1980 baseball. Set builders are the core customer, and the staff will actively help you close out a run rather than just point at a box.

If you play Pokemon or Magic, this is not your stop — Finnigan's is sports-first and makes no pretence otherwise. That focus is exactly why the sports card Albany crowd rates it as highly as it does. One long-time customer summed the tradeoff up honestly: "Yeah, the prices can be a little high, but I'm loyal — and I'll keep coming back. This place rocks."

There is no shop website; the business runs an eBay storefront alongside the counter and takes calls at 518-218-0578. Collection buying and trade-ins are handled in person, so bring the box in rather than emailing photos.

Hours are the one thing to plan around, and they are tighter than most: closed Sunday and Monday, open 10AM to 4PM Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with Wednesday the long day at 10AM to 7PM. Some directory listings show 6PM closes on other weekdays — the schedule has shifted before, so a quick call ahead is the safe move if you are driving in. Wednesday afternoon is the best window for an unhurried dig.