“From day one, we’ve wanted to be more than just a one-sided transaction. District helps us build something better for the hobby and our community.” — Ben Smith, Founder of Midwest Box Breaks
Midwest Box Breaks, an online community for sports card collectors, built its reputation on trust, consistency, and live hobby content. Behind the scenes, founder Ben Smith was juggling too many tools, which made it harder to keep the business running smoothly and the community connected.
District brought everything together in one place, making the experience seamless for both Ben and his collectors.
The Challenge: Too many tools and duct tape
Before switching to District, Ben had a clear vision of what he wanted for his business and community, but he was forced to use different, disconnected platforms to make it happen. This included:
- Commerce website for managing payments and inventory
- A YouTube channel for hosting his live shows
- A Twitter, and Facebook page for announcements and updates
- A Discord server for community engagement
- Manual workflows for listing, promoting, and invoicing
Having to duct tape several platforms together for his own workflow, along with his community’s experience slowed Ben down and confused people who had to constantly move from one place to another.
The Switch: Their very own all-in-one platform, powered by District
District offered a single place for all of Ben’s needs – payments, livestreams, auctions, chat, fulfillment, and even a way for his community to sell their cards alongside him. The whole experience is hosted directly on his own website as part of the Midwest Box Breaks brand.
District enabled Ben to:
- Host live shows directly on his website and multicast them across social networks including X and YouTube at the same time
- Enable buyers to make purchases and bid on auctions without ever leaving the live show
- Review sales data, analytics, and dashboards for better managing his business
- Provide members a community marketplace where they can sell cards safely and securely
“The notifications, the sales data, the tech support… It makes so many things we did just a few years ago unnecessary and obsolete,” Ben said.
Results: From frustratingly fragmented to a well-oiled machine
With Midwest Box Breaks experience fully consolidated in one single place, the results speak for themselves:
- Nearly 100,000 sales from Community Sellers since launch
- Community members average +$500 in sales per livestream
- Co-hosted live streams with athletes and celebrities including entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and World Series Champions Eric Hosmer and Phil Hughes
The Takeaway
With the right tools and support from District, Ben turned a fragmented setup into a thriving platform for card collectors. For him, it wasn’t just about a better online store. It was about transforming his business and and streamlining the community experience from the inside out.
“District is serious about providing the tools needed to support and teach everyone,” Ben said. “It’s putting money back in the pockets of collectors. That’s the kind of future we want to be part of.”
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