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5 Best Card Shops in London (2026)

Independently ranked by our review of ratings, reviews and reputation · How we chose

Talise Sterling
By Talise Sterling, Goods and Shopping · ✓ Data verified July 2026 · 8 min read

Ask five Londoners where to buy cards and you'll get five different answers, comic megastore, tabletop specialist, sports card counter, even the stationery aisle. One name pulls ahead on the numbers alone: Forbidden Planet London Megastore has racked up over 21,000 Google reviews, more than the other card shops in London on this list combined. The rest split fairly tightly between 4.5 and 4.7 stars, so past that one outlier it comes down to which kind of card you are after.

Short answer: Forbidden Planet London Megastore tops the list with a 4.6 rating across an enormous 21,033 Google reviews, the deepest verified record of any shop here, and it's tagged as a dedicated trading card shop alongside its comic and collectibles stock. Fanatics Collectibles (4.7) is the specialist for sports and trading cards near Regent Street, while Orcs Nest (4.6) and general retailers Waterstones and London Graphic Centre round out the five.
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Where to buy cards in London

# Business Rating Reviews Best for
1 Forbidden Planet London Megastore 4.6 ★ 21,033 Trading cards, comics and collectibles under one roof View ›
2 Waterstones 4.5 ★ 2,221 General bookshop, not a card specialist View ›
3 Orcs Nest 4.6 ★ 1,336 Tabletop and collectible card games View ›
4 Fanatics Collectibles 4.7 ★ 1,138 Sports and trading cards View ›
5 London Graphic Centre 4.5 ★ 1,328 Art and stationery supplies, cards as a side line View ›
5 Best Card Shops in London (2026)

The five shops, reviewed

Forbidden Planet London Megastore logo
#1 Overall🕑 Open 7 days

Forbidden Planet London Megastore

4.621,033 Google reviews

Forbidden Planet's Shaftesbury Avenue megastore is Google's own trading card shop listing for the chain, alongside its better-known comic book, book, collectibles, game and toy stock. Spread over two floors including a large basement books section, it stocks everything from trading card games to figurines, posters and manga. It's open daily, seven days a week.

What people praise

  • Massive, wide-ranging stock that reviewers compare to a pop-culture landmark
  • Staff called helpful and genuinely passionate about the products
  • Deep basement books and comics section praised repeatedly
  • Central location with good transport links

Worth knowing

  • Gets extremely busy, especially around the holidays
  • One long-time customer suggested a controlled entry system for peak days
Reputation scorecardrank in London
Rating4.6 / 5
Review volume21,033 · 98th
Confidencevery high
Recency5 weeks ago
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown70% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: The safe first stop. It ranks first on both a strong 4.6 and, by a huge margin, the largest review base of any shop on this list.

Website+442074203666 Directions

179 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8JR

Waterstones logo
#2🕑 Open 7 days

Waterstones

4.52,221 Google reviews

This Trafalgar Square branch of Waterstones is a large general bookshop, not a dedicated card shop, so treat it as a fallback rather than a first stop for trading or greeting cards. It's known instead for a deep two-floor stock split across fiction and an especially strong nonfiction and history section, plus an in-store cafe.

What people praise

  • Extensive, well-organized book selection across fiction and nonfiction
  • Staff described as friendly and knowledgeable
  • Central Trafalgar Square location, easy to find
  • Long opening hours, seven days a week

Worth knowing

  • Not a card specialist, so selection and stock for cards specifically is limited
  • One visitor had a poor experience at the in-store cafe
Reputation scorecardrank in London
Rating4.5 / 5
Review volume2,221 · 93th
Confidencevery high
Recency3 weeks ago
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown66% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: Worth knowing about if you're already browsing books nearby, but it's a general bookshop first. It ranks here on a strong 4.5 and a very large review base, not on any card specialty.

Website+442078394411 Directions

The Grand Building, Trafalgar Sq, London WC2N 5EJ

Orcs Nest logo
#3🕑 Open 6 days/wk

Orcs Nest

4.61,336 Google reviews

Orcs Nest, in Seven Dials, bills itself as Central London's only dedicated specialist games shop, stocking board games, pen-and-paper roleplaying games and collectible and trading card games across two floors. It's run as both a physical store and a mail-order operation with its own stock lists and message boards for regular customers.

What people praise

  • Wide, well-stocked selection across board games and card games
  • Staff praised for enthusiasm and product knowledge
  • Good for both casual and dedicated hobbyists
  • Convenient Seven Dials location

Worth knowing

  • Narrow, sometimes crowded aisles at busy times
  • One customer described a pricing discrepancy at the till that took pushing back on to resolve
  • A few reviewers found staff engagement inconsistent
Reputation scorecardrank in London
Rating4.6 / 5
Review volume1,336 · 88th
Confidencevery high
Recency2 months ago
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown70% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: The pick for tabletop and collectible card games specifically. It ranks third on a solid 4.6 across over a thousand reviews.

Website+442073794254 Directions

6 Earlham St, London WC2H 9NB

Fanatics Collectibles logo
#4🕑 Open 7 days

Fanatics Collectibles

4.71,138 Google reviews

Fanatics Collectibles runs a dedicated trading card and collectibles store on Regent Street, operated through Topps, focused on sports and trading cards with in-store raffles and controlled entry during busy periods. It's the closest thing on this list to a pure trading-card specialist.

What people praise

  • Staff singled out by name for helpful, knowledgeable service
  • Queue and entry system keeps the shop floor from getting overcrowded
  • Strong selection specifically for trading card collectors

Worth knowing

  • Several reviewers describe poor handling of accessibility requests at the door
  • Security presence at the entrance reads as unwelcoming to some shoppers
Reputation scorecardrank in London
Rating4.7 / 5
Review volume1,138 · 78th
Confidencevery high
Recency4 weeks ago
Info completenesssite · hours
Rating breakdown90% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: The dedicated trading-card destination here, and its 4.7 rating is the highest on this list. It ranks fourth mainly on a smaller review base than Forbidden Planet and Orcs Nest.

Website Directions

54 Regent St., London W1B 4DY

London Graphic Centre logo
#5🕑 Open 7 days

London Graphic Centre

4.51,328 Google reviews

London Graphic Centre in Covent Garden is a two-floor art and stationery shop selling paper, pens, paints and design materials, not a dedicated card shop. Reviewers do call out its stickers, stamps and tapes as good options for a handmade card or a gift, but its core business is art supply retail.

What people praise

  • Very wide selection of art and stationery materials
  • Well-organized, browsable two-floor layout
  • Convenient central London location
  • Reviewers note fun stationery items suited to card-making or gifting

Worth knowing

  • Not a card specialist, so it's a side stop rather than a destination
  • One customer found the fountain pen and ink range thinner than expected
  • A staff interaction was described as lacking warmth
Reputation scorecardrank in London
Rating4.5 / 5
Review volume1,328 · 83th
Confidencehigh
Recency6 weeks ago
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown72% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: Worth a visit if you're making your own cards or want stationery to go with a gift, but it rounds out this list as a general shop rather than a card specialist, on a solid 4.5 rating.

Website+442077594500 Directions

16-18 Shelton St, London WC2H 9JL

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How we score

Our scorecard reads live Google data only. Rating is the current Google average for each shop. Volume measures how many customers left a review, ranked against every other shop in the pool. Confidence weighs that rating by how many reviews back it, so a strong score built on tens of thousands of reviews carries more weight than the same score on a few hundred. Recency tracks how recently people are still reviewing. No business can pay to move these numbers.

How much do trading cards and packs cost in London? (2026)

Pricing swings widely by product, a single common trading card pack costs a few pounds, while individual rare or graded cards can run into the hundreds. We don’t have a trustworthy, cited price list to publish here, so ask each shop directly for current stock and pricing before visiting.

Where to find them in London

All five sit within a short walk of each other in central London, Forbidden Planet and Orcs Nest near Covent Garden and Seven Dials, Waterstones at Trafalgar Square, Fanatics Collectibles on Regent Street, and London Graphic Centre on Shelton Street. If you’re searching for a card shop near me from the West End or Covent Garden, all five are an easy stop on the same trip.

What to ask before you go

  • Do you stock the specific card game or sports brand I’m after?
  • Is the item I want in store, or would it need to be ordered in?
  • Do you buy or trade used cards, and what’s the process?
  • Is there a queue or entry system at busy times?
  • Do you offer authentication or grading services for collectible cards?
  • What are your weekend opening hours?

Frequently asked questions

Which card shop in London has the best rating?

Fanatics Collectibles has the highest average rating at 4.7, followed closely by Forbidden Planet and Orcs Nest at 4.6. Forbidden Planet has by far the largest review base of any shop on this list.

Where can I buy trading card games specifically?

Orcs Nest in Seven Dials specializes in tabletop and collectible card games, while Forbidden Planet and Fanatics Collectibles both carry dedicated trading card stock alongside comics and sports collectibles.

Are these rankings paid?

No. Rankings come from public Google data. A business can pay to be a Featured Partner, which adds a badge and top placement, but that never changes another business’s score or position.

How did you choose these five?

We compared shops in London with a real Google track record for cards and card-adjacent retail, then ranked them by rating, review volume, confidence and how recently people are still reviewing. Two of the five, Waterstones and London Graphic Centre, are general shops rather than card specialists, and we’ve flagged that honestly.

How often is this list updated?

The ratings and review counts here were verified in July 2026. We refresh the data as Google reviews change, so positions can shift over time.

The bottom line

For trading cards specifically, Fanatics Collectibles and Orcs Nest are the real specialists. Forbidden Planet is the safe default if you want the widest stock under one roof, and its review record backs that up better than anyone else on this list.

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