Hope all is well with everyone out there. It's been a crazy last two months or so. The world has transformed. So has the sports card industry and "hobby". I put hobby in quotes because it feels less and less like a hobby every day. Sports cards are more popular now than they have been in a long time and that's a good thing, right?
With everything going on in the world due to the coronavirus, I think most people would have assumed that spending on things likes sports cards would decline drastically. They would have been wrong. Boy, would they have been wrong.
I mentioned in a previous post that I stopped spending money on cards in January, so I haven't been buying during this sports card boom, but I've been taking advantage of the extra dollars in the market by unloading some of my duplicates and other unwanted cards.
One of the contributing factors to the surge in sports card sales has been the ESPN documentary The Last Dance. I've always been a big Jordan fan and had a bunch of duplicates that I've been selling on OfferUp. I've sold several lots already and each buyers has mentioned The Last Dance and how it has brought them back to their youth and the hobby that they had left behind. I love hearing this and I love unloading my dups for a nice profit.
The Jordan effect has spread from Michael Jordan basketball cards to Michael Jordan baseball cards, to 90's inserts of all sports to "junk wax" gems. Cards that you could routinely find in dime boxes, are selling for dollars. Unless they are graded and then they are selling for hundreds of dollars.
Topps and Panini are selling certain products exclusively online and have so much demand that their websites can't handle it. Retail outlets can't keep their shelves stocked with toilet paper or Mosaic.
Then you have the Topps Project 2020 cards. I haven't bought any. Not just because I'm on a strict budget. I just don't really see the appeal. To each their own though. The dollar amounts they are bringing in the secondary market are mind blowing. The last sports card boom lasted about 10 years. I'm not sure that this one will last more than 10 months.
Why do you think about all the craziness that has recently transpired within the "hobby"?
I've wondered a lot about these things too. My first instinct is that this is a bubble and will come crashing down. But people I respect and that have a lot more experience than me seem to feel like this is just a new plateau. Oh, they know some of this stuff will lose value, and probably soon, but they think that long term, some of it might be the new normal. Jordan, Trout, maybe some of the inserts.
ReplyDeleteNow graded cards have me a little confused. I get the appeal of having a card that you know is authentic and that is certified to be in good shape. I even like the idea, even though I hate having cards encased in plastic permanently. I can even see the sense in a premium for the values of these cards. But the amount of the premium is what has me confused. I see graded cards going for anywhere between 3 and 30 times the value of a raw card. That seems, well, totally insane!!
You are not the first to comment on the weirdness, and you won't be the last. I am just trying to enjoy the ride. Right now, I just want a few 5000 count boxes of cards to look at, sort and organize. But with the current state of the universe, I can't get to a card shop, and finding a good deal on something like that is probably non-existent. Thankfully, a number of bloggers have sent me cards recently, and that is really helping!!
Good to have these kinds of discussions.
Yeah my perception is that the hobby is in a really weird place and I think you hit on the many reasons for this above. Hard to say when the buzz will fade again. As long as people are generally indoors more, you think that has to be an advantage for the hobby. But eventually you'll need actual sports to return too!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a post addressing this and it's scheduled to be published on Tuesday. But essentially I love that there has been a boost in card collecting interest. Not sure when it'll dip... but it will. But I'm going to enjoy it while I can.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Diamond King that graded cards are artificially inflated. I've said for years that a Gem 10 card shouldn't be worth any more than a Mint raw card. But that's old news.
ReplyDeleteI discouraged that Jordan baseball cards will now be overpriced. It was a nice little niche collection that I had going and now it's going to be hard to complete it at reasonable rates, at least for a while. I refuse to overpay even when I find something rare.