Our highly anticipated (and long awaited!) entrance into the world of automated trading card sorting has us reflecting on the trends within the trading card industry in the last year. The pandemic created a picture-perfect environment for trading card sales to boom, and many of us seasoned collectors, who suddenly had an influx of time on our hands, found it was time to go through the old collection once again. Trading card sales have absolutely exploded within the last year, at both large-scale retailers like Walmart and card-specific retailers like Topps and Panini [1]. Many smaller stores remained open for curb-side pickup, eBay sales have skyrocketed, and trading card forums have had new life breathed into them. In fact, 2020 saw the eBay trading card category grow by 142% [2]. A PSA 10 Tom Brady rookie card is currently being auctioned on eBay with a cool starting price of just over five million dollars [3]. And that brings us to our first trend – an increase in the popularity of sports cards.
Collectors who held on to their sports cards from the ‘80s and ‘90s are looking through their collections to see if they can find a diamond in the rough, like an 8 or 9 PSA-rated Michael Jordan rookie card. Baseball cards are particularly popular, and Topps and MLB recently announced they are extending their partnership until 2024 [4]. Given the large sense of loss that surrounded sports fans in 2020 (who were left without their favorite sports for quite some time) it’s of no surprise that sports cards will be one trend to keep an eye on in 2021.
Pokémon Trading Cards have experienced a lot of growth in the past year as well. Despite the rise in the popularity of sports cards, Pokémon still takes the crown with eBay sales increasing $574% from 2019 to 2020 [2]. McDonalds certainly identified and tapped into this growth with their recent inclusion of Pokémon Cards in their Happy Meals (which got scalped so much that restaurants were encouraged to establish limits on Happy Meal sales) [5]. Influencers across the US and Canada were quick to join the collecting on social media, which further increased card value and promoted the idea that Pokémon is enjoyable for everyone (not just us nerds). While we’re still not fully ok with Logan Paul flaunting his holo-Charizard, hobby shop owners with established inventories can expect Pokémon card sales to remain strong throughout the rest of the year.
Social distancing and quarantine restrictions have fostered a new environment for online sales and virtual play tables to thrive. Magic: The Gathering has brought events and games online via Twitch [6] and even small companies are hosting virtual events [7]. The need for small shops to establish an online store has also become apparent during the pandemic. If they haven’t already, it’s imperative small retailers invest time in developing a functional website with a connected online store. It’s safe to say trading card collecting is only growing in popularity. The TCG boom is leaving plenty of room for collectors, hobby shops and trading card companies alike to grow their collections and product offerings. Leveraging new technology in the TCG marketplace will be the key to both profiting from and enjoying the exciting card developments of the future.
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