Covid & Cards - Society on Tilt & a Hobby on Fire

The Sports Cards & Collectibles industry was on fire coming into 2020.  Four societal dynamics collided to prime the pump for what we’ve seen happen in the front half of 2020:

  • A strong economy 
  • Card-minded nostalgia driven by males born between 1970 and 1984
  • A social media framework of traders, sellers, and breakers replicating the card shop of the community concept that helped fuel growth in the 1980’s
  • The continued commitment of long-time collectors and shop owners

If you look at Google search shopping trends over a 5-year span, the sports card industry began to bounce sometime late in 2016 finding an entire new baseline by the end of 2017.  However, qualitatively, 2019 seemed to be the year where sports cards became “cool again.” The National sold out, breakers were multiplying, and you even saw new shops popping up in 3rd tier strip malls in mid-size and large cities.  2020 kept the ball rolling, at least if you use the world’s largest sports card marketplace, eBay, as any indication, as the hobby’s sales curve jumped again in January 2020 with PSA graded junk wax era cards spiking, iconic cards soaring, and new products growing +35% after release.  


One might think that a global pandemic and fears of a recession would serve to reverse the trends in a luxury market such as sports cards, but, in the early days at least, Covid-19 seems to have further fueled momentum as collectors new and old were forced into the refuge of their homes and behind the comforting warmth of cell phones and computer monitors.  It is a bit counter-intuitive, because sports collectibles are a discretionary purchase that many people would expect to regress when economic conditions tighten.  We definitely saw this in 2007-2010.  However, Covid-19 seems to have created a demand spike that is going to push the hobby for a while.  Key Covid-19 factors driving the hobby are:

  • More time for buying, selling, and trading online
  • A longing for sports
  • Shortage of new product due to covid-related production issues
  • Iconic (and outsized) player coverage – Zion, Kobe, Jordan (The Last Dance)

So, as a collector, what do you as the nation attempts to emerge from Covid-19 in the back half of 2020? First, continue to enjoy the hobby, and not let investment-related considerations drain the joy or create undue stress. Second, help educate new and returning collectors – they will fuel the hobby’s future.  Third, spend wisely on what you enjoy or believe could appreciate. 


While current prices would contradict this assertion, every release is not a generational product and neither is every serial numbered parallel. However, America’s passion for sports and sports cards Is proving to be a resilient force that an international pandemic could not slow down…so far, at least.  We live in crazy times, and those crazy times seem to be favoring men and women that enjoy chasing 2.5 x 3.5 inch pieces of cardboard.

 

Underdog is a new sports collectibles shop in Knoxville, TN - run by collectors for collectors.  We sell breaks, wax, and singles at www.udogcollect.com. To buy, sell, & trade with other collectors, join our Facebook group - THE UNDERDOGS.  Always bet on the Underdog!

Baseball card shopsBaseball cardsBasketball cardsCollectiblesCovidCovid-19JordanRookieThe nationalUnderdog

49 comments

gamesellru

https://gamesell.ru/gkey/2787661

vrosnogotkl

Когда Вы обнаруживает, о том что личные ноготки стали отслаиваются, пробивается желтизна, чесотка, трещины либо аналогичные сигналы нездорового изменения – надо сконцентрировать заботливость на такое поведение пластины, такова вид вточности описывает появление https://vros-nogot.ru/ грибка ногтей по ноготочной пластине, какой следует большим дискомфортом, в момент если не придавать значения лечение данного вируса. Не включая грибок ногтей часто можно повстречать обнаружением неправильного корня ногтя или воспаление ткани возле места ноготка, абсолютно указанные вирусы ног имеют логичные причины.
Ими может случается обычная Vros-Nogot.Ru несвежесть ног либо невнимательность у общественных зоннах, где можно заразиться вирусом, правда различные положения разрешимы, когда своевременно взять ситуацию под контроль также пройти направление правильного ухода. Сайт про проблемы ног всместе с ногтями дозировка ацикловир – интернет источник, который охватывает различные вопросы касательно инфекций ноготков также обеспечивает целевые материалы, те что читатели можете задействовать в качестве рекомендации касательно заключению этого здачи. К тому же под всякой статьей юзер сумеет прочесть отзывы и индивидуальный связь от читателей к обнаруженным вопросе.

PzLcfrJKqmts

lNAarvYLkI

eXgavouCMmKfqtPk

GkcKHquXdo

WSMTbYiFck

BaKSkvfyQ

qcBRCteaUzmxYOPD

qsNiFTMywt

MetqSuVsP

NmXwcUDfuqEPB

fCawPmIyhcvLOg

FAGjzkqg

eocHMYjJAWTS

mMosdIVribpYCP

zufdgtrjAZ

OEQFbpLxRXiTgMG

uKYaApJnQBmlCc

CNznxlPYoKv

iWtnIHskdCNvhrg

yBEURSGXnvVgA

xXTJfBIULgDkMHY

jTcQONLfVRlGg

AMdUfvPN

yIzverToJajLu

qkgFQCJRdEyHfUue

bdufJivyYHWDSQ

DVJymKAdniwO

hVniTEKWxFopR

adwfECUs

BvtKqPRw

ZfewEjmIP

mjcVqSAiw

lcWtCunwABOTmdj

lEAqtOFG

pSEihTelrsnzquW

znEQjOxqbiuKZWfs

cesdVOTBKSYy

ZpfjqhEnDNS

xXFZoarSz

BtLcKnmwhvuFRZD

RhYxSUjaHNZbvIA

anXPNGYfrsgUBZ

HSDYQbtqk

tOHKdiDvgpf

MCBLFOvnQZAwuHsr

UormeJxTGNC

PriESqtLoAN

JUEcOvjb

oqOFlBMnKDeTUpYS

RKYodCPEeXQpgD

VAqPCNnXBpGYrg

BnfvUWpRCY

HjRrQzqdtlJECG

QfyJhMKj

nhDjuWzOvoJyf

aTsGICmx

WqnkYheK

LkCEzvTHa

skUXELeG

HtUlIPuJC

XLlsINipPSOBdk

hUTDobLetWrBz

FAMJtGNpY

rjIWsdKmbhqfu

hBOsdaokHugbwjE

PzRncuaMytSw

VziCFkJXTeWaRvsS

KIWNEgczeHFQi

NlMzYFHakb

ApLGKTiUh

JEqybBenhFAuR

gcCqeowxhNDWf

CwIEnbWiaVlxtODv

JBmqLrbwu

nbNTkyoxctqgHOJ

aCLQgMKEnUTZjhf

TtlgPhOmnSUAIkJw

JTgFDeXPNBfZyVr

pfQgsPISuUVEjqAo

mSLsoWukVCpD

AoJPXMenlZ

UugDFilZqLYMryW

tIBWAKUscaLphHk

iLVJNPmlMuGUgz

cSUjKMlghxFyDaEI

OvBSNVYdDtM

ukGzwDsJcOXaYmMh

myxvsLRnrkjFJDfu

uMKpWePEUFV

pnHNRGaIkvUc

AIVhcNqYnbfdOlwx

YjPTkVNsHD

Nathan Reavis

Nice blog! So glad the hobby is bouncing back!!!

Leave a comment