Why aren’t nonsports worth as much as soccer, basketball etc?

[44gwilson]

Hey all,

I’m fairly new to collecting non-sports. I had collected soccer for all my life and cashed in on the recent ridiculous rise, and with the profits I decided to reinvest in what I saw as the next logical thing to see a similar rise - marvel movie cards.

I know that upper deck have done majority of the movies and they aren’t exactly a beloved company of collectors, but these cards offer chances to get some of the biggest stars autos playing characters in arguably the biggest movie franchise of all time, yet these cards can be picked up for $1-300 a piece... it’s crazy to me, and it brings to mind the prices you could get Ronaldos and Messis for before the soccer market went crazy.

Is there something I’m missing with these cards? Or non sports in general? It stands to reason that there is a big collecting culture in movies like marvel where they have comic hobbies etc but somehow there doesn’t seem to be the same insane demand quite yet for the auto and relic cards these sets offer.

[Pacmeyer]

If nonsports could ever be the next big thing then Inkworks wouldn't be long gone. The collector base for these cards is just too small compared to sports even for Star Wars, and for Marvel it's even smaller.

I went from nonsports back to sports. I wouldn't recommend investing big time the other way around.

[daviswr7]

I have to imagine the majority of non sport collectors aren’t breaking for “investment” purposes. I know I don’t.

[Scottish Punk]

My guess is two things.

1. No RCs in non sport. You can kinda do a character card in first movie of franchise.
2. You are limited to the fan base of the property, which drops when the show/movie is out of production.

[gdelan1]

Most collectors of non sport do it for their collections, not resale.


There are exceptions of course, back when Fringe was on, I pulled one of the Meghan Markle autos. Had it in my binder for years, and when she married into the royal family sold it for $$$.

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[webjon]

There has been a significant rise in entertainment cards. Years ago I was buying Robert Downey Jr. Autographs for $125 or less -- there are many other examples, but Downey is one of the most dramatic.

Years ago it was extremely rare to see any card in entertainment products worth more than a few hundred dollars.

This certainly doesn't rival the millions of dollars that some sports cards go for, I think the reason for that is that you aren't seeing speculation in entertainment cards.

I think one thing that prevents entertainment cards from really jumping is the lack of good media about entertainment cards. The sports card industry is much more organized in that way -- there are well accepted 'best' cards -- i.e. rookie cards.

One HUGE difference between most entertainment cards and sports card is that a 'base' card in a sports card product can be valuable. Garbage Pail kids and some Star Wars is an exception to this, but for the most part there isn't a group of character collectors that are making certain cards in an entertainment card set more valuable -- for the most part all the base and parallel cards in a set of an entertainment product have the same value. . .

All of that said most entertainment cards are produced in extremely small numbers compared to sport cards -- especially autographs -- again there are exceptions here, but you aren't typically seeing the same autographs year after year in entertainment cards like you are in sports cards -- again there are exceptions to that, but there are a number of celebrities like Downey who signed just a couple of times.

[TimBuckTwo]

Chicks love the long ball.

[PrinceVegeta]

I have basically sold everything in my collection since prices have gone pretty high on most cards.

Nothing like sports cards though

[Dewman]

I have basically sold everything in my collection since prices have gone pretty high on most cards.

Nothing like sports cards though

I have started to think about thinning out my Star Wars autos, but I like them too much.

I am trying to liquidate my Big Bang Theory in sets, but I will probably have to part those out later in the year to get the money for them. Kaley is really the only one who is appreciating. I don't think anyone wants to lay out the larger sums to buy a set at a time.

I think sports cards are insane though and I'm done buying into that. If I had anything worth anything in sports, I would be selling. My Minnesota Vikings collection isn't going to demand big bucks. :D

[clearblue]

Good, let's keep it that way. Let's hope the card influencers never catch wind of non-sport cards. I'd make massive profit, but I also wouldn't be able to obtain anything for a reasonable price either. So let's keep it on the down low.

[kerg]

Alot of the things that drive sports card prices just don't matter or apply to non-sports. Couple of these were mentioned already, but Rookie cards, base cards, limited edition inserts/parallel cards and grading, which are big in sports cards, just aren't that in demand for non-sports to dictate insane prices. Plus, the things that are in demand like autographs and sketch cards can be more easily obtained outside of the card market with getting commissions from artists and attending cons. And of course, the sports card market is just larger.

[A Levine]

If you ask me it's all about heritage. Sports cards have been a thing for so long (almost if not over a hundred years) that cards and sports have become intrinsically linked. As such, there is simply a bigger market, and more excitement derived from them.

[finfangfan]

Also when you look at the Marvel side of nonsports cards you have to factor in that comic book collecting also is a competing market. The first appearance of a character in comic form will always command more of a premium than their first appearance in a trading card.

[HiltonL]

If you ask me it's all about heritage. Sports cards have been a thing for so long (almost if not over a hundred years) that cards and sports have become intrinsically linked. As such, there is simply a bigger market, and more excitement derived from them.

It's not about the age, as there are non-sports sets that go quite a ways back, to the early 1900s iirc. It's like any collectible thing, the more demand there is, the higher certain specific examples of it will go in value. All about the market.

[aggie4ever]

It's all about demand. That takes either set collectors, or investors/prospectors to drive prices up. That's why sports cards are worth a lot more than non-sports. In sports, both collectors and investors often want multiple cards of each player, sometimes even hundreds. For many non-sports collectors, they only need 1 autograph of each actor. Now there are some hardcore non-sports collectors who try put sets together, but the number seems to have gone down as the number of sets released each year has increased.

Some non-sports cards have gone up a lot in value though... but something drives that. Most of the time it's an actor/actress who only signs in 1 or 2 sets. In that case, demand will outpace supply over time as cards go into permanent collections and there aren't as many available for sale. Compared to actors who sign for multiple sets. With each set that comes out, the supply increases, and prices decrease since supply outpaces demand.

Also, non-sports collectors have more options to get an actor's autograph. As mentioned above, they can get their autograph at a convention. Or they can get an autographed photo. I understand that's not the same thing as a collectible card, but non-sports collectors don't think like sports card collectors. For many, if the price gets too high, they will switch to a cheaper option. And since they only want the actor's autograph, many don't care if it's on a pack inserted card, or a photo, or an in-person autograph.

Finally, I would maybe compare actor autographs to HOF sports autographs. Lot's of HOF player cards are very cheap, especially compared to rookies. And most of that comes down to how many sets have they signed for. Some HOF players are incredibly popular, but since they have signed for hundreds of sets over a decade or more, their autographs are cheap because supply far outpaces demand. Some actors have signed for dozens of sets, and thus their autographs are relatively cheap compared to new signers. You see that a lot in Star Wars, where new signers sell high for the first few sets, then drop a lot after they have been in 10+ sets.

[80s Showtime]

1. No RCs in non sport. You can kinda do a character card in first movie of franchise.



I think one thing that prevents entertainment cards from really jumping is the lack of good media about entertainment cards. The sports card industry is much more organized in that way -- there are well accepted 'best' cards -- i.e. rookie cards.

One HUGE difference between most entertainment cards and sports card is that a 'base' card in a sports card product can be valuable. Garbage Pail kids and some Star Wars is an exception to this, but for the most part there isn't a group of character collectors that are making certain cards in an entertainment card set more valuable -- for the most part all the base and parallel cards in a set of an entertainment product have the same value. . .


Alot of the things that drive sports card prices just don't matter or apply to non-sports. Couple of these were mentioned already, but Rookie cards, base cards, limited edition inserts/parallel cards and grading, which are big in sports cards, just aren't that in demand for non-sports to dictate insane prices. Plus, the things that are in demand like autographs and sketch cards can be more easily obtained outside of the card market with getting commissions from artists and attending cons. And of course, the sports card market is just larger.

Exactly on these things! The base cards usually don’t have high demand because they aren’t a focal point for collectors to look for.

[mrb842]

Hey all,

I’m fairly new to collecting non-sports. I had collected soccer for all my life and cashed in on the recent ridiculous rise, and with the profits I decided to reinvest in what I saw as the next logical thing to see a similar rise - marvel movie cards.

I know that upper deck have done majority of the movies and they aren’t exactly a beloved company of collectors, but these cards offer chances to get some of the biggest stars autos playing characters in arguably the biggest movie franchise of all time, yet these cards can be picked up for $1-300 a piece... it’s crazy to me, and it brings to mind the prices you could get Ronaldos and Messis for before the soccer market went crazy.

Is there something I’m missing with these cards? Or non sports in general? It stands to reason that there is a big collecting culture in movies like marvel where they have comic hobbies etc but somehow there doesn’t seem to be the same insane demand quite yet for the auto and relic cards these sets offer.

when I was little we had dick tracy cards from the beatty movie and I always liked the colors a lot. I think it comes down to how people visualize forms of entertainement and want to connect to it and at what age. there are probably a lot of great articles on this subject. I know in ap us history we studied the rise of pro sports and one thesis was that it took off as a form of gladiator entertainment to replace the indian wars.

[jhssketchcards]

I think it’s as simple as sports cards are actual athletes performing real skills and accomplishing real world feats. Actors portraying make believe characters will not be liked at through the same lens.
Doesn’t mean they aren’t desirable or valuable. Obviously the actors signatures can demand a lot of money. Then it’s more of a popularity thing. Actors pretend, athletes perform.


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[KD35Russ0]

I think it’s as simple as sports cards are actual athletes performing real skills and accomplishing real world feats. Actors portraying make believe characters will not be liked at through the same lens.
Doesn’t mean they aren’t desirable or valuable. Obviously the actors signatures can demand a lot of money. Then it’s more of a popularity thing. Actors pretend, athletes perform.


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I’d say a bit of this PLUS there is this idea of heavy “potential” in sports. And increased performance sways price


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[13ironmen]

The sportscard market is a joke now. The LAST place I would want to be right now. The entire modern baseball card market is speculation-driven, and you need to do Bowman's Best or some super-expensive set and hope that your Byron Buxton cards turn into something.....The point NONE of you have mentioned is PASSION. It's why Mantle's cards went up in the 80's. He was not THE greatest player (switch hitter perhaps), but others were better, but he was on the right team and he was flawed, injured, and people loved him. There isnt a shortage of Mantle cards, but passion caused his fans to buy up and now its just assumed he's still a good buy....The MCU is THE pop culture event /passion play of the last dozen years, and there will be a massive generation who will sit their kids down, in 20 years, and watch the movies with their kids in order to give them the experience they had. Everything from Pokemon to GI Joes to Barbies to Megos to older video games have all spiked when enough people feel passion about it. No one here has also mentioned the buy-in from Asian collectors for these cards, or that these movies are loved worldwide, and there will be collectors in areas that baseball and football arent..It seems like the 2 times where the Asian market really jumped in the collecting was for the Pokemon/ Yugi-oh cards obvi, but also with the Michael Jordan 1995-97 inserts like E-XL, PMG and Flair, which made those cards go bullistic...The Asian market is in on the MCU cards as well. Go to eBay and look up some of the biggest MCU cards and see where the sellers are...The funniest part are the stodgy Marvel Masterpieces collectors who diss MCU and stay with their early 90's fare. They have their passion which is cool, but are sleeping on the MCU. The next generation will want to see collectibles of Downey's, Evans, Hemsworth, Pratt, et al, not just the artistic renderings from comic books of yore...Didnt even mention Boseman, who will be his own force of nature in the future...

[sandyfrank]

The sportscard market is a joke now. The LAST place I would want to be right now. The entire modern baseball card market is speculation-driven, and you need to do Bowman's Best or some super-expensive set and hope that your Byron Buxton cards turn into something.....The point NONE of you have mentioned is PASSION. It's why Mantle's cards went up in the 80's. He was not THE greatest player (switch hitter perhaps), but others were better, but he was on the right team and he was flawed, injured, and people loved him. There isnt a shortage of Mantle cards, but passion caused his fans to buy up and now its just assumed he's still a good buy....The MCU is THE pop culture event /passion play of the last dozen years, and there will be a massive generation who will sit their kids down, in 20 years, and watch the movies with their kids in order to give them the experience they had. Everything from Pokemon to GI Joes to Barbies to Megos to older video games have all spiked when enough people feel passion about it. No one here has also mentioned the buy-in from Asian collectors for these cards, or that these movies are loved worldwide, and there will be collectors in areas that baseball and football arent..It seems like the 2 times where the Asian market really jumped in the collecting was for the Pokemon/ Yugi-oh cards obvi, but also with the Michael Jordan 1995-97 inserts like E-XL, PMG and Flair, which made those cards go bullistic...The Asian market is in on the MCU cards as well. Go to eBay and look up some of the biggest MCU cards and see where the sellers are...The funniest part are the stodgy Marvel Masterpieces collectors who diss MCU and stay with their early 90's fare. They have their passion which is cool, but are sleeping on the MCU. The next generation will want to see collectibles of Downey's, Evans, Hemsworth, Pratt, et al, not just the artistic renderings from comic books of yore...Didnt even mention Boseman, who will be his own force of nature in the future...

Interesting thoughts on Marvel Masterpieces. I LOVED this last set by David Palumbo and was really surprised by all the hate certain Marvel Masterpiece collectors had of it. I didn't think of the fact that some of the old school MM collectors may hate the MCU. Anyways they didn't spoil my love and respect of the art in Palumbo's set.

[jhssketchcards]

The sportscard market is a joke now. The LAST place I would want to be right now. The entire modern baseball card market is speculation-driven, and you need to do Bowman's Best or some super-expensive set and hope that your Byron Buxton cards turn into something.....The point NONE of you have mentioned is PASSION. It's why Mantle's cards went up in the 80's. He was not THE greatest player (switch hitter perhaps), but others were better, but he was on the right team and he was flawed, injured, and people loved him. There isnt a shortage of Mantle cards, but passion caused his fans to buy up and now its just assumed he's still a good buy....The MCU is THE pop culture event /passion play of the last dozen years, and there will be a massive generation who will sit their kids down, in 20 years, and watch the movies with their kids in order to give them the experience they had. Everything from Pokemon to GI Joes to Barbies to Megos to older video games have all spiked when enough people feel passion about it. No one here has also mentioned the buy-in from Asian collectors for these cards, or that these movies are loved worldwide, and there will be collectors in areas that baseball and football arent..It seems like the 2 times where the Asian market really jumped in the collecting was for the Pokemon/ Yugi-oh cards obvi, but also with the Michael Jordan 1995-97 inserts like E-XL, PMG and Flair, which made those cards go bullistic...The Asian market is in on the MCU cards as well. Go to eBay and look up some of the biggest MCU cards and see where the sellers are...The funniest part are the stodgy Marvel Masterpieces collectors who diss MCU and stay with their early 90's fare. They have their passion which is cool, but are sleeping on the MCU. The next generation will want to see collectibles of Downey's, Evans, Hemsworth, Pratt, et al, not just the artistic renderings from comic books of yore...Didnt even mention Boseman, who will be his own force of nature in the future...


You make some very fair points. MCU is no where near as big world wide as Star Wars has been however you can still afford autos of its actors especially the big three (no not Ridley, Boyega and Issacs). Mickey Mantle, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James of Tom Brady all have tremendous collectors because the athlete/person are the same. For instance, when you meet Tom Brady you are actually meeting the GOAT QB who personally won 6 Super Bowls. When the same person meets RDJ that person isn’t meeting Ironman. Now, I would personally interject that the connections I have to my childhood memories that are rooted in Star Wars, Transformers, GI Joe etc are as strong as those I have for my sports heroes.
I’ve met some great sports greats but I’ve also met Charles Martinet and Stan Lee. I would say that these two men have had a greater impact on more people’s lives than any sports celebrity. Non-sports allows those who don’t play sports the opportunity to relate/participate in something that has personal value, acceptance and great satisfaction. It’s not the same as achievement in sports, but it’s no less important to a particular person. My daughter is a huge Mario fan, and when we met Martinet he was so kind, appreciative and flattered and the experience he gave us as a family was special. Meeting him is the most amazing in person experience I’ve ever had as a fan. His auto cost us $30 and we got a few pics. Most athletes are rude, cold, and all about the money, although many are approachable and kind. Whatever a person is into, that is what should drive their collecting, whether it’s sport cards, non-sports, gaming or Hot Wheels.
It’s supposed to be fun, no matter the value.


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[imwonderboy]

I have been a sports card collector since I was 12 but this past year I spent more money on non-sports (mostly Marvel) and it wasn't even close.

IMO the sports market is grossly overpriced. Box prices and singles for major stars are just getting out of control.

It is much more fun to collect my favorite characters which I can get so much more reasonable and I don't have to cross my fingers and hope that they don't get hurt this Sunday. I don't recall Spider-Man tearing his ACL and missing an entire year and having to watch his card prices plummet.

No offense but our major sports teams only create and market disposable heroes that in 10 years will be long forgotten (well, at least 90% of them anyway).

Non-sports are affordable - for now.

Just my two cents....

[jhssketchcards]

Sports cards are overpriced, but so are certain NS boxes. SW and Topps have tons of products with crazy prices and dud autos, medallions and such. Also, at least with sports the base card RC could still end up selling at a premium whereas base NS cards more than likely will not (unless we put Pokémon and gaming cards in this). The overpriced thing is true but it’s across the board


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[80s Showtime]

I’d say a bit of this PLUS there is this idea of heavy “potential” in sports. And increased performance sways price


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But Spider-Man has been performing in comic books since 1962 and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2016. The character’s anticipated potential was met and surpassed in those movies performances and has heightened his visibility in pop culture.

The various Spider-Man comic books are faired well over the last 5-10 years. Heck, a regular comic book with a $4 cover price was selling for 3x-5x over cover within a couple of days of its release just last week. Why? Probably due to the dynamic of the of the cover and not because of limited availability since print runs tend to be between 50,000 to 100,000.

Now that popularity doesn’t tend to translate to trading cards though. Some of Spidey’s more limited comic book trading cards have as well over the years, but not usually to the degree as some of the more recent cards of sports superstars though.

[webjon]

The thing that has always impressed me about sports cards is how publications/media and dealers kept talking about players very effectively maintaining interest in those players.

When I was collecting sports cards years ago I was chasing cards of players I've never seen play because the articles said they were great players. These were players who were retired before I was born, yet due to the constant discussions about how great they were I wanted cards of those players.

The entertainment collectibles industry hasn't had anything like that.

Things like the MCU, Star Wars, etc may transcend that as those licenses now have their own collectible industries, but a lot of entertainment releases just don't have the 'marketing department' constantly reminding everyone -- for example -- how great Angelina Jolie was in Tomb Raider, and how few autographs she signed.

[clearblue]

There has been a significant rise in entertainment cards. Years ago I was buying Robert Downey Jr. Autographs for $125 or less -- there are many other examples, but Downey is one of the most dramatic.

Years ago it was extremely rare to see any card in entertainment products worth more than a few hundred dollars.

This certainly doesn't rival the millions of dollars that some sports cards go for, I think the reason for that is that you aren't seeing speculation in entertainment cards.

I think one thing that prevents entertainment cards from really jumping is the lack of good media about entertainment cards. The sports card industry is much more organized in that way -- there are well accepted 'best' cards -- i.e. rookie cards.

All of that said most entertainment cards are produced in extremely small numbers compared to sport cards -- especially autographs -- again there are exceptions here, but you aren't typically seeing the same autographs year after year in entertainment cards like you are in sports cards -- again there are exceptions to that, but there are a number of celebrities like Downey who signed just a couple of times.

I'm a big collector of non-sport cards. I mainly collect autos and I dabble in sketch cards. I agree. I just think that the general public is not aware of entertainment cards and that non-sports cards are actually filled with highly limited and collectible cards.

One day, people will come to the realization that the certified autograph of their favourite performer from a childhood tv/movie/music/art is out there in the world and they'll have a tough time obtaining one. Autograph print runs are usually about 50-500 copies (not including commons or filler autos) which is pretty small in the grand scheme of things. Sketch cards are inherently 1 of 1s. I'm convinced that some sketch cards of certain artists will become precious pieces of art long after I've left the earth. People just don't realize that they exist, so that drastically affects demand for them. I grew up in the 80s watching Transformers and if my friends knew that a Peter Cullen autograph was out there, they would all want one. But they don't know it exists, so they don't know they want it.

Also non-sports cards can actually dry up. If you don't snag a card shortly after release, you'll have a hard time getting one. They get stashed away in collections. Whatever the last 10 sold for in the past week is the baseline value of that card moving forward, at least until there's a dramatic spike in interest in it. So it's hard to gauge value on stuff when they aren't available or heavily exchanged.

I strongly believe that all non-sports card collectors should hang onto their stuff. I think it's all undervalued and more scarce than people realize. A Schwarzenegger auto for $300-400 is criminally undervalued for all of his accomplishments and in my opinion, it is a much better purchase than a Prizm RC of an unproven athlete like Zion Williamson for $1000. There's literally hundreds of thousand of them in the world. The FOMO affect is a strong driver in the sports cards industry.

[imwonderboy]

I strongly believe that all non-sports card collectors should hang onto their stuff.

This....



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[A Levine]

It's not about the age, as there are non-sports sets that go quite a ways back, to the early 1900s iirc. It's like any collectible thing, the more demand there is, the higher certain specific examples of it will go in value. All about the market.

I'll agree it's not JUST about age. But for whatever reason, sports cards, for over 70 years, have been seen as an extension of the sport. For decades EVERY sports fan collected the cards. And so today, key cards (for major stars, rookies, etc) still have appeal to even casual sports fans who don't collect sets.

But cards based on TV shows are just one of many collectibles based on a show or movie or comic or whatever. There's WAAAAYYYY more things to collect based on say, the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda, than there is based on, say, LeBron James and the Lakers.

It's pretty simple.

[A Levine]

One day, people will come to the realization that the certified autograph of their favourite performer from a childhood tv/movie/music/art is out there in the world and they'll have a tough time obtaining one.

You're placing far too much importance on autographs. Sports cards were a HUGE business long before they included autographs. But even within autographs, the average sports fan seems more interested in autographs of player than the average TV viewer cares about an actor autograph, bar the odd superstar.

This discussion seems so centered on the core, diehard collector audience, when it should really be about the mass appeal of the industry. Sports cards have a wider mass appeal, and THAT'S the "why" that should be discussed, and I believe the answer is more psychological than anything else.

[imwonderboy]

While I wholeheartedly agree that sports cards will always have the upper hand over non-sports I will say that I feel there is substantial room for growth within the NS market.

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[finfangfan]

While I wholeheartedly agree that sports cards will always have the upper hand over non-sports I will say that I feel there is substantial room for growth within the NS market.

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And it does look like prices of nonsports did see a healthy jump in the last year... just not as much as sports. What we are in now kind of reminds me of the 90’s card/comic bubble when a lot of card dealers moved into comics. Since the prices of sports cards have become so inflated many collectors/dealers are beginning to dabble into nonsports.

[BHotz]

Yeah and nonsport really did see a noticeable increase in licensing and value if you compare products pre-MCU (2007) and after. Sketch market is a great example and something that has never caught on in the sports world. Sketches have since cooled down but Star Wars/Marvel card products as a whole are still booming compared to where they were before 2007.

[clearblue]

You're placing far too much importance on autographs. Sports cards were a HUGE business long before they included autographs. But even within autographs, the average sports fan seems more interested in autographs of player than the average TV viewer cares about an actor autograph, bar the odd superstar.

This discussion seems so centered on the core, diehard collector audience, when it should really be about the mass appeal of the industry. Sports cards have a wider mass appeal, and THAT'S the "why" that should be discussed, and I believe the answer is more psychological than anything else.

In the modern non-sport world, what's more important than autographs or sketch cards? If a release doesn't have good autos or sketch quality, the release will likely bomb. Your emphasis on the mass appeal of sports and sports cards is obvious. There's nothing to discuss. People allow sports to be engrained in their lives from a young age. Of course there's way more appeal. The question was why are non-sports cards not worth more and why aren't they escalating similarily like soccer cards.

[GOTcollector]

I think its pretty simple, sports are on at the same time every year, year after year. The longer the period since a TV show/movie have been released or stopped airing the more it fades from the pop culture psyche. The cards that generally maintain high or increasing values are for franchises that are continually releasing new content like Star Wars and Star Trek.

[80s Showtime]

Sports cards are almost like an entry level “opportunity” for people to collect a favorite team and/or player with not many competing “items” at that collecting price point. As people grow older they can continue with collecting cards at various price points that corresponds with the level dedication.

For non-sports properties, on the other hand, have traditionally had a number of different entry level items that can be collected by people to express their fandom such as: action figures, comic books, Funko, Hot Wheels, plush dolls and so on. Trading cards have been low on the collecting totem pole or non existent.

But probably a more important factor than price point is the age in which collectors have had their entry into the trading card medium. For decades, more kids had been collected baseball cards and have a great emotional connection to that experience into adulthood than those that collected Spider-Man as a kids.

Adult fans of Spider-Man might have collected action figures as kids and could have “graduated” to collecting statues. Or maybe read comic book and just returned to that medium because that’s their connection with their character. For most Spider-Man collectors, trading cards wasn’t part of that impressionable collecting time unless you somehow got into those early 1990’s Marvel trading cards.

That’s probably why 2016 Marvel Masterpieces was so popular and brought back many former collectors as it the set was drawn by the same artist from the original 1992 Marvel Masterpieces. There was that emotion connection between collectors and those sets from 1992 and 2016. Entry level collectors in 1992 then instantly graduated to premium Marvel trading card collectors in 2016.

[13ironmen]

The exodus from sports cards to non sport is occurring. I am just one that is moving from sport to the non- sport side. Most of you probably do not join PSA nor get the monthly magazine..Even though it is “Professional Sports Authenticator”, the ads are more and more non sport, and there is a story pretty much every month regarding non- sport. While it usually is Pokémon based, there are articles on other non- sports products. This is a massive turn from what has always been an older focusing sports collecting clientele...

[13ironmen]

Also, to the point that sports are on every year, while that is true, the players change, and 99% of the cards end up losing most if not all of their value. Even HOF players become hard as hell to sell for any real value. The example that comes to mind is Brooks Robinson- great defensive 3B but how many people are actively collecting him? The amount of turnover as SpiderMan has been a problem,but Jackman, Downey, Evans, Hemsworth and some others are cemented as certain loved characters and people will want to collect them- their likeness and their items. Those movies will be in the mainstream 30 years from now as much as the very best athletes from this generation will be.

[cmixer]

NOTE: 3 out of 4 things Gary V is now researching & collecting are non-sport ... from his Twitter

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EqwF25BXMAE8Ce2?format=jpg&name=large

[webjon]

NOTE: 3 out of 4 things Gary V is now researching & collecting are non-sport ... from his Twitter

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EqwF25BXMAE8Ce2?format=jpg&name=large

Who is Gary V?

[finfangfan]

Who is Gary V?

Gary IV’s son?

[cmixer]

LOL ...

Short Version ... Gary Vaynerchuk is known for his work in digital marketing and social media (2.2M followers on Twitter). His net worth is $160M, and his current passion is trading cards. Topps even gave him his own set (Direct 360).

Because of his influence, he can "move the needle" on card values when he tweets about them. He's now got his eyes set on Non-Sports.

[finfangfan]

LOL ...

Short Version ... Gary Vaynerchuk is known for his work in digital marketing and social media (2.2M followers on Twitter). His net worth is $160M, and his current passion is trading cards. Topps even gave him his own set (Direct 360).

Because of his influence, he can "move the needle" on card values when he tweets about them. He's now got his eyes set on Non-Sports.

Cool... hopefully he starts collecting comic set printing plates which I believe are undervalued for being 1/1 cards. The plates in comic sets are MUCH nicer than sports card printing plates because the art used on comic sets generally translate to MUCH sharper looking plates than the plates from photo cards used in Sports (and nonsports movie sets for that matter).

[JMH710]

I just think that the general public is not aware of entertainment cards and that non-sports cards are actually filled with highly limited and collectible cards.

This. I got into cards when I stumbled across Star Trek costume relics on eBay. I had no idea they existed, so I'd never known I wanted them. Now I'm building myself a nice little collection.

[clearblue]

Gary V's great for hyping up and putting a spotlight on cards, but the negative is that it has the potential to put cards out of the affordable range. Enjoyed it while it lasted. I hope everyone has most of what they want for their PCs.

[80s Showtime]

Cool... hopefully he starts collecting comic set printing plates which I believe are undervalued for being 1/1 cards. The plates in comic sets are MUCH nicer than sports card printing plates because the art used on comic sets generally translate to MUCH sharper looking plates than the plates from photo cards used in Sports (and nonsports movie sets for that matter).

My guess is that he’ll go for Rookie Cards before Printing Plates.

Gary V's great for hyping up and putting a spotlight on cards, but the negative is that it has the potential to put cards out of the affordable range. Enjoyed it while it lasted. I hope everyone has most of what they want for their PCs.

Yep, better get those Grogu Rookie Cards while you can.

[HiltonL]

I laugh at the concept of non-sports rookie cards. Unlike actual comics, card collectors have not put any additional value on first appearances

[lambeauleap87]

Gary V's great for hyping up and putting a spotlight on cards, but the negative is that it has the potential to put cards out of the affordable range. Enjoyed it while it lasted. I hope everyone has most of what they want for their PCs.

Gary's great at hyping up the stuff he's already bought; he's not "researching" any of that stuff, he's got everything he wants and is now sending all of his lemmings to go drive up prices so he can flip.

[clearblue]

Yes. 100% this is true. Gary is only serving his own interests and growing his wealth. He's not hiding it though.

[GOTcollector]

I laugh at the concept of non-sports rookie cards. Unlike actual comics, card collectors have not put any additional value on first appearances

Thats not entirely true. For some characters in Game of Thrones their autos from season 1 command a higher price than subsequent signings.

[webjon]

Thats not entirely true. For some characters in Game of Thrones their autos from season 1 command a higher price than subsequent signings.

There are a lot of reasons that can happen -- i.e. better signatures on earlier cards, much more expensive product, rarity, etc.

[GOTcollector]

There are a lot of reasons that can happen -- i.e. better signatures on earlier cards, much more expensive product, rarity, etc.

For sure, a good example would be how Emilia Clarke S2 generally goes for more (full bleed vs bordered, nicer photo some say, and less made I believe) But a good portion of the season 1 autos command higher premiums than subsequent signings (the hound, arya, Jaime, Cersei, Sansa season 2 vs 3, Jon Snow in particular) I know myself as a collector Im certainly willing to pay a tad more for their first signed card from the series.

[Jg24d]

First and foremost, I actually do think non-sports cards are probably relatively undervalued at the moment for 3 primary reasons:

1. The international market for entertainment and large franchises is much larger than any American sports league (baseball is liked in US, Canada, Central America / Caribbean, Korea and Japan; As someone who has lived abroad, I can attest everyone in the world has and watches Netflix and big movies)

2. Marketing for these products is generally poor - many people still associate trading cards with kids and geeks, there hasn't been a good effort by the producers to change this or advertise internationally

3. Cards still provide the best medium to get authentic autographs from actors / actresses and or pieces of authentic props. However, see point 2 in that most people don't even know about this (test it with your non-card friends)

So I do believe they should and will see an upswing in value.

The second point, is that I do think with that will come more discerning collectors / investors not just looking for an auto, but for the best one they can get.

I have firmly joined this camp, and very much seek out first edition auto / appearances for what I try and buy and collect while still participating in the hobby.

My 2 cents...