Observations on the current state of the hobby from a show this weekend

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

If you’re a dealer and you’re not making money hand over fist in this market, please sell your entire inventory today.

Originally Posted by solt0131

And if you were thinking about selling your entire inventory, there are plenty of buyers out there for it.

For some dealers, the bulk of the sales and purchases at shows is from other dealers, many transactions of which occur before the show.

In fact, many dealers tell me the only reason they bother setting up is to buy inventory from other dealers getting out of the business, which they in turn flip on eBay and other auction sites.

I can tell the sports cards sales are slow when I see the dealers wandering the aisles for deals themselves. Some are even playing poker with other dealers to pass the time.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by mfw13

The real question is what percentage of buying is being done by flippers/investors as opposed to collectors buying stuff for their PC.

Not sure that there is any way to quantify it.....

My sense is that there is a lot more investing/flipping at shows, while people find more stuff for their PC on EBay and similar platforms.

There is so much garbage out there it’s become a waste of time even showing up trying to find a specific card. I’ve had minimal success.

The only reason to do so now is to hang out with your collector buddies.

[Philthy]

Went to a 100 table show in a suburb of Omaha yesterday. It was probably 85% TCG (Pokemon & One Piece). Out of the remaining tables, maybe 3 tables had baseball cards? I collect Pokemon very casually so I did nab a couple cards for myself and my daughter, but probably won't make that drive again unless something changes. The promoters said they were aiming for 50/50 and thought it would be 70/30 in the leadup on social media....but it definitely wasn't 30% sports. The first several rows had no vendors at all with sports cards.

The show was absolutely packed while I was there and the promoters did a great job with word of mouth and social media advertising. I saw a lot of deals being done and a lot of enthusiasm for the TCG hobby. Its even more impressive when considering we had terrible weather this weekend (when I left my house on Saturday morning it was negative degrees with the windchill).

[ThoseBackPages]

that sounds like a good time!

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

For some dealers, the bulk of the sales and purchases at shows is from other dealers, many transactions of which occur before the show.

In fact, many dealers tell me the only reason they bother setting up is to buy inventory from other dealers getting out of the business, which they in turn flip on eBay and other auction sites.

I can tell the sports cards sales are slow when I see the dealers wandering the aisles for deals themselves. Some are even playing poker with other dealers to pass the time.

The real question is whether or not all this buying and selling is generating any profits for anybody.

Because my guess is that for probably 90-95% of the cards out there, prices are pretty flat.

[auctionjmm]

I setup at a little 30 table show today for MLK. Jam packed! Even with snow squalls shutting down two major highways in our area, the people couldn't be kept away. About 75/25 Sports to Pokémon ratio which was fantastic. My table looked like a looted store when it was all said and done. I stayed an extra 30 minutes because the people just wouldn't leave.

Not everyone lives where Hermano lives. Even on a Monday, you can't keep the crowds away some days.

[AM22RC21CR8]

Originally Posted by mfw13

The real question is what percentage of buying is being done by flippers/investors as opposed to collectors buying stuff for their PC.

Not sure that there is any way to quantify it.....

My sense is that there is a lot more investing/flipping at shows, while people find more stuff for their PC on EBay and similar platforms.

It's very hard to find cards at shows if you're a set builder. You have to be willing to go through dollar boxes and the like to find low dollar inserts or base cards. Was at a show this weekend and there was dealer that had 2025 Topps inserts sorted by subset and with volume. That's very rare. I do get that carting that around to shows is difficult but I also think there is a niche their to cater to people carrying around their checklists.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

I setup at a little 30 table show today for MLK. Jam packed! Even with snow squalls shutting down two major highways in our area, the people couldn't be kept away. About 75/25 Sports to Pokémon ratio which was fantastic. My table looked like a looted store when it was all said and done. I stayed an extra 30 minutes because the people just wouldn't leave.

Not everyone lives where Hermano lives. Even on a Monday, you can't keep the crowds away some days.

Didn’t know you carried one piece singles! Smart move.

What sports cards did you actually sell?

[auctionjmm]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Didn’t know you carried one piece singles! Smart move.

What sports cards did you actually sell?

You know I'm all sports.

41 unique customers. Lowest sale was $1. Highest was $100. Mostly $1-$5 junk.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

You know I'm all sports.

41 unique customers. Lowest sale was $1. Highest was $100. Mostly $1-$5 junk.

Local team cards or mainly Ohtani and Judge?

Newer releases?

[auctionjmm]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Local team cards or mainly Ohtani and Judge?

Newer releases?

2 Judge cards. No Ohtani.

Everything I sell is newish. No one category stands out. Anything from the last 4-5 years in all three sports is fair game.

If you are looking for specific names, Keyonte George was #1. I had more questions about him than anyone if that helps your inquiry.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

2 Judge cards. No Ohtani.

Everything I sell is newish. No one category stands out. Anything from the last 4-5 years in all three sports is fair game.

If you are looking for specific names, Keyonte George was #1. I had more questions about him than anyone if that helps your inquiry.

That’s the detail we like to hear when people say they’ve sold well. Thank you for sharing.

[CicadaMound]

The new Northgate Mall card show in Cincinnati was pretty well-attended, despite being a cold day before a blizzard, in a chilly dead mall (literally five stores) with no on-site foodservice. The promoter assures there'll be a food truck next time, and there are restaurants in the immediate vicinity, which is an active commercial area. The mall is dead but clean and safe, so it works for a card show, which only needs space, a roof, and some climate control. It's better than Xenia, at least, which uses a barn that shows livestock in the summer.

$10 introductory table fees helped but the normal $30 is super reasonable too.

Half sports half Pokémon, both sides seemed to be doing okay, and I didn't hear any unfixable complaints.

[hermanotarjeta]

Just read that PSA graded more pokemon cards in 2024 than baseball, basketball and football cards combined.

No wonder there are so many pokemon dealers at sports cards shows now.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Just read that PSA graded more pokemon cards in 2024 than baseball, basketball and football cards combined.

No wonder there are so many pokemon dealers at sports cards shows now.

how great is that?

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Just read that PSA graded more pokemon cards in 2024 than baseball, basketball and football cards combined.

No wonder there are so many pokemon dealers at sports cards shows now.

Pokemon was an underserved market, considering how popular it is with younger people and in east Asian countries. It's a growth market, while the sports card market is mature and was heavily tapped during the pandemic boom.

[f2tornado]

Somewhat lightly promoted Bismarck, ND on Saturday was fair. Maybe 60 tables. About half sports and half other stuff. Attendance seemed more moderate but could have been an illusion of being spaced out. It was also -20F when the show opened. Baseball was lacking. Spent $120 or so, $45 from a random person asking if I was buying.

Might be the last one I hit until Denver late February provided the weather is good to make that road trip. Then the big one late March in Des Moines followed by the big one mid April in St. Paul.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Just read that PSA graded more pokemon cards in 2024 than baseball, basketball and football cards combined.

No wonder there are so many pokemon dealers at sports cards shows now.

Which makes sense since no one was using PSA for Pokémon stuff before

It’s just getting caught up. That’s all

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

Pokemon was an underserved market, considering how popular it is with younger people and in east Asian countries. It's a growth market, while the sports card market is mature and was heavily tapped during the pandemic boom.

Said even better

[imbluestreak23]

So the past 3 years my ROI% has remained consistent.

In the past 6-8 weeks, that consistent % which was tracking to be the same number for 2025 increased by a rate of 50%. Just in the past 2 months alone.

I contribute this to:
-insanely good PSA results
-a red hot market
-absolutely no gambling on anything stupid or unknown

The margins and heat of this market aren't quite COVID level, but there are some orders that feel exactly like a COVID type order. It's insane

[Archangel1775]

90s/00s Griffey Jr. low to mid end stuff is going out in the mail every day. Active player rookie card singles from the 2010's as well.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

90s/00s Griffey Jr. low to mid end stuff is going out in the mail every day.

Griffey, and to a lesser extent Jeter, are the Mays/Aaron/Mantle/Clemente of the 90's.

That said, I'm always shocked at how little hobby love Randy Johnson gets within the hobby. Second all-time in K's, five CY's, perfect game, pitching Triple Crown, iconic World Series moment....arguably his prices should be at the same level as Nolan Ryan, if not higher.

[PuddleMonkey]

Dbacks are holding Randy's hobby potential back.

[shawnkrebs]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

So the past 3 years my ROI% has remained consistent.

In the past 6-8 weeks, that consistent % which was tracking to be the same number for 2025 increased by a rate of 50%. Just in the past 2 months alone.

I contribute this to:
-insanely good PSA results
-a red hot market
-absolutely no gambling on anything stupid or unknown

The margins and heat of this market aren't quite COVID level, but there are some orders that feel exactly like a COVID type order. It's insane

This is my recent experience. Online sales and interest have greatly escalated since the fall. I have a good amount of low pop vintage soccer online for sale and interest there has heightened way more than expected. Some is likely a result of the 2026 World Cup, but interest and sales on all sports has increased by multiples.

I'm heading to Houston to setup at Tristar this week and am encouraged based on the January Dallas show turnout.

[hammerva]

Mid Atlantic Show is this weekend and while I need to hit a show I don't know if this is the one to go to. First of all if Silver Spring is like DC the roads getting there is going to still be hell. Plus it is strange they decided to make this a 2 day show because at least for what I am looking for I barely am there for 2 hours much less than 2 days. The last time I went there they were very heavy TCG. Hell I bought more stuff from the street vendors selling food and drinks around the center than the actual show