The Market Map for the $1B+ Sports Card Industry

There is at least $1B in sports card industry sales. Have you ever wondered who all the players are that make up the sports card industry?

I cannot promise you I have covered everyone, but I have created a Sports Card Market Map as I have begun to dive back into the hobby after a 30-year hiatus.

My intention of diving back into the hobby is pure: I love sports, and I used to collect cards as a kid. Now I have children of the age that can appreciate cards, I am ready to share my passion with them. My previously told story is here.

Over the past few months, I have spent time talking to dozens of collectors and innovators, buying from hundreds of others on Amazon, eBay, Mercari, StockX, Comc, MySlabs, Discord servers, and visited plenty of hobby shops. This knowledge has unearthed investment ideas and opportunities, and this Market Map has helped me comprehend the overall space. Hopefully, it helps you as a potential public or private investor, hobbyist, speculator, collector, or anyone appreciating the hobby.

Note that the sports card market map is not perfect or comprehensive for every company in the sports card industry. Including all companies would be near impossible. If I did leave you or your company out, please fill out this form and ping me on Twitter (@dherman76 @midlifecrisisc1) or Insta (@midlifecrisiscards) and let me know so I can update the market map. Note, no company paid to be part of this market map, and most have no idea I was putting this out. If you’d like to be removed, please ping me via Twitter/Insta, and I’ll gladly remove you.

Market Map Categories (in no particular order):

Podcasts: There is no lack of podcasts or videos about sports cards. The majority of these are discussing “the next big card” or short term speculating/pricing information. GaryVee has been a massive proponent of the sector, and his podcasts generate huge numbers. What’s been nice is to see the contrast between the professionally produced videos and the hobbyist. Both are great and have a place in my learning of the space.

Grading: The opposite of a raw card is a graded card. A graded card can be any card that has been assessed, verified, and documented by a 3rd party and given a (usually) 1–10 value, 10 GEM-MINT being the highest. The majority of sports card grading is being done by one of three companies today, PSA, BGS, and SGC. I see tremendous opportunity to disrupt these grading companies as they are very subjective, human-driven, and leverage very little innovation. There is little they do today that they could not have done 30 years ago when I was a kid in the hobby. Apparently, others think so too.

Marketplaces: I always knew eBay was the leading marketplace, but there have been other marketplaces like Mercari, Etsy, Amazon, and StockX that have gotten into the card game. Etsy feels too *off* to me for being part of this ecosystem, but you can find sports cards on their platform. There have been vertical marketplaces such as Check Out My Collectibles (COMC), MySlabs, PWCC that have launched and have been successful. New vertical platforms are emerging soon.

Pricing Platforms: One of the most challenging questions to answer is the one around, “How much is my collection worth?” This is hard because most people have hundreds, if not thousands of cards in their collection, and it’s been challenging to understand the market value for every single card. Some of the better and more polished tools only track a subset of cards. Other pricing platforms try and find the most accurate data. Way-back-when I used a monthly magazine from Beckett to help me understand pricing. We have now taken a big step forward, but we still have a very long way to go.

News/Research: As this sector matures and has well over $1B in committed capital, research and news platforms are entirely focused on sports cards and collectibles. Altan Insights is tracking the fractional ownership market and providing information around market caps, recent IPO/auction info, etc. This section is early days and can get much more quantitative in their analysis… which undoubtedly will happen as the market matures.

Fractional Ownership Platforms: This is probably the hottest sector on the market map right now, as it’s perhaps one of the top innovations. Borrowing the fractional ownership playbook from other sectors, we now can own a share in a sports card such as the 1953 Mickey Mantle. There has been a lot of recent press and attention to this sub-sector because of new companies and fresh funding. The big question to me is whether the SEC gets involved in this subsector and find a way to regulate it — if it should be regulated.

Insurance: Cards can cost 10c but can also cost $10M. Many of today’s highly coveted sports cards are in the $1,000+ range each. The value of cardboard sitting in one’s home could be a security issue, and therefore, we now have sports card insurance. Yes, insurance for your sports card collection. Some of the premium insurance companies like Chubb have had products for this sector for years, but there are new upstarts like Wax.

Blockchain: There is an entire sports card industry built as “digital cards,” and many sit on the blockchain. These are cards you will never touch (as cardboard), but you will be able to view using your digital devices. Some of these cards are trading at $30,000+. You can read more about digital cards here.

Card Manufacturers: Since I have returned to the sector, there has been a ton of M&A of the sports card brands and manufacturers. Most of the consolidation has occurred because sports leagues have limited their licenses for sports cards and are fairly exclusive now. In the US, Panini and Topps are the two top manufacturers for our major sports. There are other manufacturers, but they are less mainstream. Many of the beloved brands of old sit under those companies as they have gobbled them up over time.

Hardware: There is plenty of hardware in the sports card category. This sub-sector includes penny sleeves, plastic top loaders, magnetic cases, cardboard storage boxes, graded card cases, break mats, and more. There are some well-known companies in this space that must capture the majority of the dollars and quite a few on the long tail.

Social Platforms: Many of the well known social platforms have large sports card followings and groups. Facebook has a ton of sports card groups, which I wrote about in my previous article. I am active on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Discord. Blowout Forums is another great messageboard and has a very engaged audience.

Group Grading Submissions: When you submit to PSA or BGS to get your cards graded, you can submit directly or go through a group. The group grading submission companies value prop is that they lower the grading price per card, and they can supposedly get faster turn around times. Some group grading submission companies also pre-check your cards and evaluate ahead of sending in to save costs. I currently have a 50 card submission in with KK Sportscards right now and have about 150 additional cards to get sent out and graded soon.

Breakers: I’ve enjoyed both online breaking and group breaks. When you go onto a social platform like YouTube, Twitch, or Instagram, you can participate in a box or case break. More on that in my previous article. There are some well-known breakers out there, and the goal is to find someone you trust as you do not want them skimming your cards.

Seller Tools: This category is for all of the tools that help us manage, track, price, and sell our inventory. There also some tools that help us buy our stock. A collector or seller needs these tools when doing things in bulk, which is fairly often for this category. Most tools are built around the eBay ecosystem, but others are starting to branch out into others.

Hobby Shops: Exactly as it sounds, these are retail shops that you may visit during the week or on weekends and may sell online. You may have a handful around your town. It’s impossible to list them all, but I tried to list the shops with a strong online presence. I’m a big fan of Dave & Adam’s Card World and anxiously awaiting what Dan Fleyshman opens up in Los Angeles.

As mentioned, this list is not comprehensive but rather a solid starting point. If you’d like to have your company or name added to this list, please fill out this form. I will not include every company in each infographic, but I will do my best.

In my next post, I will explore some areas that I think are ripe for innovation and evolution.