The Sports Card Craze, One Year Later
While there are fewer flippers, there are still more collectors. Here's some advice on how to get the most out of the hobby.
About a year ago, the sports card craze had reached new heights, to the point that a few people got into a heated argument and one individual pulled out a gun.
Today, I see more sports cards remaining on retail shelves, but at the local hobby stores, it's been a different situation.
I've noticed more people dropping by the hobby shops, wanting to learn more. That more people want to visit these shops, and fewer appear to be chasing retail product offered by flippers, is a good development.
However, the fact that more retail product is available for purchase doesn't mean we are entering another junk wax era, as some may speculate. Rather, we are seeing a new era for the sports card hobby, in which some people who got back into sports cards decided to stay, but may have grown wiser about their purchases.
Tony Reid wrote a good column at Sports Collectors Daily about what matters is getting into the hobby for the love of the game — that is, whatever sport you happen to enjoy. Whether this means pursuing product from the past that often comes at a low price point, or chasing current product that costs more but has a chance at a big hit, you need to collect what makes you happy.
Personally, I've continued to focus on football cards, though I will scale back on 2022 product purchases, given it's not a strong draft class. I will purchase retail product from time to time, but will skip most hobby boxes.
However, I've bought more baseball as of late and dabbled in basketball — though I'm now avoiding the latter because I need to watch my money. But I may collect more baseball, particularly because I've found better value — and more fun — in collecting Topps products.
And though Fanatics has purchased Topps, it's going to be a while before their deals with the NBA and NFL take effect. I've already decided to get a hobby jumbo box of Topps Series 2 baseball, but after that, the hobby boxes will stop there, though I will keep Topps Archives in mind when that comes out in the fall.
If you have been thinking about getting back into the hobby, I can give you some advice as it pertains to particular sports.
Baseball: It's not too difficult to find current baseball product. Even with rookies such as Wander Franco and Bobby Witt Jr. drawing attention, most product remains available and affordable.
If you want to go to the past, the so-called junk wax is not difficult to find at all and comes at an affordable price point. While the product may not have high-dollar cards, it does feature a lot of Hall of Fame players
There may be some exceptions, though, if a player didn't have a lot of rookie cards produced. Consider David Ortiz, who appeared mostly in 1997 sets produced by Fleer (under the name David Arias). You will be spending a lot more money for that product, because of the chance to pull a coveted rookie card.
Basketball: Zion Williamson's emergence as a rookie sparked interest in basketball cards just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. Fast forward to today and Williamson, while he is playing well, hasn't emerged into the "next big thing," which means his cards have cooled.
However, players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have made an impact and their cards have become more popular. Thus, demand for sets that came out in the 2010s (which feature their rookie cards) is stronger than for current product.
The good news is, for those who want to obtain current year product, you can often find it at a reasonable price point.
If you are going to older product from the "junk wax era," you may have to pay more than you might think. This is because that's your best bet of finding Michael Jordan cards. He doesn't appear in Panini or Topps products because he has an exclusive deal with Upper Deck.
Also, some of the "junk wax era" product features rookie cards of Kobe Bryant. Though his cards have come down a bit, they are still expensive.
Football: 2021 product flew off the shelves, thanks to the rookie QB draft class, but with the 2021 season over, interest has declined. Perhaps some of it is because certain rookie QBs now enter a year of uncertainty, whether it's not playing on a good team or questions as to whether or not they can hold onto the starting job.
However, interest in 2020 product remains strong. The Bengals reaching the Super Bowl meant more interest in Joe Burrow's rookie cards. Combine that with expectations that Justin Herbert and the Chargers should get to the playoffs this year and prices for 2020 product aren't coming down any time soon.
I do believe there will be less demand for 2022 product, but that should keep prices more affordable. Of course, that could change if a player surprises everyone once the 2022 NFL season gets underway.
As for older product, anything from the junk wax era is affordable, save for 1998 product that features rookie cards of Peyton Manning and certain product lines that weren't produced in high numbers. But you can still find plenty of Hall of Fame players at reasonable price points.
Other sports: I dabbled a bit in hockey this past year, mostly for Skybox Metal Universe, a product I liked from the "junk wax era." However, I've opted to pass on current product, so I can't offer much advice here.
I did pick up a couple of packs of Panini's WWE Prizm, which features pro wrestling stars of current and past years. What surprised me was that quite a few wrestlers have valuable cards from recent years. Again, I can't offer much advice here, but it wouldn't surprise me if interest got fueled once more people researched when certain wrestlers had their first cards produced.
With these sports, though, you should be in good shape when it comes to finding affordable product, but you may not want to buy new product when it first hits the shelves. Give it a little time and prices may drop.
If you're looking for older product, the rule to remember is that most product from the 1990s isn't valuable, but you can usually get boxes at low prices.
No matter what you do, the important thing is to have fun. If you're going to collect, always collect what makes you happy. That's the best way to ensure the hobby brings you pleasure, not pain.