New buyers who’ve found enjoyment in connecting with childhood passions are helping drive trading cards.
StockX has released a new report about the rise of cards and other collectibles on its platform.
After only launching the category in 2019, the company says its card sales jumped 4,000% in 2020.
StockX, which works under a bid/ask model, made its name in the sneaker world. The company’s research shows 77 percent of those who sold a trading card on the platform in 2020 also sold a pair of shoes.
“What this data shows is that, while the products may be different, the communities are similar and interconnected, StockX Senior Economist Jesse Einhorn told Footwear News. “The people buying and selling collectibles and trading cards, and generating such excitement and growth in the market, are the same people who, over the last few years, fueled the explosive growth of sneakers.”
Median prices for PSA graded Pokémon cards are up 300 percent in 2021 compared to 2020. Median prices for basketball cards have increased 260 percent; football 200% and baseball 130%. Legos and Nintendo games have also seen a significant increase in interest.
The average price of a PSA 10 trading card sold on StockX was $280 in January 2020 and rose to $775 in January 2021 (a nearly 200% increase).
StockX says part of the interest in cards is the younger generation’s interest in alternative assets and that nostalgia is also a big part of the interest. They say research shows “a record number of consumers want to connect with an earlier era.” Many of the best-selling trading cards and collectibles on StockX have clear ties to childhood memories shared by millennials and Gen Zers alike.
“When you look at how sneakers were growing early in our our history, it’s a very similar trajectory where you saw this meteoric rise in sales volume early on,” Einhorn told FN. “We expect it to continue at this pace for some time as more and more customers enter the market.”
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