A federal judge has denied a motion by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for a temporary restraining order against Panini America over the organization’s trading card license.
Panini sued WWE last week after receiving a letter from the pro wrestling giant that it was terminating its trading card license with the company, effective immediately. Panini claimed it was blindsided by the move and sought a court order to block WWE’s efforts. WWE then filed the TRO in an attempt to stop Panini from soliciting or distributing any WWE products or using its trademarks.
WWE claims Panini failed to honor the portions of its licensing agreement that dealt with physical WWE trading card games and digital cards. Panini says WWE never indicated its displeasure with the company’s performance.
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eBay says over one million cards have now passed through its Authenticity Guarantee program.
Raw and graded cards over a certain value sold on the platform are now automatically shipped to a professional grading company for an authenticity check before being sent to the buyer. eBay expanded the program to Canada last spring.
The one millionth card wasn’t sports related. eBay says it was an “All Hallow’s Eve” card from one of the earliest Magic: The Gathering Legends expansion sets that sold for $356 last month.
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Robert Edward Auctions closed its September Encore Auction on Sunday night with more than 3,600 lots generating nearly 73,000 bids and nearly $1.7 million in sales.
The auction was led by a new-to-the-hobby 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle SGC GOOD+ 2.5 that sold for $49,200, a new record for this SGC grade.
Other top sellers included a 1910-11 M116 Sporting Life Honus Wagner (blue background) graded SGC 1 that netted $27,000, a T206 Sam Crawford (with bat) with a rare Uzit back that realized $25,800 and a 1954 Wilson Franks Ted Williams SGC 5 that reached $23,400. All three set new records for their respective grades.
A signed 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle graded PSA 6 sold for $16,800 while an autographed 1958 Topps “World Series Batting Foes” card signed by Mantle and Hank Aaron graded PSA 2 with a 9 autograph grade netted $18,000.
“This was one of our largest Encore Auctions to date and we saw tremendous engagement across baseball, other sports and even non-sport items, including Pokemon, in this event,” said REA President Brian Dwyer.
REA has two auctions remaining this year: its October Encore Auction that runs from October 12-22 and its Fall Catalog Auction that runs from November 17 to December 3. Copies of the Fall catalog are available here.
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Online retailer Giant Sports Cards has opened a new brick-and-mortar store in Alpharetta, GA, just north of Atlanta.
The 3,000-square-foot shop offers a 40-foot “wall of wax” featuring popular boxes and cases, a 35-foot space with single graded cards, autographed memorabilia, a big screen TV, arcade games and seating for those who want to open products in store.
Company founder and owner Jon Butts says he built his online business with $1,000 and no outside funding and it’s now grown into a multi-million-dollar business.
“I wish a shop like this existed when I was a kid,” said Jon Butts, the founder and owner of Giant Sports Cards. “With the incredible growth in the last couple of years, I can finally make that happen, not just for myself but for the community. I want to create a space that brings together sports lovers and helps others create fun memories together.”
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