We've all seen comments that a lot of sports cards have been selling during the COVID-19 pandemic. We've heard from regular hobbyists, dealers and hobby shops about increased business. We've even gotten a few cold hard facts about sales of Michael Jordan items. Now, though, we're getting a much deeper look at just how significant the increase has been compared … [Read more...]
Baseball Card Collecting in the Weirdest Season of All
It’s entirely possible the 2020 MLB season will never get off the ground or will open up and then be stopped, never to start again. Such are the times we live in. Let’s be optimistic, though. Let’s assume they're able to play through the ever hovering pandemic and keep us entertained. MLB has presumably spent a lot of money and time figuring out how … [Read more...]
Notes: Big $ for Vintage Sets; Hobby vs. Pandemic; TV Piece on Uncle Jimmy Collection
The fifth best set of 1958 Topps baseball cards on PSA’s Set Registry sold recently for $99,000. Part of the high-grade collection of Henri Nuber that sold through Heritage Auctions, the set included all 494 cards with a weighted GPA of 8.07 along with the Felt Emblem insert and one Yellow Letter Variation. The total price was well over the SMR … [Read more...]
Revisiting Those Pandemic Impact Hobby Questions
Back in mid-April when the quarantine orders had taken hold, shows and shops shut down and the hobby was beginning to feel noticeable impacts of COVID-19, I posed a boatload of questions about what the future might hold in the days, weeks and months to come. There weren’t many easy answers in the days that followed but with more than two months behind us, I thought … [Read more...]
Notes: Hobby Hot Down Under, Too; Virtual Expo Wrap; Panini’s ‘Welcome Back’ Kit
The sports card market isn’t just enjoying a boom period in North America. The Sunday Age in Australia spoke with some hobby shop owners and others there about the hot market in basketball, football, baseball and Australian Rules Football. The first Virtual Sport Card Expo is in the books. Promoter Steve Menzies put the two-day event together as an online … [Read more...]
Burglary Caught on Camera; Hobby’s Hot Everywhere; King Saladeen; WNBA Set Coming
A daylight burglary at a hobby shop in Calgary. According to an understandably frustrated Maple Leaf Sports, someone broke into the shop about 7:10 Saturday morning. The store's security camera captured the whole thing (with sound). Saturday morning at 7:10 AM we had an uninvited visitor. If anyone recognizes this asshat, please contact us directly. … [Read more...]
Plans for 2020 Industry Summit Still in Place
Covid or no, the Industry Summit is a go. Beckett Media announced Wednesday that the annual gathering of hobby shop owners, distributors and others will take place as scheduled September 13-16 in Las Vegas. “Throughout the nationwide pandemic we have been in constant contact with key partners,” stated Co-Chairman Ted Barker. “We have monitored the Covid-19 statistics in … [Read more...]
What’s Hot: The “I’m Sorry” Edition
"Greed is good." - Gordon Gekko "It's only worth what you can sell it for." - Paul Fruitman "I'm sorry." - Mike Fruitman Hello fellow card peeps, I can safely say I have not wrestled with writing a story this much since I began sharing my thoughts with Sports Collectors Daily several years ago, but I am sorry for where the market has gone in the past few years and … [Read more...]
Notes: Market vs Pandemic; Nellie Fox; NBA Jersey Auctions
Trading card sales on eBay grew by 59 percent in May. One eBay auctioneer saw his sales climb to a record-setting $8.2 million. New buyers are coming in from other countries--and not just those in Asia. Just some of the notes from a story on the hobby's activity during the pandemic appearing in the "John Wall Street" blog that's now part of Sports … [Read more...]
Heritage Auctions Moves Into Larger Space
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions has consolidated its operations and moved to much larger quarters adjacent to DFW Airport. In addition to additional office space, the new 160,000-square-foot campus includes a large gallery space for events, exhibitions and possibly even its own collectible shows. The new headquarters, less than 30 minutes from both downtown Dallas … [Read more...]