What exactly caused the sports card industry to have such a spike in popularity?
Well, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States, It took with it many fun things Americans love to do, watching sports happened to be one of them. Due to the pandemic, a lot of sports leagues were forced to take a hiatus. The NBA, and NHL were forced to stop their seasons mid-way through, while Major League Baseball was forced to delay their season entirely.
For the diehard sports fans out there, that became a big loss to their everyday routine. Things like going to games, watching games, listening to sports talk radio or television all were put on pause.
Filling the void for sports fans became the next challenge.
Everyone filled up their time differently, but many sports fans filled that void by rediscovering sports cards. Many people started reminiscing through sports cards they had collected throughout the years. All cards have a market, and they all ranged from older cards, to newer cards. Whether it was baseball cards, basketball cards, football cards, or any other sport, people had them. Most sports fans have some sort of collection growing up, it all came down to preference.
It’s pretty simple when you think about it. Sports fans that are dedicated and passionate had to fill the void, and cards did the job. People began to sell cards, buy cards, or in some cases, trade cards. Some fans made a great deal of money on selling cards, while some fans spent a great deal of money on expensive cards. All the prices vary, but it felt like everyday websites like eBay were full of cards for sale.
But, overall I believe the people who were already active card collectors, combined with an influx of people who were either new to the hobby, or returning to it, created a surge in the market.
Where will the sports card market go from here?
Image: Yahoo Sports/ Card Ladder