Is the Future of Sports Cards Safe?
Is the future of sports cards in danger? The explosion of NBA Top Shot had me wondering whether it can kill off sports cards.
After I posed the question on an NBA Top Shot enthusiasts page on Facebook, I knew the answer to what the future of sports cards is going to look like.
“Not even close to this conversation yet”
“Nope. I’d rather own a physical card”
“A cash grab”
“They’ll be cool for a while then fizzle out”
“Make your profits while you can”
As you can see, the support for sports cards was phenomenal but the general consensus was that they can coexist together.
“Both have valid value IMO”
“The potential is there”
“I’ve been having lots of fun with both”
“I think TS will start being game sponsors”
“There’s room for both!”
The feedback proves just how strong the sports card collecting community is.
Remember, this is a Top Shot fan page I’m talking about and not a sports card page.
Just as an example at how strong it is, the Australian Sports Cards Scammers Exposed Facebook page is about to tick over 3000 members.
The community bands together strongly to call and weed out those dickheads who are ruining the hobby.
Hoarding the Retail
If you’re into sports cards purely for collecting and you have been for a while, I’m sure you’ll have grievances on how difficult it is to score packs through retail.
I’m sure you’ll also share frustrations at how these get sniped in bulk and flipped for quick profits.
Despite this, hobbyists are adapting to the current market and ‘target buying’ – that is, searching and buying individual cards that they’re interested in instead of feeding the beast and paying exorbitant costs for packs over retail.
That’s not to say that people will still pay overs.
But the hobby adapts and that’s what makes it so strong.
Sports Card Podcasts
With the sports card culture, has come an explosion of new podcasts and YouTube series that are focused on sports card trading.
Just take me for example. I talk about sports culture overall but most of my stuff to date has been on sports cards.
People are interesting in learning and talking about the hobby, and valuable content helps the hobby continue to grow.
Investing
For investors, the sports card hobby might taper off a bit in the near future and those in it purely for money will likely walk away.
Those who have a personal collection and a genuine love for basketball and cards will stick around and ride through any market corrections.
And with that, the future for sports cards is safe.
There’s a firing passion among loyal enthusiasts who love the hobby and they’re all willing to die for it.
OK, a bit too far, but they’re willing to fiercely protect it.
Initially I thought that Top Shots were a real threat to how sports cards would exist in the future like they do today.
Others thought that Top Shots were a fad and will eventually die out.
Related: 5 Best NBA Top Shot Moments to Invest in 2021
Upon reflection I think the result will be somewhere in between. There’s room for both Top Shots and sports cards, and they should thrive off each other.
The sudden financial windfall from Top Shot moments could shift over to cards, and vice versa.
One things for sure, the future for sports cards is safe.
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