Another Boom

I mean, the most unbelievable stat I think is eBay saying that in the first six months of the year, they were over $1 billion.

And, uh, the bigger number of that is that's a 67% increase from the previous year, and that's just on sports card singles.

I don't even think that includes wax.

So obviously we're at a moment now where when the boom happened during the pandemic, I think people thought that a big event like that would have to happen again for that to happen, but it's clearly happening again now without what happened in 2020 being part of it.

Yeah, you know, the fun part about this talk, Brandon, is we just talk from the gut.

We don't have anything rehearsed.

And, um, it's amazing, the growth, and I'd like to talk to you a little bit about why.

You know, what we're seeing.

You and I have been in the hobby for decades, and, um, it's definitely exciting, and so many new people into it.

I mean, I go to card shows, and there's so many people that are just in it in the past year or two, and they're full-time in it.

I mean, they're flipping cards.

Um, a lot of new collectors.

Um, I think because there's a lot of new hobby shops across the country, too.

Yeah.

Um, it's bringing people in.

I mean, we see it every day at our store.

Um, you know, lots of parents and kids getting back into it, and, um, lot of, lot of reasons.

All the celebrities, athletes that are collectors, people from private equity and investors getting into it.

And I'd add one other thing with some of the growth in the non-sports.

I'm seeing a lot of women and, and girls getting into the hobby that I didn't see even 10 years ago, which is exciting.

Yeah, absolutely.

And when I started The Card Life in 2021 and knew I could line it up with being on these networks before and after MLB, NHL, NBA games, y- you know, I, I'd always had the idea of doing a sports card show, but I knew that almost anybody that watches sports at some point probably opened a pack.

And so I knew the more it got on those mainstream sports channels and became kinda just part of the lexicon, almost like g- what gambling has become with, with sports, where you see that on every pre- and post-game show.

Even during the game you see that.

There was really no reason for sports cards to not have an even bigger influence because, one, there's nostalgia involved with that, 'cause that's something you did when you were a, a child.