August 19, 2024
Photo by Mick Haupt on unsplash
Can the First-Ever Sports Cards Franchise Succeed?
Replay Sports Cards, formerly known as One Stop Sports, is transforming the sports card market by launching the first-ever franchise program for sports card shops in the U.S. Known for its comprehensive services in buying, selling, trading, and grading sports cards, Replay Sports Cards currently operates locations in the Southeastern U.S., including Charlotte, Mount Pleasant, and Boca Raton.
With this new franchise model, enthusiasts can open their own local shops under the Replay Sports Cards brand, supported by the company’s established reputation and resources. The company showcased this opportunity at Fanatics Fest NYC and is partnering with Community Franchise Group to ensure successful expansion while maintaining high standards of integrity and customer service.
According to Kings Research, the global Sports Trading Cards Market size was valued at $9.69 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.01%, reaching $20.48 billion by 2030. However, Market Decipher’s research claims that sports cards have a greater value, reporting that the market was valued at $12.93 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $49.37 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 13%.
The market research firm also stated that in 2021, North America held the largest market share, followed by Europe. However, it added that “rising urbanization and the rapid growth of emerging markets such as the Middle East and the Asia Pacific are boosting the sports trading market growth. There are many opportunities for business expansion across the sports trading cards industry in India and China, two of the biggest emerging markets.”
Fast Company reported that Ted Mann, CEO of card scanners CollX and Card Dealer Pro, said that “85 million American adults, or about 33% of the population own trading cards. While many are just casual collectors, others buy and sell cards for profit.”
While the sports card market is seeing a resurgence in collecting and investing in vintage cards, especially online thanks to tech advancements, Market Decipher believes that the offline industry faces challenges from esports gambling and the rising prices of cards. There is also a split in NFT trading cards that creates a volatile market with the possibility of crashing, causing divisiveness, or exponentially boosting the market.
eBay has also contributed vastly to the selling and collecting of sports cards.
The sports card market boom was most noticeably felt during the pandemic. “With widespread lockdowns and stay-at-home orders in place, individuals sought out new forms of entertainment and hobbies to pass the time indoors,” Sports Card King reported. “As a result, many turned to sports card collecting as a nostalgic and engaging pastime.”
This was further amplified by the now-common surge in support from influencers, celebrities, and athletes. Prominent figures showcased their personal collections, expressed their enthusiasm for sports cards on social media, and teamed up with card manufacturers on collaborative projects. “These endorsements helped broaden the appeal of sports card collecting, attracting new audiences and generating excitement within the industry,” according to Sports Card King.
As a result, the trading card market experienced significant growth between 2020 and 2022, peaking with the auction of a mint-condition 1952 Mickey Mantle card, which fetched $12.6 million in 2022, per The New Chicagoan.
But the market has shown signs of cooling down since that record-breaking Mickey Mantle sale. A report by Altan Insights found that card values in the first quarter of 2024 were stable and “uneventful,” with modern cards down 0.5% and vintage cards up nearly 1%.
Geoff Wilson, founder of an online database that tracks card prices, Sports Card Investor, attributes this decline to the popping of a bubble that was inflated during the pandemic and rising interest rates.
“With so many people at home during Covid getting stimulus money you saw a bit of a bubble occur,” Wilson explained. “I think it dried up because of a combination of people spending their money elsewhere, people having less discretionary money to spend, people putting money into other things, and interest rates rising. For all of those reasons, you saw a lot less money going into cards.”
However, even with volume and prices down, according to Michael Osacky, lead appraiser for Professional Sports Authenticator, he believes that “a new mindset shift has occurred that will alter the market going forward.” Osacky stated, “It’s permanent, it’s here forever, and that’s a good thing. Five or six years ago, people didn’t really see sports collectibles as a serious alternative asset. But now they do.”
BrainTrust
Bob Amster
Principal, Retail Technology Group
Gary Sankary
Retail Industry Strategy, Esri
Neil Saunders
Managing Director, GlobalData
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
As Replay Sports Cards launches its franchise model, what challenges and opportunities might arise from scaling a niche retail concept in a volatile trading card market?
With the sports trading card market growing and then stabilizing, how can franchise models balance high-value collectibles with casual collector preferences, especially with the influence of digital technologies?
Given the market’s fluctuations due to economic and technological changes, what strategies should new sports card franchises adopt to ensure long-term success and relevance?
Poll
Loading …
The sports cards market is big, and it has a very loyal following of enthusiastic fans. However, a lot of trading is done online and in-person at select events. I think demand for this in the physical space is more limited. That doesn’t mean stores can’t play a role; indeed, there are already a number of local independent stores doing this, but they tend to have a lot of general memorabilia and other collectibles to round out the offer and widen the audience. I also think store site selection will be key to ensure it hits the right target markets in a cost-effective location.
Sportscards ? Like, those things printed on…you know…paper?!?! Oh how it gladdens the heart to think something so nostalgic still exists..maybe even thrives!! However my happy heart notwithstanding, I think I have more questions than answers, like how is the market organized presently? And – oh deep, dark cynicism creeping back in! – how viable is the market really in the long term….might it not go away in favor of some kind of digital replacements?
This is too niche a market. I favor already-existing neighborhood stores for collectors in many places across the country.To turn trading cards into a national franchise model seems too lofty a goal, and not practical.
Okay. Franchising in this case as a business model is smart in that it offloads risk (and capital expenditure) on the franchisees. The prospects for success are almost completely dependent on whether or not this hobby has legs. Is there a market here? Sure. However, the frothy days of someone finding a Honus Wagner card in the attic that leads to a Porsche in the garage are long over.
I disagree; if you find that Honus Wagner card, I think you can still turn it into a Porsche. In the same way you can turn a 1$ lottery ticket into one, with about the same odds. Still, your comment on the hobby of having legs is spot on. I’ve been a stamp collector for 50 years, and honestly, except for the rare and really old material, most dealers use their inventory these days for postage. The market is flooded with estate sale stamps that no one wants. The dream of my Porsche is long gone. Case in point, when I ask my wife if she’d like to see something “cool,” her typical response “Unless it’s upside down an airplane, I don’t care.”
I really see the sports card market going the same way.
The sports memorabilia market seems lucrative, especially for collectors and hobbyists involved. The media reports stories of the massive transactions that occasionally occur, which helps. However, this is a highly volatile niche market that, unless they do a better job recruiting kids to collect, is doomed to go the way of stamp and coin collecting. A highly niche business, served by online actions and small mom-and-pop shops. Even those shops, if my local card shop is any indication, do most of their business on online auction sites. The issue is recruitment. Kids just aren’t interested in sports cards or collecting. Aside from the rare jumbo transactions, the business potential here is very small.
While the sports trading card market is big, the local shops seem to struggle. Their biggest competition comes from online sites dedicated to collectibles and general sites like eBay that offer collectors and traders a forum to buy and sell their cards. The franchise model is intriguing as it can help an entrepreneur who loves sports cards open a store with guidance and support.
Sports Cards cater to baby Boomers – guys who really value a Micky Mantle Card – when the Boomers die off the Sports Card business will collapse. I know two guys in Chicago who lost their shirts on Baseball Cards – many extensive collections from the 1950’s & 60’s. that lost a large % of their value in the past few years.
More Discussions
How Important Is ‘Vibe’ in Physical Retail?
Not attempting to be too playfully groovy about this question: According to a recent report from…Will Pinterest Translate to Shoppable TV?
Will Pinterest lead the way in shoppable TV?How Can Retailers Improve Shoppers’ Sense of Closure When Concerns Emerge?
How can retailers better provide closure and proper resolution to today’s shoppers?
The sports cards market is big, and it has a very loyal following of enthusiastic fans. However, a lot of trading is done online and in-person at select events. I think demand for this in the physical space is more limited. That doesn’t mean stores can’t play a role; indeed, there are already a number of local independent stores doing this, but they tend to have a lot of general memorabilia and other collectibles to round out the offer and widen the audience. I also think store site selection will be key to ensure it hits the right target markets in a cost-effective location.
Sportscards ? Like, those things printed on…you know…paper?!?! Oh how it gladdens the heart to think something so nostalgic still exists..maybe even thrives!! However my happy heart notwithstanding, I think I have more questions than answers, like how is the market organized presently? And – oh deep, dark cynicism creeping back in! – how viable is the market really in the long term….might it not go away in favor of some kind of digital replacements?
This is too niche a market. I favor already-existing neighborhood stores for collectors in many places across the country.To turn trading cards into a national franchise model seems too lofty a goal, and not practical.
Okay. Franchising in this case as a business model is smart in that it offloads risk (and capital expenditure) on the franchisees. The prospects for success are almost completely dependent on whether or not this hobby has legs. Is there a market here? Sure. However, the frothy days of someone finding a Honus Wagner card in the attic that leads to a Porsche in the garage are long over.
I disagree; if you find that Honus Wagner card, I think you can still turn it into a Porsche. In the same way you can turn a 1$ lottery ticket into one, with about the same odds. Still, your comment on the hobby of having legs is spot on. I’ve been a stamp collector for 50 years, and honestly, except for the rare and really old material, most dealers use their inventory these days for postage. The market is flooded with estate sale stamps that no one wants. The dream of my Porsche is long gone. Case in point, when I ask my wife if she’d like to see something “cool,” her typical response “Unless it’s upside down an airplane, I don’t care.”
I really see the sports card market going the same way.
The sports memorabilia market seems lucrative, especially for collectors and hobbyists involved. The media reports stories of the massive transactions that occasionally occur, which helps. However, this is a highly volatile niche market that, unless they do a better job recruiting kids to collect, is doomed to go the way of stamp and coin collecting. A highly niche business, served by online actions and small mom-and-pop shops. Even those shops, if my local card shop is any indication, do most of their business on online auction sites. The issue is recruitment. Kids just aren’t interested in sports cards or collecting. Aside from the rare jumbo transactions, the business potential here is very small.
While the sports trading card market is big, the local shops seem to struggle. Their biggest competition comes from online sites dedicated to collectibles and general sites like eBay that offer collectors and traders a forum to buy and sell their cards. The franchise model is intriguing as it can help an entrepreneur who loves sports cards open a store with guidance and support.
Sports Cards cater to baby Boomers – guys who really value a Micky Mantle Card – when the Boomers die off the Sports Card business will collapse. I know two guys in Chicago who lost their shirts on Baseball Cards – many extensive collections from the 1950’s & 60’s. that lost a large % of their value in the past few years.