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.”