The 43rd annual National Sports Collectors Convention begins on Wednesday and continues through the weekend at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. It’s the biggest collection of sellers and buyers on cards and other collectibles, including non-sports cards, in the country.
We spoke with two of the top card companies and a leading collector and personality in the collecting space about the state of the industry, tips for people attending the show and the two major types of card collecting: vintage and modern.
Participants are Jeremy Fullerton, director of product development at Topps, Upper Deck Company President Jason Masherah and “serial entrepreneur” and long-time collector Gary Vaynerchuk. All will be present at the convention and accessible to attendees.
Topps will have a booth with its popular Silver Packs where collectors can bring select unopened 2023 Topps products and open them at the booth to receive exclusive cards. Also, the booth will feature several special guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment to meet with fans and sign cards over the five-day event.. Upper Deck, the company most famous for its Michael Jordan rookie card (and also the licensee for the NHL), will have the Jordan “Mobile Memorabilia Store” in the heart of Wrigleyville in the N. Clark Street lot (near Rizzo’s Sports Bar). Every piece in the truck will be available for prices ranging from $8,000 to $20,000. Vaynerchuk has a major announcement at the show on Wednesday and produces VeeFriends on the Ethereum blockchain.
What tips do you have for attendees? What should they expect? How should they shop?
Fullerton: The National is collectors first. They’re fans secondary. So the people we see here are not fans that we’re trying to turn into collectors. They’re already there.
Masherah: This is your opportunity to browse trading cards, memorabilia, and other truly unique items that have been hard to find, which is what makes it so much fun. There are vendors from all over the world so people can anticipate seeing items that we’ve never seen before and haven’t been available for sale in years. Even if you don’t have a big budget, it’s fun to browse and see all the historic items at the show that you may never see again.
Fullerton: You won’t have a better concentration of vintage cards than at the National. If you’re looking for something rare or unusual, you will find it. Buy something you love. Topps has a big presence there. Lots of people who make the cards will be there. You can pick our brains.
Vaynerchuk: My favorite (misvalued) cards in the world right now are the Berk Ross cards. I am infatuated with it. This is an entrepreneur who sold cookies in Brooklyn and said, f*** I’m not even gonna listen to the Major Leagues. I’m gonna break the rules. I’m gonna make these cards. And he just did. I think that the 1952 Mantle in the set is a great buy. (Prices for one in Very Good/PSA 3 condition are about $2,000 in auctions. There is also a 1951 set with Joe DiMaggio.)
How much money should attendees bring?
Masherah: This depends on your goals. In a broad sense, anyone planning to make purchases on the show floor should bring more funds than you think you need just in case that one item you can’t pass up is available. This is a big show with a lot of unique items, so you never know when that truly special piece could fall into your lap.
Vaynerchuk: I don’t think that there’s wildly under-priced opportunities right now, like in 2017 and 2018, but I think there are strategic opportunities and I hope to execute on some of them in Chicago.
Any tips for making purchases with dealers?
Vaynerchuk: About 20% have decided to price into the actual market. And 80% are behind the market (their prices will be more than auctions). I’m not part of the breed that thinks that’s bad. That’s their prerogative. (Even with a decline from peak) when you put it into the context of a four- or five-year window, (the return on investment) is extraordinary. And I’m seeing a slight uptick starting to brew a little bit.
Fullerton: Take your time. Shop around. Tour the show before you buy. And buy what you like. I like walking the floor. I will take pictures of items of interest. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a sturdy backpack to carry whatever you buy.
Can non-dealers sell their cards at the show or at least price them?
Masherah: If you have items to sell, this is a great opportunity to meet potential buyers. That being said, it’s important to keep in mind that whoever you are selling to may look to resell that item at a profit, so don’t expect to get retail value on your card or memorabilia.
If you have a super hot or unique item that you want to maximize your return on, this is a great opportunity to talk to any and all of the auction houses (at the show) and gauge that potential.
What about the age old question: Vintage vs. Modern?
Vaynerchuk: In vintage and modern, there’s more value now in cards than there was in the more immediate aftermath of the pandemic. The Jordan rookie was selling for $30,000 to $40,000 then (in a PSA 9) and it’s about $16,000 or $17,000 right now. That doesn’t mean you stop buying. I equate it to the fluctuations we see in real estate. Look at a five-year window and the current prices are a 500% or 600% return, which is fantastic.
I’m a Jets fan. But I’m buying Aaron Rodgers rookies now as an investment. If the Jets win a Super Bowl, the price of Rodgers cards will completely explode. This is the cycle now. Some players are flat but with others you can see a real opportunity for dramatic growth. I don’t buy as a fan. I buy because I want to be right.
I’m actually more interested in vintage basketball like the 1961 Fleer cards (rookie Wilt Chamberlain, rookie Jerry West, rookie Oscar Robertson, among others). I love the (1969) Topps Rulers (rookie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Lew Alcindor, Wilt Chamberlain). But people are gambling on summer league stars and like the No. 7 overall draft pick. If you’re right and he’s Kobe Bryant, mazel tov. But if he ends up being Clyde Drexler, or Charles Barkley, or Patrick Ewing, or Karl Malone, or Reggie Miller or John Stockton, you will overpay. And those are great players. Hall of Famers.
Even though it’s a sports memorabilia show, are non-sports cards, even beyond Pokémon, in good supply?
Fullerton: There are a lot of non-sports cards at the National. This part of the hobby is small but passionate. We, of course, produce non-sports cards including Star Wars and Garbage Pail Kids. There will be something for the entertainment collector at the show.
Vaynerchuk: Batman is more popular than every athlete including Michael Jordan and Mickey Mantle. And so: is his 1966 Topps card, basically his rookie card, undervalued? (PSA 5/Excellent versions of Batman 1966 Card No. 1 sell for about $500).
Coming out of the pandemic, especially in about 2020-21 when the market was just on fire and cards, whether vintage or modern, were appreciating by multiples in months, how do you assess the current state of the industry?
Fullerton: The hobby is strong. People are collecting and interested. It’s been such a nice run over the last five years — lots of people are still excited about the hobby. Our booth was really busy at the All-Star Game (Topps produces the official MLB cards); there was such a wide mix of ages and levels of collecting experience. When the beginners/novices left our booth, I felt that they were likely to make that transition to collecting.
Masherah: The hobby is bigger and stronger than it was pre-pandemic. Our challenge now is to encourage, engage and retain all the new and lapsed collectors that came into the hobby during the pandemic. One way to do that is through special events such as The National, where this passionate community can get together and share the love of this hobby with people from all over the world.
Vaynerchuk: I think we’ve hit the proper Mendoza line, the right water level… I think you’re going to see even more demand and so it’s a fun time. I’m personally a lifelong collector. My favorite time is when it feels right and not overhyped. That’s how it feels to me now. I have had more people in the last month say to me that they’re getting back into buying cards again after being less active in 2022. When you look at how many people are sports fans and then you think about how many of them are playing fantasy, gambling and playing daily fantasy — I still think there’s a long way to go (in industry growth).
Top photo: VeeFriends, @mamabreaks and @NSCCshow on Instagram, PSACard.com
