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Originally Posted by Snowman
Sounds like it's not just Topps & MLB, but also Panini with NBA & NFL. All 3 major sports players associations have signed a deal with Fanatics per WSJ reporting. Pretty crazy stuff. The players want in on the cut. They see what's happening with sports cards and they want more of it.
I wouldn't be surprised if this somehow results in an entirely new distribution system too? Who knows.
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Right now all the Breakers are where the bulk of the initial card distribution/sales are happening with consumers. Before that it was card shops that flourished for a while into the 90s, and prior to that it started out at all the local drug, convenience, and dime stores going back to the 50s.. The Breakers basically do everything online so aside from some minimal consumer sales still going through places like Target, Walmart, and the few card shops still out there, the initial consumer market is mostly over the internet anymore. Now that could start changing as we eventually come out of the pandemic and more shows start occuring again, and maybe even some more card shops open up. But do you think it possible that this new licensing company taking over the production of sports cards from Topps and Panini, Fanatics, may just eventually cut the Breakers out? They are already involved in their own online marketing and sales of licensed sporting apparel, so what would stop them from just expanding that to include sports cards they will also produce? Will be interesting to see if they continue with autos and game used cards and other manufactured rarities that are being produced by Topps and Panini now to mostly fuel the demand from Breakers for product to then sell to their consumers. You know the major sports leagues and the athletes see all these stories about record card prices and everything, and are then wondering why they aren't getting even more money. Now that they also have a stake in this company that will be producing all the sports cards in a few years, can only imagine what they may try to do and come up with so they can possibly make even more off the secondary card market.
Heck, what if they even went so far as to cut out the TPGs and encapsulate some of these manufactured rarities and rookie cards themselves, straight out of the factory? Forget 9s and 10s, how about Uncirculated cards? Think about it, they could sell their cards similarly to how Breakers do in a lottery type format. They don't even necessarily have to have actually produced the cards before they sell them yet. Run random lists of cards to be going into each case or box being sold. And then you announce to someone what they've won and that they are going to be getting some rare rookie or game used/autographed card. And by the way, before we ship it to you we'll encapsulate it right at the factory and send it to you as Uncirculated if you like. For an additional fee of course. That way as long as the card stays in the original factory holder there is no wear and tear, no damage that can be done to it, oh, and maybe the best thing of all, no chance for a card doctor to get their hands on it. Think about how going forward such an Uncirculated factory holdered card would take the place of PSA/SGC/CGS/Beckett graded 10s. And think about all the rookie cards people would likely pay extra for to have factory encapsulated as uncirculated as well. Since no one can usually tell if a rookie will end up making it big, and eventually even make the HOF, till at least a few years into their careers, collectors will go crazy in paying to have any good rookie's cards factory encapsulated, because once you pass on doing it, you've lost that chance forever and then have to pray there's no subsequent damage to the card in its delivery and your receipt, and then keep it that that way till maybe years later when you finally decide it is worth getting graded and holdered after all. But now you have to take your chance some TPG will actually grade it a 10. And also by exclusively offering such a factory holdered Uncirculated service only from sales that go through the Fanatics site, it makes it less likely people will want to buy from other potential outside sources (like Target, Walmart, etc.) and means Fanatics would likely sell even more from on their site for the same retail price, and get to keep the extra profit that otherwise would have gone to Target, Walmart, etc. Oh, and they'd probably be able to tack on a little S&H charge they can additionally profit from as well. And that's just a fews ideas off the top of my head where Fanatics could make more money for themselves up front by selling sports cards directly to consumers.
Will be interesting to see where this could go.