Fanatics article on CNBC
 

Interesting read on what the hobby may look like in the future.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/01/18-b...e-company.html

Wow Very interesting

They are trying to become the Amazon of Sport Trading/Collectibles/Merchandising and looks like they will even have there own "vault" Service, Grading Service, Trading/Selling Service

Not sure how this will effect the collectible market of existing cards but the article expects huge growth within 6 years.

Anybody thoughts?

I read the entire article. I actually felt like I will stop collecting modern at that time, I didn't feel that emotion last week with Topps losing their license. I don't collect to invest, and trying to buy my collectibles on an investment platform seems wrong. I don't grade, I don't use a vault service, and I don't want a company tracking my purchases to make future suggestions. It's just more junk in my email to ignore. I was dismayed by the sentence they would provide ever more data to professional teams about hobby purchases.

I have a LCS, and I consider the owner more than an acquaintance. He lives down the road from my parents, and I've known him for 25 years. It's just kind of sad to consider they will cut him out of product releases. He is the only vintage LCS locally, so he might have to adjust his inventory. Who knows if he will even stay open.

Good thing I've been collecting vintage for a decade+ and thank God there is a site like Net54.

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Personally, I think Fanatics will just buy one of the existing card companies. Why re-invent the wheel of how to make the cards, distribution, etc? Personally, I think they should just buy Topps, but they may pick a cheaper alternative. Hopefully, this will reduce the supply of the given number of different cards for a player each year, and the number of parallels, but I'm not optimistic there.

Where I would be hugely alarmed is if Fanatics created their own grading company to essentially pre-grade their own cards. That creates a HUGE conflict of interest.

For as many issues as we have with the current TPGs, at least they aren't manufacturing the cards they are grading.

Both of these were covered in the article.

1) Fanatics wants to create a direct to consumer model. The article discussed buying Upper Deck, Panini or Donruss/Leaf.

2) Fanatics will sell a card, and then the buyer has the option to grade it, vault it, or flip it.

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Yeah to me that is a big no no.

I've mostly given up on modern collecting anyway, so I will be happy to plug away with pre 1980 cards for the rest of my life, but it really is a shame. Feels like this is sort of the end of card collecting as we know it.

To me we are in a experience /stature of self accomplishment era based on wealth, politics, and esteem. When I see terms like vaults, asset's and commodities it makes me think the wave of the future is no longer collecting the actual cards its collecting the thought being in and out of a card without even having it in said possession while turning a profit.

I don't know...just my observations but I fear this is the future of our hobby.

It's all rather silly, is my summation.

They're sports cards.

I will stick to Pre WW2 Cards

Boy, if you thought there was a divide between the pre-war/post-war 'collectors' and the shiny-stuff 'investors' now, this will only widen that gap.

When you create demand by bringing more buyers into the market, that strengthens the price structure. I can't believe that this business model is good for the long run, especially when demand is driven by visions of ever-increasing returns. Sounds like the shiny, sports version of the Franklin Mint.

But maybe that's why I'm an engineer and not an economist or financial advisor.

This is where I am. Sports cards seem to be turning into the new stocks and Fanatics is the new NASDAQ. How many of you actually get physical stock certificates anymore? Can you even? Why bother taking delivery of your cards when it only introduces several ways for it to get damaged.

The difference is that stocks have a company behind them that is, or should be, generating cash flows. I suppose that sports cards have a tentative link to the player represented on them, but it isn't like owning the card gives you some claim on the players earnings, like owning stock does. I mean can you imagine holding Steve Strasburg now?

I tend to stop reading any articles that mention "NFT".... with that said I only ready half of this article.