PSA Grading Costs – 2022 Update
Understanding The eBay Sports Card Authenticity Guarantee
It's been a little while since eBay announced the first steps to help alleviate the wrath of counterfeit cards sold on its platform.
I thought it would be a good time to update collectors on some of the feeback from the program, while helping to provide more clarity on the details.
First things first, let's take a step back to discuss the details of eBay's Authenticty Gurantee for sports cards.
An Interview With Ezra Levine, CEO of Collectable
In a previous article, I covered the world of fractional card investing.
Much of the piece centered around the biggest player in the space, Collectable.
Following the article, we heard from Ezra Levine, the CEO of Collectable.
We spoke at length about Collectable and the future of the industry.
As follows is our interview with Ezra Levine. I hope you enjoy it.
Fractional Sports Card Investing: A Collector’s Guide
I’ve always viewed sports cards as an alternative asset. Vintage sports cards are equivalents to your other stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.
Some view baseball cards as pieces of cardboard. But once you dig into the supply/demand dynamics, it is clear why sports cards should be considered investments.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been in this first as a collector. I agree that the popularity of breakers and flippers gives rise to a bubble-like, greed-infested hobby.
But I also think it’s fine to be both a collector (in it for the love of the hobby) and an investor at the same time.
Yet, with many vintage sports cards out of budget for most collectors, a new stock market-like dynamic has evolved.
Fractional sports card ownership allows a collector to buy a small piece of a high-priced card at whatever amount they desire.
In this piece, we will dive into the details of this burgeoning new market.
PSA Drops Standard Grading Price To $100, Is It Worth The Premium?
Fanatics Pull Off The Unthinkable, Acquiring Topps
I’ve had a few weeks to digest the acquisition of Topps by Fanatics and wanted to provide a few comments.
First, let’s just say that the deal comes as absolutely no surprise.
I wrote about the possibility back when Fanatics had acquired the MLB licensing rights.
Fanatics pulled the rug right from under Topps and stole the one thing that keeps the heartbeat alive for the company – it’s licenses.
So, I would imagine, that Fanatics could pick up Topps for pennies on the dollar, and get access to all its brands, designs and trademarks. Plus, Fanatics needs that MLB license that Topps holds through the end of 2025 in order to make cards with team names and logos from 2023 to 2025.
Thus, yes, a Fanatics takeover of Topps would make a lot of sense.
However, I also noted that pride might keep Topps from selling out to Fanatics, and it seemed as if Fanatics might want to blaze their own branding trail.
Yet, the deal, honestly just made way too much sense for Fanatics.
The Best Card Grading Companies: A Collector’s Survey
Topps Dynasty Is Over: Does Fanatics Stand A Chance?
BREAKING NEWS: PWCC Accused Of Shill Bidding By eBay
eBay today announced that it would be restricting PWCC from selling on its marketplace due to allegations of ‘shill bidding’.
For those not familiar with the term, shill bidding occurs when fake buyers submit bids on items in order to intentionally drive increased activity to a listing.
The full statement from eBay:
As one of the world’s largest marketplaces, eBay has policies in place to protect our buyers and sellers. eBay was founded on trust, and we work every day to ensure a fair and positive experience for the entire eBay community.
Recently, it was determined that individuals associated with a trading card seller, PWCC, have engaged in “shill bidding,” which is prohibited on eBay. As a result, eBay has restricted PWCC’s selling privileges and listings, effective today. eBay’s policies and standards were designed to ensure a trusted marketplace where our community can transact with confidence. If we determine that a buyer or seller is not acting in good faith, eBay takes this seriously and takes action. Our customer service team will work directly with anyone who has a question about a recent PWCC transaction.
eBay is the destination for buying and selling trading cards – built over 25 years with our passionate community of collectors and sellers, as partners, on that journey. Trust is the cornerstone of eBay, which is why we felt it was important to share this information with our community. We assure you that eBay will continue to take actions to deliver on our commitment.
Can I Still Buy Sports Cards At Target or Walmart?
While the bulk of my card collecting and writing on All Vintage Cards is focused on older cards, I admittedly have had the urge to buy some modern cards while shopping at Target or Walmart in the past.
However, when I went to Target recently to pick up some household items, I was disappointed to find the shelves that used to hold sports cards galore completely barren. So I set out to find the truth.
Can you still buy sports cards at Walmart or Target?
Unfortunately, it’s much harder today to find sports cards at Walmart or Target, as they both have suspended the selling of many sports and trading cards. They still sell some sports cards in-store and online, however, there is a huge variation in availability based on your specific location.
The surge in modern card pricing and the resultant ‘rise of the flippers’ has led to some not so pretty situations in these stores. And while there are rare cases where you might find some cards, the odds are quite slim.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons for the supply disruptions and if you still might be able to score a find at your local Walmart or Target.
Do you know of a location that is still selling cards? Drop a note in the comments below to let us know!
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