This past weekend I attended the National Sports Collectors Convention. As I’m sure you know, I’ve been a sports collectibles enthusiast my entire life. Trading cards as a boy was how I got introduced to the world of smart speculation, which evolved into the options trading career I still enjoy today.
To keep a pulse on the industry, I make a point of attending a major collector’s conference in Chicago once or twice a year. With the national sports show in Chicago this year, going for two days was a no-brainer.
Widely considered the “Super Bowl” of the hobby, this is the largest annual gathering for sports cards and memorabilia in North America.
Over 600,000 square feet at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center were packed with dealer tables, major corporate presences like Topps, Panini, Fanatics, Goldin and Heritage Auctions, plus all the grading companies.
Oh, and the athlete autograph list was ridiculous.
Johnny Bench, Wade Boggs, Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Andre Dawson, Carlton Fisk, Reggie Jackson, Pedro Martinez, Cal Ripken Jr., Mariano Rivera, Sammy Sosa, Bo Jackson, Johnny Manziel, Jim McMahon, Donovan McNabb, Warren Moon, Barry Sanders, Phil Simms, Mike Singletary, Emmitt Smith, Lawrence Taylor, Michael Vick, Kurt Warner, Julius Erving, Walt Frazier, Allen Iverson, Christian Laettner, Kevin McHale, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dennis Rodman, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Bryan Bottarelli 😉.
That’s it. That’s the list. Are you not entertained!?
First, the crowd was enormous, and hobby enthusiasm has never felt this powerful. I’ve been attending this show since high school, and I truly cannot remember a more energized room.
The lines to get in went for miles. The tables were jam packed, and everyone was buying, selling, and trading at a pace I’ve never seen before… save from the trading floor of the CBOE.
I was hanging out at a table with my Michael Jordan collector buddies, and in a 15-minute span I watched a guy count out $18,000 for one Jordan card. Then another counted out $25,000 for a different one. The amount of $100 bills on that table could have cleaned out every ATM in the greater Chicagoland area.
It was amazing, the stacks of money spilling out. And that was just one of the 900+ dealer tables at the convention. So, the biggest takeaway is that the hobby is as strong as ever.
Second, the hobby is expanding into new markets at a breakneck pace. Pokémon cards are on fire. Soccer cards have exploded onto the scene in ways I never would have imagined.
We used to think soccer would never take off in the U.S. the way it has overseas. That’s not the case anymore.
UFC cards, Formula One cards, WNBA basketball cards, they’re all booming in popularity, which simply adds to the enormity of the hobby.
Not only that, but the demographic is trending younger fast. What was once a bunch of old guys sitting around talking about Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and the glory days of yesteryear has added a powerful youth movement, where teenagers who never saw Michael Jordan play will drop $9,000 on one of his cards like it’s nothing.
I wouldn’t have believed it until I saw it with my own eyes. Fathers are passing the love of collecting onto their sons and daughters, and that will fuel growth for years to come.
And third, this leads to the trade opportunity I want to share with you today.
This Wednesday after the close, eBay (EBAY) reports earnings. It’s up nearly 25% YTD, but there’s more room to grow here.
They were a major sponsorship presence at this weekend’s convention, which tells me the exploding popularity of the hobby could show up in their numbers in a big way.
Good thing for you, I’m already two steps ahead.
Earlier this week, inside The War Room, I posted a new trade that should capitalize on EBAY’s upcoming earnings. If you’d like to get into this trade, then you have one day to move in before EBAY’s announcement.
