Our highly anticipated (and long awaited!) entrance into the world of automated trading card sorting has us reflecting on the trends within the trading card industry in the last year. The pandemic created a picture-perfect environment for trading card sales to boom, and many of us seasoned collectors, who suddenly had an influx of time on our hands, found it was time to go through the old collection once again. Trading card sales have absolutely exploded within the last year, at both large-scale retailers like Walmart and card-specific retailers like Topps and Panini <cite>[1]</cite>. Many smaller stores remained open for curb-side pickup, eBay sales have skyrocketed, and trading card forums have had new life breathed into them. In fact, 2020 saw the eBay trading card category grow by 142% <cite>[2]</cite>. A PSA 10 Tom Brady rookie card is currently being auctioned on eBay with a cool starting price of just over five million dollars <cite>[3]</cite>. And that brings us to our first trend – an increase in the popularity of sports cards.

### Sport Card Collecting

Collectors who held on to their sports cards from the ‘80s and ‘90s are looking through their collections to see if they can find a diamond in the rough, like an 8 or 9 PSA-rated Michael Jordan rookie card. Baseball cards are particularly popular, and Topps and MLB recently announced they are extending their partnership until 2024 <cite>[4]</cite>. Given the large sense of loss that surrounded sports fans in 2020 (who were left without their favorite sports for quite some time) it’s of no surprise that sports cards will be one trend to keep an eye on in 2021.

### McDonalds, Influencers & The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Trading Cards have experienced a lot of growth in the past year as well. Despite the rise in the popularity of sports cards, Pokémon still takes the crown with eBay sales increasing $574% from 2019 to 2020 <cite>[2]</cite>. McDonalds certainly identified and tapped into this growth with their recent inclusion of Pokémon Cards in their Happy Meals (which got scalped so much that restaurants were encouraged to establish limits on Happy Meal sales) <cite>[5]</cite>. Influencers across the US and Canada were quick to join the collecting on social media, which further increased card value and promoted the idea that Pokémon is enjoyable for everyone (not just us nerds). While we’re still not fully ok with Logan Paul flaunting his holo-Charizard, hobby shop owners with established inventories can expect Pokémon card sales to remain strong throughout the rest of the year.

### Virtual Play Tables and Online Sales

Social distancing and quarantine restrictions have fostered a new environment for online sales and virtual play tables to thrive. Magic: The Gathering has brought events and games online via Twitch <cite>[6]</cite> and even small companies are hosting virtual events <cite>[7]</cite>. The need for small shops to establish an online store has also become apparent during the pandemic. If they haven’t already, it’s imperative small retailers invest time in developing a functional website with a connected online store. It’s safe to say trading card collecting is only growing in popularity. The TCG boom is leaving plenty of room for collectors, hobby shops and trading card companies alike to grow their collections and product offerings. Leveraging new technology in the TCG marketplace will be the key to both profiting from and enjoying the exciting card developments of the future.

## References

1. R. Fagan, "'It has been absolutely insane': Trading card industry has boomed during pandemic," 13 October 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/trading-card-industry-has-boomed-during-pandemic/10t850qdlc24c101eezddjxibg. [Accessed 24 February 2021].
2. eBay News Team, "eBay's 2021 "State of Trading Cards” Report Spotlights Collecting Trends and Industry Predictions," 11 February 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/news/ebays-2021-state-of-trading-cards-report-spotlights-collecting-trends-and-industry-predictions/. [Accessed 24 February 2021].
3. eBay, "RAREST PSA 10 TOM BRADY 2000 ROOKIE IN THE WORLD SUPER RARE ELITE STATUS # 05/10," [Online]. Available: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/193723287418. [Accessed 24 February 2021].
4. J. Collins, "Topps Keeps Tradition and Nostalgia Alive by Innovating the Trading Card Industry," 24 July 2018. [Online]. Available: https://frontofficesports.com/topps-trading-card-industry. [Accessed 24 February 2021].
5. T. Power, "McDonald's 'Strongly Encouraging' Restaurants to Prevent Happy Meal Pokemon Card Scalping," 11 February 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.ign.com/articles/mcdonalds-strongly-encouraging-restaurants-to-prevent-happy-meal-pokemon-card-scalping. [Accessed 24 February 2021].
6. Wizards of the Coast, "Wizards of the Coast’s Response to COVID-19," 19 March 2020. [Online]. Available: https://company.wizards.com/en/news/wizards-coasts-response-covid-19. [Accessed 24 February 2021].
7. The Board Game Barrister, "Virtual Magic Events," [Online]. Available: https://www.boardgamebarrister.com/virtual-magic-events/. [Accessed 24 February 2021].

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing worldwide economic recessions, trends in trading card collectibles are looking strong in 2021.

Logan Paul holding 1st edition gem mint Charizard Pokemon card

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Trends in Trading Card Collecting: from MLB to McDonalds  

Two TCG Machines gears icon for Apple Touch

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TCG Machines’ proprietary PhyzBatch-9000 recognizes and categorizes cards by nearly any metric, including card condition, type, and foil determination.