KoriEllis
09-11-2004, 08:48 PM
Rookie successes cause spike in basketball card industry
By ERICA RYAN
Associated Press Writer
September 11, 2004, 12:46 PM EDT
CLEVELAND -- The NBA rookie class scored in the sports card market as well as on the basketball court last season, propping up sales across the industry.
The success of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and others narrowed the gap between basketball cards and the more traditionally popular baseball and football cards.
"Everybody wants the rookies," said Brad Engelhardt, owner of Sports Cards and More of West Palm Beach, Fla., while working at The National, a sports collectibles convention that visited Cleveland in July. "They want to buy it for $10 and hope in a year it's worth $100."
Most of the more than 30 hobby shops responding to a June survey by Card Trade, a monthly trade publication for the sports collectibles industry, reported an increase in basketball card sales, editor Scott Kelnhofer said. Most stores saw double-digit increases over last year.
"It was probably the best-selling basketball season for cards ever," said Rick Bottiglier, owner of All American Sports Collectables in suburban Cleveland.
Kelnhofer estimated that basketball cards made up about 18 percent of the market for new cards in 2003, coming in third after baseball with 45 percent and football with 26 percent. This year's sales should push basketball up to more than 20 percent of the market share, he said.
Kelnhofer also expects basketball card sales to prop up the $320-million-a-year trading card industry, which he estimates has been losing 5 percent to 8 percent in revenue a year.
"It's the first time in many years that you had rookies immediately impactful into the league," said Jake Gonzales, a spokesman for card manufacturer Upper Deck, based in Carlsbad, Calif. The company has a $6 million autograph and memorabilia contract with James.
James, the Rookie of the Year, is credited with turning around the Cleveland Cavaliers' program and sparking record increases in game attendance. Wade and Anthony helped get their teams to the playoffs. Wade put up the most points for the Miami Heat, and Anthony led the rookies in scoring, ranking 12th overall in the National Basketball Association, while playing for the Denver Nuggets.
Card makers jumped on renewed enthusiasm for the basketball league by creating sets featuring the sport's newest stars, as well as legends such as Michael Jordan. Some of these cards generated attention on the resale market, and experts say one featuring James and Jordan could sell for more than $100,000.
The Exquisite Collection, an Upper Deck set introduced in June, contains several one-of-a-kind cards featuring different combinations of NBA logo patches from the jerseys of players such as James, Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Kelnhofer said Exquisite is the most expensive set of new cards ever offered by a manufacturer. Most trading cards sell for $2 to $10 per pack, but five Exquisite cards can bring in as much as $700 _ and that's just for the first-time sale. Collectors who find a logo patch card can expect to sell it for thousands of dollars at auction.
Orlando Macias, of Santa Rosa, Calif., got the lucky pull from a pack of Exquisite cards: a card featuring logo patches from James and Jordan.
Macias said he expects to get more than $100,000 for the card. An attempt to sell it in an eBay auction in July ended with a closing bid of $150,100, but Macias decided not to sell online because he suspected some of the bidders were fraudulent.
A similar card with James and Bryant patches sold for $62,000 on eBay in June, said Steve Bloedow, director of pricing for Krause Publications, which publishes Card Trade and related magazines. Chris Nerat of American Memorabilia, a collectibles dealer selling the Jordan and Bryant card from the Exquisite Collection, said he expects it will sell for $50,000.
The logo patch cards are surpassing the previous front-runner among modern basketball cards, a 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookie card, which typically sells for between $20,000 and $40,000, said T.S. O'Connell of Krause Publications.
Upper Deck competitor Fleer also created a new set in response to last season's rookie class, said spokesman Joshua Perlman. In the Flair Final Edition packs, collectors can find one of eight "redemption" cards, which entitle them to NBA draft memorabilia.
Perlman said basketball card sales increased significantly for Fleer, based in Mount Laurel, N.J. Fleer and Upper Deck, both privately held companies, wouldn't give sales numbers.
Basketball trading also has increased on the Internet, said Keith Hower, price guide editor for Beckett Publications, which publishes sports collectibles magazines. Internet sales postings have increased from about 30,000 at any one time two years ago to about 50,000.
The card manufacturers are not sure if basketball sales will hold steady for the upcoming NBA season, but they said last year's rookies have created a buzz about trading cards in general.
"The 2003-04 rookie class was one of the best of all time," Perlman said. "It really boosted the hobby."
By ERICA RYAN
Associated Press Writer
September 11, 2004, 12:46 PM EDT
CLEVELAND -- The NBA rookie class scored in the sports card market as well as on the basketball court last season, propping up sales across the industry.
The success of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and others narrowed the gap between basketball cards and the more traditionally popular baseball and football cards.
"Everybody wants the rookies," said Brad Engelhardt, owner of Sports Cards and More of West Palm Beach, Fla., while working at The National, a sports collectibles convention that visited Cleveland in July. "They want to buy it for $10 and hope in a year it's worth $100."
Most of the more than 30 hobby shops responding to a June survey by Card Trade, a monthly trade publication for the sports collectibles industry, reported an increase in basketball card sales, editor Scott Kelnhofer said. Most stores saw double-digit increases over last year.
"It was probably the best-selling basketball season for cards ever," said Rick Bottiglier, owner of All American Sports Collectables in suburban Cleveland.
Kelnhofer estimated that basketball cards made up about 18 percent of the market for new cards in 2003, coming in third after baseball with 45 percent and football with 26 percent. This year's sales should push basketball up to more than 20 percent of the market share, he said.
Kelnhofer also expects basketball card sales to prop up the $320-million-a-year trading card industry, which he estimates has been losing 5 percent to 8 percent in revenue a year.
"It's the first time in many years that you had rookies immediately impactful into the league," said Jake Gonzales, a spokesman for card manufacturer Upper Deck, based in Carlsbad, Calif. The company has a $6 million autograph and memorabilia contract with James.
James, the Rookie of the Year, is credited with turning around the Cleveland Cavaliers' program and sparking record increases in game attendance. Wade and Anthony helped get their teams to the playoffs. Wade put up the most points for the Miami Heat, and Anthony led the rookies in scoring, ranking 12th overall in the National Basketball Association, while playing for the Denver Nuggets.
Card makers jumped on renewed enthusiasm for the basketball league by creating sets featuring the sport's newest stars, as well as legends such as Michael Jordan. Some of these cards generated attention on the resale market, and experts say one featuring James and Jordan could sell for more than $100,000.
The Exquisite Collection, an Upper Deck set introduced in June, contains several one-of-a-kind cards featuring different combinations of NBA logo patches from the jerseys of players such as James, Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Kelnhofer said Exquisite is the most expensive set of new cards ever offered by a manufacturer. Most trading cards sell for $2 to $10 per pack, but five Exquisite cards can bring in as much as $700 _ and that's just for the first-time sale. Collectors who find a logo patch card can expect to sell it for thousands of dollars at auction.
Orlando Macias, of Santa Rosa, Calif., got the lucky pull from a pack of Exquisite cards: a card featuring logo patches from James and Jordan.
Macias said he expects to get more than $100,000 for the card. An attempt to sell it in an eBay auction in July ended with a closing bid of $150,100, but Macias decided not to sell online because he suspected some of the bidders were fraudulent.
A similar card with James and Bryant patches sold for $62,000 on eBay in June, said Steve Bloedow, director of pricing for Krause Publications, which publishes Card Trade and related magazines. Chris Nerat of American Memorabilia, a collectibles dealer selling the Jordan and Bryant card from the Exquisite Collection, said he expects it will sell for $50,000.
The logo patch cards are surpassing the previous front-runner among modern basketball cards, a 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookie card, which typically sells for between $20,000 and $40,000, said T.S. O'Connell of Krause Publications.
Upper Deck competitor Fleer also created a new set in response to last season's rookie class, said spokesman Joshua Perlman. In the Flair Final Edition packs, collectors can find one of eight "redemption" cards, which entitle them to NBA draft memorabilia.
Perlman said basketball card sales increased significantly for Fleer, based in Mount Laurel, N.J. Fleer and Upper Deck, both privately held companies, wouldn't give sales numbers.
Basketball trading also has increased on the Internet, said Keith Hower, price guide editor for Beckett Publications, which publishes sports collectibles magazines. Internet sales postings have increased from about 30,000 at any one time two years ago to about 50,000.
The card manufacturers are not sure if basketball sales will hold steady for the upcoming NBA season, but they said last year's rookies have created a buzz about trading cards in general.
"The 2003-04 rookie class was one of the best of all time," Perlman said. "It really boosted the hobby."