Photo Credit: Greg Bates, Sports Collectors Digest
Reflecting on the National: #TheHobby is Thriving . . . and it Always Will Be – Finally, having had time to really decompress and catch up from the National, my overall takeaway from the show is that the hobby will ALWAYS be here. Seemingly overnight the National evolved into something much, much different from what it was, even a few years ago, let alone dating back to the inaugural show in 1991. That’s a great thing because it is proof that the hobby will always be here.
I have had the blessing and privilege of being involved in “the industry” aspect of the hobby for over 20 years. My current role with GTS Distribution, whom I have been with since this month of 2013, has afforded me several wonderful opportunities that I am eternally grateful. I’m excited to be celebrating my ten-year anniversary and look forward to many more years with the company.
So now, with some history and context, believe me when I tell you that I have been to Nationals, on early days in the week, where you could role a bowling ball down an aisle and not hit anyone. Try that this year and you’d hurt a lot of people, and I mean a LOT of people! It really was a tremendous thing to see and experience. John Broggi and Dan Berkus could have sat on their laurels and mailed this one in and nobody would have blamed them, but they are just not those types of people. No, instead, their Swan Song event was the largest, in square footage, and the attendance broke a 32-year record. Well done gentlemen.
The hobby will ALWAYS be here. The industry side of the sports collectibles market has always gone through changes, in fact we published an Infographic on the subject. Attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus “change is the only constant in life”, is as true for life as it is for the state of the trading card industry. The industry will always change, and the hobby will always be here. These two statements are categorically true. At the end of the day, regardless of what there is to collect and trade, collectors, who are the lifeblood of the industry, will always be just that, collectors.
The National served as emphasis for these observations. The audience demographic is skewing younger and more diverse, which are indicators of a thriving, healthy, collector market. While the industry itself is going through its current changes, it is important to remember that the connection and the passion that collectors have for their favorite players and personalities isn’t going to dissipate anytime soon.
While secondary market prices will always have cycles of rise and fall, it isn’t the speculator, flipper, or influencer who will never leave the hobby. No, it’s the collectors because collectors, love the hobby. Don’t get me wrong. All the above-mentioned collecting segments have their place in the hobby/industry as it exists today. Will that always be the case? Time will tell. The National continues to attract this type of hobbyist, many of which can expose this beloved hobby to even more people.
At the end of the day, the hobby will always rise above the drama of the industry. Whatever changes inevitably occur, the hobby will always be here. If the National’s current growth cycle, which is of vital importance to the industry, were to suddenly crash and return to its roots as a massive card show and not the corporate event it has become, the hobby will always be here.
Those of us in “the industry” should never take that fact for granted.
Reflecting on the National: #TheHobby is Thriving . . . and it Always Will Be
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