Top 10 Must Stock Sports Collectibles for the Holiday Season – The holiday shopping season can often times make or break a retailers year-end bottom line and hobby shops are no different. The fact-of-the-matter is that between now and Christmas Eve, you have no idea of knowing just whom might stop in to your shop for the first time looking for that perfect gift or last minute stocking stuffer. Will you be ready?
Below is our recommended list of the Top 10 Must Sports Collectibles for the Holiday Season (and related items). Some of these items might be a no brainer. Others might be outside the norm of what you typically carry. But that’s OK. All of the items listed below will eventually sell through.
If your bread and butter is customers who buy mid-range products and that’s all you carry, how will you meet the need of a single working mom who want’s to get a box of baseball cards for their son or daughter but can’t afford the latest $100 box? Conversely, if high-end products are out of the reach of the majority of your customers, how will you be able to help the young urban professional wife who wants to get their collecting husband something he wouldn’t necessarily purchase for himself?
Wouldn’t it be better to invest a little money now and to take the risk, rather than to have to turn potential customers away without a sale? We know purchasing decisions can be difficult but this guide will help you make smart decisions that could prove to be extremely profitable.
Team Sets
Regardless of the market your business operates in, chances are there are team sets for your areas various sports teams. A lot of times, family friends and secondary relatives like aunts and uncles, know that one of their younger loved ones is into sports and/or collecting but have no idea what that specifically means. Team sets make the perfect small gift or stocking stuffer.
Additionally, just because your store operates in say, Denver, Colorado, don’t assume everyone is only a fan of the Broncos. The fact is that Denver, like other Mountain and Southwest cities have a large population of transients and transplants. That means stocking a handful of team sets from popular teams like the Dallas Cowboys, NY Giants, Chicago Cubs, etc. provides more of an opportunity to meet the needs of those customers.
That doesn’t mean you stock in the same quantities as your hometown teams but the price point of these sets means it won’t break the bank from the cash-flow standpoint.
Display and Storage Supplies
There are a couple of different reasons for needing to actually over-stock on display and storage items this time of year. The fact-of-the-matter is that collectors would much rather spend money on new boxes than supplies. However, at the same time they can’t live without them. Extra money at the holidays means that many collectors feel “OK” with spending money on supplies they wouldn’t otherwise at other times of the year.
Display items can be expensive and often times collectors, hold-off on purchasing them for the same reason as stocking up on supplies. In addition, display items are often purchased by significant others because they know the collector won’t always pull the trigger on a purchase themselves.
Boxed Sets
Whether they will admit it or not, collectors love boxed sets. They also make a very easy gift buying choice for the uneducated, non-collecting family friend or relative. Recent releases from Upper Deck, Topps and Panini have delivered this configuration for products like USA Baseball, USA Soccer, USA Football and Heritage High Numbers. They are easy to wrap, easy to ship and are moderately priced making them a perfect gift. For non-sport/entertainment collectors there has been a shift in recent years to producing some products as all-inclusive standalone sets. These include some pretty popular titles including the movie Pacific Rim, and TV shows Once Upon a Time and Bates Motel, to name a few.
Entry Level Trading Card Products
Chances are most gift buyers will be unaware at just how much the trading card market has changed. This is especially true in terms of product cost. Some may be tempted to nix the idea of trading cards as a gift if your store only stocks mid-range to high-end products. Now is a good time to stock lowered priced products like Topps Opening Day Baseball, Blaster Boxes, Score Football and Sticker Collections even if you don’t normally do so.
Latest Trading Card Games
You may not understand the appeal of Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Dragon Ball Z, My Little Pony and Magic the Gathering but you certainly know how important it is to diversify your store’s inventory portfolio. Trading Card Games or Collectible Card Games are a booming business right now and shows no signs of slowing down. So whether adding these type of products would be something new or you are a veteran gaming supplier, now is the time to insure you are stocked up on the latest releases from the aforementioned properties. At the minimum, carry a couple of theme decks and a booster pack box.
Autographed Memorabilia
Whether the fan/collector on your gift buyer’s list is into football, baseball, basketball, hockey or entertainment, there is probably a packaged memorabilia product available. A few companies, including Leaf, Tristar and Super Break have products for the memorabilia collector. The blind packaging makes every gift a surprise that collectors are sure to love and that buyers will love to give. Other companies like Riddell have the perfect non-autographed memorabilia item for team fans who like to get their autographs in-person.
Factory Sets
These pre-packaged, complete sports card sets have always made the perfect gift. It’s nice to know some things never change. A definite must have item for your store’s holiday inventory.
Entertainment Trading Card Products
Traditionally called non-sport by many people, this genre of trading cards has evolved into, not what it isn’t (sports cards) but instead, what it is (entertainment cards). There are soooo many great movie and TV show related card sets to collect these days that the possibilities are nearly endless. While not every one watches sports or collects sports cards, most people are fans of TV shows and movies. From The Big Bang Theory to Arrow and Grimm to Once Upon A Time, James Bond to Ironman, chances are there’s a trading card set for it. If your store hasn’t taken the plunge into entertainment trading card products, perhaps this holiday season would be a great opportunity to try something new?
McFarlane Figures
While not every sports fans is a trading card collector, most would appreciate having a figure of their favorite player or players from their favorite team. McFarlane Sportspicks has done a lot to make their figures collectible but at the same time affordable. The new versions of Collector Level Variants have seen some amazing secondary market pricing. At the same time, the base level figures make for a great, inexpensive gift. If you’ve never carried Sportspicks or used to and got burnt out, now is a good time to stock-up on players across all sports of your local market and popular teams. Also don’t forget that McFarlane makes figures for entertainment properties as well, including AMC’s hit TV show The Walking Dead and blockbuster video game franchises like Call of Duty and Halo, just to name a few.
High-End Trading Card Products
Ok, we know cash flow can be an issue at the holidays. At the same time, the old adage, “nothing ventured, nothing gained”, may be something to keep in mind when considering this option. The fact of the matter is that now is the time of year that a couple of interesting things happen with regards to high-end trading card releases. Number one, is that collectors who wouldn’t normally buy a box of Five Star Baseball for themselves, may do just that with some extra holiday money from a relative or work related gift or bonus. Second, spouses who endure (sometimes begrudgingly) their loved ones obsessive hobby, sometime like to show that, while they may not “get it”, they do love their husband (or wife) and want to see them happy. As a result, often times, they are the ones dropping a few hundred dollars on a product that might at other times, sit on your store shelves for months.
Regardless of what specific products you choose to carry this holiday season, remember to think outside the box in terms of your store’s hours, return policy, customer service and marketing. This can be a great time of year to generate new customers, reconnect with old ones and share this great hobby with people for the very first time. Will you be ready?
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