Santa Claus Fund
Childhood hobby has evolved into a competitive business
Nav “Superfan” Bhatia is flanked by Torstar chair Paul Rivett, left, and Toronto Star publisher Jordan Bitove as they team up to get ball rolling for our Santa Claus Fund, now in its 115th year of helping children in need across the GTA. Bhatia donated 500 basketballs to be included in this year’s gift packages.
In January, No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson made his much-anticipated debut for the New Orleans Pelicans. Against the San Antonio Spurs, Williamson — the most highly touted NBA prospect since LeBron James — lived up to the hype, scoring 22 points, including a three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter where he scored 17 points.
Rey Revereza, 38, is the co-owner of Dolly’s Sports Cards, a collectibles and memorabilia store located in downtown Toronto. He has been collecting sports cards since the early ’90s. After Williamson followed up his debut with a series of promising performances, Revereza saw what would be the start of a sports card boom that has lasted the entire year.
Suddenly, every collector wanted to get their hands on a Williamson rookie card. In June, an autographed rookie card of his sold for nearly $100,000 (U.S.) on eBay.
“He really drove the industry,” Revereza says. “Once his stock went up, and people started realizing that hey, wait a minute, this guy could one day be a Hall of Famer, that’s when the initial popularity in cards happened and it snowballed into the other sports.”
In the middle of a global pandemic, sports cards have become a coveted item in the secondary market. A childhood hobby of many fans growing up, cards are now a luxury investment.
A one-of-one 2003-04 Michael Jordan-LeBron James autographed dual patched autographed card sold for $900,000 this year. In May, an equally rare Mike Trout rookie card was sold for a similar price.
StockX, an online marketplace once reserved for sneakers, streetwear and designer handbags, now has an entire section devoted to trading cards.
Revereza says a lot of newcomers have joined the collecting scene thanks to online influencers such as Gary Vaynerchuk, better known as Gary Vee, who has used his online platform to discuss why he believes the value of sports cards will continue to explode.
All the buzz has piqued the interest of fans who collected cards growing up.
Adrian Lau, now in his 30s, started collecting basketball cards around the time Jordan retired after the1997-98 season.
The excitement of this year’s NBA rookie class, headlined by Williamson and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, inspired Lau to start collecting again.
In recent months, he has built up a collection that he hopes will eventually help him launch an online store. Like many people, Lau has found collecting sports cards in today’s climate to be more transactional and less of a hobby.
“Back in the day, when I was collecting, everyone was helping each other out,” Lau says. “Now, when you have the same conversations and you tell people you’re looking for this, people tell you they have it for sale, but at market price.”
Simon Foot, 34, grew up collecting a variety of cards, from sports to Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. Recently, with some encouragement from his friends, who are avid collectors, he has rediscovered the hobby.
“There’s just a thrill in ripping open a pack of cards,” Simon says.
The problem? Getting your hands on sports cards at retail locations is now a competitive business.
Members of online message boards and Facebook groups scour the aisles of Wal-Mart and Toys R Us locations on a daily basis, buying up packs of cards as soon as they hit the shelves.
Foot has found the same issues online, where products are selling out instantly and resurfacing in the aftermarket for well above retail price.
Recently, Foot shifted his strategy to eBay, where he has been bidding on baseball rookie cards, hoping to find a diamond in the rough at a reasonable price that he can sell later for a profit.
He recently purchased an autographed rookie card of top Blue Jays pitching prospect Nate Pearson, who made his big-league debut this season.
“Hopefully his career pans out,” Foot says. “It would be a nice little grab.”
Because of the availability of information today versus when cards were popular several decades ago, Revereza says it’s much tougher to compete with the rest of the market to find undervalued cards. It is not impossible, but it takes work.
Baseball is a perfect example. Their annual prospect pool is much larger in quantity than other sports, like basketball and hockey. But investing in the right card requires diligence, a smidgen of sports knowledge and some luck.
“You have to take it day by day like a stock market,” Revereza says. “You have to watch sports, and try to get leads on players you think will develop into something.”
While cards have become a lucrative investment vehicle for many, they have also become a way for the older generation to connect to a newer one.
Dominic Coballe, 44, was a collector back in grade school. At the age of 10, he started collecting baseball, hockey and basketball cards with his friends.
His group of friends, a crew of four, devoured every version of the Beckett price guide, figuring out how they could trade and sell their collection to make a few extra dollars.
“After school, we would have like 10 bucks on us,” Coballe says. “We would play a few video games, and then buy whatever amount of packs we could afford that day to try and complete the set.”
Coballe eventually grew out of the hobby, and his collection of about 2,000 cards sat in his garage until last year. During the Toronto Raptors’ championship run, his two kids, seven and 11, started to take up an interest in basketball.
“When I showed them the SkyBox cards with the ’90s graphics, they started fighting over them and divvying them up,” Coballe says. “That was a fun experience. I started telling them about Mark Price, Kelly Tripucka and Rex Chapman. I was like, ‘I’m going to give you some history on the best era of basketball.’ ”
Coballe has been fascinated by the return of sports cards to the mainstream this year. He owns a few rookie cards — Guy Lafleur, Bobby Orr and Marcel Dionne — which might have some value in the aftermarket, but since he has a full-time job, Coballe would rather pass the collection on to his kids.
He also can’t ignore the entrepreneurial aspect of passing down his collection to his kids.
“I want them to figure out that dynamic of seeing what the market wants and how to try and fulfil that need,” Coballe says. “With the resurgence in the value (of cards), I want to tell them, ‘Hey guys, if you’re into it, do the research and you can get a big cut of this.’ ”
Revereza says he hasn’t seen a sports card boom like this since Connor McDavid joined the Edmonton Oilers in 2015 (in June, a McDavid rookie card sold for over $135,000), and that generational stars such as McDavid and Williamson are what drives card booms.
Even if this year’s drafts don’t deliver a star worthy of such hype, the market is likely to continue soaring in the immediate future, as collectors reach into their archives and newcomers continue to buy and sell cards of current players, as they speculate on how the rest of their careers will play out.
Everyone is in it to find a card that will turn into a profitable investment down the line.
“It’s only going to get bigger and better,” Revereza says.
Alex Wong is a freelance sports and culture writer for the New York Times, GQ, SLAM and other places. He is the co-author of “We The Champs: The Toronto Raptors’ Historic Run to the 2019 NBA Title” and has an NBA book coming in 2021.
“There’s just a thrill in ripping open a pack of cards.” SIMON FOOT TRADING CARD COLLECTOR