Year in collectibles: Biggest challenge facing the hobby?

As 2024 comes to a close, cllct is looking back at a year that featured record-breaking auctions, highly coveted chase cards and other trends that took the hobby by storm.

To recap the biggest developments in the hobby, we assembled a panel of industry experts to offer their thoughts on the last 12 months.

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In the fourth installment of our five-part series, we focus on the hurdles the industry must overcome in 2025. (Answers have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.)

What are the biggest challenges facing the hobby right now?

David Kohler, founder, SCP Auctions:

The amount of time the authentication firms take to grade items and have them back to the dealer or collector.

We know these companies are very busy, and they also have to be very accurate and don't want to rush. But, obviously, the faster they can handle submissions, it perpetuates everything in a transaction or just for a collector that has interest in something.

Jason Masherah, president, Upper Deck:

Authenticity and regulation have presented major challenges, even more so as of late. The industry is muddied with counterfeit trading cards and forged signatures.

As producers of collectibles, it is our job to help educate shop owners and consumers on how to recognize they’re purchasing legitimate merchandise.

We began our fight against illegitimate trading cards decades ago when we introduced our revolutionary Upper Deck hologram on the back of our products. Now, with the threat of CT scanning, even legitimate products’ security is being called into question as sealed boxes reportedly can be dissected to determine their contents.

There also has never been an overarching regulator or governing body creating and enforcing “rules” to offer protections when it comes to signed memorabilia, which is why our trusted five-step authentication process — known as Upper Deck Authenticated — was created back in 1992.

Entering 2025, Upper Deck is working on plans to address these issues head on, much like when we have since our company was founded in 1988.

Kenneth Thrower, director, CGC video games and home video:

One of the biggest challenges is making grading more accessible for collectors at all levels. By introducing new submission options and holders and eventually offering more CGC services, such as CGC Signature Series and JSA, we will attract a broader range of collectors, not just those with elite, sealed collections.

This approach helps grow the market and makes it more inclusive, which is a big win for the hobby.

Matt Quinn, vice president, CGC Cards:

Achieving faster liquidity for collectors is a challenge in the card market. In numismatics, liquidity is quite strong — regarding percentage of market value obtained — but with cards, profit is sought when buying a collection, which leads to lower returns for collectors who are selling.

Matt Nelson, president, CGC Comics:

Inflation is definitely a challenge, but another big one is the impact of Hollywood. Movies and shows have been a huge driver for the comic book market, and we’re waiting for them to recapture the magic they had a few years ago. When they do, it’ll spark fresh excitement across the hobby.

James Spence III, senior vice president, James Spence Authentication:

One of the biggest challenges facing the industry right now is fraud prevention, particularly with the replication of certification labels. It’s critical for companies to stay head of counterfeiters by enhancing the security features of their label technology.

Protecting the integrity of certifications ensures trusts in the hobby and safeguards collectors’ investments, which is essential for the industry’s continued growth.

Nat Turner, CEO, Collectors:

The hobby has to continue to grow as fast as the production is growing. Look, I mean, boxes are still flying off the shelf at the prices that are being asked for, it seems like. And so kudos to the manufacturers for striking that balance between supply and demand.

With recent hobby growth, we're very lucky in this industry. I think other industries have had pretty big corrections post-COVID, including some of them even going back to pre-COVID levels. I do worry about this — but maybe like 1% of the time. We have much bigger problems, in general, around authenticity and counterfeiting.

Steve Grad, autograph authenticator:

The biggest challenges are keeping the hobby moving forward. Yes, the business has seen dips, and as the world turns financially, so does our business.

The growth in many areas is positive, and I can’t wait to see what 2025 and beyond brings to us all.

Mike, Junk Wax Hero on YouTube:

The reliance on gambling, big hits and gem-mint grades. All of these things necessarily lead to disappointment in most cases.

If your business or hobby is built on disappointing most of the participants, it might have some problems.

Paul Lesko, owner, Lesko Law LLC:

I’ve heard an increasing number of people complain they’re priced out of buying wax, so they’re changing their focus to buying singles and older (if not vintage and pre-war) cards.

Obviously, the manufacturers and breakers appear to be doing fine now but at some point if buyers keep getting priced out, there won’t be enough demand for new product.

Cristiano Bierrenbach, partner, Heritage Auctions:

I don’t see many critical challenges. For us, it’s always about continuing to work with our demographics, making sure we are helping collectors build their best possible collections, and, when the time comes, to ensure they achieve the highest possible prices at auction. This is what drives us every day.

David Hunt, founder, Hunt Auctions:

The biggest challenge the industry faces right now is not dissimilar to 35 years ago, when I first entered it. For any market to thrive and continue to grow, the leaders within that particular market have a responsibility to operate in a manner that will allow it to do so.

Those responsibilities include providing our clients with the proper information to best educate themselves on how to not only enjoy their experience within the hobby, but to also make informed decisions relating to the items they are buying.

For this industry to elevate to a different level, it will require industry leaders to not only achieve record pricing for certain items, but also provide counsel to hobbyists against inflated pricing or areas within the market that might be ill-advised.

That guidance and education for hobbyists is invaluable and often doesn’t serve the self-interests of the party providing it to its clientele. The hobby has demonstrated its remarkable resilience over the years through myriad challenges, and I hope it can remain a thriving and enjoyable endeavor for generations to come.

Brian Dwyer, president, Robert Edward Auctions:

We’ve come a long way in what we’re able to do with authentication of cards, signatures and memorabilia. The grading companies and developments in photo-matching have been the primary catalysts, and this has been a key factor in many of the record sales we’re seeing.

However, with greater sophistication comes greater imitation, and we’re unfortunately still seeing a lot of forgeries and fakes circulated. It’s going to be crucial for the health of the hobby that we remain diligent in policing these types of activities and ensuring everything is properly vetted.

Richard Albersheim, owner, Albersheim's:

First, quality customer service and client relations.

Second, understanding the original photo market correctly — which covers a segment of my business.

Many collectors and dealers are mislabeling photographs — someone will just make a blanket statement claiming they have a Type I photograph, when in fact it’s not. That's similar to someone referring to a baseball card as mint condition when it’s in “good” condition.

Barry Meisel, president and COO, MeiGray:

As has been true throughout the history of the hobby, policing the bad actors is a big challenge. Now that prices are grown astronomically, more and more attention must be paid to the diligence of authenticity and security, to keep the hobby clean.

Jesse Gibson, Sports Cards Nonsense:

The biggest challenge facing the hobby is the same one that has plagued it for years: barriers to entry for newcomers. Not necessarily because of the price or availability of product, but more so the access to information in two key ways.

First, there is no real unified resource that provides a Wikipedia-like level of knowledge on the hobby. For example, if someone wanted to know every card in a set, years a product was produced, photographer's name, production estimates, retail pricing, recent sales, confirmed product hits, etc., that would be a huge undertaking.

Data in our industry is all too often kept out of the reach, and I feel that will leave both individuals and bigger companies from investing.

Secondly, we are very fortunate to have many collectors who have been in the hobby for years and have a wealth of information. Unfortunately, though, many times I've seen those with the most information being negative to the point of hateful to someone new.

If we continue to hold back information, whether it's at the industry level or at the community level, I don't believe we'll ever see the wide scale adoption that many of us seek.

Mark Montero, LCG Auctions:

In pop culture, the biggest challenge is limited data and information about the items. It's difficult for new entrants to feel comfortable spending money when there is so little information out there.

At the same time, this allows experienced and savvy collectors and investors (those experienced enough without needing to rely on direct "comps") a tremendous opportunity to navigate the terrain with limited competition.

Stephen Lane, Propstore:

The industry's biggest challenges are related to provenance and attribution.

With the growing attention to our collecting categories and the increasing auction prices, sophisticated replicas, fakes, and misattributions have increased in the market.

Propstore has always put research and provenance at the core of its business, and each item we sell carries a Propstore Certificate of Authenticity (COA).

Ezra Levine, CEO, Mascot Technologies:

CT scanners will get the headlines, but they are a challenge that will get sorted. For many large sellers — either breakers, re-packers, hobby shops — the biggest challenge is they cant get their hands on enough inventory. That's the sign of a healthy, liquid industry right now.

Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.