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.
RELATED STORIES:
- Year in review, part 1: What was the top trend of 2024?
- Year in review, part 2: Did the hobby improve in 2024?
- Year in review, part 3: What was the most important sale of 2024?
- Year in review, part 4: Biggest challenge facing the hobby
In the final installment of our five-part series, we look ahead to 2025. (Answers have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.)
Are there any emerging trends you see on the horizon that will play a major role in 2025?
David Kohler, founder, SCP Auctions
I don't know this for a fact, but I just feel there are still big things going to come out in regards to people wanting to buy some of the rarest pieces of memorabilia that might get found or offered from collections to a more mainstream audience.
Sotheby’s just did a sale with Tom Brady, including his watches. It's bringing to light the the amount of people that collect, and that it's cool to collect, and people love this stuff.
I feel there's going to be more of that, even in the past year as we've heard of more current athletes collecting their own cards.
Bobby Livingston, RR Auctions:
I've been approached with a couple of apps that are using AI to identify and appraise objects, and they've been scraping all of our results all these years.
So, it's going to become easier and easier, I believe, for the consumer or the owner of items that want to auction them to find out what the heck they are and what they're worth.
Jason Masherah, president, Upper Deck:
With the explosive growth of women’s hockey, as the PWHL completed its first regular season, and women’s basketball, as collegiate stars such as Caitlin Clark took center stage, the rise of women’s collectibles is definitely a hot and exciting topic to watch.
While Upper Deck has been featuring female athletes for more than 30 years, it has historically been hard for our industry to reach girls. However, with idols on and off the courts, the timing is ripe to celebrate these remarkable women in the same way we’ve immortalized great moments for their male counterparts.
Another is the growth and evolution of pop culture and how this translates to collectibles. I’ll tell you what I’m most excited about in the coming year: The Summer of Superman.
There’s no denying 2024 was a down year for superhero movies. It felt like a bit of a market correction after years of capes dominating the box office. But after a down year, there is no better figure to lead a bounce back than Superman.
The film will be James Gunn’s first flagship film since taking the helm of the DC Comics cinematic universe. It will set the tone for the future of the superhero films and kick off what could be a legendary run of DC characters on the big screen. At Upper Deck, we’re thrilled to be a part of this journey through our partnership with DC and can’t wait to help build off what Gunn creates with unique collectibles and memorabilia.
Kenneth Thrower, director, CGC video games and home video:
One trend we’re seeing is collectors resubmitting "Complete In Box" games to pair the best components together and create the highest-graded copies of popular titles. These top-tier CIBs are drawing significant attention and achieving higher prices.
Matt Quinn, vice president, CGC cards:
I think we’ll see the market continue to shift toward the Gem Mint 10 grading scale as the standard, but collectors will still value a pristine grade to set truly exceptional modern cards apart
Matt Nelson, president, CGC comics:
Collectors are always on the lookout for undervalued areas of the market, and we’ve seen that recently with the rise of interest in romance comics.
It’ll be exciting to see where their focus shifts next — there’s always a new corner of the hobby waiting to be rediscovered.
James Spence III, senior vice president, James Spence Authentication:
One emerging trend we see on the horizon for 2025 is the continued international expansion of the collectibles market. It’s incredible to travel across the globe and see collectors investing in the same autographs and memorabilia that resonate so strongly here.
This growing global interest highlights the universal appeal of collectibles and the stories they represent.
Nat Turner, CEO, Collectors
I think we're gonna have a big year for Pokémon. The content coming out is exciting.
Another big trend next year is going to be international collectors and support for e-commerce globally in the hobby.
Steve Grad, autograph authenticator:
That’s a good question. The thing I’m more interested in, is Fanatics. Are they a trend themselves? I’m not sure they are, but they they have a foothold in our business, and unless something catastrophic were to happen I don’t see them stopping.
Maybe at the end of the day, their Fanatics Fest’s won’t work out, but they are a positive on many aspects of the business.
Mike, Junk Wax Hero on YouTube:
We've seen a couple of smaller third-party graders either shutting down operations or talking about doing it.
I believe this will continue, not just with grading companies, but other smaller hobby companies that started during the boom and now realize they can't make it in the normal hobby world. Consolidation will continue.
Can Beckett survive in its current state of steadily declining submissions?
James Kehoe, CGCsportsillustrated:
While this hobby was built on Sports Illustrated, and that’s still 90% of the hobby today, ultra modern copies of SI have quickly become very boring and aren’t very collectible.
SI produces around 15 issues a year. In 2024, I’d say only two or three issues were interesting to collectors. This has allowed other publications, such as SLAM magazine, to really elevate their profile in the hobby. 2025 will be the year SLAM really leaves its mark on the hobby.
Paul Lesko, owner, Lesko Law LLC:
The emerging trend I saw for 2024 is an increase in lawsuits brought against former employees for alleged bad acts — which isn't really that surprising given the amount of money flowing into the hobby.
As the hobby continues to grow, and the value of cards and memorabilia continues to increase, I'm sure in 2025 we'll see even more cases arising.
Cristiano Bierrenbach, partner, Heritage Auctions:
The “trend” we believe in the most is transparency of auctions and increased, relevant informations to collectors so everyone can make smart bidding decisions. Well-educated collectors are our short-, mid- and long-term goals.
David Hunt, founder, Hunt Auctions:
For 2025 and beyond, I do believe we will continue to see the market turning toward the blue-chip materials that have always been the foundation of the hobby.
That is not to say that select modern-era collectibles will not command interest and related prices, but in general, the market has understood and properly corrected for those areas in the hobby that never really made sense in the first place.
Brian Dwyer, president, Robert Edward Auctions:
We’ve seen a number of mergers and acquisitions over the last couple of years in the hobby, all of which have included key players.
With the current strength of the hobby and the record numbers that are being set almost monthly, I’m curious to see what unfolds in the next year, especially as larger companies, as well as major financial institutions, take a close look at the collectibles industry as a major driver in the alternative asset space.
Richard Albersheim, owner, Albersheim's:
I believe collectors are starting to fight back on paying high prices for new issue cards (i.e. hobby boxes, etc.).
A demand for rare, fresh collectibles in all segments is rising. Buyers want historical important names to collect and items that are relatively rare.
Also, other trends I see for 2025 are better customer service, and buyers buying for more of a long-term investment, rather than quick flip.
Jesse Gibson, Sports Cards Nonsense:
We'll continue to see the expansion and growth of the non-sport side of the hobby.
I'm fortunate enough to be a founder of both the Sports Cards Nonsense Facebook Group and the Non-Sports Cards Nonsense Group. We started the latter in March of this year, and we're already at just about 50k members.
The demand continues to increase and with Topps getting U.S. licensing for Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and keeping Star Wars in 2025, I think we're looking at an excellent opportunity to see a wide array of non-sport collectibles come to the market to meet the growing demand.
Mark Montero, LCG Auctions:
I see investors refining their approach and identifying better opportunities. I see ultra-modern, game-worn items falling in price due to high inventory.
I see investor/collectors once focused only on sports cards expanding their inventory to other collectibles.
Stephen Lane, Propstore:
Looking ahead to 2025, we see a lot of potential in categories adjacent to film and TV memorabilia. Both our sellers and buyers are increasingly interested in these areas, and we’ve already seen impressive growth in our music and poster auctions this year, achieving the largest auctions we've ever held in both categories.
As a result, we’re very excited about the future of these categories and have ambitious plans for them in 2025.
Ezra Levine, CEO, Mascot Technologies::
I expect a continuation of the trends we saw in 2024: continued rise of live commerce, technology playing an even larger role to reduce the pain points of the industry, and new ways and channels to buy, sell, and list inventory, which will continue to bolster liquidity.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.