The sports collectible market saw a significant decline in 2023, according to a report by Altan Insights, a company that monitors sales across various collectible markets. Analyzing data from Card Ladder, Altan Insights observed a downward trend that began approximately 18 months ago and continued throughout the year.
The report revealed that sales for ultra-modern cards, which are cards issued between 2009 and the present, plummeted by 34.8% compared to the previous year. Modern cards, defined as those from 1984 to 2008, also experienced a decrease in sales, dropping by 30.8%. Vintage cards, while also facing a decline in overall sales, fared relatively better than their modern and ultra-modern counterparts.
Interestingly, the fourth quarter of 2023 saw vintage and pre-war cards outperforming modern and ultra-modern cards, further solidifying their advantage in the collectible market for the year, as highlighted in Altan’s report.
The segments of football, soccer, racing, and basketball cards were particularly hard hit, witnessing substantial price declines. Altan’s report pointed out that football, especially high-end cards of quarterbacks, both young and veteran, failed to recover their value. Injuries to popular quarterbacks in the latter half of the season exacerbated the situation.
Altan Insights also highlighted a significant dip in the top 50 sales at most auction houses from 2022 to 2023. Interestingly, the decline was less pronounced in the next tier of sales, suggesting a slightly stronger demand in the mid-range market segment.
Notable findings from Altan’s comprehensive 41-page report on the fourth quarter and the year as a whole include:
– A 40% year-over-year and 27% quarter-over-quarter drop in the number of six-figure auction sales in the fourth quarter, marking the lowest total in the past three years.
– In 2023, there were eleven recorded sales of baseball items exceeding $1 million, with eight involving cards or memorabilia of legendary players Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, spread across five different auction houses.
– In contrast to 2022, where twelve seven-figure basketball card sales were recorded, there were none in 2023. Altan Insights noted a disappearance in the demand for modern patch cards at high price points, which did not return throughout the year.
– The list of top-selling cards of currently active basketball players on eBay in the last four months of 2023 featured LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
– The market for LeBron James and Steph Curry cards across all platforms dipped by over 40% last year, while Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant cards remained relatively stable.
– Notably, Jordan cards from the late 1990s accounted for five of the top ten Jordan card sales in the fourth quarter, including three of the top five.
– While the market for game-worn and game-used memorabilia showed only modest growth from the previous year, the top 25 and top 50 sales in this category in 2023 were more than double the levels achieved in 2021.
Altan Insights’ report provides a comprehensive overview of the shifting dynamics in the sports collectible market, shedding light on the fluctuations in different segments and the evolving interests of collectors and investors in this domain. Despite the decline in overall sales, some segments and specific cards still hold value and continue to attract attention from enthusiasts.
