The other day, eBay made a major announcement at a very upscale restaurant in a historic skyscraper in the heart of Manhattan's financial district one block from Wall Street.
“The list includes 10 legends whose trading cards have held the highest value and had the greatest influence on baseball’s cards and collectibles world. Inductees were selected based on more than a decade’s worth of proprietary sales and search data, and represent every era of the last century of baseball, from Babe Ruth to Pete Rose, and beyond.”
While eBay declined to disclose to me what portion of its $2.6 billion revenue in the first quarter of 2019 consists of sports cards and collectibles, it remains the industry’s behemoth.last September, an academic study about eBay indicates that sports memorabilia constitutes 13% of all eBay sales, translating into about $331 million in today’s market.
“This is the core, the origin, and category number one of eBay,” explained, Gordon Cheng, the sports collectibles division’s chief in a video that eBay released.“Baseball card collecting is viewed by many as America’spastime,” said Sam Bright, eBay's vice president of merchandising, about its top 10 list. “These players’ cards have become an iconic part of baseball culture, prized by collectors around the world for their history and value.” PWCC, grosses $60 million per year.
Third, an eBay executive told me that much of the sales are for as little as $5 or $15 cards to avid collectors, a far cry from gem mint Mickey Mantles that command hundreds of thousands of dollars. But a lot of little makes a lot.
I have a Roberto Clemente card from his last season. That will be legacy for my kids.
As a kid, I was sure my Jose Canseco card would be worth a million $$ one day...I guess I'll stick it back in the box for now.