The sports collectible market has taken a hit in 2023, as reported by Altan Insights, a notable company that monitors sales across various collectible markets. This downturn in the market has been observed through data from Card Ladder, with a downward trend that began about 18 months ago and continued throughout 2023.
According to Altan Insights’ analysis, sales for ultra-modern cards, which refer to cards issued from 2009 to the present, saw a significant decline of 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%. However, vintage cards fared relatively better than their modern and ultra-modern counterparts, although they still experienced an overall decline in sales.
The fourth quarter of 2023 saw vintage and pre-war cards outperforming modern and ultra-modern cards, widening their advantage in the collectible market for the year, as highlighted in Altan’s report.
Specifically, the segments of football, soccer, racing, and basketball cards witnessed the most substantial price declines. Altan’s report pointed out that high-end football cards, particularly those of quarterbacks, both young and veteran, failed to regain their value. The situation was further exacerbated by injuries to popular quarterbacks during the latter half of the season.
Another interesting observation made by Altan Insights was regarding the sales at auction houses. There was a considerable dip in the top 50 sales from 2022 to 2023. However, the decline was less pronounced in the next tier of sales, indicating slightly stronger demand in the mid-range market segment.
Some key findings from Altan’s comprehensive report on the fourth quarter and the year 2023 include a 40% year-over-year and 27% quarter-over-quarter drop in the number of six-figure auction sales in Q4, marking the lowest total in the past three years. Additionally, there were eleven recorded sales of baseball items exceeding $1 million in 2023, with eight involving cards or memorabilia of Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle spread across five different auction houses.
A significant contrast was noted between 2022 and 2023 in terms of basketball card sales. In 2022, there were twelve sales of basketball cards exceeding seven figures, while in 2023, there were none. Altan Insights also observed a disappearance in the demand for modern patch cards at high price points, which did not recover throughout the year.
The list of top-selling cards of currently active basketball players on eBay in the last four months of 2023 included LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Interestingly, 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 paints a comprehensive picture of the shifting dynamics in the sports collectible market. It highlights the fluctuations in different segments and sheds light on the evolving interests of collectors and investors in this domain.
