Okay, yesterday I shared a lot of news that’s happened this week in the hobby.
I’ve re-added it here just in case.
In this episode though, I go over
My opinions on the whole Fanatics thing
What it means for Topps/Panini
What it means for creators and hobby business owners
The main middle men that’ll cop most of the heat
A little on the PWCC thing
But most importantly, my hobby news this week - because in a week where PWCC was kicked off eBay, you all want to hear about me bidding for Christian Vieri cards.
A lot of this is my opinion - in fact, that’s all pretty much any of us have at the moment. I don’t think I’ll talk too much more about any of this as it’s just speculation.
If more news comes out, I’ll discuss that when it’s relevant.
However, I didn want to talk about how it relates to soccer cards.
Before We Start…
Before we start - there’s a few ways you can support the newsletter.
Shop at eBay (affiliate link, I’ll earn a small percentage off any purchase - at no extra cost to you)
Try SoRare
Check out Market Movers
Shop at Fanatics - I swear this is a coincidence
PWCC Getting Kicked off eBay
Earlier this week, many of us got that email from eBay saying that they were cutting ties with the biggest sports card seller on the playform.
*Chaos ensures*
Here’s some key articles and other content that sum a lot of things up.
There’s a lot more news about this because it’s been on the fringe for a while.
Sports Collector Daily: eBay Accuses PWCC of Shill Bidding; Company Calls Accusation “Defamatory”
Blowout Forums: Newcomer to the Trimming Scandal? Read This Summary Now and Catch Up Fast.
Sports Card Radio: A very angry video, and goes about 45 directions at once sometimes… Some are political which I don’t align with - but if you can look past a lot of that, there’s a lot of great info here.
Sports Card Radio: Gary Moser & PWCC Marketplace Card Trimming & Shill Bidding Scam (Published 2019)
Blowout Forums: Here is a thread on Blowout Forums (that’s still operating) that highlights all the trimmed and altered cards.
Vintage Card Curator: I’m not much of a hobby YouTube watcher, but I have a lot of time for Vintage Card Curator.
PWCC Initial Response:
And PWCC news regarding their selling platforms.
More will come out about this in due course. It’ll be a very interesting topic going forward.
Fanatics Buys the Hobby
PWCC took headlines for like 48 hours or so…
Until Fanatics just came in and flopped their dick on the table and showed who is boss.
*Chaos ensures*
*again*
This was more out of left field - friend of the show, Darren Rovell, broke the news at the Action Network.
The Action Network: MLB Set to Give Exclusive Trading Card License to Fanatics, Ending 70-Year Run for Topps
Sports Card Daily: Reports: Fanatics in Deals to Take Over Trading Card Licenses in Multiple Sports
This news kinda broke in parts.
First the Topps baseball part came out and that was huge.
Baseball Collector (Mike from Breaker Culture):
Then, a few hours later, the it came out Fanatics are also in conversations with NBA and NFL about their rights too.
Massive.
This is still five years away though, and as it seemed to come out of left field, there’s still a lot of time for this to play out.
I have my views on this, but as far as sharing them - I’ll wait until there’s a bit more solid news and less doomsday prepping.
Topps Having a 200m Loan Due Next Year?!
Most of what you see is just unfounded talk and opintion.
Again…
Again, if you want to help out, there’s a few ways you can support the newsletter.
Shop at eBay (affiliate link, I’ll earn a small percentage off any purchase - at no extra cost to you)
Try SoRare
Check out Market Movers
EARLY POD! PWCC, eBay, Fanatics, Topps, Panini - How Will The Hobby Change and What it Means For Soccer