The sports collectible market took a hit in 2023, as reported by Altan Insights, a company specializing in monitoring sales across various collectible markets. Using data from Card Ladder, Altan Insights observed a downward trend that began about 18 months ago and continued throughout the year.
The analysis conducted by Altan Insights revealed that sales for ultra-modern cards, those issued from 2009 to the present, plummeted by 34.8% from the previous year. Modern cards, defined as those from 1984 to 2008, also saw a decrease in sales, dropping by 30.8%. Vintage cards, although not immune to the decline, performed slightly better than their modern and ultra-modern counterparts.
The fourth quarter of 2023 showed vintage and pre-war cards outperforming modern and ultra-modern cards, widening their advantage in the collectible market for the year, as stated in Altan’s report.
Among the different segments, football, soccer, racing, and basketball cards experienced the most significant price declines. Altan’s report specifically highlighted the struggles of high-end football cards, particularly those of quarterbacks, both young and veteran. Injuries to popular quarterbacks in the latter half of the season further exacerbated the situation, resulting in a failure to recover their value.
Additionally, Altan Insights pointed out a considerable decrease 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, implying slightly stronger demand in the mid-range market segment.
Key findings from Altan’s comprehensive 41-page 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.
– In 2023, there were eleven recorded sales of baseball items exceeding $1 million, with eight involving cards or memorabilia of baseball legends Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. These sales took place across five different auction houses.
– The absence of seven-figure basketball card sales in 2023 was a stark contrast from 2022, where there were twelve such sales. Altan Insights noted a disappearance in the demand for modern patch cards at high price points, which persisted throughout the year.
– The 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.
– The market for LeBron James and Steph Curry cards across all platforms saw a dip of over 40% last year, while Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant cards remained relatively stable.
One interesting observation from the report was that 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 modest growth from the previous year, the top 25 and top 50 sales in this category in 2023 more than doubled the levels achieved in 2021.
Altan Insights’ comprehensive report provides a detailed insight into the shifting dynamics of 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.
