Sky-high deal
A Cristiano Ronaldo star card was auctioned for a sky-high price of 7,777,777 yuan. Although no payment was made, a star card signed by Messi was auctioned for a high price of 350,000 yuan.
Blind box gameplay
The tin can contains 6 basic card packs, one pack has 8 star cards, and there are 3 limited cards in the 48 cards.
There are 486 star cards issued in this World Cup. Some people collect a full set (ordinary cards) artificially, and they will buy them according to more than 5 times the circulation, which will cost at least 4860 yuan.
Others such as refraction cards and material cards will cost more.
In addition, games such as agent demolition, group formation and crowdfunding have also been derived.
card value
Whether a card has a high enough value mainly depends on the scarcity and the collectible elements on the card; it is also related to the number of star cards issued, the year of issue and the performance of the players in this World Cup.
layout track
Currently players include fans, card fans and some investors.
In addition, Yaoji Technology (002605.SZ) and others have entered the game.
The $220 billion World Cup in Qatar has started for several days. As the competition heats up, a secret but hot business-"star card" has surfaced.
The Red Star Capital Bureau has noticed that recently, the star cards sold in the form of blind boxes have made players enjoy it and spend crazy money on it.
Veteran fan Allen (pseudonym) said that there are 32 teams in the World Cup in Qatar, and Panini has issued a total of 486 star cards. In order to collect a full set (ordinary cards), some people usually buy more than 5 times the number of issued cards. , it will cost at least 4860 yuan.
However, refraction cards, material cards, etc. make players pay more.
In the second-hand market, star cards have repeatedly sold for sky-high prices.
On November 24, a Cristiano Ronaldo star card was sold at a sky-high price of 7,777,777 yuan on the Katao platform.
However, the seller replied that the buyer took the card by mistake and did not actually pay.
But behind the sky-high prices, what exactly supports the prices in the second-hand market of star cards?
A Secret Business:
World Cup popular "star card"
Known as "straight Hermes"
As the heat of the Qatar World Cup heats up, the secret but hot business of "star card" gradually surfaced.
"Panini 2022 Qatar World Cup star card, iron can with three silver fold cards, 159 yuan!" On November 27, in the live broadcast room of a trendy store on Douyin, the anchor's voice just fell, and the product link was displayed " Snatched out" inscription.
This is the official Qatar World Cup star card issued by Panini, the only authorized player card issuer for the World Cup in Qatar.
One tin can contains 6 basic card packs, one pack has 8 star cards, and there are 3 limited cards in the 48 cards.
Opening a card is similar to opening a blind box. Open the closed package and open your favorite football star or limited edition.
With the start of the World Cup, the star card, known as the "hard currency" of the World Cup, ushered in a peak trading period.
According to data from AliExpress (Note: Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platform, known as the "international version of Taobao"), in the past 30 days, sales in Saudi Arabia increased by 580% year-on-year, Brazil increased by 480%, South Korea Regional growth of 400%.
On short video platforms such as TikTok and Douyin, the number of views on related topics such as World Cup star cards has already exceeded 100 million.
Allen is one of the players.
He told the Red Star Capital Bureau that there are 32 teams in the World Cup in Qatar, and Panini has issued a total of 486 star cards, but the star cards are designed in blind boxes, and it is impossible to predict what cards will be issued. There are more "radical" players around. In order to collect a full set (ordinary cards), friends usually buy more than 5 times the circulation, which will cost at least 4860 yuan.
Compared with ordinary cards, players are more crazy about refraction cards (cards with reflective film after special treatment), signature cards, material cards (inlaid with player jerseys and sneaker fragments), limited cards, rookie cards (new players) and so on.
Among them, the World Cup star card "prizm series" released by Panini is the most popular series of star refraction cards.
Red Star Capital Bureau found on platforms such as Taobao that the price of "2022 Panini Prizm Qatar World Cup Grenade Edition" is 699 yuan per box, and the single price is about 30 yuan, which is 15 times higher than that of the ordinary version.
The higher-priced star cards are nicknamed "straight Hermes", and even derived methods such as dismantling, grouping, and crowdfunding.
The Red Star Capital Bureau noticed that since the opening of the World Cup on November 20, there have been many Douyin live broadcast rooms that replace and dismantle cards.
After the user purchases the specified link in the live broadcast room, the anchor can remove the card on his behalf. If a certain star such as Messi, Mbappe, etc. is removed, the live broadcast room will also have rewards.
Player Liu Cheng (pseudonym) told Red Star Capital Bureau, "Recently, more and more people form teams to dismantle cards, and it takes about half an hour to form a team." Liu Cheng said that such teams form dozens of times a day.
Behind the sky-high price gimmick: investment or hype?
The 7.77 million sky-high deal was an oolong
Selling in the form of blind boxes is only the primary market for the star card business. In the second-hand market, star cards are also popular, and even frequently sell for sky-high prices.
According to the second-hand trading platform Katao, a football star card signed by Messi and rated 8.5 points has undergone 99 bids, and was auctioned at a high price of 350,000 yuan at the end of August.
On November 24, a Cristiano Ronaldo star card was sold at a sky-high price of 7,777,777 yuan on the Katao platform.
"The transaction of the sky-high price star card is indeed a hot spot event that has attracted attention in the past two years, but the Ronaldo star card with a transaction price of 7.77 million is far beyond the normal range of the market. It should be an abnormal order with no real transaction." Mr. Zhou, who has been in the card collection industry for 11 years, told Red Star Capital Bureau.
On November 27, the seller of the 7.77 million star card "Pokemon" replied to the Red Star Capital Bureau that the buyer took the card by mistake and did not actually pay.
Mr. Zhou said that considering the different types of star card issuance, not all cards are valuable, and most of them do not reach the level of tens of thousands.
Mr. Zhou said that because star cards are mainly derivatives of commercial sports events, the popularity of sports events and players determines the value basis of cards.
"However, whether a card has a high enough value mainly depends on its scarcity and the collectible elements on the card, such as the autograph of the star and the slice of the jersey worn by the player."
Mr. Guo, who runs a jersey and star card collection store, believes that the value of star cards is a complex system, and the number and year of issue of star cards also determine their value.
"For example, the rookie card, because it is the player's first appearance, its value is higher than similar cards in the future." In addition, the performance of the players in this World Cup also affects the value of the star card.
Mr. Guo said that at present, most of the customers who come to the store to buy star cards are fans and card fans. Everyone wants to commemorate their favorite teams and stars through star cards.
However, the Red Star Capital Bureau found that in addition to fans and card fans, there are also investors.
Some players said in the star card post bar that they bought a box of F1 star cards for 1,700 yuan last year. This year, the price has risen to more than 18,000 yuan, more than ten times.
However, it is not uncommon for investment in star cards to fail.
In July this year, Chen Guanxi released a video unboxing Panini basketball star card. This box of national treasure series with a market price of about 5,000 US dollars was actually less than 5,000 yuan after unboxing.
"Excessive pursuit of economic interests other than star card culture, without a correct understanding of things, without a full understanding of the market, and even without the drive of hobbies, there is a high probability that you will not get the desired results." Mr. Zhou said to Red Star Capital Bureau said.
The domestic market heats up: the next hot track?
Already listed companies have entered the market
Star cards originated in the United States and have a history of more than 100 years.
Mr. Zhou said that at the end of 2019, the popularity of star cards suddenly heated up around the world, and 2020-2021 will be the two years with the fastest growth in the audience of domestic star cards.
Mr. Guo believes that since the beginning of this year, the growth rate of the sales of collectible cards in China has been significantly higher than the average level in Europe, America and the world. , circulation and other endorsements, coupled with the fact that a large-scale auction house will conduct a formal auction of star cards this year, I believe this is a good signal.
"But the price of star cards has not been rising all the time. The upsurge in 2020 has pushed up card prices and reached its peak in the first half of 2021. The prices of most cards have been falling in the past year." For example, the upsurge of star cards and the occurrence of its crash made its autographed cards become a hot pursuit in the market.
However, as the collection demand is gradually saturated, the upward trend in prices will be relatively moderate or even decline.
Although the rising trend of prices has eased, the huge IP market for star cards still cannot be underestimated.
According to data previously released by a market research company, the compound growth rate of the global star card market will reach 23% from 2020 to 2027, and the market size will reach 98.7 billion US dollars (about 676.2 billion yuan) in 2027.
Behind the huge IP market is business.
Taking Panini as an example, during the 2018 World Cup, Panini produced 8-10 million packs per day on average.
The boost from the World Cup brought Panini's turnover to about 1 billion euros that year, double the 536 million euros in 2017.
Now, domestic capital is also eyeing this track.
At the beginning of this year, A-share listed company Yaoji Technology (002605.SZ) made a strategic investment in Shanghai Chaowang Information Technology Co., Ltd., which owns DAKA, a domestic IP issuer of football cards, and the above-mentioned trading platform Katao also belongs to its subsidiary.
Yaoji Technology disclosed that Katao’s GMV will exceed 600 million yuan in 2021, a year-on-year growth rate of more than 300%; the highest monthly GMV will exceed 50 million yuan.
In September, FansMall, a player card platform, announced the completion of a new round of financing.
According to the data of Tianyancha APP, Yaowei Capital, which was founded by Yao Ming and others, had previously received angel investment.
According to Southern Metropolis Daily, before the opening of this round of the World Cup, FansMall announced that it has obtained the exclusive authorization of the official IP of the Argentine national team in Asia, and also said that it will issue the exclusive star card of the Argentine national team during the World Cup in Qatar.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Qiang Yamian