"Star card" heats up, novices should not follow suit

　　Our reporter Sun Qiru

　　"A piece of paper with people painted on it, the most expensive autograph card can sell for millions of dollars!" A famous domestic talk show actor told the story of his recent obsession with NBA star cards in a speech on stage .

In the past two years, following the trend of playing blind boxes and sneakers, another "niche" collectible has begun to come to the front - the star card.

　　"Small Cards" Become the New Favorite of Alternative Investment?

　　How much is a card with a portrait of a sports star worth?

In August of this year, a star card of baseball legend Horners Wagner was auctioned for an astonishing $7.25 million.

　　The star card is a card made with the image of top athletes in basketball, baseball, football, tennis and other sports as the element. It is a sports IP derivative with both collection and investment value.

At the beginning of its birth, the meaning of the football star card was no different from the little raccoon card and the Water Margin hero card that many domestic consumers took out of the snack bags when they were children.

Around 1880, American tobacco manufacturers attached player cards to cigarette packs as a gift for cigarette purchases, and they gradually became part of fan culture.

　　The reporter learned that there are two ways to purchase and circulate football cards: one is to buy unopened "blind boxes" through Topps, PANINI, Upper Deck and other football card issuers with exclusive distribution rights, and win the global limited and probability The low card has a certain collection value; the second is to buy a clear card that has been opened and the contents of the card surface are clear.

　　The sales status and price of the star card are closely related to the progress of the event, the personal dynamics of the players, and the scarcity of the issuance of the star card.

Some cards are signed by players and are more popular.

"The price of the star card is also affected by the performance of the star's game. If the star withdraws from the season due to injury, the price of the star card will also fall." A senior practitioner said.

　　According to industry insiders, the mature market for football cards is mainly in North America, and the Chinese market is developing rapidly.

　　Realization of interest brings hot domestic market

　　Some senior domestic "card friends" who started playing cards early have gradually turned their interests into business, and have gradually promoted this slightly niche collection category in China.

It is understood that Beijing is currently the city with the largest collection and transaction volume of football star cards in China.

　　Zhang Qiuhao is the vice president of operations at the largest football card store in Beijing.

From the late 1990s at the entrance of the primary school to watch the star cards at the toy stall, visiting the card shop every day after school in junior high school, and now running a well-known player card shop in the industry, he has turned his love for the star card into a professional.

　　Zheng Jiaqi, a senior player of the football card and the manager of the T8 Collection Gallery, has been inseparable with the football card since his student days. Since 2010, he has been collecting football cards on a large scale and systematically. He likes to collect autographs of top football stars. star card.

In August of this year, Zheng Jiaqi resigned from her job to open a store, focused on the sales of football cards, and started the road of cross-border e-commerce of football cards.

Recently, his store was launched on eBay in just 6 weeks, and the cumulative sales exceeded 200,000 US dollars.

　　"On our platform, 3 new football star cards are launched every second." The relevant person in charge of eBay, a cross-border e-commerce platform, said that China's huge base of collectors and fans has laid a solid foundation for the further development of the market. Base.

　　Many cards suffered shrinkage by two-thirds

　　It should be noted that the value of the star card fluctuates wildly, and novices should not blindly follow the trend.

An industry veteran told reporters that the cards of many NBA star players have experienced a slump that has shrunk by two-thirds from their highs.

　　The reporter learned that under the inspiration of the case of "realization of interest", some novices bought the blind box of star cards with the mentality of "low in and high out", hoping that they could open high-value rare star cards.

However, an owner of a Beijing star card shop revealed that the price of a whole box of football cards is often high, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan per box, and few people can buy them directly. "Opening a card" has become the norm among card friends.

Even so, card players often pay a high price for the urge to keep opening the blind box.

　　Zhang Qiuhao, who has been engaged in the football card industry for many years, reminded: "It is recommended that beginners do not blindly open the box. They can start with their favorite players to buy clear cards, which can truly reflect the value of sports collections. Blindly pursue rare star cards and invest in It’s too big, and it’s too risky.”

　　"Beijing Daily" October 14, 2022, 15th edition