As 2025 draws to a close, cllct takes a look back at a record-setting year in the hobby.
We've assembled a panel of the top experts in the industry to recap some of the biggest trends of the past 12 months — both the good and the troubling.
Plus, we'll look into our crystal ball and try to forecast what lies ahead in 2026.
In the second installment of our two-week series, we look at the overall healthy of the hobby.
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(Answers have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity. Questions were distributed before Collectors' acquisition of Beckett on Dec. 15.)
Do you think the hobby is better off today than a year ago? Why or why not?
Rob Bigler, CEO, TCGplayer:
Absolutely. TCG fans have more games to enjoy and more cards to collect than ever before. And with creative IP and worlds colliding — as we saw with the popularity of Magic: The Gathering: Final Fantasy and the introduction of Riftbound this year — there are more avenues than ever for new and existing fans to engage with the hobby.
Brian Dwyer, president, REA:
Overall, the hobby is in a great place because there continues to be such a healthy appetite for collectibles, and new enthusiastic collectors continue to enter the space and inject energy and excitement.
If you take REA as a microcosm of the industry, we’re seeing great growth in the number of items we’re offering as well as the number of buyers and sellers in each and every auction. This has been a great year for new, first-time buyers as well as continued solid engagement with longstanding collectors.
This extends beyond REA to other marketplaces and even trade shows, such as The National and others, that are reporting the same trends.
Elizabeth Gruene, GM of pop culture, PSA:
I do. It feels like people are finally paying attention to non-sports collectibles and seeing the value in these items.
People used to kind of make fun of Pokémon cards. They weren’t always taken as seriously as sports cards. I think that really changed in 2025. The top graded card at PSA of all time is a Pokémon card now, topping Ken Griffey Jr.
We are grading more Pokémon cards than all sports combined. This is a huge shift in the market, and a positive one for me as a pop culture fan.
David Hunt, president, Hunt Auctions:
As an overall evaluation, yes, it is better off than it was a year ago. However, the reasoning behind that evaluation might not be perceived as "good" by everyone.
As the "post-pandemic" market finally settled after last year, there were a fair number of us who were curious if it would continue to adjust either further down or back up. I think it is a great indicator the prices either stabilized or went up in certain cases versus only a small portion that went down.
That, to me, indicates that while the pandemic market caused some volatility in conjunction with the escalation of participation and prices, we now have settled into a stronger and deeper pool of hobbyists who will hopefully continue into the future.
Adam Ireland, VP and general manager, Global Collectibles at eBay:
Yes, I do think the hobby is in a better place than it was a year ago. Collectors have more transparency, better data, and fewer barriers to buying and protecting what they care about.
Over the past year, we’ve focused on reducing friction across the collecting journey — from access to PSA population data, to PSA grading and storage at checkout, to launching an all-new price guide for sports trading cards.
The response from the collecting community has been overwhelmingly positive, and that feedback tells us we’re helping make the hobby more informed, accessible, and sustainable for the long term.
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions, Heritage Auctions:
With each passing year, buyers are becoming more discerning and sophisticated. This is a great indicator of market maturity.
Third-party authentication and grading remain the foundation, but buyers are increasingly taking matters into their own hands by identifying exceptional quality within each category and demonstrating a willingness to pay a premium for the best exemplars.
Cards, Type I photos, tickets, game-worn jerseys, game-used bats, and other collectibles that possess standout eye appeal are garnering greater price premiums. It’s a trend that is likely to stay with us as the hobby continues to grow.
David Leiner, president of trading cards, Topps:
Last year was an incredible year, but, yes, 2025 was even better. We’re continuing to learn from and listen to collectors and put out great products and push on innovation.
Our hobby ecosystem from our retailers to our hobby stores to our breakers are doing more marketing than ever; so what we’re seeing is an industry pulling together in the same direction.
I think you see that success in prices and participation, measured by things such as Fanatics Fest and The National attendance.
Jason Masherah, president, Upper Deck:
There’s no doubt the hobby had some ups and downs throughout the year, but I do believe it’s in a better place than it was a year ago because we are continuing to see growth and, more importantly, collectors are finding joy in the hobby.
Tariffs had an opportunity to really do a number on our industry, we continued to fight counterfeit memorabilia, and yet we are still seeing more people than ever joining the hobby.
Mike, Junk Wax Hero on YouTube:
I think many people conflate the industry with their hobby. My hobby is largely unaffected because I make a conscious decision to almost exclusively purchase singles.
I like to be aware of what's happening in "The Industry," but I try to not let what Fanatics and PSA are doing affect me. I do think "The Industry" is worse off today due to the excessive gambling being pushed by all the bigger companies and names. I think it's bad for kids, and it's way too easy to get in over your head financially before you even realize it.
Matt Nelson, president, CGC Comics:
After emerging from the COVID bubble, we’ve seen values stabilize this year and show increases again in some areas, particularly Golden Age.
I personally think there are a lot of opportunities in Silver Age comics. They still retain enormous popularity thanks to the movie franchises and are starting to look like a bargain again.
Evan Parker, founder, Mantel:
I look at things through this lens: Are there more collectors today than yesterday? In that sense, we're better off.
I don't worry about auction prices or grading submission numbers or month-over-month sales data. I worry about how many people are entering the hobby each year: That's the sign of a healthy industry, to me.
Looking at metrics such as card show attendance and social conversation on Mantel and other platforms, I'm seeing continued growth. And with Fanatics investing in marketing at record numbers, shops such as CardVault by Tom Brady and CardsHQ continuing to expand, industry creators building massive audiences, and businesses such as Arena Club advertising on national TV during the World Series, I'm confident more people will open their first packs in 2026 than in any other year in history.
Matt Quinn, vice president, CGC Cards:
The TCG hobby is absolutely in a better place. More attention is being paid to key varieties, and the scope of public offerings is much broader with more competition amongst sellers.
Claire Shelton, head of video games, PSA:
There have been many changes in 2025, which I firmly believe are leading to a better, bigger, and healthier hobby.
While change is not always good and takes time to cement — but operationally and in the eye of the public, the steps we’ve taken in 2025, such as the PSA rebrand for WATA, are focused on the long-term growth of the hobby.
Max Spiegel, president, Certified Collectibles Group:
Yes. Just about every collectible category CCG serves has seen increased market activity in 2025. Collectibles are continuing to become even more engrained in both culture and investing.
More people are buying collectibles, and collectors are buying more collectibles. I don’t see those trends changing anytime soon.
Kenneth Thrower, director of grading, CGC Video Games and Home Video:
The hobby has definitely bounced back after pandemic-era highs and lows, and values have stabilized to a more predictable on-track upward trajectory that aligns more with historic long-term data.
Nat Turner, CEO, Collectors:
Definitely better off. You can feel it at card shows. There are more people participating in the hobby today than a year ago.
I wish there was a way to quantitatively track this, although I bet the combination of eBay with secondary sales and Fanatics and Upper Deck and other manufacturers with primary box/pack sales could tell you if the unique number of participants is growing, and I have to imagine it is.
I know it is with folks submitting cards for grading. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most: Are there more people entering the hobby than leaving each year, and it feels like that was definitely the case in 2025.
Going one level deeper and understanding if that’s true in both Pokemon/TCG and in sports cards would be the next order question to answer.
Brahm Wachter, head of modern collectibles, Sotheby’s:
I think so. New blood is the key to growth in this hobby, and I’m excited to say there seem to be new entrants coming into the market at a pretty decent clip still.