NEW YORK — Alex Spears looked at his latest customer in disbelief Saturday.
Peering across Spears' table of trading cards was a well-known "Star Wars" superfan and occasional card collector.
More than a decade after opening Louisville’s Through the Decades Collectibles, Spears never expected he might negotiate with a star such as San Antonio Spurs center and former No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama.
But there he was.
Though Wembanyama was flanked by security and cameras every step of the way, the former Rookie of the Year and current hobby darling made his way through Fanatics Fest 2025 this past weekend in a moment that is quickly becoming the new norm for the hobby’s fasted-growing event.
Fanatics Fest is more of an experience than a trading card show, Fanatics Events CEO Lance Fensterman has often said. He has also remained adamant the event has no intention to compete directly with the National Sports Collectors Convention, which has been the industry’s flagship event for decades.
But a growing number of vendors expressed to cllct over the weekend that, though Fanatics Fest aims to be something much more, the trading card and collectibles experience has improved so dramatically year-over-year that it now rivals many of the industry’s premier card shows, including the National Convention.
According to Fensterman, the autograph and photograph experience at the first Fanatics Fest in 2024 was one of the event’s weakest elements. It was small, disorganized and simply didn’t work as intended.
Of the categories scored in cllct’s review of Fanatics Fest 2024, the process for autographs and photographs, which was outsourced to another company, was by far the event’s worst, earning a “D” for an experience that felt far too much like a free-for-all.
That area was reimagined for 2025 and received a perfect score on cllct’s Fanatics Fest 2025 scorecard.
The trading card show also got an upgrade and was extended further into the area that housed activations from professional leagues and event sponsors. The new space also had food and stages on either side.
Fensterman told cllct in June the trading card show experience was too different from the rest of the event in 2024, and it was a priority to reorganize for this year.
Spears, after being placed toward the back of the showroom floor in 2024, scored a space directly across from the Formula 1 experience in 2025.
“I think surrounding us with all of these corporate sponsors is allowing us to spread the word about cards and collecting,” Spears told cllct. "I think they’ve done a tremendous job with the changes of the show from last year to this year.”
A major goal of Fanatics Fest, Fensterman has said, is to convert casual sports fans into collectors or bring lapsed collectors back into the hobby. Fanatics reported to cllct in June that about 30% to 40% of fans in attendance in 2024 were hardcore collectors, and the rest were either lapsed or didn’t care about trading cards at all.
Spears believes he had plenty of non-collectors visit his tables with his area positioned close to other activities — a family wearing New York Jets jerseys took photographs of cards during his conversation with cllct.
Multiple dealers organized toward the back and right side of the event experienced a different show, however, and believed the majority of the people stopping to look at cards were experienced collectors.
“I think it’s more hardcore collectors,” dealer Paul Baldwin told cllct. “Very few and far between that I see a non-collector this deep in, this far back here.”
Several dealers told cllct extending the card show further out was helpful, but those placed at the back or far side said they weren’t much better off than in 2024.
According to multiple dealers, the stages and activations toward the back of the event space sometimes acted like “magnets” to either pull potential customers away with activities or pooled groups of people together to block the aisles, meaning dedicated collectors might just skip that row.
Bryan Woodward was placed in the final aisle of the trading card space facing the event’s far wall and believes there’s a simple solution to make the card show feel less separate from the rest of the action.
“To me, it should be run right down the middle of the venue,” Woodward told cllct, “and all the attractions should be surrounding the show.”
Fanatics Fest did place a breaking arena at the heart of the event’s main floor, though collectors will debate whether that’s the correct place for it. Running dealer tables through the middle of the entire event could drive more traffic to every table rather than the lucky few toward the front, but it could also result in additional chaos when athletes and celebrities stop by.
Chaos included, interactions with athletes and celebrities in the trading card area were some of the most praised elements dealers felt elevated Fanatics Fest as a premier show.
Every dealer cllct spoke with on the subject agreed athletes stopping by to look at cards was a positive experience, even if they had their tables temporarily blocked off for security purposes. The major critique for those moments from dealers was the perceived authenticity of the visit, with some believing a number of interactions felt inorganic or staged.
Even if some of those interactions missed the mark, the dealers cllct spoke with agreed Fanatics Fest has become the marquee event in the industry. Attendance numbers back up that sentiment, too, with Fanatics reporting 125,000 attended the show in 2025 after 70,000 frequented the Javits Center in 2024.
“I think this is actually going to outgrow this venue,” Woodward said. “I don’t know what they’re going to be able to do or how they’re going to get more space. I think this is just going to continue to blow up. This is what the culture is now — it’s hype, excitement, vibe. That’s the card industry in a nutshell, too.”
Even if sentiment continues to shift toward Fanatics Fest as the premier industry event, every dealer cllct spoke with urged the need for a healthy National Convention and its flagship card show. Where most of Fanatics Fest’s tables heavily featured modern and high-end cards, the National Convention has long been beloved for its massive selection of vintage cards, dollar bins and a general more holistic experience that includes all of the major grading companies and trading card manufacturers.
One dealer, who requested anonymity in order to offer a candid response as a longtime National Convention vendor, says the two events now have clear strengths and fill very different needs for the hobby.
“If I had a family and wanted to bring them out for a weekend, I’d bring them here,” the dealer told cllct. “If I only collected cards and that was my main objective, the National might be in a better position right now. But what Fanatics has done to start intertwining them, it’s starting to become really close.”
An all-around experience with cards flanked by games, panels and athletes or celebrities is something other shows simply aren’t offering right now. But there’s plenty of room for both events to thrive.
“Kevin Durant walked by five minutes before this, and it reminds me of how much I love watching Durant play, and then it makes me wonder if I have a card in my collection or if I need to get one,” the dealer added. “I think they’re both so needed. It’s like picking between food and water. I need them both, I want them both.”
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.