The sports card market saw a regression in online sales in September following a record-breaking month in August, according to third-party data tool Card Ladder.
Card Ladder’s Industry page, which tracks online card sales from a number of marketplaces, reported more than $387 million in sales for the category in September. That total, which can continue to increase in small increments as additional sales are retroactively added, lags behind the record $416 million originally reported for August.
Additional sales for August have increased its total to more than $422 million as of Friday.
September’s total is the second-most recorded by Card Ladder, and follows three consecutive record months for the category in June, July and August. September also saw a significant regression in sales volume, with the more than 5.03 million sales recorded by Card Ladder ranking as the lowest since February.
Card Ladder’s Industry page doesn’t record sales from online retailers, card shops or card shows. Private sales aren’t included unless reported and verified.
Online marketplace eBay was the largest driver of secondary-market sales in September with more than $290 million reported by Card Ladder. The Fanatics Collect and Fanatics Buy Now Marketplace combined for more than $52 million, while Goldin, Alt and Memory Lane delivered $39 million, $21 million and $6 million, respectively.
Grading tracker GemRate reported more than 2.20 million cards were graded in September for a 4% decrease from August but a 45% increase year-over-year. GemRate’s September data notably illustrated a significant decrease for SGC, which graded its lowest total in a single month since July 2022.
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.