Mint Condition - March 31, 2022
MINT Collective Recap & Thoughts (Part 1)
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Leading Off
As I shared last week, I was in Las Vegas this past weekend for the inaugural MINT Collective, a unique conference that combined a marketplace, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. It was an event unlike any other hobby-related show I have been to. Hats off to Collectable and IMG for putting on this conference - my hope is that this is the first of many MINT Collectives.
What made it so impactful? Frankly, it felt like nearly all of the major players across the hobby - manufacturers, distributors, card shops, fractional, graders, breakers, content creators - descended on Las Vegas for both an active marketplace of buying, selling, and trading, and a thought conference on the state of today’s hobby and what the future of the industry could and should look like. When this quantity and quality of talent comes together in one trading floor, breakout room, or nightclub (@Hakkasan), it brings the level of dealmaking, back-and-forth hobby talk, and business idea generation to its peak.
I wanted to share a handful of key takeaways that I have coming out of the conference, primarily related to the current state of the hobby and where it might go in the next few years.
Mint Condition’s Take:
Innovation is accelerating and it will only speed up:
From walking the marketplace floor to sitting in on panel discussions, it is clear that innovation is present, accelerating, and touching every part of the hobby. At a traditional card show, you would expect rows of dealers who are buying, selling, and trading. This past weekend, it seemed as though each dealer you passed, the next table was a new company marketing its inventory management, grading, vaulting, or marketplace solution. Some of these companies had not even launched yet or were just a few weeks old and the MINT Collective was acting as a launchpad for them. Further, the younger yet more established players in the space, like Collectable and Vincent, all shared ideas about how they are viewing the future of the hobby. Collectable is aiming to simplify the investment experience - rather than needing to decide what card to buy shares of, it hopes to offer an ETF-like product that will better appeal to the masses - and offer fractional ownership internationally. Vincent is aiming to provide investors at their fingertips with a comprehensive suite of alternative assets, from cards to wine and real estate.
We also heard about some of Fanatics’ plans for the future, including pop culture-focused card sets, though a lot of innovation it will be rolling out was kept fairly quiet during the weekend. Finally, the legacy players in the space are aiming to innovate in order to maintain their share of the pie. For example, eBay is rolling out its Vault solution, something that could offer a strong value proposition when combined with its leading secondary marketplace and newer authenticity guarantee offering. However, eBay is attempting to innovate at one division within a large public entity. Traditionally, innovation happens slower and less effectively at a company of this type and size, so it will be interesting to see the progress eBay makes as compared to the smaller, more nimble players in the space.
One of the questions I kept asking myself this weekend was: is the hobby ready for this innovation? The companies leading the charge have extraordinary visions, though what are consumers’ appetite for these new products and solutions vs. continuing to stick to their prior ways of buying, selling, and trading? The answer in my opinion is that a lot of this innovation is not primarily focused on existing consumers in the hobby. Long-time collectors have established habits for how they interact with the hobby, and I believe the bulk will keep that going. Rather, it is an attempt to bring in people not currently involved in order to grow the market size. Individuals who currently invest in, for example, stocks and are exploring the collectibles market as a new alternative asset for their portfolio are looking for simple, frictionless ways to dip their toe in and manage their collection.
While we are on the innovation topic, I want to give a plug to a number of new, up-and-coming companies I met at the show. Highly encourage you all to check them out:
-AGS: RoboGrading utilizing artificial intelligence of cards for Pokémon and Metazoo brands. Planning to launch marketplace this year.
-BuySportsCards.com: Marketplace that charges 0% seller fees, allows sellers to list cards 3-5x faster than eBay, offers seller friendly policies.
-Due Dilly: Tech solution through your phone’s camera that assesses card quality and predicts grade if sent to PSA, BGS, or SGC. Also maintains a marketplace and has in development a tool to assess quality of raw cards on eBay and other marketplaces.
-EPL Token: A global soccer collecting community for cards, NFTs, and other memorabilia, EPL Token seeks to democratize collectibles access for all fans through scalable blockchain technology solutions.
-Investacard: Multiple offerings, including instant advance (up to $100k on the current market value of your card) and partnership program (they handle all facets of selling your cards).
-MAGPIE: Inventory management platform used to track card value, connect to the community, and buy/sell/trade. Offers white glove service to inventory, digitize, and manage one’s entire collection including cards, watches, comics, art and more.
-Mr. Minty: Offer products to help collectors store and protect their cards, including card cleaning spray, card polish solution, and “grade kits.”
-NextGem: Social app to manage trading card collection, discover rare cards, and connect to the community.
-Rare Edition: Rolling out ecosystem of offerings, including grading (done using computer vision, AI, and senior graders; cards placed in high-end slab), marketplace, and vault. Rare Edition plans to start with sports cards and expand further from there.
-Trade Safe Hub: Gives collectors the ability to trade graded cards more safely. Trades are made on the platform, cards are sent to one of the company’s hubs, and the company then passes them along to the right party.
Fanatics - what did we learn?
Going into the weekend, I knew Fanatics was going to have a presence, including Chief Vision Officer Josh Luber participating in a few panels and the company having a booth on the trading floor. My thought was this conference would give Josh and Co. the in-person opportunity with hobby participants of all types to share more about their plans for the future. My takeaway is that Fanatics remained mum on the sports card side while sharing a lot of detail on the pop culture card side. And look, I get it. I believe Fanatics is still working through what their long-term plans are for the hobby while also integrating a $500m Topps business, so perhaps not every plan is in concrete form. I also appreciate that they might prefer to stay somewhat silent, not sharing their plans until a later point.
The uncertainty was clear during the last panel of the conference, when Mike from Mike’s Stadium Sportscards asked Josh: “Should I renew the lease on my card shop?” If that doesn’t describe the level of concern card shop owners have with Fanatics entering the market, nothing does. Josh has said in the past and reiterated that the goal is to increase by 10x the number of card shops, though they obviously cannot increase card supply by 10x and also need to “organize the supply of cards holistically and strategically.” Additionally, I asked a question of Josh and Bob Means, eBay’s GM of Trading Cards: “When you consider vaulting, secondary marketplace, or otherwise, how do Fanatics and eBay think about collaborating with each other to grow the hobby vs. competing with each other?” Both answered that they are focused on growing the pie and bringing more consumers in. I believe them, and I agree it is important to keep growing the hobby - both Fanatics and eBay will benefit. However, it is clear that Fanatics has up its sleeve some plans that will directly compete with eBay, like, for example, a secondary marketplace. While it makes sense today to focus on increasing the market, multi-billion dollar companies do not collaborate forever. Expect competition to heat up over the next year between Fanatics and eBay.
Community has been, is, and always will be what makes the hobby special: Since launching my newsletter about a year ago, I have had the fortune of virtually meeting and talking to numerous hobby participants, from company CEOs and senior leaders to card shop owners and big-time collectors. Being able to meet several of them in-person in Las Vegas was awesome and has enhanced the existing relationships I have forged in the industry. I also developed many new connections, which the environment cultivated. The commonalities shared between all participants - a love for the hobby and/or a deep involvement in shaping the future of it - are stronger in my opinion than participants at, for example, private equity or finance conferences. Admittedly, as discussed above, I expect innovation to accelerate and not every company present at the conference will succeed. Additionally, the entry of Fanatics has made the future of some parts of the hobby uncertain. Will the community maintain its strength in the face of these trends? I sure hope so, as I think that’s what makes involvement in the hobby so rewarding and special.
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. You can reach me at jbmintcondition@gmail.com or on Twitter @jbmintcondition
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