Are trading cards comparable to investments?
Last week, Logan Paul sold a Pokémon card to AJ Scaramucci, son of Anthony Scaramucci, for an astound $16.5 million. This marks the largest auction and selling of a Pokémon card in history. The card, which was made in 1998 and is estimated to be one of only a few dozen, was purchased by Paul 4 years prior for only $5.3 million, netting Paul a return of over 200%. Scaramucci claims that the purchase is "passion first, and kind of an investment second," meaning that the bid was not made entirely for monetary profit.
The "Pokémon Index," a measure of the value of Pokémon cards, is currently up 145% in the past year. Compare this to S&P 500 which is only up 15.2% the past year, and the choice of where to invest seems obvious. However, Pokémon cards are a very risky asset, if even an asset at all. Their value comes from scarcity and collector's perceptions of how "rare" they think certain cards are. This causes many to view them as an unstable and unreliable form of investment.
Using collectibles as a form of wealth building is incredibly interesting to me. Their value can change quickly as more cards are brought into and taken out of circulation. A card that is worth a million to one person may be seen as worthless to another, so viewing them as an "investment" is entirely subjective. Having a few cards myself I can definitely say I have only ever viewed them as fun and have never thought about what their worth would be in future years, but maybe I should go back and see if any of them have gained value.
Article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/25/pokmon-card-winner-scaramucci-says-collectibles-are-asset-class.html
I find collectibles with significant value like this to be fascinating. It’s amazing to think that a small card can be worth millions of dollars. What was once a game and collectible made primarily for children has now become a market largely driven by adult collectors and investors. In some ways, it even resembles a riskier form of gambling due to the unpredictability of the market and randomness of the packs.
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting how much value is placed on collectibles. Trading cards and other collectibles are not super reliable to me when it comes to being an investment opportunity. This is because I feel like they are only really valuable when money is not tight and more disposable income is available. This makes them riskier and more of a gamble than a typical investment.
ReplyDeleteIt is so interesting how things like trading cards can hold so much value! With the card Logan Paul sold, it was with like a diamond chain so I was wondering if that was included in the price and pushed it up higher then it really should have been. My brother is really into buying Magic the Gathering cards and he almost views it as in investment. He will get random packs and generally in the long run he gains more then he spends. When you think of investment you usually think of stocks or bonds, but I guess playing cards count too!
ReplyDeleteInvestments that derive value solely from supply and demand are fascinating to me, because they arguably don't actually generate value. Compared to something like a bond, which generates coupons, a pokemon card does not actually do anything for an investor. On the other hand, you can make this exact same argument about stocks, as dividends tend to be a small portion of the yield generated from stock investments, and most investors do not buy nearly enough of a stock to actually influence the company's decision making.
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