IT'S THE THRILL OF THE CHASE CARDS

Valuable, rare inserts have turned the sports trading card business into a multibillion-dollar industry

- BY ANTHONY SOLORZANO

RONALDO BOLANOS Los Angeles Times

VENDOR ERIC MITCHEL inspects a card collection that he might purchase.

Trading sports cards is a game of negotiation for Greg Petikyan. Within seconds, he talked to multiple vendors at Frank and Son Collectible Show last month offering the same card: a 2025 Panini Donruss Saquon Barkley Downtown.

The first deal consisted of a 3-for-1 exchange, with an additional couple of hundred dollars to sweeten the deal or a straight purchase for $460. As the vendor looked through his phone for the value of the cards he asked for, Petikyan told him he'll circle back.

Instead, the entrepreneur offered it to Eric Mitchel, another booth owner, across the aisle and sold it. A rectangular cardboard collectible with the Super Bowl-winning running back in front of the Philadelphia skyline sold for $300.

What about the other deal?

"Too late," Petikyan said. "I'll still buy those cards I asked for."

Nothing personal, just business.

Trading and collecting cards, an industry valued at $14.9 billion in 2024, is estimated to reach $52.1 billion within the next decade, according to Market Decipher report. The sports memorabilia business, as a whole, is estimated to reach a value of $271.2 billion by 2034.

E-commerce platforms like Fanatics Live and Whatnot have turned business transactions involving the cards of sports legends into entertainment and helped grow the market. Heritage Auctions sold the most expensive card in August. The collectible known as the “holy grail” by basketball collectors was a 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant card.

VENDOR Marion Owens completes a transaction at Frank and Son in Industry.