April Review
I’m going to start offering BIG end-of-the-month reviews of the hobby. Each month, expect news about the biggest gains or losses in the hobby, commentary on the biggest story of the month, a preview of the upcoming releases, and perhaps the occasional surprise. Without further ado, let’s check out how April treated the hobby.
Big Movers of the Month
Stefon Diggs was one of the biggest gainers of the month with his Card Ladder Index jumping almost 25%. Collectors obviously love the idea of Stroud throwing him the ball and are expecting big things.
I don’t expect the gains to last though. The HOF has little use for wider receivers unless they are clearly the top guy in the league for multiple years. Guys who haven’t been a clear number one struggle to get attention in the HOF and the hobby. Diggs is currently in that category with players like Anquan Boldin or Torry Holt. Right now, I’d bet on Diggs not making the HOF and that means his hobby value is severely limited.
The other big mover this month is tennis in general. The sport saw a 28% bump in its Card Ladder Index. It had gotten hammered a bit too hard in the market correction so I’d consider this a correction to the correction. Tennis has had some recent releases from Topps that got widely ignored that might be worth looking at with prices on the move.
Big News of the Month
Kurt’s Card Care getting smacked down by PSA is the big story I was going to write about as it is my least favorite product in the hobby. It would’ve been 1500 words on why I hate Kurt’s though and while it might be fun to write, no one wants to read that. I’ll leave it at I think Kurt’s is horrible for the hobby and I hope Kurt goes away (and maybe gets an ingrown toenail).
The other big news is that Darren Rovell is launching CLLCT which is designed to be the source for written hobby news content. The release mentioned that this is something that we’ve never had, but I remember similar toutings just a couple of months ago when Sports Illustrated launched their sports cards news site.
The Sports Illustrated one appears defunct as the company has had major operational issues and I’m not sure if it will come back. I do think CLLCT has identified a space that has been lacking an authoritative voice since Beckett lost dominance. There’s no central authority for hobby news. It doesn’t mean people don’t get news about the hobby as everyone gets their news through social media. Getting people to switch will be a big task.
Adding in some real journalistic credibility is a good selling point, but is it enough to get eyeballs on the site? Darren Rovell’s article about Tom Brady’s bad autograph signing is a great example of this. It takes the internet chatter that was all over social media and gives a clear and well-thought-out explanation of the situation that one can reliably trust. I think that is a definite good addition to the hobby.
There really aren’t that many folks who write about the hobby on a regular basis. There are podcasts and YouTube shows aplenty, but writing is far less common. That makes me a little defensive when people come into the space decrying what is missing. Overall, I’m excited about this one and am looking forward to seeing how CLLCT evolves.
Quick May Preview
I think May might belong to pop culture products. Leaf Metal Pop Century is out with its 2024 set. Pop Century has become the go-to place for celebrity autos and has gotten a reputation as one of the most consistently fun rips. I fully expect this to be a hit.
Pop Century is great, but I’m more excited about Upper Deck’s Black Diamond 007 James Bond set. It marks the first premium Bond set and the Black Diamond aesthetic should pair wonderfully with the Bond film catalogue. Each box comes with either an auto or card with a gold nugget.
Finally, Halo also is getting its catalog celebrated in cardboard form with Upper Deck’s Halo Legacy. Video game offerings are few and far between and I’m curious to see how this does. It could be the harbinger of a new slate of video game cards which would be great in my book.
Wrap Up
April was great, but I’m even more excited about the months ahead. What are you excited about in May? Let me know in the comments.