For months, all Rey Reyes could do was watch. And keep collecting.
Reyes’ memorabilia store, Classic Materials Sports & Collectibles, is located in San Francisco's Stonestown Galleria. When the mall closed in March, Classic Materials closed too.
In the 10 years since he opened his shop, Reyes noticed blips of demand for trading cards; namely, when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010 and the Golden State Warriors won the title in 2015.
But stay-at-home orders spurred a newfound, nationwide interest in the hobby, aided by an internet rabbit hole called “breaks,” when card collectors and social media influencers open dozens of packs during livestreams and react to their hauls.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Reyes says, “not even close. ... With the stock market not being so great, a lot of investors started putting money into cards. It was all the influencers were talking about. Even the shoe collectors were looking for something else to make money on.”
Classic Materials Sports & Collectibles store owner Rey Reyes examines trading cards.
Mariah Tiffany/ Special to SFGATEReyes happened to anticipate the gold rush and even nabbed a few big-ticket items for himself. Which is all well and good. But it didn’t change the circumstances of his conundrum: Right as people started caring about trading cards again, and Reyes’s email inbox and voicemail filled up with eager would-be buyers, his store was shuttered.
Put another way, the pandemic more or less juiced the trading card industry and simultaneously, temporarily wrecked Reyes’ business.
“It was definitely stressful seeing the demand skyrocket and not being able to capitalize on it,” he says.
If you want to quantify what skyrocketing demand looks like, a few examples: A LeBron James rookie card sold this year for $1.8 million, and James caught wind, writing that he had a few of the same rookie cards in his possession.
Meanwhile, the “rarest” Tom Brady rookie card in the world, labeled as the “HOLY GRAIL” in all caps on eBay, sold for $3.75 million.
Generally speaking, Reyes estimates the average basketball trading card is 400% more valuable than it was before the pandemic. (Other sports have experienced a smaller, still significant bump.)
Classic Materials Sports & Collectibles located in Stonestown Galleria, San Francisco.
Mariah Tiffany/ Special to SFGATEIn mid-June, Classic Materials was finally allowed to reopen. D.J. Jue, a longtime employee, says the diehards returned to buy both entire boxes full of cards as well as individual cards the store offers up separately. The collectors were hunting for basketball and football players and sought out high-profile rookies like New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, because sports cards are at their most valuable in their rookie form.
Alas — in July, a mere month later, the mall closed again. Back to square one. As Jue sums it up, “We just had to … pay rent.” And wait.
Boxes of trading cards at Classic Materials Sports & Collectibles located in Stonestown Galleria, San Francisco.
Mariah Tiffany/ Special to SFGATEWaiting, waiting, waiting. In September, Stonestown Galleria re-reopened, as did Classic Materials. It’s stayed open, and demand hasn’t wavered. Burgeoning trading card buyers have joined the diehards in flocking to the shop, and Classic Materials has joined an ultra-competitive race to obtain as much product as possible.
“It’s been harder to get,” Jue says. “Prices have gone up for boxes and single cards. Everything is being sold at market price, but we’ve tried to be the lowest prices in the Bay Area for an independent store.”
Bay Area athletes haven’t fetched LeBron James and Tom Brady numbers, but they’re still worth many pretty pennies. Here’s a James Wiseman rookie card where he’s donning a University of Memphis jersey that just sold on eBay for $399; this Steph Curry rookie card with a logo patch went for $13,900.
Classic Materials Sports & Collectibles store owner Rey Reyes holds up a Stephen Curry trading card.
Mariah Tiffany/ Special to SFGATECurry is still the hottest ticket in town, Reyes says. It’s rare for Classic Materials to have one of his rookie cards in stock. Other Bay Area athletes who local buyers often ask about include legendary 49ers Jerry Rice and Joe Montana (a “graded” — aka professionally examined — Rice card can go for thousands of dollars), plus current Niners stars Nick Bosa and George Kittle, Warriors forward Eric Paschall, Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and Giants prospect Joey Bart.
If you’re fishing for a Kittle rookie card, for instance, and can’t find a one-off, you’d have to buy up boxes from his first season in 2017. An autographed rookie card means your investment is going to pay off even more. Inserts, which are cards with unusual designs, are similarly valuable. (Inserts of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan sell at the store too.)
A player’s performance, or anticipated performance, directly correlates to their trading card worth. That’s why rookies who could become hall of fame talents are so requested. On the other end of the spectrum, Klay Thompson rookie cards that Classic Materials was selling for roughly $40 a few weeks ago have sadly, presumably, dropped in asking price since I spoke to Reyes and Thompson tore his Achilles tendon.
“It all depends on what your mentality is as a collector,” Reyes says. “Are you in it to make a quick buck just to flip it, or are you in it to hold onto the card?”
Classic Materials Sports & Collectibles located in Stonestown Galleria, San Francisco.
Mariah Tiffany/ Special to SFGATEWhatever the collectors’ motivations, they’re keeping Classic Materials afloat. Business is actually doing OK, which is specifically thanks to trading cards, Reyes asserts. Nobody’s walked in and wiped out his inventory in one fell swoop, though he welcomes the idea with a laugh. “I wish,” he says, adding that they’re constantly restocking even though supplies aren't always easy to locate.
Reyes has no idea how sustainable this round of trading card madness is, or how long he’ll be allowed to operate before there’s another lockdown followed by a re-re-reopening. But he’s feeling relatively optimistic about the short- and long-term prospects of trading cards and Classic Materials itself.
“I’ve been talking to other dealers and shop owners, and I do think this will last past the pandemic, because people find real enjoyment in it,” he says. “A lot of the new customers and collectors actually collected when they were kids. I don’t know if it’ll stay at this level — prices are starting to calm down a little bit — but as far as popularity goes, I think it’ll stay for a little while. Hopefully.”
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November 29, 2020 at 07:04PM
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Trading cards are popular again. An SF shop is reaping the benefits — when it's open, anyway. - SFGate
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