LeBron James Rookie Card Tops $275k On eBay
Over the last few months, I've been getting back into sports card collecting heavily. I used to collect a lot as a kid, I even became a dealer at sports card shows when I was in high school. During that time I never really had high-end cards, maybe a Tiger Woods Sports Illustrated For Kids card, or some classic Barry Sanders rookie cards, but nothing major...not like today's cards.
Well, there was a period of time where I had a massive collection of Tom Brady rookie cards. But I had them because I grew up in Michigan, and there was general demand for players from Michigan and Michigan State. With Brady being a Michigan man, it made sense for me to have a large stock of his rookie cards. Back then, they were $5-$25 each. Now, 10 Super Bowl appearances and 7 championship rings later, those cards are worth MUCH more now.
Even though the world has been dealing with multiple financial struggles over the last 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hobby world hasn't really been impacted. People who collect celebrity autographs, Star Wars collectibles, actions figures, comic books, Magic cards, and a ton of other collectibles have been going strong without letting up since the start of the pandemic.
Sports cards might be king of the collectible world over that period of time. With some cards increasing in value by tens-of-thousands of dollars. Every single week there are cards selling on eBay for 5 figures. Last week, there were two rookie cards of current players that sold for more than $200k each. One was a Patrick Mahomes, one a LeBron James. Here's the list of the most expensive modern era cards sold on eBay last week: