eBay Reveals 2025’s Hottest Collectibles Trends
Every December, collectors get a snapshot of how the year’s biggest sports moments affected the hobby. This year, eBay sharpens that picture with its annual eBay Collected trend report, a data-driven look at the names, categories, and cultural moments that shaped searches and sales on the world’s largest collectibles marketplace.
Despite a year filled with breakout rookies and viral trends, the top-searched collectible terms of 2025 were dominated by brands and categories such as Pokémon, LEGO Star Wars, and PSA. The lone athlete to crack the top 10 was Michael Jordan, underscoring his unparalleled longevity and influence in the hobby.
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Michael Jordan Still Sets the Standard
Nearly four decades after his rookie season, Jordan remains a gravitational force. He was once again the only athlete among eBay’s top-searched terms across the entire collectibles category, strengthened by renewed vintage interest and record-breaking high-end sales. Other top-searched NBA names included Victor Wembanyama, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but none matched Jordan’s global pull.
Labubu Mania Sweeps the Marketplace
One of the year’s most surprising collectible surges came from POP MART’s Labubu toys, which exploded from niche designer figures into a full-blown cultural phenomenon. Long lines, instant sellouts, and viral social moments helped fuel a 2,600% year-over-year increase in eBay searches. Top colors such as Pink, Lychee Berry, Black, and Chestnut Cocoa dominated activity, along with series and collaborations like Big Into Energy, Labubu x Coca-Cola, and Labubu x One Piece.
Breakout Stars and Legends: Jayden Daniels and Alex Ovechkin Lead the Spikes
While Jordan anchored the top of the charts, two of the sharpest year-over-year search surges belonged to athletes at very different stages in their careers.
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels posted an extraordinary +1900% search increase, continuing a familiar pattern in which breakout QBs generate the hobby’s most immediate demand. Other young NFL stars like JJ McCarthy, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, and Drake Maye also ranked among the most-searched.
Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin’s chase of NHL immortality powered a +600% jump as he moved past Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, reinforcing his place as one of the most collected active athletes.
WNBA Momentum Continues to Surge
The WNBA remained one of the fastest-growing categories on eBay. Caitlin Clark led all players in search volume, with Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, and Sophie Cunningham showing major year-over-year spikes as collectors chased their earliest cards. Sabrina Ionescu stayed a reliable favorite, highlighting a category where rising stars and established names are driving parallel growth.
Quirky Collectibles Capture the Spotlight
Cultural crossovers delivered some of 2025’s most dramatic surges. Searches for Masters gnomes jumped nearly 170% during tournament weekend, the LeBron James “Kenbassadors” doll generated over 1,900 searches per hour on its release day, and when the Yankees revived their viral George Costanza bobblehead, searches spiked more than 1,000% month-over-month. Novelty, nostalgia, and pop culture proved as powerful as championship moments.
TCG: New Releases Lead a Thriving Market
Trading card games continued their rise, with collectors chasing new releases as intensely as vintage staples. Pokémon dominated with Prismatic Evolutions, Destined Rivals, and Journey Together ranking among the most-searched sets. Crossovers added fuel: Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy set surged in popularity, while Magic’s Spider-Man release attracted both gamers and comic fans.
MLB: Legends and New Stars Drive Demand
Baseball remained a powerhouse, led by Shohei Ohtani, whose historic 50/50 season, World Series title, unanimous NL MVP, and Silver Slugger award kept him at the top of searches. Icons like Ken Griffey Jr. and Mickey Mantle reaffirmed their vintage appeal, while young stars Paul Skenes and Elly De La Cruz drew heavy collector attention through breakout performances.
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Bringing the Data to Life on eBay Live
To celebrate the release of this year’s report, eBay Live will host a special event on December 20 at 11 a.m. PT, featuring Storage Wars star Rene Nezhoda. He’ll showcase a curated selection of collectibles inspired by the report’s biggest trends, turning data and search spikes into a live, shoppable experience for fans.
You can view the full eBay Collected report and all the fascinating data across collectible categories at https://pages.ebay.com/collected/.
Lucas Mast is a writer based in California’s Bay Area, where he’s a season ticket holder for St. Mary’s basketball and a die-hard Stanford athletics fan. A lifelong collector of sneakers, sports cards, and pop culture, he also advises companies shaping the future of the hobby and sports. He’s driven by a curiosity about why people collect—and what those items reveal about the moments and memories that matter most.
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