The State of The Hobby: Booming Card Sales, Grading, and Wax Prices

It's an interesting time in the hobby, and looking at sales and grading data, the financial side of the hobby looks stronger than ever.

Topps Industry Conference | Topps

Every so often, it helps to take a step back and look at the state of things. Things are up across the board, whether it is singles prices, sales numbers, grading, or wax prices. However, the increase in card prices doesn't mean the hobby as a whole is not in a state of flux.

We've seen two major sports switch their licensing to Topps in the last year. We've seen Panini respond with some minor pickups of their own, but they aren't closing their doors as some predicted. We've also seen incredible rookie classes carry multiple sports to new heights, while players at positions not traditionally valued by collectors command high price tags. Plus, the rise of TCG is undeniable.

We have also seen the rise of new platforms, as well as more traditional ones like eBay, expanding. Things are, generally speaking, going very well for those in the hobby at the moment. That doesn't mean everything is positive, but on the whole, things feel healthier than they did, say, in 2023.

Card Sales Are Up (Big)

March Card Sales by Year

2019: $22.08M
2020: $25.79M
2021: $185.13M
2022: $208.22M
2023: $175.55M
2024: $225.01M
2025: $303.22M
2026: $606.04M ‼️

Safe to say the market is doing pretty damn well for itself 📈

Data provided by @CardLadder pic.twitter.com/k0bmnX5Odw

— TJ (@TJCardCollector) April 30, 2026

Yes, you read that correctly. Card sales doubled from March of 2025 to March of 2026.

The thing about the market is that everything is up. Not one index on CardLadder has been down over the last year.

CardLadder Index | CardLadder

Much of the positive momentum comes from the TCG market; Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, and One Piece have all seen their markets explode. On the entertainment side, Star Wars continues to outperform the general entertainment index, but looking at sports, Soccer, Racing, and Basketball are all up over 50% year-over-year, while Tennis is up over 127% year-over-year.

Card Grading Hits New Heights

GemRate | April ’26 Grading Recap

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-- Overall grading activity crossed the 3 million card mark and was ⬆4% in April compared to March and ⬆43% YoY.
-- Grading activity set another record in April, with 3.10 million cards graded, ⬆~120k compared to March.… pic.twitter.com/MZyEHDMyc4

— GemRate (@gemrate) May 2, 2026

As you can see, other than SGC, all of the other grading companies are up massively year-over-year, and set a new record in April with 3.10 million cards graded.

PSA remains the undisputed king of the grading world, but CGC has staked out a solid second thanks to its TCG prowess.

The State of Wax

One of the main concerns people have these days is the availability of wax at release prices. It's a valid concern given the non-EQL drops that bots gobble up as they brag about it in their Discord servers. The state of wax came up on the Sports Cards Nonsense Podcast last week when Jesse was joined by Alex (CleverCubanCards) to discuss their enjoyment of ripping wax and the reality of its scarcity, combined with exorbitant secondary-market prices.

Without moving to full EQL releases, it doesn't seem like there's much Topps/Fanatics can do as far as the bots are concerned. However, one thing Topps has control over is pricing, and thankfully, we have not seen big increases on most of their products. That hasn't stopped retailers and others from taking advantage of the secondary market.

A few weeks back on the Sports Cards Nonsense Podcast, Mike and Jesse discussed Topps' concerns about secondary wax prices and some of the public solutions they were working toward.

All in all, yes, the hobby is more expensive than it has ever been, but for those who have been in the hobby a while, it has been lucrative. While the entry price point has been raised, at least we know it is a concern for the biggest brands in the hobby to find ways to help consumers on the price front. The scarcity part is another problem, but one without clear solutions at the moment.

More competition would always help, but given the current landscape, this is what we will all be operating in for the foreseeable future. It has been a fairly safe space to put your money for decades now, and barring unforeseen circumstances in the global economy, it doesn't look like a steep drop is on the horizon.