If you threw out your old baseball cards from your childhood, you may have been missing out on some extra money.
Some people might not see that much value in 2.5×3.5-inch rectangles, but these trading cards are bringing generations together to form a new booming market.
Max Bradshaw, owner of Bolingbroke Sportscards, says that it’s been a roller coaster to follow.
“It explodes, it decreases, I mean it’s like the stock market,” Bradshaw, a junior at Mary Persons High School, told WGXA on Friday. “Right now, NFL’s down, obviously because the Super Bowl just happened… NBA is ramping up because you’re getting to the playoffs.”
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Bradshaw said the market began to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly around 2021, and he began his business shortly after.
The 17-year-old said business has been very good.
“Usually, a monthly, I would do around $3,000, $4,000, $5,000 a month with just this small space,” Bradshaw said about his booth at Bolingbroke Antiques.
But how do cards fetch such a high price?
Charlie Heinisch runs Georgia Sportscards and Collectibles in Warner Robins and said he has a hunch.
“Every year they have to reinvent the wheel, something unique has to happen,” Heinisch said. “You have to make new stuff here every year to buy the product.”
He’s had his store for nearly a decade but has been around the block to see the changing trends.
“The prospects rule the game,” Heinisch said. “Back in the day, in the 80s, it used to be chasing up for the stars of the game… Prospects have more to gain. There’s more potential.”
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Both stores sell a variety of memorabilia; bobbleheads, signed gear, and cards that have been graded and watermarked by specialty companies – usually fetching a much higher price with better quality.
Bradshaw has a taste for the flashier stuff…
“Right now, it’s probably a [Ronald] Acuña,” Bradshaw said about his most valuable cards. “It’s numbered to 5, Acuña autograph, it’s about 800 dollars.”
He also said he is receiving an autographed card of Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels with an estimated value of $2,000
Heinisch, however, prefers the older stuff.
He showed off rookie cards for George Brett and Billy Williams, as well as a 1954 Willie Mays card for $400…
However, he admitted he loves the concepts of jersey patches like that of the famous Paul Skenes card that recently sold for $1.1 million.
“Imagine having George Brett’s debut patch,” Heinisch said. “Something like that brings somebody back into the hobby to collect… it’s unique.”
