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Today’s Card Collectors are Serious Players

The value of Pokemon collectors’ cards skyrocketed in 2020. Over the course of a year, the price of one first edition card of the fire-fighting character Charizard, for instance, increased 800 percent with auction prices this February of close to $300,000, reports Reuters.

Who’s bidding? Amateur investors, says the global news agency, often armed with lockdown-era savings. Apps like Robinhood are letting them dabble in collectibles with as little as $20. “They’re seeking high returns beyond conventional markets where rocketing prices are prompting warnings of bubbles,” says Reuters. “In turn, they have driven prices on some alternative assets – ranging from vintage handbags to shares in fine art – up several-hundred-percent higher.”

Zack Browning, a Pokemon fan from Chicago, purchased four cards in 2016 for less than $5,000 each. Today, he estimates that his overall Pokemon collection is worth between $3 and $5 million, he told Reuters. Zack began his Pokemon investing career after studying finance in college. He says he felt that parts of the Pokemon market were more predictable than stock markets.

The market for limited-edition sports trading cards is also soaring, reports The New York Times. Its article pointed to an ultra-rare LeBron James rookie card purchased for $312,000 at auction five years ago that’s reportedly worth more than $5 million today, according to the auction house that sold it. “This is the art of the future for sport enthusiasts who have money and don’t want to buy art,” the card owner, investment manager Aaron Davis, told The Times.

U.S. Demand Fuels Globalization of Shows and Movies

Content from abroad constitutes a heaping helping of the American entertainment diet, according to data provided to Axios from demand measurement firm Parrot Analytic. In 2020, demand in the U.S. for non-U.S. content was higher each quarter in 2020 than in the two previous years.

The trend started in mid-2019, predating COVID, but the pandemic, streaming and the creator economy fueled its growth. By the fourth quarter of 2020, non-U.S. shows accounted for nearly 30 percent of demand in the U.S. as audiences were introduced to shows and movies from countries that included India, Spain and Turkey.

Netflix has been the main catalyst for bringing content across borders, says Brad Grossman, founder and CEO of

ZEITGUIDE, the annual cultural almanac. “Before Netflix’s streaming dominance, studios often bought up the rights to a foreign film or series so they could recreate it in an Americanized version.”

But the pandemic put more pressure on streamers to feed audiences in lockdown, especially those who wanted to travel. With production limited or halted in some cases, TV networks and streamers looked to foreign content.

“Netflix has had to look abroad for growth as the U.S. becomes more saturated,” Grossman adds. “Its investments in international content have influenced the entire industry.”

Netflix’s Spanish series “Money Heist” (“La Casa de Papel”) was one of the most in-demand series globally last year, including in the U.S. Other shows, like French TV dramas “Call my Agent!” and “Lupin” on Netflix, and “The Bureau” on Amazon Prime Video became American sensations. “CanCon,” or Canadian content, caught Netflix’s attention after its successful licensing of “Schitt’s Creek,” which took home nine Emmys last year.

“In the past, movies and celebrity culture have always been American cultural exports to the rest of the world,” Grossman concludes. “If content succeeded here in the U.S. it had a better chance of succeeding internationally. But it appears as though successful entertainment no longer has to come from the U.S.” (continued on page 29) another trend – where they are forced to take lowerpaying jobs.”

He has his own ideas about the minimum wage, like tying it to the Consumer Price Index. “It shows what it costs for people to live,” Steve says. And whatever happens should happen gradually, to reduce the shock and give small businesses time to prepare. “Three to five years is a realistic timeline for an increase,” he believes. “Companies could use that time to allocate resources, evaluate expenses and revise their budgets. Over time, they could cut costs strategically and reconsider their prices.”

Steve adds: “In many cases, your employees are the face of your business. Customer service remains important, especially as consumers continue to demand more from the stores they choose to support. Well trained, well-paid talent is an investment worth making.

“The past year has shown us how tough it can be for low-wage workers to survive. Everyone willing to do an honest day’s work deserves a wage that allows them to meet their basic expenses and live with dignity. Finding the right balance for those employees while not crippling businesses is a critical issue we’ll have to address as the workplace evolves.”