Sales of collectible products are stronger than ever. from the $10 trading card products to $10,000 mint coins to limited edition plush items priced at $150 or so, collectors are collecting at greater numbers than ever.
The strong marketplace is boosted by people now collecting as a side hustle. There are several groups across a range of collector niches that are driving the growth here.
The $650.00 per set Major League Baseball product released yesterday sold out in a few minutes, exceeding expectations. The new Pokémon card set released earlier in the week sold out in no time.
Collectors and flippers (those buying and flipping as a side hustle) will travel a distance to make their purchase, some will travel several hours if they can be sure of getting what they want.
I know of newsagents doing over $150,000 a year in this space, some even more. My point is this is a growth opportunity. You can turn the stock a month before you have to pay for it and you can attract shoppers who are basket efficient – plenty buy other items when they are in the shop. You achieve basket efficiency by smart buying, leaning into opportunities related to a licence or appropriate aligned with the collector’s interests to drive a deeper basket.
Consider Pokémon for a moment. There are currently 9,100,000 searches a month online in Australia for Pokémon. That’s 50% more searches in Australia than Disney achieves.
Having products that are so sought after positions us well. It helps us make more money. It makes our businesses more valuable.
Collectibles are a valuable opportunity for newsagents.