The trading card market continues its hot streak, with Card Ladder reporting over $616 million in secondary-market sales this April alone—a new record. Meanwhile, GemRate logged an unprecedented 3.1 million cards graded in the same month, as noted by The Athletic's Ben Burrows. It's a thrilling time for collectors, but the big question lingers: Are we in a bubble?
Honestly, nobody knows for sure. But there's plenty of reason for optimism. The big players are betting big on the long haul—Fanatics just inked an exclusive deal with FIFA that doesn't even kick off until 2031. And collectibles news keeps grabbing headlines, from GameStop's bold bid for eBay to our pal Josh Luber popping up on the Today Show. The hobby feels like it has serious momentum at its back.
Speaking of GameStop, their attempted $55 billion takeover of eBay fizzled faster than a disappointing repack reveal. eBay officially shut it down, calling the proposal "neither credible nor attractive." Wall Street treated the whole saga like a flashback to the meme-stock mania. The biggest hurdle? Financing. GameStop is simply dwarfed by eBay in size, and the debt load would have been crushing. Analysts also questioned whether Ryan Cohen's promised cost cuts would gut the marketplace itself. But Cohen isn't backing down yet, so expect to hear more about this saga in future editions of Above the Mantel.
On the authentication front, PSA reports it prevented over $200 million worth of counterfeit collectibles from entering the market in 2025—a stark reminder of how widespread fraud has become across sports cards and trading card games. Pokémon cards were the most commonly counterfeited submissions, while iconic grails like the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle and 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan remained prime targets for scammers. A free tip that should go without saying: be extra cautious when offered raw copies of these legendary cards. More troubling still, counterfeiters are increasingly targeting lower-tier cards with simpler printing technology, which means every collector should stay on high alert.
Back in the early-1990s card boom, Fleer's Philadelphia factory was producing cards at a breakneck pace. The lessons from that era still echo today, reminding us that while the hobby is soaring, a little vigilance goes a long way.