I wrote a piece on Community. In my view Community is the reason the industry is as big as it is today and the why their is value in the collectibles industry. Fans are the hub to the athletes, sports, teams, and they create the most powerful content that blends emotions, memories, and captured in a singular item.
Nothing I've ever seen in any industry has this power. But I think the industry is doing a dis-service to the community. There needs to be more focus on rewarding the community vs. a lot of the efforts targeting the top spenders. It's the kid who finds a blaster box and hits a Trout /1 or Messi /1 that dreams to be that player when she/he grows up. Why isn't there more focus on this and the journey, the story of the card and WHO the person who hits it?
To me they are the star. I think there are some interesting companies that are hoping to "authenticate'" the experience and to me, this is very exciting. I think authenticating experience provides power to all those who contributed to it--breakers, viewers, the person who hit, and ultimately the athlete. Having it verified can potentially give all those involved more agency.
I wrote a piece about this opportunity and one company that is trying to solve it. In disclosure, I'm involved with them to help make authentication of experiences a reality.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/community-most-valuable-component-collectibles-industry-chris-ko-judac/?trackingId=sRzfdYyyRTyGwhM1QjaX7Q%3D%3D
