--- title: Why collectibles dweebs (and big brands) are flooding Chicago right now - The Hustle description: The National is collectors’ biggest event of the year, with more than just cards on the table (it’s money; lots of it). image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2025395952-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-collectibles_20230727215215.webp --- # Why collectibles dweebs (and big brands) are flooding Chicago right now ![Ben Berkley](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Ben Berkley](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/ben-berkley) Published: August 01, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 Today, tens of thousands of total dorks, weenies, and geeks will gather just outside of Chicago to browse 600k+ square feet of collectibles, trading cards, and assorted sports and entertainment memorabilia. ![baseball card](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2025395952-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-collectibles_20230727215215.webp?width=595&height=400&name=2025395952-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-collectibles_20230727215215.webp) And though the National Sports Collectors Convention, AKA “The National,” is generally a joyous occasion, it isn’t entirely a happy one — after all, there are a lot of lonely moms with quiet, empty basements out there this weekend. We kid, we kid (but also, are we wrong?). #### **This industry, though, is no joke** When billion-dollar companies invest in an event, it’s a good bet there are many more billions at stake, and, well, the big brands are inescapable at this year’s edition of The National: - $62B behemoth Fanatics is using the event to [kick-start](https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/26/fanatics-launches-live-commerce-app/) its new livestream commerce app. - Whatnot, the $3.7B company behind the US’s largest livestream shopping platform, is [rolling out](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230724127419/en/Whatnot-Pays-Homage-to-Golden-Age-of-Sports-at-The-National-Sports-Collectors-Convention) a big giveaway — Michael Jordan’s old 1996 Mercedes-Benz for just $23. - $23.75B memorabilia marketplace eBay has a booth accepting free drop-offs for its Vault program, which caters to the collectibles crowd. BTW: That’s an [*actual vault*](https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/attn-collectors-ebay-has-state-of-the-art-facility-to-store-your-trading-cards/), climate-controlled with 24/7 surveillance, biometric authentication systems, and background-checked security staff — all to keep your [Albert Einstein “rookie card”](https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20230726/collectors-delight-the-national-sports-and-other-memorabilia-show-rolls-into-rosemont) safe. #### **Outside the convention…** … the collectibles business is packed with other intriguing stories: - How about a *Magic: The Gathering* trading card drawing [$2m+](https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/06/30/ultra-rare-one-ring-trading-card-found-attracting-million-dollar-offers/?sh=1b33e74639c7) offers? The one-of-a-kind card, which depicts the “One Ring” of *Lord of the Rings* fame, isn’t even the *Magic* card known as the “[Mona Lisa of collecting cards](https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/read-this/magic-the-gathering-holy-grail-item-from-worlds-first-trading-card-game-set-to-fetch-up-to-ps50k-at-auction-4233119).” - There’s the former NFL player who retired to [sell Pokemon cards](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/holy-did-nfl-star-retired-110000236.html) full time — and who says he made $11.5m+ in a year doing so. Trading cards remain so hot (in the next decade, the global sports memorabilia market alone is estimated to reach — *yeesh* — [$227.2B](https://www.marketdecipher.com/report/sports-collectibles-market)) that Disney’s even making its [first foray](https://thehustle.co/09262022-lorcana/) into them. Topics: [Collectibles](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/collectibles) ## Follow us on social media Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. 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