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Pokemon and sports cards business booming after rise in popularity during pandemic – CBC.ca

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4 years ago

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Remember those old Pokemon and sports cards you collected as a kid that are now sitting in a binder at your parents’ house? They could be worth $100,000 or more.

The business of collecting and selling cards has been booming over the past year and some experts say it’s thanks to the pandemic. 

For many people who’ve held onto their collection, like Kemptville, Ont. resident Logan Fournier, this could be an opportunity to cash in. 

In just seven months, Fournier went from searching his parents’ basement for his childhood cards to opening his own local shop during the pandemic and earning $1.2 million in sales.

“I came across my old Pokémon collection and I was like ‘this is crazy’ everything is sleeved and in perfect condition,” he said.

Fournier, the owner of Hobbiesville, was able to achieve his dream of opening a hobby shop thanks to the money he made selling his old cards. 

Logan Fournier, owner of Hobbiesville in Kemptville, Ont. says he has plans to expand his hobby business after the growth his shop has experienced. (Derick Deonarain)

“At the start of the pandemic I saw that some of the Pokemon cards I had were going for five-,10 thousand dollars and I was like ‘this is weird. There’s something here,'” he said.

Fournier says his business has grown so quickly that he’s planning to expand things in the near future by opening up new shops in Toronto, Ottawa and possibly the U.S. to meet demand.

His story isn’t unique. 

Card sales saving local businesses

From Pokemon to sports cards, local card shops say the demand has skyrocketed.

In eBay’s 2021 “State of Trading Cards” report, the e-commerce corporation said they saw a record growth in their trading card sales, with Pokemon topping its list.

For William Chong, owner of Dolly’s Toys & Games in Scarborough, those sales have actually helped keep his business afloat. 

“When the pandemic started, we were so worried we’d be shut down but then sales increased. Sales have gone up maybe 1000 per cent, ten fold. It’s been very busy for us,” he said. 

William Chong, owner of Dolly’s Toys & Games in Scarborough, says the resurgence of popularity in Pokemon and sports cards during the pandemic helped saved his business. (Paul Borkwood)

He tells CBC News Toronto that the sports card boom has been happening almost since the pandemic started.

“We’ve seen a huge comeback for hockey and vintage sports cards. Any of the big hall of fame names, if you have any of those cards in good condition, you’re looking at a lot of money,” he said. 

In December 2020, a Wayne Gretzky rookie card — rated as a 10 on the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) card grading system, sold for $1.29 million US.

How card grading works

Brad Hartlin, who represents PSA Canada, a company that grades sports cards and sends them to the U.S. says there’s an 8-step process that goes into getting a card graded and potentially sold for a large amount of money.

Owners send cards in to one of three industry leaders like PSA to get professionally graded.

Sports and trading cards are marked by these companies with a numerical grade.

In the case of trading cards, industry leaders use a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “Poor” and 10 being “Gem Mint”.

Brad Hartlin, who represents PSA Canada, a company that grades sports cards and sends them to the US says there’s a process that goes into getting a card graded and potentially selling them for large amounts of money. 0:42

These companies have professional graders who are trained and experienced in the field of cards and collectibles.

Hartlin says professionals on his team look at several factors to determine if a card is worth being sent off for grading.

“In order to be a 10, it needs to be 50/50 centring all the way around the card, then you look at the corners and check to see if they’re dinged. Then you look at the surface to see if there are any slight flaws, printer lines, slight scratches,” he said.

Hartlin says the prices someone will pay are based on the grade of the card, with 10 being the most valuable.

“This is how you end up with PSA 10 Charizards that sell on eBay for around $500,000 or people who end up buying a house from selling a few cards. This stuff does happen,” he said. 

Hobby was ‘bubbling’ for years

While the card business may be seeing a spike in sales right now, one expert says this resurgence was always going to happen because of entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuk and famous YouTubers like Logan Paul who were putting millions of their subscribers onto the hobby before the pandemic.

Josh Luber, co-founder of StockX, a multi-billion-dollar online “stock market of things” that specializes in shoes and collectibles says the hobby was starting to bubble up in the last few years. 

“The trading card industry was going to blow up this year anyway. I think it would be extraordinary to see what would have happened if there hadn’t been a pandemic,” he said. 

StockX co-founder Josh Luber tells CBC News Toronto that the resurgence of Pokemon and sports card was always going to happen this year regardless of a pandemic. 0:47


Luber tells CBC Toronto the major comeback trading cards are making is due to many popular interests meeting at the intersection of a global pandemic. 

He says it’s the convergence of things like sneakers, streetwear and fashion, with sports cards, Pokemon and the lockdowns from COVID-19.

“You add a pandemic into this mix and you get a lot of people stuck at home, feeling nostalgic for their youth or passing something on to their kids by rediscovering the joy of opening a pack of cards,” said Luber.

“Every time you open a box or pack, it feels like you’re a kid on Christmas again.”

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Slack researcher discusses the fear, loathing and excitement surrounding AI in the workplace

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19 hours ago

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October 21, 2024

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence‘s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them.

Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace AI technology. The Associated Press recently discussed the excitement and tension surrounding AI at work with Christina Janzer, Slack’s senior vice president of research and analytics.

Q: What do you make about the wide range of perceptions about AI at work?

A: It shows people are experiencing AI in very different ways, so they have very different emotions about it. Understanding those emotions will help understand what is going to drive usage of AI. If people are feeling guilty or nervous about it, they are not going to use it. So we have to understand where people are, then point them toward learning to value this new technology.

Q: The Maximalist and The Underground both seem to be early adopters of AI at work, but what is different about their attitudes?

A: Maximalists are all in on AI. They are getting value out of it, they are excited about it, and they are actively sharing that they are using it, which is a really big driver for usage among others.

The Underground is the one that is really interesting to me because they are using it, but they are hiding it. There are different reasons for that. They are worried they are going to be seen as incompetent. They are worried that AI is going to be seen as cheating. And so with them, we have an opportunity to provide clear guidelines to help them know that AI usage is celebrated and encouraged. But right now they don’t have guidelines from their companies and they don’t feel particularly encouraged to use it.

Overall, there is more excitement about AI than not, so I think that’s great We just need to figure out how to harness that.

Q: What about the 19% of workers who fell under the Rebel description in Slack’s study?

A: Rebels tend to be women, which is really interesting. Three out of five rebels are women, which I obviously don’t like to see. Also, rebels tend to be older. At a high level, men are adopting the technology at higher rates than women.

Q: Why do you think more women than men are resisting AI?

A: Women are more likely to see AI as a threat, more likely to worry that AI is going to take over their jobs. To me, that points to women not feeling as trusted in the workplace as men do. If you feel trusted by your manager, you are more likely to experiment with AI. Women are reluctant to adopt a technology that might be seen as a replacement for them whereas men may have more confidence that isn’t going to happen because they feel more trusted.

Q: What are some of the things employers should be doing if they want their workers to embrace AI on the job?

A: We are seeing three out of five desk workers don’t even have clear guidelines with AI, because their companies just aren’t telling them anything, so that’s a huge opportunity.

Another opportunity to encourage AI usage in the open. If we can create a culture where it’s celebrated, where people can see the way people are using it, then they can know that it’s accepted and celebrated. Then they can be inspired.

The third thing is we have to create a culture of experimentation where people feel comfortable trying it out, testing it, getting comfortable with it because a lot of people just don’t know where to start. The reality is you can start small, you don’t have to completely change your job. Having AI write an email or summarize content is a great place to start so you can start to understand what this technology can do.

Q: Do you think the fears about people losing their jobs because of AI are warranted?

A: People with AI are going to replace people without AI.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Biden administration to provide $325 million for new Michigan semiconductor factory

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19 hours ago

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October 21, 2024

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday that it would provide up to $325 million to Hemlock Semiconductor for a new factory, a move that could help give Democrats a political edge in the swing state of Michigan ahead of election day.

The funding would support 180 manufacturing jobs in Saginaw County, where Republicans and Democrats were neck-in-neck for the past two presidential elections. There would also be construction jobs tied to the factory that would produce hyper-pure polysilicon, a building block for electronics and solar panels, among other technologies.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters that the funding came from the CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. It’s part of a broader industrial strategy that the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, supports, while Republican nominee Donald Trump, the former president, sees tariff hikes and income tax cuts as better to support manufacturing.

“What we’ve been able to do with the CHIPS Act is not just build a few new factories, but fundamentally revitalize the semiconductor ecosystem in our country with American workers,” Raimondo said. “All of this is because of the vision of the Biden-Harris administration.”

A senior administration official said the timing of the announcement reflected the negotiating process for reaching terms on the grant, rather than any political considerations. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the process.

After site work, Hemlock Semiconductor plans to begin construction in 2026 and then start production in 2028, the official said.

Running in 2016, Trump narrowly won Saginaw County and Michigan as a whole. But in 2020 against Biden, both Saginaw County and Michigan flipped to the Democrats.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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The Internet is Littered in ‘Educated Guesses’ Without the ‘Education’

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2 weeks ago

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October 8, 2024

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Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.

The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.

Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.

The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.

Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.

On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.

The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.

More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.

Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:

  • You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
  • This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
  • In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!

Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.

Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.

There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.

Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.

Successful people tend to be secretive.

Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.

Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.

Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.

______________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

 

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