The Trading Card Craze is spreading worldwide, with its market size surging to nearly KRW 2 trillion in Japan alone, as images of animation characters and athletes are printed on cards.
The frenzy has grown so much that the industry is attracting companies that are jumping into the trading card market directly. With a Pokémon card being traded for KRW 7 billion, companies like eBay are also joining the trading card industry.
According to a report by Nikkei on the global trading card boom, trading cards, also known in Korea as “photo cards”, have become popular among animation, idol, and sports fan collectors. With more time spent indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the culture being popularized on social media, the demand has diversified, with some collectors using them as a means of investment or to play card games.
The trading card game market is expected to increase by 46% by 2028, reaching approximately USD 5.09 billion, according to global research firm Global Information.
The market size in Japan is also rapidly growing, with a 46% increase from the previous year to JPY 178.2 billion in 2021. The value of trading cards comes from their rarity, with limited editions or those released in a specific year being sold at a high price.
In Japan, a Pokémon card won in the Pokémon Card Illustration Contest held by a Japanese magazine from 1997 to 1998 was sold for JPY 700 million and was even registered in the Guinness World Records, as there are only 39 of these cards worldwide. As the trend continues to spread, companies have declared their entry into the trading card business. eBay has launched a service that stores trading cards in a card warehouse, generating additional revenue through card storage fees, insurance premiums, and shipping costs.
eBay has created a warehouse the size of 20 convenience stores in Delaware, with frames on the walls where cards can be placed. They also strictly control temperature and humidity to ensure that the cards are kept in good condition.