Sports cards vs TCG’s: What to expect at Auckland Card Show 2025

Our first show ratio

In the lead-up to our first show in July 2024, vendors and sponsors would often ask the question, "What will be the ratio of sports cards to TCGs at your show?" and we would always reply, "We don’t know." As a first-time event, it was an impossible question to answer.

We always advertised the show as the "ultimate card experience" for New Zealand, and we were committed to being inclusive of sports cards, as we knew how important these collectibles were to card collectors in NZ. We were also aware that despite our efforts to get sports card vendors on board, many of our vendors were trading card game (TCG)-driven.

Blunt Collections & The Card Hub NZ at Auckland Card Show 2024.

The demand for Sports Cards

So, what do we know now since our first show, and as we move full steam ahead for our 2025 event? We know that at least 24% of our attendees were interested in sports cards at our first show, and many expressed a desire to see more vendors at our future events.

Blunt Collections and The Card Hub NZ joined our first show quite early on, paving the way and ensuring attendees had a good selection to browse. They also sponsored the show and took part in on-stage events throughout the day as well as running giveaways.

In the final weeks leading up to the show, Neon Trading Cards & Mint Collectables signed up and flew in from Australia, bringing a range of sports card products to our New Zealand card show.

Out of the 193 cards submitted to CGC card grading through Auckland Card Show, although the majority were TCG-related, sports cards still made up about 23% of the cards submitted, with an impressive 14 of those submissions being various Victor Wembanyama cards.

TCGs

So, what was the demand for trading card games at the first show? Well, TCGs made up the other 76% of why attendees came to Auckland Card Show. But let’s break that down! 7% of our attendees were looking for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, 17% were searching for One Piece cards, while a whopping 52% of collectors were trying to catch Pokémon cards.

Now let’s break down why TCGs are so popular. The main answer lies in the name: TCGs are playable games that hundreds of thousands of people across New Zealand and Australia actively play. Then there’s the collectable side of TCGs. The latest Pokémon set, Prismatic Evolutions, has over 130 cards in the main set, with an additional 49 secret rare cards to collect. And of course, there’s the value of some cards. For example, the Umbreon ex 161/131 from the latest Pokémon set is currently (at the time of writing) listed on PriceCharting.com for $8,415 USD.

What does Auckland Card Show have to offer for TCG fans?

Apart from a lot of eager vendors, collectors, and traders? At our first show, we gave away $18,000 worth of products from our main stage and over $80,000 worth of products, including our goodie bags—all of which were TCG-related products. At our next show, we will have over 1,500 seats available for various TCG tournaments.

Wembanyama vs Pikachu: What does 2025 look like?

At this year’s show, we want to have more offerings for sports card attendees, including sealed products, graded cards, giveaways, and more. We expect a lot more sports card vendors at the 2025 show, from both New Zealand and Australia, and we look forward to welcoming back our previous vendors, such as Blunt Collections & The Card Hub NZ.

While we are dedicated to raising the bar on sports cards at the show, it’s going to be a big year for TCGs, between our tournaments and the publishers we’re working with, trading card fans from all over Oceania are going to want to be at the show.

If you would like to be a vendor or trader at one of our shows, get in touch at auckland@cardshowcompany.com or head to our vendor page on our website.