this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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They’re coming for basketball cards too. I really don’t get how Fanatics is allowed to run what is essentially a monopoly on the sports merchandise and collectibles market
The answer is simple, because it generates absolutely insane amounts of money for Fanatics, the leagues, and the owners.
I used to work for a company that worked with Fanatics. Their profit margins as you can imagine are absolutely ridiculous. That jersey being sold for $100 costs them at most $10 to manufacture and ship over from a Chinese factory.
I know you said "at most" , but $10 is being generous with the scale these factories operate at, and the cost of materials / labour in China. I bet you it probably costs them closer to $4-5 per jersey
Probably the same Chinese factories that make the knockoffs. They have all the specs already.
And Football, Bryce and Stroud signed with Topps, and get full licensing in a couple of years. They're getting a full monopoly it's ridiculous.
Although Panini also deserved a kick in the ass for how garbage they've been all around lately when it comes to releasing sets on time, getting out redemptions etc.
For sure, Panini’s quality went to shit in recent years. They just shouldn’t have exclusive licensing for sports cards. Removes any competition and motivation to provide a quality product and innovate
The worst part is they’re also doing it for after market signings as well. For example, I make custom cards and certain athletes are “fanatics exclusive” meaning they’ll only sign fanatics-licensed merchandise.
I will never be able to get my custom cards signed by Joe Montana or Jerry Rice, no matter how much I pay.
Luckily idrc about either of those two but guys like Barry Sanders and Lawrence Taylor would be great disappointments to me (luckily AFAIK neither has moved to the dark side yet)