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Last Updated On: October 31st, 2024
While the essence of card collecting hasn’t changed much in the hobby’s 125+ year history, many of its features have undergone drastic revisions. Some of the changes concern where we get cards from– we no longer pull cards from cigarette packs, thankfully – while others revolve around how we determine a card’s quality, with new technologies from graders like TAG and Edge Grading bringing the hobby into the modern age.
One brand on the forefront of a changing hobby is The Wharf Sports Cards. With services ranging from traditional consignment to an uber-informative newsletter to alternative funding options, The Wharf prides itself on meeting collectors’ ever-expanding needs with unique solutions.
This hobby highlight is all about The Wharf Sports Cards: who they are, what they do, and how collectors stand to benefit from its unique services. We also caught up with founder Nic Frericks, who gave us a behind the scenes look into their stellar operation.
Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
Who is The Wharf Sports Cards?
Website: thewharfsportscards.com
Instagram: @thewharfsportscards
The Wharf Sports Cards was started in April 2020 by Nic Frericks as an eBay consignment shop. Frericks is a long-time collector who rediscovered his passion for the hobby in 2017 while working as a high school teacher and basketball coach.
By June 2022, Frericks was doing some $10 million in yearly sales, riding high on the early 2020s sports card craze. Fast forward to 2024, Wharf now consigns entirely on Fanatics Collect and is the #1 seller on the platform.
There are three primary pillars to The Wharf Sports Cards’ offering: funding/financing, consignment, and a newsletter. And if that wasn’t enough, Frericks also co-hosts the Stacking Slabs podcast, which airs new episodes each week.
The Wharf’s Services
With this background in mind, let’s discuss The Wharf’s compelling services and how collectors can take advantage of its competitive offerings, just as Only Greats has — which inspired the writing of this hobby highlight!
Card Funding for Major Card Purchases
We’ve all been there: we find the card of our dreams, perhaps one we’ve scoured on eBay, Fanatics, or Goldin Auctions for months. The only problem: funding.
The Wharf Sports Cards understands that we may not always have the funding on hand to pull the trigger on a purchase. However, perhaps collectors can make up the value of a for-sale card by piecing together cards from their own collection. Unfortunately, you won’t find many “trade” options available among mainstream card sellers.
To solve this problem, The Wharf offers to facilitate the purchase of a card on behalf of a collector through consignment. Collectors can reach out to The Wharf with a card that the former is interested in acquiring. Additionally, the collector will provide proof that they can make up the value of the purchase through cards from their own collection.
If everything checks out, The Wharf will purchase the card and hold it for up to 45 days while the collector sends in their own cards to be consigned, thereby making up for the sale price. While the normal consignment fees apply (discussed in the next section), no additional fees are added if buyers go this route. If the collector chooses to pay the amount due with cash instead, there is a 2% fee tacked on — pretty reasonable in our opinion.
It’s a fascinating concept that harkens back to the days when collections were made primarily via trading. While not a precise replication of trading, The Wharf Sports Cards’ funding option gets collectors closer than most to this phenomenon and should be praised for its unique solution and flexibility.
The funding option has helped collectors score some truly high-end grail cards. Take a peek at this monster list provided by Frericks:
- 1998 E-X2001 Essentials Credentials Future /7 Peyton Manning PSA 9
- 1997 Metal Universe PMG Green /15 Jerry Rice PSA 7
- 1997 Metal Universe PMG Red /100 Kobe Bryant PSA 4
- 1997 SPx Grand Finale /50 Michael Jordan BGS 9
In recent news, Frericks also shared that The Wharf completed the highest-ever recorded sale of any ’90s football card. Check out their Instagram page for the big reveal!
Sell Cards at Industry Low Rates (Consignment)
In addition to providing up-front funding, The Wharf offers consignment for would-be sellers. We dove deep into eBay consignors several months ago and The Wharf’s process is fairly similar.
What’s more: The Wharf Sports Cards offers the most competitive rates when compared to the five eBay consignors we highlighted previously. With a payout of $222.50 for a $250 sale (or 89%), it’s the best rate in the lower tier.
Additionally, The Wharf offers up to 50% cash advances on certain consignment opportunities. This allows a seller to tap some cash without waiting the entirety of the consignment auction and payment process to get paid.
As mentioned earlier, The Wharf utilizes Fanatics Collect (formerly PWCC) to consign cards. On one hand, Fanatics Collect offers a focused marketplace for sports card collectors. On the other hand, eBay famously sold some 600,000 sports cards each week in 2023.
Note: With a Fanatics card vault, collectors can transfer cards for consignment directly from their vault to The Wharf ‘s account at no cost! This eliminates additional shipping costs and allows collectors to take advantage of their ultra low rates. Of course, cards can be shipped to The Wharf as with traditional consignment services as well.
Engaging Newsletter With Cash Prizes
Rounding out the three main services provided by The Wharf Sports Cards is its No Recent Comps newsletter. The name pays homage to rare cards, particularly SP or low-pop cards that haven’t sold publicly in a long time.
No Recent Comps generally includes three sections written by Frericks: “What I’m Reading,” “What I’m Listening to,” and a “Market Update” with the week’s biggest trends and sales.
Also included in the newsletter is a running list of six live auctions ending that week (again, of very rare cards which usually attract tons of attention). A sample of the newsletter can be found here.
Finally, the newsletter offers a weekly over/under game in which subscribers can guess whether five cards up for auction that week will sell for more or less than a given dollar amount. The three subscribers with the best record at the end of the month win a sweet cash prize (which we assume will go right back into card purchases).
In a world where information is the greatest commodity, The Wharf Sports Cards’ newsletter is a must-add to stay on top of exciting opportunities and changes within the hobby. Whether you’re a multi-year pro or a newcomer to the hobby, the No Recent Comps newsletter is a free way to get the most out of collecting.
Summary
In keeping with our trend of following the latest sports card developments, we’re enamored with The Wharf Sports Cards’ commitment to mixing things up in the hobby. With a unique way to offer funding for collectors, The Wharf has broken through the money-crunch struggle rampant since the 2020s card surge.
The No Recent Comps newsletter and its over/under game pairs collecting intel with real cash prizes to ensure a fun and engaging weekly digest for readers. Even its consignment partnership with Fanatics Collect offers something a bit different (and more lucrative) than many top eBay consignors.
But perhaps most importantly, The Wharf Sports Cards proves that there’s far more going on in the hobby just under the surface. In a world increasingly dominated by big name brands, The Wharf (under the Fanatics label) shows us that the hobby isn’t losing innovation amidst the ongoing consolidation.
What do you think of The Wharf’s services? Have you considered getting funding assistance for a major card purchase? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!