Is Fanatics Moving Away From the Local Hobby Shop? And If So, Why?
As a hobby shop owner, I’ve been watching the changes happening throughout our industry. Rather than getting angry at Fanatics or Topps, I think we should be asking a much bigger question: Why?
The answer matters to collectors, shop owners, manufacturers, and anyone who wants the hobby to keep growing. So let’s start with what has been reported, and be careful not to confuse a change in distribution with proof that local shops no longer matter.
01 / The timeline
2022: Fanatics began restructuring traditional distribution, including ending GTS Distribution’s domestic Topps allocations. Sports Collectors Digest reported that Topps described the change as a strategic adjustment to its allocation and distribution channels. It was a clear shift in how product would reach the market.
2023: Topps introduced additional requirements and restrictions for its direct hobby shop partners. The published reporting described conditions around how participating shops could sell and report on product. That raised practical questions for shop owners about what a direct relationship required and how much flexibility it left.
2026: Fanatics stopped accepting new applications for direct accounts from hobby shops, retailers, and breakers. That isn’t speculation. It’s published on their own website. Fanatics’ current application notice says it is not accepting new applications for those direct-account programs. The policy also says previously approved accounts will continue to move forward as planned.
Meanwhile, Fanatics continues building its direct-to-consumer business, expanding its digital platforms, and developing relationships with some of the industry’s largest sellers.
And there is an important fairness note: Fanatics has also expanded its direct relationships with existing hobby shops. That matters. The timeline does not prove that Fanatics is abandoning every local shop, or ending its existing shop relationships. It does show a changing model, with more control over how product is distributed and who can enter direct programs.
That distinction is worth keeping in view.
02 / The bigger question
Are we watching a shift from an industry built around independent hobby shops to one increasingly controlled by a handful of major companies and platforms?
And if so, why?
From a business perspective, the logic is not hard to understand. Control distribution. Build direct customer relationships. Improve margins. Scale operations.
That’s business.
A company may want to manage its brand more closely, understand its customers better, and shape how products reach them. Those are understandable goals. The question is not whether a company has the right to pursue them. The question is what changes when fewer independent businesses have a path to participate, and what the hobby loses if the local shop becomes an afterthought.
A direct relationship can offer opportunity for a shop. But when requirements are demanding and new applications are closed, the route into that relationship may narrow. That can leave current partners in a different position from shops hoping to join. We should be able to discuss that without assuming bad intent.
03 / What a spreadsheet cannot measure
The local hobby shop.
It’s where a father brings his son to buy his first pack. Where kids trade cards on a Friday night. Where collectors learn about the hobby, build friendships, and discover their next favorite player.
Independent hobby shops aren’t simply distribution points. We help create the customers that manufacturers depend on.
That work is easy to overlook because it doesn’t always appear in a sales report. A new collector may come in with a question, leave with a favorite team, and return months later to show us the card they found. Someone else may learn how to compare condition, find a player to follow, or make their first trade. Small moments like these make a hobby feel open to the next person.
That is the world we operate in at SNL Sports, a local shop in Chesapeake serving the Hampton Roads collecting community. A shop is a place to browse and buy, yes. It is also a place to ask, learn, compare, and come back.
04 / Collectors still move the market
When distribution tightens for shops, collectors still drive the market through the players they choose to follow. What people chase can shift with performance, attention, and personal connection. No spreadsheet can fully replace the conversation that helps a collector discover a player, or decide what they actually want to collect.
A local shop can help make those connections. It gives a collector a place to find a new name, talk through an interest, and build a collection at their own pace. The market may be measured online. The enthusiasm often starts with a person across the counter.
05 / The shop’s role keeps changing
The local shop is not valuable only when it has a particular box on the shelf. Its value is also in the knowledge and care around the collection.
Grading is one example. As grading services change pricing and turnaround times, a local shop can help collectors prepare a submission, think through the options, and document a card’s condition. A grading certification number, often called a cert number, is a reference tied to the grading company’s record for a slabbed card. It helps identify and document the item; it does not guarantee the card’s value or what it might sell for.
At SNL Sports, we offer grading support and plain-language condition guidance. We can help you understand the process, but no pre-screen or opinion can guarantee an official grade.
Protecting a collection matters regardless of where the cards were bought. Virginia collectors can also talk with us about collection insurance. Lauren and I are both licensed in Virginia, and we’re glad to have a low-pressure conversation about what questions to ask.
These services are not a substitute for the product itself. They are part of the care collectors may need before and after a card changes hands.
06 / A different kind of competitor
Is it time for a new trading card manufacturer to enter the market with a business model built specifically around supporting independent hobby shops?
Imagine a company that prioritizes local retailers, provides transparent allocations, protects reasonable retailer margins, offers exclusive in-store products, and rewards shops for building collector communities rather than simply rewarding purchasing volume.
That would not require a company to ignore the realities of business. It would require recognizing that a healthy hobby depends on more than moving product. It depends on people who introduce new collectors, answer questions, create a welcoming place to gather, and keep the interest alive between releases.
A manufacturer could choose to treat those things as part of its business model, not as a side effect.
Competition creates innovation. Innovation creates opportunity.
07 / What comes next
I’m not suggesting Fanatics is wrong for pursuing its business strategy. They’re entitled to build the company they envision. But independent hobby shops should be asking whether that vision aligns with ours.
And perhaps the greatest opportunity in the trading card industry isn’t building another marketplace or breaking platform. Perhaps it’s building a card company that puts the hobby shop first.
That would be a meaningful kind of competition. It could give collectors another choice and give local retailers a partner whose success is tied to the community they serve.
This is an opinion piece based on publicly reported facts and my perspective as a shop owner. It is not financial or legal advice. Company policies referenced here are as publicly reported and can change; please verify current details directly with the manufacturers.
I’d genuinely like to hear from other shop owners, collectors, and manufacturers. Are independent hobby shops becoming less important to the industry’s largest companies? And would you support a trading card manufacturer that made local hobby shops its number one priority?
— SNL Sports
#TheHobby #SportsCards #HobbyShops #Topps #Fanatics #CardCollectors #SNLSports
Sources: Sports Collectors Digest on the 2022 distribution change · Sports Collectors Digest on the 2023 shop requirements · Fanatics Collect Pro application notice · SNL Sports grading support · Contact SNL Sports