While NFTs have been grabbing headlines around the world, analogue trading cards, the OGs in modern collectables have been doing just fine tyvm. From the sports world, where a 1952 Mickey Mantle and a 2019 Luka Doncic have fetched USD 5.2m and USD 4.6m this year, to trading card games (TGCs), such as Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! et al, the allure of finding a valuable amongst your old card collection has inspired hordes of modern-day treasure hunters. But where do you go to find out how much your collection is worth? For TCGs, the authority in Europe is Berlin's Cardmarket. However, Cardmarket is more than just a pricing guide: it's also a resale marketplace and puts on one of the most-prestigious card tournaments in the world with the "Cardmarket Series." OMR spoke with CEO Marko Schädlich and Cardmarket's social media manager Jamin Kauf about Cardmarket's journey from an online shop aimed at passionate gamers to its rise to the authority for the most prestigious trading card games in the world. It's a story of passion, business cunning, YouTube and, of course, magic.
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