The Big Cardboard Picture: A Hobby Built to Last

I wanted to try and summarise the last year in cardboard from my own personal perspective with one eye on what the next 12 months may look like as a gamer, collector or even an investor...

Live breaking is now mainstream

Live-streamed box breaks on platforms like Whatnot, Fanatics Live and others have turned ripping packs into entertainment.

For better or worse, breaks are now:

• A primary entry point for many new collectors.

• A way to afford a shot at big cards without buying an entire box.

• A source of both community… and FOMO.

Expect 2026 to bring even more integration between streaming, marketplaces and grading.

I began selling on the Whatnot platform 18 months ago with the focus purely on Garbage Pail Kids and the lack of support for the UK market. My aim being to share my love of GPK and build a community of fans that can unite in a safe space and discuss their own collecting journey's. Fast forward to today and my love for those snotty faced kids is as strong as ever and the community I built with customers who soon became friends continues to develop...but now I want to take things to the next level and introduce other cards and collectables into my shows... I hope to see new and old faces on The Garbage Bin Whatnot platform as we head into 2026.

For decades, the TCG conversation was Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh. That’s changed dramatically:

• Disney Lorcana and One Piece Card Game exploded in late 2023 and kept that momentum into 2024, with Lorcana showing especially strong year-over-year growth thanks to strong design, accessible gameplay and well-run organized play.

• New titles like Star Wars: Unlimited cracked top-ten sales charts quickly, proving there’s appetite for well-designed games with powerful IP behind them.

• Riftbound, Gundam and Godzilla have not long been released into the market and show incredible early promise.

• Sorcery - keep an eye on this one. We are days away from their annual release (that's right, one set a year) Gothic. I am absolutely pumped to get my hands on this product. If any of you MTG fans are feeling that Wizards have lost their way recently then I urge you to take a look at this particular IP.

Card shows remain crucial, but now they’re often hybrid:

• In-person trade nights with live streams running simultaneously.

• On-site grading submissions and content creation.

• Sellers who built their brand online now headlining physical shows (like the Yorkshire Card Show in the UK).

I'll be looking to enjoy a few more shows in 2026 myself and may even look to set up stall - watch this space.

Headwinds Going into 2026

The outlook is positive, but not without risks.

1. Overproduction (again) Between sports, TCGs, chase variations and endless parallel rainbows, there is a real worry about print runs outpacing demand—especially for ultra-modern sets. Collectors are becoming choosier, chasing low-numbered cards, on-card autos and iconic inserts rather than drowning in base.

2. Grading fatigue & cost With grading costs rising and turnaround times fluctuating, collectors are more selective about what they submit. Junk-era PSA 10s are no longer a slam dunk; people are gravitating toward cards where a slab actually adds long-term value.

3. Economic uncertainty Cards are ultimately a luxury purchase. Any broader economic slowdown in 2026 could put pressure on mid-tier and speculative segments of the market, even if true blue-chip cards remain solid.

Pokemon and One Piece have both had an absolutely ridiculous year - never ending stock shortages, killer new sets, secondary market flipping on an insane scale and an over use of the term 'Scalper'. As we head into the holiday period, things are cooling down as they always do at this time of year but the sets keep coming thick and fast. It feels like the cellophane has only just been ripped on those Phantasmal Flames booster boxes and yet here we are already looking to the early part of 2026 with the just announced set - Ascended Heroes...

As we move from 2025 into 2026, the card hobby looks less like a speculative gold rush and more like what many long-time collectors always wanted it to be:

A global, community-driven pastime where:

• The best cards still command serious money.

• New games and IP can genuinely break through.

• Shops, shows, and digital platforms sit side-by-side rather than competing to the death.

• And more people than ever feel like they belong in the room.

  
  

The hype cycle has cooled—but the hobby itself looks healthier, more diverse and more sustainable than it has in years.

If you’ve stuck around through the chaos, the next chapter might be the most rewarding one yet...

Mega Evolution - Ascended Heroes