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SPANISH FORK — The impact of tariffs — whenever they take effect — is wide-reaching, and collectors of sports and Pokémon cards have been concerned in recent weeks about how their hobbies will be affected.
Online shopping sites as well as online card breaks — where collectors buy individual team, player or parallel positions for a chance at valuable cards out of expensive hobby products — have helped to build card collecting into an international phenomenon that has continued to grow in interest since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Buyers and sellers from nations like China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia have added to the hobby during that time.
When news broke of the Trump administration tariffs, it immediately raised questions for Phil Bubnis, owner of Venue Sports Cards & Collectibles at 1153 Expressway Lane in Spanish Fork.
"How the tariffs are going to affect us — I don't know," Bubnis told KSL-TV Wednesday.
Bubnis said the largest sports card manufacturers — Panini America and Fanatics/Topps — produce their cards in America, but many of the most common and popular card supplies are produced in China.
"We sell a lot of supplies for the collector — the sleeves and the top-loaders and the one-touches and the team bags," Bubnis said.
He said when he learned of the tariffs — which have been particularly hefty against China — he began to stockpile those supplies.
"These might be like toilet paper was during the pandemic," he said.
Collectors further raised concerns about online transactions involving valuable cards from overseas, especially as stories have spread anecdotally on social media about buyers apparently being caught by surprise.
That didn't take long. pic.twitter.com/aX7dIDjmC7
— NEO Cards & Comics (@NEOCards_Comics) April 3, 2025
Ebay, for example, on its website said it was "closely monitoring" changes to U.S. tariffs and customs policy, and that U.S. customers who import goods over $800 from other countries may need to pay tariffs and fees, including possible additional processing fees from shippers.
"I'm a little nervous that I'm not going to get some of the product I ordered, or I'm going to have to pay more for stuff, or things are going to change based on decisions in Washington," said David Barnett, who visited Venue Sports Cards Wednesday afternoon.
Barnett said the same concerns applied to certain collectible games.
"A lot of the companies are American companies, but they source things from everywhere, and they send things everywhere — so it's going to impact them in two directions sometimes," Barnett said. "As a collector — even for my own personal hobby, my personal enjoyment — I'm scared for how big of an impact it's going to have, and basically, do I have to choose to do less of this because of these tariffs, or do I have to do something else? I don't know."
If tariffs prove problematic enough in international transactions, Bubnis believed there could be a net benefit for local card shops.
"It brings people into the store and lets people think about where they're going to get their product from, and if they can't get it for a little cheaper overseas, it may drive people to the local stores," he said.
Bubnis admitted he didn't have all the answers, but he hoped he would continue to see strong business from collectors at his brick-and-mortar shop, tariffs or not.
"They're going to look for it wherever they can find it," Bubnis said. "Hopefully they can find some here."
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