Card collecting makes comeback amid global pandemic

(FOX 2) - In the past six months, the world has changed dramatically. Now an old hobby is making a dramatic comeback: collecting, trading, and selling sports cards. 

There's big money to be found, if you get lucky.

The hobby of sports cards collecting has changed quite a bit. Recently, a Mike Trout rookie card sold for almost $4 million. That's led people to be willing to put a couple hundred dollars on a chance of finding gold.

The average age of today's sports collector is over 30 - and many don't bat an eye at spending $600 bucks at stores like Grand Slam Sports in Sterling Heights.

Scott Savoy sells sports cards and bout three packs of cards at $249 each. He's got high hopes of finding something big.

"You're hoping to get a refractor, that is one out of five, or one out one even, one out of of 25, will sell nice as well," he said.

That's baseball talk for limited edition cards stuck. Some are autographed, and some have a "patch" of a uniform on the card - or both .  And the hotter the player, the more money they're worth.

And if you get one - the goal is simple, Savoy says, you sell it.

Unlike the collector of vintage cards, this 1954 Al Kaline rookie that's available for $800, when a current player is hot today, you sell it fast. Grand Slam Sports owner Dave Rivetto explains the market turns very quickly.

"There are cards that actually will sell for $5 today, but in a week it could be selling for $100," he said.

Take Fernando Tatis, Jr., for example. His 2016 Bowman card was selling for about $20 a week ago. It's now over $150. 

Rivetto said basketball cards are where it's crazy and said he found a Zion Williamson autographed patch rookie card work over $63,000.

And it sold in just two days after he found it, in a $4,000 box of basketball cards.  

While we were in the store, Scott, opened up his cards.

"I got a Luis Robert shortprint rookie card," Savoy said it's work about $500. It will likely be sold very quickly.