Why I Think Physical Cards Will Be Bigger Than Stocks
A product designer's theory: as AI and screens consume more of our lives, physical collectibles become more valuable — not less. Cards might be the biggest alternative asset class of the next decade.
I'm going to say something that sounds crazy. Then I'm going to explain why I actually believe it.
Physical trading cards — sports, Pokémon, all of it — will be a bigger market than stocks for a significant number of people within the next decade. Not replace stocks. Not for everyone. But for a growing segment of the population, cards will be where they put real money, real attention, and real passion. And the returns will justify it.
My name is Peter Perez Jr. I'm a product designer — started with websites, moved into apps, now I build full platforms for a living. I collected cards as a kid, life happened, and then Caitlin Clark pulled me back in. Once I was back, I was back. I started seeing the hobby through a designer's eyes, and that's when everything clicked. I built Slabfy because I believe this theory — and I wanted to build the tools the hobby is going to need when it gets there.
Here's my case.
The AI Paradox: More Screens = More Value in the Physical
This is the core of my thesis, and I haven't heard anyone else say it quite this way.
Every year, we spend more time on screens. AI is accelerating that exponentially. Your job is on a screen. Your entertainment is on a screen. Your social life is increasingly on a screen. AI agents are about to handle more of your shopping, scheduling, and communication — all through screens.
So what happens to the stuff you can actually hold?
It gets more precious.
This isn't speculation — it's already playing out. Vinyl records are the obvious example. The music industry went fully digital, and vinyl sales have been growing for 17 straight years. Not because vinyl sounds better than Spotify. Because the physical object means something in a world where everything else is a pixel.
Cards are the same dynamic with one layer on top: they're not just physical objects. They're investments — graded, authenticated, globally liquid. A PSA 10 Luka Doncic rookie isn't a toy. It's a verifiable asset you can hold in your hand, price in real time, and sell anywhere in the world.
As AI pushes more of our lives behind glass, the things that exist in the physical world — that have weight, texture, history — become the counterbalance. Cards are the most accessible, most liquid version of that counterbalance.
The Robinhood Moment Hasn't Happened Yet
Remember what Robinhood did to stocks?
Before Robinhood, the average 22-year-old thought investing was for old men in suits. The underlying product was fine — you could always buy stocks — but the experience was intimidating, sterile, and designed for people it wasn't designed for.
Robinhood changed the experience, and a generation showed up. Confetti on trades. Clean UI. Start with five dollars. Suddenly, young people were investors.
Cards haven't had that moment yet.
The market is bigger than it's ever been, but the tools still feel like they belong in the back room of a card shop. The apps that exist are good — some of them are genuinely great — but none of them have made the full experience feel like what the hobby actually deserves. Nobody has made the version that a 23-year-old opens and immediately gets.
That's the gap. Stocks got Robinhood. Crypto got Coinbase. Cards need their platform. And whoever builds it — the one that matches the energy of the hobby, the one that makes serious tools feel exciting — is going to unlock a market that makes the current card boom look like the warmup.
It's Not Just Sports. It's Not Just Pokémon.
People hear "trading cards" and picture basketball rookies and first-edition Charizards. That's the market today. The market tomorrow is much wider.
Every fandom is a card market waiting to happen. Music. Film. Anime. Streetwear. Gaming. Art. Anything people care about enough to collect, display, and trade — that's a card.
The infrastructure is already there. PSA grades more categories every year. The eBay marketplace doesn't care whether you're selling a Michael Jordan rookie or a limited-run concert card. The rails exist.
What's missing is the tooling and the culture shift — the moment where collecting isn't a "hobby" in the dismissive sense, but a legitimate way to build wealth and participate in the markets around the things you actually care about.
I believe that moment is coming. And I think AI is what pushes it over the edge — not because AI replaces cards, but because AI replaces everything else. The more digital the world gets, the more the physical stands out.
The Math Is Already There
This isn't vibes. Look at the numbers.
The global sports card market was valued at roughly $28 billion in 2025 — more than triple what it was in 2020. That's just sports cards, not Pokémon, not Magic, not the emerging categories.
Meanwhile, the share of people under 40 who own stocks has been flat or declining relative to population growth. Not because young people don't want to invest. Because they want to invest in things they understand and care about.
A 25-year-old might not have strong feelings about Apple's P/E ratio. But they have very strong feelings about whether a Jayson Tatum Prizm Silver PSA 10 is undervalued after a championship run. That's domain knowledge. That's a genuine edge. And it feels real in a way that index funds never will.
The returns back it up. Certain card segments have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last five years. Not every card — just like not every stock. But the people who know the market, study the data, and make informed decisions are building real wealth. With cardboard.
Why I'm Building for This Future
I could be wrong about all of this. Maybe the market plateaus. Maybe the AI-driven physical premium doesn't materialize. Maybe I'm just a card guy who wants the world to agree with him.
But I don't think so.
The one thing I've learned from years of designing products: the best ones are built for where the market is going, not where it is. And everything I see — the demographic shifts, the AI acceleration, the growth numbers, the cultural momentum — points in one direction.
Physical collectibles are getting more valuable, not less. The people in this hobby are getting younger, more sophisticated, more serious. And they're going to need tools that match that seriousness.
That's what Slabfy is. Not a scanner — there are good ones already. It's the operational layer. The Buying Desk that helps you make decisions at card shows. The grade calculator that tells you whether grading is worth it with actual math. The AI analyst that studies sentiment, population data, and comps to give you BUY/SELL/HOLD verdicts on your portfolio.
I'm building the Robinhood of cards. Not the gimmicky parts — not the confetti, not the gamification. The real parts. The part where a powerful tool feels simple. Where real data is presented clearly. Where the app respects your time and your intelligence and helps you make better decisions with your money.
No dark patterns. No streak counters. No engagement tricks designed to keep you open longer than you need to be. Just honest tools for people who take this seriously.
The Hobby Deserves Better Tools
Here's the thing that actually gets me out of bed:
Card people are some of the most knowledgeable, data-driven, passionate hobbyists on the planet. They memorize population reports. They track price trends across grades. They study the market like traders — because they are traders. And the tools they're using right now? Mostly scanners and spreadsheets.
That gap between the sophistication of the community and the sophistication of the tools is enormous. It's closing. Whether it's Slabfy or someone else, this hobby is going to get the platform it deserves.
Here's where things actually stand: AI means anyone can build an app now. The technical barrier is basically gone. You could spin up a card portfolio tracker in a weekend. So the question isn't "who can build an app" anymore.
The question is who can build an experience.
Something that feels right. Something that makes you want to open it — not because of a push notification, but because using it is genuinely good. Something that matches the energy of the hobby: serious when you need it, fun when you want it, honest all the time.
That's the gap I'm trying to close. Build for humans, not users. Respect their attention. Make something real.
Cards are tangible. Cards are real. And in a world that's going further behind glass every single day — that realness is going to be worth more than most people can imagine.
Peter Perez Jr is the founder of Slabfy, a Human Experience Labs product. He made a few card videos before disappearing into building this thing. If you believe what he believes, come try what they're building.