Lyons Cards says 2021 market correction changed how sports card growth is measured

Lyons Cards has released a new research analysis on how the 2021 sports card market correction affects long-term price comparisons for graded collectibles. The study uses Tom Lyons’ revenue-management background to show why timing and market conditions can materially change growth calculations.

Why it matters: - The research argues that sports card performance can look very different depending on the starting date used for a comparison. - For collectors, that changes how historical appreciation, market timing and long-term value are interpreted. - The analysis is meant to help buyers and sellers read price history more carefully instead of relying only on headline growth rates.

What happened: - Lyons Cards LLC released a new educational research analysis on Nov. 7, 2026. - The study is titled Did the 2021 Sports Card Market Correction Change the Way We Measure Growth? - Tom Lyons led the research. - The analysis focuses on how the 2021 market correction changed long-term price comparisons in the sports card market. - The company published the research on its website: the Lyons Cards blog post.

The details: - The study examines how extraordinary market conditions can produce different growth calculations for the same card. - Lyons Cards says the analysis applies revenue management and pricing strategy concepts to a volatile period in the modern sports card market. - The research looks at two graded collectibles: the 2000 Bowman Chrome Tom Brady #236, PSA 10, and the 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan #57, PSA 9. - The analysis compares selected historical price checkpoints and hypothetical adjustments tied to a selected market decline. - Lyons Cards says the scenarios are for educational purposes only and do not represent actual investment returns, forecasts or verified alternative market outcomes. - The company says the sports card industry saw heightened collecting activity in 2020 and 2021, with demand pushing prices higher in some segments. - The study says collectors later faced questions about historical values, long-term appreciation and how market corrections affect pricing comparisons. - Tom Lyons has decades of experience in hospitality, revenue management and entrepreneurship before building Lyons Cards with his son Connor. - Lyons’ background includes leadership roles tied to pricing, demand forecasting and business growth. - Lyons Cards uses that experience to study the relationship between market conditions, buyer demand, transaction timing and comparable sales.

Between the lines: - The research is not just about sports cards; it is also a pricing lesson about how methodology can shape the story a market tells. - By separating observed price changes from hypothetical adjusted calculations, Lyons Cards is pushing collectors to think more like analysts. - The focus on one-time market distortions suggests the company sees market timing as a major driver of perceived collectible performance. - Lyons Cards is using the study to reinforce its position as an education-first collectibles brand, not just a card seller.

What's next: - Lyons Cards says the research will feed into its broader educational programming through Lyons Market Lab and Living on the Edge with Tom Lyons. - The company plans to continue covering sports card market trends, collecting strategies, revenue-management principles and the business side of collectibles. - Lyons Cards says its educational content is designed to help collectors make better pricing decisions and interpret historical performance with more context.

The bottom line: - Lyons Cards is arguing that in sports cards, when you measure growth can matter as much as how much growth you measure.