arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Third-Party Grading as a Useful Measure of Demand: Evidence from NBA Cards

George Langelett & Zhiguang Wang

Atlantic Economic Journal2025https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-025-09835-1article
AJG 1ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Abstract Since collectibles are potentially prized artifacts, determining value is subjective by nature. The value of any collectible is difficult to measure because it is perceived based on desirability, condition, and rarity. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the determinants of market price in a sports card market, namely rookie cards from the National Basketball Association. Empirical data from 2001 to 2009 were collected from the eBay and Professional Sports Authenticator websites to disaggregate price into intrinsic value versus quantity available. After controlling for market supply, third-party grading was used to help quantify demand. Simultaneous endogeneity of both market price and quantity was tested through a two-stage least squares model. This study found that both third-party grading and player performance variables affect the value of graded National Basketball Association basketball cards. The Professional-Sports-Authenticator-10-grading dummy variable carries the largest economic impact. Holding all else constant, a card graded Gem Mint trades at roughly 339% above a grade 8 baseline. The use of third-party grading is a novel measure of demand in markets for collectibles.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-025-09835-1

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{george2025,
  title        = {{Third-Party Grading as a Useful Measure of Demand: Evidence from NBA Cards}},
  author       = {George Langelett & Zhiguang Wang},
  journal      = {Atlantic Economic Journal},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-025-09835-1},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Third-Party Grading as a Useful Measure of Demand: Evidence from NBA Cards

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.