Market
Card distribution channel (distributors, hobby stores, mass retail)
Everything between the card publisher and the fan: distributor margins, hobby-store cost versus list price, allocation. This is where the 'channel take' sits.
In numbers
53% Wizards of the Coast’s direct price to shops as a share of list, 2018 2018
38–59¢ Share of list price reaching TPC’s Western arm through a mass-market distributor, estimate Year to February 2024-year to February 2026
Where it comes up
- Deep dive · Trading cardsAgainst Magic: the same size once both are counted at the publisher5 figures
- StoryTrading cards3 figures
- StoryMarket3 figures
- Deep dive · Trading cardsGrading: most of the graders’ work, a sliver of the print2 figures
- StoryPartners & distribution2 figures
- StoryAnime & film1 figure