Sports Collectors Digest

What Sports Collectors Digest does

Sports Collectors Digest (SCD), founded in 1972 and published by Active Interest Media (AIM), is a monthly U.S. print and digital magazine serving the sports collecting hobby across cards, memorabilia, autographs, artwork, and auctions. Itself is positioned as the "oldest and largest" publication in the hobby, with a bimonthly double-issue cadence producing 24 issues per year. The product portfolio extends beyond the magazine into supporting utility products: a nationwide Show Calendar covering card and memorabilia events in all 50 U.S. states, a Dealer Directory, an Auction Calendar, an online News section, an email newsletter, a gift subscription service, and an online e-commerce store.

The underlying technology is a conventional digital publishing platform with print and digital editions, a subscriber self-service account manager (my.sportscollectorsdigest.com), and an e-commerce storefront. No proprietary technology, APIs, developer platform, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through owned channels (print mail, digital subscription, newsletter, e-commerce), with North America as the primary market.

SCD operates a recurring subscription revenue model with three tiers — Print Only ($26/year), Digital Only ($21/year), and Print + Digital bundle ($31/year) — supplemented by advertising sales to dealers, manufacturers, auction houses, and other hobby businesses, one-time gift subscriptions ($26/year), and e-commerce merchandise sales. The customer base is a long tail of individual hobbyist collectors (sports card, memorabilia, and autograph collectors) plus a smaller business segment of sports collectibles dealers and event organizers. The publication operates as part of AIM's broader portfolio of hobby and collector titles (Old Cars Weekly, Antique Trader, Numismatic News, Military Trader, among others), with mailing operations based in Boone, Iowa.

Name

Sports Collectors Digest

Legal name

Active Interest Media

Website

https://sportscollectorsdigest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sports Collectors Digest is a monthly U.S. print and digital magazine covering sports cards, memorabilia, autographs, art, and auctions. Published by Active Interest Media since 1972, it serves individual hobbyist collectors and dealers via subscriptions, advertising, a nationwide show calendar, and an e-commerce store.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Collectibles Trade Publication

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports & Recreation Magazines (MPAJAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Collectibles Marketplace & Auction Platforms (CRAMAOAI)

Keywords

• Sports collectibles media
• Trading card publication
• Memorabilia coverage
• Hobby news magazine
• Collector auction listings

Headquarters

HQ city

Stevens Point

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from print and digital magazine editions. Subscriptions are available in 1-year terms (24 issues). Print and Digital bundle offers the highest value tier. Subscriptions include automatic renewal features.
2. Advertising Sales: Revenue from advertising sales to dealers, manufacturers, auction houses, and other hobby-related businesses. Dedicated advertising sales team handles media kit inquiries.
3. Gift Subscriptions: Gift subscription purchases at $26 per year, providing additional revenue from non-direct subscriber purchases.
4. E-commerce Store: Online store (store.sportscollectorsdigest.com) selling merchandise and collectibles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sports Collectors Digest publishes a monthly print and digital magazine covering sports collecting, including trading cards, memorabilia, autographs, art, and auctions, with 24 issues per year and a bimonthly double issue. The core offering is supported by a nationwide show calendar, dealer directory, auction calendar, news coverage, and a subscriber self-service account portal. The publication is owned and operated by Active Interest Media as part of its portfolio of hobby and collector publications.

Product overview

Sports Collectors Digest is a publishing company offering a portfolio of print and digital products centered around sports collecting. The core offering is the Sports Collectors Digest Magazine, a monthly publication covering cards, memorabilia, autographs, artwork, and auctions, supplemented by bimonthly double issues. Supporting products include a Show Calendar (nationwide event listings), Auction Calendar, Dealer Directory, and a News section with feature articles and hobby coverage. Additional services include a Newsletter, Gift Subscription Service with printable digital gift cards, an Online Account Manager for subscriber self-service, and an e-commerce Shop. The products function together as a comprehensive resource ecosystem for sports collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sports Collectors Digest Magazine Subscription Monthly print and digital magazine subscription covering sports cards, memorabilia, autographs, art, and auctions, delivered as 24 issues per year with a bimonthly double issue. Available in Print Only ($26/year), Digital Only ($21/year), and Print + Digital bundle ($31/year) tiers.
• Gift Subscription Service Online service allowing customers to purchase and send digital gift cards for Sports Collectors Digest Magazine subscriptions with customizable card styles for various occasions at $26 per year.
• Online Store (Shop) E-commerce storefront selling merchandise and collectibles related to sports collecting, accessible at store.sportscollectorsdigest.com.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Heritage Auctions: Largest collectibles auction house in the U.S., covering sports cards, memorabilia, coins, comics, and more. Comparable to SCD as a major content publisher for sports and collectibles enthusiasts, with overlapping editorial and event coverage.
• PSA (Collectors Universe): The dominant sports card grading service, which publishes market reports, price guides, and editorial content for collectors. Comparable to SCD as a trusted information hub for the hobby, though PSA's core business is authentication and grading rather than editorial publishing.

Emerging players

• Card Ladder: Sports card price-tracking and market analytics platform with significant editorial and YouTube content. Comparable to SCD as an information source for active sports card investors, though delivered digitally with proprietary pricing data.
• Goldin: Sports collectibles auction house and marketplace that produces significant original editorial content (auction catalogs, market reports, news). Comparable as a media-style information source for high-end sports memorabilia collectors, overlapping with SCD's memorabilia coverage.

Direct peers

• Sports Card Investor: Digital-native sports card media and price-tracking platform. Directly comparable to SCD as a content and information source for sports card collectors, but delivered through real-time online channels rather than a monthly magazine.
• Beckett Media: Publisher of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly and related sports card pricing/magazine titles. The most direct print and digital competitor to Sports Collectors Digest, serving the same sports card collector audience with pricing guides and editorial content.
• Cardboard Connection: Sports card news and set release information portal serving the same hobbyist audience as SCD. Comparable as a digital content destination for sports collectors seeking news, reviews, and product information.
• Antique Trader: Another AIM sister publication covering antiques and collectibles. Same business model, same subscription infrastructure, and same audience archetype (enthusiast collectors) as SCD, providing a close internal benchmark.
• Numismatic News: Sister publication within Active Interest Media's portfolio covering the coin collecting hobby. Operates on a near-identical model — print + digital subscription, news coverage, dealer directory, and show calendars — making it a structurally analogous hobby media property.
• Old Cars Weekly: AIM-owned publication covering car collecting with a print + digital subscription model and supporting price guides and event calendars. Structurally equivalent to SCD across the AIM portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SCDMagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/SportsCollectors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sports-collectors-digest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sports Collectors Digest