From the Fermín sticker to the trading card business

Sticker fever: business opportunity or a new tulip mania?

The sticker and trading card market is experiencing a moment of euphoria that recalls cryptocurrencies. While some collect stickers to complete albums out of nostalgia, others see a speculative goldmine. But the parallels with seventeenth-century tulips are unsettling.

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Image: collection of football and Pokémon stickers.

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The myth of the Fermín sticker: from meme to investment

The urban legend of the Fermín sticker – that hypothetical card that would let you retire – reflects the fantasy that a simple sticker can be worth a fortune. In reality, the market works by more prosaic rules. Demand for certain cards, like Vinicius' Rookie Card with Real Madrid, reaches €20 on the secondary market, while Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hover around €5-9. But not every sticker goes up: those of players like Joaquín barely reach 20 cents.

The recent release of the Panini World Cup album has fuelled speculation. Lifelong collectors are watching investors – including influencers and former cryptobros – hoard packs to create artificial scarcity. As one analysis points out, stickers have become "the new crypto": value based on scarcity, price manipulation and a bubble that could burst.

Real cases: from Magic to Kinder eggs

It's not all football. Magic: The Gathering has been a safe-haven asset for insiders for decades – some people once held 2 million pesetas (Spain's former currency) worth of 1990s cards. Pokémon also moves serious money. But the phenomenon extends to less obvious collections: some people have spent genuine fortunes on One Piece figures from Kinder eggs, and there are rumours that themed sticker series (from politicians to Spain's state-run hotels) could be the next boom.

The investment logic applies to any collectible with a limited edition and growing demand. It has even been compared to designer jewellery: a piece by a famous jeweller in a limited edition appreciates over time, just like a rare card.

The dark side: hoarding and bubbles

But not everything is gold. Cases of mass hoarding have been documented: newsagents buying entire albums to resell the packs separately, or returning stock just as scarcity hits. The comparison with tulips is no accident: when the hype is too big and prices are driven up by manipulation, the crash is served.

"Stickers have become the new crypto," one analysis concludes. And as with crypto, whoever arrives too late may end up holding the Fermín sticker – with no one to buy it.