![\"Graded](\"https:\/\/www.bcwsupplies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/01-1936-Olympics-Ticket-B-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhen the COVID-19 pandemic first caused shutdowns and \u201cshelter at home\u201d orders in March 2020, many people started at-home hobbies. Some discovered, or rediscovered, sports card collecting, causing cards to surge in popularity and price over the past two years. Then, ticket stubs experienced its own uptick in interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pandemic got more people to look at their ticket stubs and see if they could sell them on eBay,\u201d said Paul White<\/a>, who has collected ticket stubs for 30 years. \u201cPeople wanted to see if their ticket stubs are worth something, and to some people, they are. I\u2019ve actually found more ticket stubs on eBay since the pandemic, which has been a benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n White, a lifelong Boston Bruins fan, collects a ticket stub and program for every game where a Bruins goalie has made his NHL debut. He is also trying to get a ticket stub from all 70 Bruins regular season games from the 1963-64 season. That year, Bruins goalie Eddie Johnston started every game, and was the last goalie to play every game in a season for an NHL team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of people collect game-used jerseys and game-used sticks, but to me, a torn ticket is also a game-used item,\u201d White said. \u201c Technically, someone was at that game. That\u2019s why ticket stubs intrigue me. It\u2019s funny, but I\u2019m not quite a fan of full, unused tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, some collectors like ticket stubs in as-pristine condition as possible. When Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA) started grading ticket stubs, it legitimized them as part of the hobby. \u201cOnce PSA started grading ticket stubs, I became interested,\u201d said Darren Rovell<\/a>, who writes about sports business for the Action Network. \u201cNow, tickets have a place. They are being graded like cards, and people can look at graded population reports<\/a>, just like with cards, and see how scarce some of these are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rovell collects graded ticket stubs to events that he finds \u201cmind blowing.\u201d Among the jewels in his collection are a stub from a 1992 Summer Olympic Men\u2019s Basketball gold medal game featuring the \u201cDream Team,\u201d and a stub from the first-ever Ferris Wheel ride at the 1893\u2019s Chicago\u2019s World\u2019s Fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I started collecting ticket stubs, around 20 graded tickets came on eBay every day,\u201d Rovell said. \u201cAnd now, it\u2019s more than 2,000 a day. There were probably around 150 active graded ticket stub collectors prior to the pandemic. Now, it\u2019s more than 5,000. The prices for some graded ticket stubs are up 30 or 40 times since this past September.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even ungraded ticket stubs are soaring in value. About five years ago, White paid $25 for a ticket stub from the Pittsburgh Penguins\u2019 home opener of the 2005-06 season, because Bruins\u2019 rookie goaltender Hannu Toivonen made his NHL debut that night. Penguins\u2019 rookie \u2013 and future superstar and eventual Hall of Famer \u2013 Sidney Crosby also made his Pittsburgh home debut in that game, making that ticket a hot commodity. \u201cNow, I see that stub selling in the $250 to $300 range,\u201d White said. \u201cSometimes, one event overshadows another, making ticket stub prices higher than you\u2019d normally want to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the past several years, most pro teams have switched to alternate ticketing methods, such as \u201cprint-at-home\u201d tickets which are usually just a barcode and an ad banner, or entirely paperless tickets where attendees show a barcode on their smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For White, a Bruins season ticket holder, digital ticketing was not a problem \u2013 at least for a little while. The Bruins offered attendees the opportunity to also get paper tickets for the games, which he did, at no additional cost. Since the pandemic, though, the Bruins no longer use paper tickets, nor do they sell programs, which will make White\u2019s goal of getting a keepsake difficult the next time a young Bruins goalie makes it to the Show. If the Bruins call up a goalie from the minors and he makes his NHL debut, I\u2019m praying that they are playing in an arena where they have something to give out to fans,\u201d White said. \u201cIf not an actual ticket, then some sort of program or something to keep my collection going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rovell thinks that, given ticket stubs growing popularity, teams will reconsider their paperless approach. Some teams will sometimes print tickets if the situation merits it. \u201cRight now, the issue has been for high-end season ticket holders,\u201d Rovell said. \u201cIf something great happens, like a player debut or milestone, then the team prints out tickets. But the tickets are the horrible box office-type tickets that lack color and graphics. There\u2019s an aesthetic issue there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if collectors can cash in on ticket stubs, surely teams will want to do so, as well. \u201cIf teams can make money for paper tickets, then they\u2019ll offer it again,\u201d said Rovell. \u201cBut it can\u2019t be a commemorative ticket, where everyone gets the same thing. It has to have the seat, row, and section numbers on it. They\u2019ll do that if ticket collecting continues its current trajectory. It\u2019s on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you collect graded ticket stubs, the BCW Graded Shoe Box<\/a> will fit most slabs. And if you collect ungraded stubs, check out this article<\/a> about how to organize your ticket stub collection in albums and pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you collect ticket stubs? If so, for how long? What\u2019s your favorite stub? Leave a comment and let us know!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sal Barry is the webmaster of the hockey collectibles site <\/em>PuckJunk.com<\/em><\/a>. Email him at sjb@puckjunk.com<\/a> and follow him on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How the pandemic and professional grading have made ticket stub collecting more popular than ever. By Sal Barry While trading cards may always be number one among sports memorabilia enthusiasts, ticket stub collecting has gradually heated up over the past … Continue reading ![\"Graded](\"https:\/\/www.bcwsupplies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/03-Ferris-Wheel-Ride-B-663x1024.jpg\")
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