From Trading Baseball Cards to $300 Million in Sports Memorabilia Sales, Ken Goldin Is the 'King of Collectibles' on Netflix Goldin's new Netflix show takes viewers behind the scenes of his lucrative empire.
By Sam Silverman •
Move over "Pawn Stars." There's a new buyer in town, and everything he touches turns to gold.
Ken Goldin, the owner of Goldin Auctions, which is known for selling billions in sports memorabilia, is taking people behind the scenes of his lucrative empire in a new Netflix series.
"King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch" is set to hit the streamer on April 28 with six episodes, featuring sales of some rare collectibles, including an original Apple I computer and Jackie Robinson's Dodgers jersey. The show will also highlight some of the auction house's buyers and sellers, such as Mike Tyson and Logan Paul.
Peyton Manning is also expected to make an appearance in the series, which is being co-produced by his Omaha Productions company. The series is also produced by "Pawn Stars" producer Brent Montgomery and the co-founder of ESPN's "30 for 30 series," Connor Schell.
Here's everything you need to know about Ken Goldin and his new series featuring Goldin Auctions.
Who Is Ken Goldin?
Ken Goldin started trading and selling baseball cards when he was 13, which earned him enough to pay for his college expenses, Goldin told The U.S. Sun.
He then went on to start Score Board Inc. in 1986 with his father, Paul, where they signed players to exclusive autograph contracts and paid them a fee for reselling autographed cards at a markup, according to Bloomberg.
Score Board went public in 1987, and did $1 million in sales that same year. The company grew from $20 million in sales in 1989 to more than $100 million in sales in 1994. Goldin spent a lot of time in the press as well, including appearances on talk shows including Don West's nightly sports memorabilia show, per Bloomberg.
Three years later in 1997, Goldin left the company. After oversupply in the industry began to devalue the baseball card business, and the company went bankrupt the following year.
Goldin continued to sell collectibles through TV appearances despite the drop in the market, but while he had a gap in sales momentum, things began to turn when the "Great Recession renewed interest in alternative assets," he told Bloomberg.
Goldin kept himself afloat with his on-air TV sales and later began hosting auctions live on Instagram, which he still does today with his son. In 2021, his following grew from 1,000 to more than 38,000. Today, he has 100,000 followers on the platform.
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He started Goldin Auctions in 2012, headquartered in Runnemede, N.J. Goldin told The Sun that his auction house did $800,000 in sales in its first year.
When Goldin spoke to Bloomberg in 2021, he sold $41 million in cards and memorabilia at just one auction. One of his most notable sales that day included Kobe Bryant's 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor card which went for $1.75 million.
Goldin Auctions keeps 20% of each sale, and in May 2021, had $200 million in sales for the year.
How Much Is Goldin Auctions Worth?
Goldin Auctions surpassed $300 million in sales in 2022, Goldin told The Sun, which is a $200 million increase from his $101 million in sales in 2020.
Some of his other record-breaking deals include Mike Trout's rookie card worth $3.93 million and a limited edition LeBron James card for $2.4 million.
