Category Manager - Trading Cards

StockX; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

StockX seeks a Trading Cards Category Manager to own the end-to-end growth of the collectibles category within a new high-priority commerce initiative. You will be the in-house expert on trading cards and sports cards, translating knowledge into supply growth, engagement, and GMV.

This role blends culture, strategy, and hands-on execution. Early on you will own everything related to trading cards, with potential to lead a broader portfolio and team as the category scales.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in category management, partnerships, marketplace growth, or related roles within collectibles ecosystems.
• Strong relationships with collectors, breakers, shop owners, graders, dealers, and community members.
• Data-literate and commercially minded with understanding of pricing spreads and liquidity.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the growth strategy for trading cards within the platform.
• Own category-level performance across supply, engagement, and revenue.
• Establish quarterly goals, leading indicators, and operating rhythms.
• Build and own a pipeline of high-impact sellers, breakers, and shops.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and marketing to shape features and activations.
• Document learnings and playbooks to scale the category.

Skills

Trading card culture

Relationship building

Market data analysis

Strategic ownership

Entrepreneurial mindset

Job description

StockX is the world's leading marketplace for current culture, built at the intersection of commerce, community, and credibility. Trading Cards are foundational to StockX - not just as products, but as artifacts of fandom, nostalgia, speculation, and identity.

We are expanding how Trading Cards culture shows up on StockX through creator-driven, community-oriented commerce experiences that blend storytelling, expertise, and transaction. To do this well, we need category leaders who don't just understand collectibles - they live inside them.

The Trading Cards Category Manager is the single-threaded owner of collectibles category growth within a new, high-priority commerce initiative. This person is the in-house expert on trading cards and sports cards, - and is responsible for translating that expertise into supply growth, engagement, and GMV.

You will act as:

• The internal authority on the first-hand and second-hand trading cards ecosystem
• The external face of StockX to collectors, breakers, shops, graders, dealers, and community leaders
• The architect of the trading cards go-to-market playbook for this new initiative

This role blends deep cultural fluency, strategic ownership, and hands-on execution. Early on, you will own everything related to trading cards within this initiative. As the category scales, you will grow into a leader overseeing a broader trading cards portfolio and team.

What You'll Do:

Own the Collectibles Category End-to-End

• Define and execute the growth strategy for trading cards within the platform
• Own category-level performance across supply, engagement, and revenue
• Establish quarterly goals, leading indicators, and operating rhythms

Be the Market & Culture Expert

Maintain deep, current knowledge of trading card culture, including:

• Key sellers, breakers, dealers, shops, graders, creators, and brands
• Sub-segments such as trading cards (sports and TCG), graded sports cards, etc.
• Product drops, set releases, grading cycles, convention moments, and cultural spikes
• Pricing dynamics, liquidity, population reports, grading premiums, and resale economics

Serve as the internal voice of the trading cards community, informing product, marketing, and platform decisions.

Supply & Creator Acquisition

• Build and own a pipeline of high-impact sellers across trading cards, sports cards, etc.
• Personally recruit and onboard flagship sellers, breakers, comic shops, etc. who set the tone for the platform
• Develop seller strategies that balance credibility, storytelling, and commerce

Commerce Strategy & Category Moments

• Identify and orchestrate trading card-specific moments, campaigns, and formats that drive engagement and conversion (e.g., major set releases, championship spikes, grading returns, convention cycles)
• Partner with Category Marketing to design culturally authentic activations
• Experiment with new approaches (live breaks, expert drops, themed auctions, etc.) and iterate quickly based on performance and feedback

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work closely with Account and Partnerships Managers to scale seller acquisition and support
• Collaborate with Product and Engineering to shape features and tools that matter to collectors (e.g., condition transparency, grading integrations, pricing insights, population data visibility)
• Provide clear, actionable insights from the market to influence roadmap prioritization

Build the Playbook

• Document learnings, frameworks, and best practices that can be reused across future categories
• Help define what "great" looks like for category ownership at StockX
• Support hiring and onboarding as the trading card category team grows

About You:

• Deeply embedded in trading card culture - you know the people, platforms, trends, grading standards, and economics, and you're already plugged into the ecosystem
• 5+ years of experience in category management, partnerships, marketplace growth, brand, dealer, or operator roles within trading cards, sports cards, comics, toys, coins, or adjacent enthusiast ecosystems
• Comfortable owning outcomes, not just strategy - you execute, iterate, and adapt
• Strong relationship builder with credibility among collectors, breakers, shop owners, graders, dealers, and community members
• Data-literate and commercially minded - you understand pricing spreads, grading premiums, liquidity, margin structures, and incentives
• Entrepreneurial, scrappy, and energized by building something from the ground up

Nice to Have:

• Existing network of card breakers, LCS owners, comic shops, grading submitters, toy dealers, or coin specialists
• Experience buying, selling, grading, or operating within collectibles marketplaces
• Familiarity with grading ecosystems (e.g., card and comic grading workflows, condition standards, population reports)
• Experience with content-driven commerce, live selling, or enthusiast communities
• Experience working cross-functionally with product and engineering teams
• Experience running your own collectibles business, shop, or online storefront

Why This Role Matters:

Trading Cards will define the early perception and success of this new commerce initiative at StockX. This role sets:

• The cultural and credibility bar for the platform
• The go-to-market blueprint for future enthusiast categories
• StockX's reputation within trading cards

You will have outsized influence on how StockX expands its leadership from marketplace into deeper cultural engagement within the global trading card ecosystem.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation.

Pursuant to the Colorado Fair Pay Act, the base salary range in Colorado for this position is $120,000 to $130,000, plus opportunities for benefits (e.g., medical, dental), equity and discretionary bonuses. Compensation in other geographies may vary.