Sticker Shock: How Messi and the Market Fed a Collectible Crisis

“The Argentine responds to passions,” said Acuña, a vice president with the union representing kiosk-store owners. The group staged a protest at the Buenos Aires-area office of Panini last month, demanding more inventory.

Many have blamed the scarcity in kiosks on the fact that the product is now available in big grocery chains, gas stations, delivery apps and other outlets, but Panini Argentina contended that kiosks never had exclusive rights. The company sells to a slate of distributors, who in turn sell to smaller distributors who have traditionally supplied the kiosks, Acuña said.

But this year, kiosk owners said, they can barely get any supply or have had to pay higher prices for what is available. To make his point, Acuña scrolled through a series of WhatsApp groups he had with other kiosk owners, who responded with incensed emojis at offers from distributors selling figuritas for more than 200 pesos ($1.34) a pack.

Panini Argentina, the local subsidiary of the Italian firm that first sold World Cup stickers in 1970, said there was no shortage. “There’s a much higher demand,” the company said in a statement. In response, it has increased production, although Acuña said it had not really made a dent.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/sports/soccer/panini-world-cup-figuritas.html