Hockey Card World Sales Jump 50% After Joining Temu Marketplace

After three decades in the online trading cards business, Ontario-based Hockey Card World just had its best year yet, a 50% jump in sales after joining Temu’s marketplace. Owner Brett Sammeroff has also seen a steady stream of repeat customers, a clear signal of the platform’s staying power for small retailers. It tracks with the bigger picture: 56.5% of Canadians surveyed shopped on Temu in the past year (Omnisend survey, 2026), with the marketplace growing as a go-to online shopping destination.

Local businesses, like Hockey Card World, are finding new growth channels to meet customers where they’re shopping.

In an interview with Retail Insider, Sammeroff talked about the brand’s relationship with Temu.

What prompted Hockey Card World to join Temu, and what were you hoping the marketplace would do for the business?

It was mainly about growth and expansion. I first saw a Temu ad on social media, which got me interested in doing some research, and I eventually reached out to one of their representatives to get onboarded.

Hockey Card World is a pretty niche business, so getting in front of new collectors is really important to us. Temu is popular among Canadian shoppers, and that got us thinking about the size of its audience and whether we could use that exposure to reach customers who may never have found us otherwise. We want to meet shoppers where they are, and Temu gave us another way to do that. We weren’t looking to replace what we were already doing. Instead, we were hoping it could give us another sales channel, bring in new customers, and help us expand the business. A relatively new platform also means new opportunities, so we figured the best way to find out was to give it a try.

Another thing that mattered to us was joining a marketplace that is selective about who can sell and what can be listed. As a legitimate seller, you want to be on a platform where there is real vetting, because that helps credible businesses stand out and gives customers more confidence in what they are buying.

Once we went through the onboarding process, that was exactly what I found. Temu was very strict about trademarks and required additional documentation before approving certain products for sale. I actually appreciated that. It showed me that Temu takes seller vetting and product legitimacy seriously, and I think that kind of control is important when you’re trying to build trust with customers.

You’ve said sales increased by 50% after joining Temu — what has driven that growth, and what types of products or customers have contributed most to the increase?

I think the biggest contributor to our growth has been the exposure Temu has given us to new customers. Since joining, we’ve been able to reach people who may not have found Hockey Card World otherwise, and that has translated into more sales.

The response was strong right away. In our first four weeks on Temu, we sold more than we did across four of our other marketplaces combined, and we sold more than 1,000 items in the first month. Temu has since grown to account for around half of our overall sales.

Hockey trading cards and Pokémon cards have been a big part of that growth, along with older and nostalgia-driven cards.

The Temu seller support team has also been very helpful. We have a dedicated manager, and it feels like I have access to Temu whenever I need help. That support makes it easier to resolve questions quickly, keep listings active, and keep operations running smoothly. The level of attention and responsiveness we’ve received is something we haven’t experienced on other platforms.

Overall, I’d say the combination of Temu’s customer reach, consumer’s strong interest in trading cards, and hands-on seller support has been a big driver of our growth.

What have you learned about how customers shop for trading cards on Temu, particularly compared with customers who find Hockey Card World through your other sales channels?

One of the biggest things we’ve learned is that customers on Temu tend to shop differently. On our own website and some of our other channels, we often get customers who are already collectors. They usually know what they’re looking for, whether it’s a specific player, set, year, team, or type of trading card.

On Temu, the experience is more discovery-driven. Customers may be browsing and come across trading cards or collectibles that catch their attention, even if they didn’t originally go onto the platform looking for them.

We’ve also noticed that Temu has helped us reach more casual collectors and people who are newer to the hobby. Some are fans of a particular player or sports team, while others simply enjoy collecting or are looking for something fun to open. That’s different from many of our traditional customers, who tend to be more knowledgeable about the hobby and know exactly what they want.

Presentation and variety are also important. Clear photos, straightforward descriptions, and a good selection of products at different price points give customers more opportunities to find something that interests them.

For us, one of the most valuable parts of being on Temu is that it has shown us there are customers who may not consider themselves serious collectors yet, but who become interested once they discover the hobby.

Some may start with one purchase and become more engaged over time. So I’d say the biggest difference is that our traditional customers often come to Hockey Card World knowing what they want, while Temu gives us more opportunities to introduce trading cards to people who are browsing, exploring, and discovering the hobby for the first time. That has helped us think differently about how we present our products and reach new customers.

How significant have repeat customers been since joining the platform, and what does that tell you about customer behaviour and the potential for long-term growth?

Repeat customers have been really important for us since joining Temu. I’ve seen customers buy from us and then come back when we list new products. The initial purchase is great, but what’s even more encouraging is seeing customers come back to buy more trading cards andcollectibles. It tells us they’re not just making a one-time purchase because they happened to see a product—they’re finding value in what we offer and want to return.

Trading cards also naturally lend themselves to repeat purchases because collecting is an ongoing hobby. Someone might start with one pack, box, or a few cards and then come back looking for something different or to continue building their collection. That gives us an opportunity to develop longer-term relationships with customers rather than relying only on new buyers.

For us, repeat business is a good sign that Temu is helping us reach customers who can become regular collectors. It gives us confidence that the growth we’ve seen isn’t just about getting people to try our products once, but about building a more sustainable customer base over time.

After more than three decades in the online trading card business, how has selling through a marketplace such as Temu changed your outlook on where Hockey Card World can find new customers and grow in the future?

After more than three decades in the trading card business, Temu has changed the way we think about finding new customers. For many years, we focused primarily on our own website, repeat customers, and collectors who already knew Hockey Card World. Joining Temu showed us that there is a much larger audience out there that we may not have reached through those traditional channels.

What stood out to us was the amount of exposure Temu can give a small business. Customers are already on the platform shopping for all kinds of products, which gives our trading cards a chance to be discovered by people who may never have searched for Hockey Card World directly.

We’ve also found that Temu brings us a broader mix of customers. Some are experienced collectors, while others are casual buyers, newer collectors, parents buying for their kids, or people who simply come across a trading card product while browsing. That has helped us see that the potential customer base for trading cards is much broader than just serious collectors.

Another thing we like is that Temu gives us a way to test different products and see what gets customers’ attention. We can learn from what people are actually buying and use that information to better understand what both new and existing collectors are interested in.

After more than 30 years in this business, you never want to assume you’ve already found every customer you can reach. Temu has reinforced that for us. It has shown us that new marketplaces can open up additional audiences and growth opportunities alongside the channels we already have.

Looking ahead, we see Temu as an important part of our growth strategy. We still value our own website and the loyal customers who have supported us over the years, but Temu has given us another way to reach new audiences and continue growing. For Hockey Card World, it’s about continuing to adapt, meeting customers where they shop, and finding new ways to introduce people to a hobby we’ve been passionate about for more than three decades.