My two-cents on today’s Instant Buy feature update from Sorare. I’ll keep it short, there’s enough conflicting views on X(Twitter)…
I believe it is a good move because:
- It gives Sorare more control on price levels (users might not see it right now but it’s good for you too — contrary to what some might make you believe, Sorare don’t want cards to go to zero.)
- It might allow for prices to move mirroring actual player performance, which is likely what was originally intended for the market but isn’t necessarily the case today.
- Potentially an easier control of supply. They don’t need to auction as heavily as previously during periods when demand isn’t there, they can simply place those cards into instant-buy side instead.
- It likely is a big plus for, and feeds well into, the new “Rivals” game mode & app strategy. Key word here “instant”.
- Potentially better trust and relationships with clubs and leagues, allowing for clearer projections on revenue share, and rewarding clubs that either 1. Work on pushing the product or 2. are successful and see organic demand for their players’ cards.
- Potentially opportunities for big margins as users hastily buy either due to hype (FOMO), necessity (competitions) or otherwise, particularly when new season cards are launched. (Didn’t think of this one myself, stolen from a conversation with a very wise person in the community).
- It distances Sorare from being viewed as a “quick buck” trading product.
This last point in particular is what some users seem to be most upset about. The NFT/crypto image is a tough one to handle given public opinion and what has happened in the space in the past years. We’ve gradually seen the platform distancing themselves from that, while still staying true to their roots and proud of the foundations on which Sorare has been built. (I believe they’ve done a great job here). However one of the biggest assumptions about NFTs and cryptocurrencies for many is the impression of being “get rich quick” schemes, hesitation because they don’t want to get burnt by “pump and dumps”. There’s a big lack of trust there. Now when a new user joins, depending on their choices when signing up, it appears they may not ever come across ETH or even be aware the game is built upon “the blockchain”.
I’ll admit the change isn’t entirely without downside or potential risks.
Today, some cards are purchased purely for trading purposes (or at least with the insurance that you can resell easily enough). Some users engage, love and utilise the platform primarily, or even solely, for the trading aspect. As they move further away from that, Sorare now rely more upon utility to sell cards. (Utility here includes collection related).
It will be interesting to see the impact on card rewards and users’ perceptions to that. While cards make up the majority of SO5 rewards it would be ill-advised for Sorare to eat up too much of the secondary market, and I really don’t believe that’s their primary motive here. Then again there is only so much lunch to go round and more hungry mouths around the table. If it leads to a more stable market, or dare I say it, even price levels rising when cards are performing, would those users who dislike the move then perhaps be more accepting?
On the other hand, users might be less inclined to purchase a card whether at auction, via the secondary market or indeed via instant-buy, because they realise it’s not as easy to shift when they want to. If indeed it does turn out to be the case that cards are “more difficult” to sell, this then places more importance on purchases in the first instance. It increases the risk of buyers remorse and that may well be subconsciously built into price levels. I’m interested to see the opinion of the large trading accounts. Initial thoughts are that the majority of their business comes from 120%+ card vs card trades — if anything it may create a larger demand for this, however when it comes to “cashing out” are they now in a less favourable position?
In general, I believe it’s a good move and healthier for the ecosystem but time will tell. If anything, introducing this 6–12 months earlier might have landed better but then again, it’s only day one!
