Alex Honnold Trading Cards Double After Historic Taipei 101 Climb

The legendary free solo climber completed the historic ascent yesterday in front of a live Netflix audience, becoming the first person to climb the Taiwanese skyscraper without safety equipment. His 2013 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions cards are now flipping for double what they were a month ago, and any merch with his signature is rising in value too.

Honnold completed the 90-minute climb on Saturday, navigating the building’s unique bamboo box architecture and ornamental structures without any protection. The Netflix livestream captured every moment as he reached the spire at 1,667 feet, waving to crowds below and taking a selfie at the summit.

This is the same climber who free soloed Yosemite’s El Capitan in 2017, a feat that won an Oscar for the documentary “Free Solo.” But climbing an urban skyscraper live on Netflix brought his name to a much wider audience.

Smart resellers who loaded up on his merchandise over the last few weeks while he promoted the climb can now flip it while demand peaks. His official gear, books, and signed items are all moving at premium prices.

If you’ve been sitting on Honnold autographs, photos, or memorabilia, now is the time to list. eBay volume is spiking across all his signed items as the mainstream attention from Netflix drives new buyers into the market.

His 2013 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions autograph cards are the big movers. Supply has always been limited since Upper Deck only produced these in 2013 and hasn’t made Honnold cards since. Before the climb, signed cards were moving around $200. Now they’re hitting $400.

The unsigned base cards and parallels are also seeing action. Cards that sat dormant at $10-20 are now flipping for $40-50 as collectors rush to add Honnold to their collections while hype is high.

List any Honnold autographs immediately on eBay. The Netflix exposure won’t last forever, and prices will likely settle once the news cycle moves on. Compare your items to current sold listings and price aggressively to capture the surge.

And this is pretty macabre but worth considering: if Honnold had fallen during the climb, these cards would probably be worth 10 times what they are now. Tragic deaths of athletes and celebrities consistently spike collectible values dramatically, and Honnold’s form of athleticism is considerably more dangerous than most others.

This isn’t the first time Honnold has risked everything on camera, and it won’t be the last. If he announces more high-profile climbs like this in the future, buying his cards beforehand could be a calculated play. Just remember you’re essentially betting on someone’s survival.

Trading card markets move on news cycles. The Netflix exposure is driving casual buyers right now, but interest will fade as the story gets older. List your Honnold items this week while search volume is high and buyers are competing for limited supply.

His cards have always been niche collectibles in the climbing community, but mainstream attention is temporary. Take advantage while you can.