From Sports Commissioner to Comic Book Czar: Jim Drucker to Sell NewKadia.com After 25 Years

The Entrepreneur Who Built a Global E-Commerce Brand Now Prepares for His Fourth Chapter

NORRISTOWN, PA, UNITED STATES, October 2, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- After 25 years building one of the world’s largest online-only retailers of collectible comic books, NewKadia.com founder Jim Drucker has announced plans to sell the company.

Drucker has spent a career turning vision into value – from transforming professional sports leagues to producing national sports telecasts and pioneering one of e-commerce’s earliest and most enduring business models.

Founded in 2000 at the dawn of the ecommerce era, with an initial inventory of just 807 comics culled from Drucker’s personal, childhood collection, NewKadia has since sold more than 2.5 million comic books to customers around the world. Headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, the company has built a reputation for efficiency, loyalty, and resilience in a competitive retail niche.

Business Highlights
● Enduring brand: 25 years online, a rarity in e-commerce.
● Scale & efficiency: Inventory tops a quarter of a million books. Proprietary systems re-price every book daily, manage inventory automatically, and process 150 comics per hour – four times faster than manual competitors.
● Customer loyalty: 71 percent repeat customer rate across a base of 23,500 active buyers.
● Global reach: 91 percent U.S. sales, with orders shipped to over 120 countries.
● Resilience: After a 2022 warehouse flood destroyed nearly a third of inventory, Drucker rebuilt operations, launched wholesale distribution, and restored profitability.
● Growth channels: The platform is adaptable to other collectibles – trading cards, vintage toys, vinyl records, sports memorabilia, and more.
NewKadia operates leanly, with a team supported by proprietary grading, pricing and shipping systems that set industry benchmarks for speed and reliability.

A Life of Reinvention

Drucker, once hailed by The Sporting News as “the most creative mind in sports,” is preparing to turn the page on his latest entrepreneurial chapter.

“This isn’t about retirement,” Drucker said. “I want to find the right successor who believes in comics, understands collectors, and can help this business thrive for another 25 years. My goal is to pass the torch to someone who will continue NewKadia’s story—and make it even bigger.”

Drucker’s decision to sell NewKadia marks the next evolution in a career defined by reinvention.

• In 1978, a chance meeting with future NBA commissioner David Stern in the stands at a Philadelphia 76ers game led to Drucker’s appointment as commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association, where he doubled the league’s size and grew the aggregate value of the league from $40,000 to $8 million as well as securing its first multi-year contracts with the NBA.
• In the 1990s, as commissioner of the Arena Football League, he expanded the league from 11 to 18 teams, boosted attendance by 62 percent, and negotiated franchise sales to major sports owners including the Houston Rockets and St. Louis Blues. He later sold his own AFL franchise to Jon Bon Jovi, who launched the Philadelphia Soul.
• As founder of Global Television Sports, Drucker produced events for ESPN, FOX, and regional television networks, while also serving as ESPN’s on-air legal correspondent.

Then came his most surprising pivot: e-commerce pioneer. Turning a childhood hobby into a digital business at the dawn of the internet age, Drucker built a platform that has endured.

Turning Collectible Comics into a Global Business

In 1999, Drucker rediscovered four dusty boxes of childhood comic books in his parents’ basement. Local dealers offered pennies on the dollar. Instead, he turned those 807 comics into the starting inventory for NewKadia.com, launching the site on January 1, 2000.

With its 25-year track record, a worldwide customer base, and proprietary technology adaptable to other collectibles – from trading cards and toys to vintage vinyl – NewKadia remains a valuable platform for growth.

For Drucker, it is both a business success story and proof that imagination, innovation, and resilience can turn even a box of old comic books into a global enterprise.

The Fourth Chapter

Now 73, Drucker sees NewKadia’s sale not as an ending, but as the start of a “fourth chapter.”

“Second acts are a uniquely American story,” Drucker noted. “For me, it’s been three acts already — sports, media, and comics. Maybe there’s still a fourth to come. Comics have always been about powerful stories. This company’s story is just starting, and I want its next chapter to be bigger than before."

About NewKadia.com: Founded in 2000 and headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, NewKadia.com is the world’s largest online-only retailer of collectible back-issue comic books. With more than 2.5 million comics sold to customers in 121 countries, NewKadia has built a 25-year reputation for reliability, fast fulfillment, and innovative technology. Its proprietary systems provide daily price adjustments, personalized recommendations, and industry-leading packaging standards. NewKadia’s platform is readily adaptable to other collectibles such as trading cards, vintage toys, and vinyl records. For additional information visit www.NewKadia.com.

Jim DeLorenzo
Jim DeLorenzo Public Relations
+1 215-266-5943
jim@jhdenterprises.com
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An interview with Jim Drucker, Founder of NewKadia.com (2019)

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