Sports Cards Live

Mark Hill, founder and CEO of MyCardPost, joins Jeremy (with Joe Poirot jumping in from the sick bay in Santa Cruz) for a hobby-wide conversation that starts light with recent pickups, then turns into the stuff that actually matters right now: comps, trust, shill bidding, platform incentives, and the new wave of buyer scams powered by AI. Mark breaks down how MyCardPost thinks about comps differently in a no seller-fee environment, why net proceeds matter more than headline price, and how the archive makes research possible across single card and multi card deals. He also gives a quick peek behind the curtain on Crown Auctions, what the Hobby Awards bump meant for awareness, and the platform ideas he is exploring to reduce bad actors, including post auction bid history visibility and bidder trust signals. Later, they get into the growing tension around card show mapping apps, plus the reality of scams on eBay and what sellers can do right now to protect themselves. In this episode: Joe’s latest pickup: a Steph Curry 1 of 1 Platinum and why “off brand” can be the play Mark’s recent pickup: Bryson DeChambeau Exquisite Rookie Auto out of 49 How MyCardPost comps compare to eBay and why net proceeds change the conversation Multi card deals, why they complicate traditional comp tools, and how auctions shift that Card show mapping apps: efficiency vs discovery, and who should get dibs on show inventory Shill bidding: what can realistically be done, plus ideas like bid history transparency and bidder trust scores Vetting buyers and sellers, verification signals, and how unpaid bidders get restricted The new AI damage scam on eBay and practical ways to push back (video requests, multiple angles, community verification) POPs & COMPs update: Chapter 72 and the “it’s only worth what someone will pay” fallacy Quick hits from the chat, plus a Bears comeback win that derails the moment in the best way Sponsor shoutout: CIA Auctions (January auction live now at CollectorInvestorAuctions.com) Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating and review if you get value from the show, it helps more collectors find it. And join us live for Sports Cards Live on Saturday nights on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Hill, founder and CEO of MyCardPost, joins Jeremy for a wide-ranging conversation about what it looks like when the hobby stops behaving like a casual pastime and starts operating like a full-blown industry. They dig into the mental side of building something from scratch, including how impostor syndrome can either stall you out or become real fuel, and what the grind of bootstrapping actually feels like when you are building in public. Along the way, Mark shares perspective from launching new initiatives like Crown Auctions and how moments like the recent Hobby Awards recognition can create meaningful momentum without changing the day-to-day work. They also hit bigger hobby psychology and culture: imposter syndrome, community support for builders, and a lively debate on rookie cards vs early-career non-rookies, plus where “vintage” actually starts and ends. Jeremy also shares updates on the Hobby Spectrum snapshot and the status of POPs & COMPs as it moves closer to release. In this episode: Why “the hobby is an industry” is more than a talking point Impostor syndrome as a motivator, not a weakness The real grind of bootstrapping a hobby business Crown Auctions and what event-style auctions add to the hobby experience The impact of Hobby Awards recognition and organic awareness Rookie cards vs second-year cards, and why early-career cards still matter The ongoing debate around vintage definitions Golf cards, Bruins collecting, and niche community building Updates on the Hobby Spectrum and POPs & COMPs Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoy the show, leave a rating and review. It helps more collectors find the show. Join us live for Sports Cards Live on Saturday nights on YouTube, and bring your questions to the chat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The discussion turns inward as the panel explores how collectors actually decide what matters in their collection. Is value something you discover after the fact, or does price itself shape what you end up wanting? From year end pickup lists to war chests and oddball discoveries, this segment digs into how taste, memory, scarcity, and market signals quietly influence collecting behavior. The conversation also examines whether price is just opinion or a real source of power, why some cards only enter our consciousness once they sell for big money, and how story, provenance, and rarity create lasting interest in both vintage cards and on card autographs. In this episode: Whether seeing a big sale can change how desirable a card feels Ranking cards by personal meaning vs ranking them by market value Year end pickup lists as reflection, obligation, or performance The difference between mainstream comps and niche or oddball demand Why vintage cards retain relevance even without generational connection Price as a unit of exchange and why it still matters, even for purists Vintage on card autographs: durability, unknown supply, and rarity within rarity How story and provenance can outweigh condition and grade You can explore the Hobby Spectrum assessment and opt into the Spectrum Directory at HobbySpectrum.com. Sports Cards Live streams every Saturday night on YouTube, with the full audio released here on podcast platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this segment, the conversation shifts from results and strategy into something more fundamental: what “value” even means in the sports card hobby. The group digs into how price gets formed, why comps can both help and mislead, and whether the hobby can ever be considered an efficient market in any real sense. From vintage collectors who do not care about the money, to precision-minded hobbyists who do, the discussion lands on a core truth: this market runs on signals, stories, and human behavior. In this episode, we get into: The case for an all vintage show, and why vintage collectors often feel quieter online “I do not care about the money” vs “I enjoy the money part too” and how both can be true Price as the opinion of two people, and why that can be hard to anchor to Why comps and data tools can improve decision-making while also distorting it Grading as “better than nothing” and the problem of false precision What market efficiency actually means, and why sports cards break the rules The story of the card as a valuation lens, and why narratives keep engagement alive The evolution of pricing: dealer era → price guide era → big data era A quick detour into the “nice card” compliment, what it really means, and what it reveals about collectors Explore the Hobby Spectrum assessment and add yourself to the Spectrum Directory at HobbySpectrum.com. Want to catch the full show live? We stream Sports Cards Live on YouTube every Saturday night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conversation stays lively as Joe Poirot joins Jeremy and Paul Hickey midstream, and the chat becomes part of the show. What starts as hobby banter quickly turns into a real discussion about market psychology, self awareness, and how collectors actually behave when nobody’s watching. Jeremy reacts to a key question about whether early Hobby Spectrum results are skewed by audience makeup, while Joe offers a sharp observation: even long time “collectors at heart” have moments where they check prices first and feelings second. From there, Paul puts real numbers on the table from his 2025 five athlete experiment, including total spend, net profit, and player by player ROI. The segment closes with a deep dive into Paul’s biggest mistake of the year: a Michael Jordan Star card play that didn’t go the way he expected, plus a fast-moving discussion about grading trends, crossovers, and what it would actually take for a grading company to compete with PSA. In this episode: Joe Poirot jumps in and the chat drives the discussion Is the Hobby Spectrum Directory skewed toward collectors and why that matters The “Beckett Price Guide arrows” effect and why motivation is rarely pure Paul’s 2025 results with real numbers: total spend, net profit, and cards still held Player by player ROI: Wembanyama, Ohtani, Jordan, Caitlin Clark, Arch Manning, Cooper Flagg Why Paul chose Anthony Edwards over SGA for liquidity and buyer confidence The Michael Jordan Star card mistake and what it cost Grading landscape talk: turnaround times, acquisitions, and crossover strategies Jeremy’s “how to compete with PSA” recipe and Paul’s devil’s advocate take Why comps can mislead when attention and timing change If you want to go deeper: Watch Sports Cards Live live on YouTube Saturday nights Follow Sports Cards Live on your podcast platform and leave a rating or review Take the Hobby Spectrum assessment at HobbySpectrum.com to see where you land Opt into the Spectrum Directory to connect with collectors who think like you Explore Paul Hickey at NoOffSeason.com and the Sports Card Strategy Show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices