Sports Cards Live

• Behind the Hobby Spectrum Launch + PSA’s Buyer Program Questions

  Josh Adams joins Jeremy and Joe to close out the night and reflect on the first public reveal of the Hobby Spectrum project. The chat reacts in real time, asking about access keys, badges, the directory, archetype blends, the science behind the scoring system, and how collectors will eventually share and connect based on their profiles. Jeremy explains how early access works, why the waiting list is open, and how testers so far have responded to their archetype results. Joe shares what it was like to take the assessment, including how tough some questions can be when they force real self reflection. The conversation turns to how the directory will function, why opt in privacy matters, and how this tool can help collectors find people who think and collect the same way. From there, the group moves into wider hobby issues. Josh presses Jeremy about the PSA 9 to 10 controversy and the idea of reevaluation without new cert numbers. They talk through what makes the story suspicious, what is known so far, and where transparency is still missing. They also connect the dots between PSA Vault offers, approved buyers, repackers, and the structural opacity around who is actually placing bids and offers. The chat then raises the question of legal exposure for Upper Deck after the Gretzky Exquisite Tribute Cup card surfaced with a smudged autograph and a completely different patch than the solicitation image. Jeremy and Josh walk through the legal reality versus the ethical reality, why mockups give companies cover, and why the right move would still be to replace the card to protect the brand. The episode winds down with talk of auctions, employee bidding, the collector experience at shows, and a bit of football before Jeremy closes the night with gratitude for everyone who has helped bring the Hobby Spectrum to life. Follow or subscribe, leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show, and join us Saturday nights on YouTube for the live conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Unveiling The Hobby Spectrum + Tough Love for Upper Deck + The Gretzky 1/1 That Never Should Have Packed Out

  Attention turns to Upper Deck and Jeremy does not hold back. He walks through the story behind the 2003 Exquisite Tribute Wayne Gretzky 1/1 from the new Cup release, comparing the slick solicitation image to the actual card that surfaced: a different patch and a badly smudged, weak gold autograph on what should be one of the key cards in the entire product. Jeremy explains why he thinks this is a failure at multiple levels. He questions why the mockup used a fantasy level patch that does not exist in the production run, why the autograph pen was not tested properly, and why the card was allowed to be packed out instead of being pulled and replaced with a redemption and a remade version. He is clear that he respects the people at Upper Deck but argues that this specific card makes the brand look careless at the top end of the market and that it crosses the line from acceptable variation into something that feels like bait and switch for a product that costs thousands per tin. From there, the conversation shifts into something Jeremy has been hinting at for months. He finally reveals the project he has been working on behind the scenes alongside his book: a collector identity assessment that maps hobbyists on a 0 to 100 collector–investor spectrum. He introduces the seven archetypes that live along that spectrum, from Purist and Nostalgic through Precisionist, Hybrid, Builder, Operator, and Tycoon, and explains how your answers place you into both a score range and a detailed written profile. Jeremy and Joe talk through why this spectrum exists, how it grew out of years of conversation about “collector vs investor,” and why most people live somewhere in between. They discuss how a shared set of archetypes can give the hobby clearer language, help collectors better understand their own motivations, and make conversations at shows and online more grounded in where people are actually coming from. Jeremy shares that the tool is in early beta with only a handful of people tested so far, that the core assessment is intended to be free, and that future layers will add modifiers, maturity progression within each archetype, and deeper optional insights. Sports Cards Live is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. Follow or subscribe, leave a rating and review if you are getting value from these conversations, and join us live on YouTube Saturday nights to be part of the chat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Education vs Boycotts in the Hobby + PSA 9s Turning Into 10s + How Much Power Do Creators Really Have?

  Jeremy Lee and co host Joe Poirot stay locked on two of the toughest topics in the hobby right now: shill bidding and the latest PSA controversy. Jeremy continues unpacking the listener email from a former prosecutor who feels that phrases like “essence of shill” normalize fraud. The chat weighs in, with some agreeing and others arguing that honest talk about how widespread shilling really is is exactly what protects newer collectors. Jeremy pushes back on the idea that he is endorsing anything, explaining why he refuses to pretend the market is clean while still choosing to participate in it. From there the conversation moves into what “going after” bad actors actually looks like. Jeremy walks through his work with multiple auction houses, including REA, to tighten up terms and increase transparency around active reserves, non paying bidders, and house bidding. Joe raises the distinction between true shill bidding and active reserves, and they dig into why transparency and education matter more than empty outrage, especially when it comes to giants like eBay. The back half of the segment shifts to the PSA buyback story that has the hobby buzzing. Jeremy and Joe react to reports that a batch of PSA 9 Pokémon cards sold through the PSA offer program later appeared as PSA 10s under the same cert numbers. Even allowing for missing facts and possible explanations, they walk through the optics, the conflict of interest concerns, and what it means when 11 out of 30 cards can swing from a 9 to a 10 after the fact. The bigger question becomes grade reliability itself and how much subjectivity collectors are really willing to live with. Follow or subscribe for free, leave a rating and review if you are finding value in these conversations, and join us live on YouTube Saturday nights to be part of the chat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• T206 Cy Young Flight Complete + Is Talking About Shill Bidding Normalizing It? + Who Keeps Hobby History Alive

  Jeremy Lee and Joe Poirot kick off this four-part run from Sports Cards Live episode 292 with a big vintage mailday and a tough ethical question for the hobby. Joe walks through his latest pickup, a T206 Cy Young “bare hand shows” in a PSA 1 slab with elite centering, color, and eye appeal that completes his three-card Cy Young T206 flight. That card opens a wider conversation about which Hall of Famers will actually stand the test of time and how storytelling keeps players like Cy Young, Larry Doby, Joe Jackson and others relevant for future generations. From there, Jeremy reads an email from a new listener and former prosecutor who worries that phrases like “essence of shill” risk normalizing shill bidding. Jeremy lays out his position on calling fraud what it is while still being honest about how much of it is already baked into comp data, and why pretending the market is clean does more harm than good for collectors trying to protect themselves. The segment wraps with a discussion on why hobby drama videos tend to out-perform thoughtful history content, how “evergreen” storytelling works on a different clock than breaking scandals, and why the community still needs both. Sports Cards Live is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Follow or subscribe for free, leave a rating and review if you enjoy the show, and join us Saturday nights on YouTube for the live conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Gambling Debate + What A Better Hobby Culture Looks Like + Bankrupt On Wax

  The conversation moves from Card Ladder and comps into a bigger, uncomfortable question: is opening modern product basically gambling, and what kind of culture do we actually want in the hobby going forward? Jeremy, Chris McGill (HoJ), and Josh Adams dig into group breaks, pack odds, “hits,” and the reality that some collectors have gone bankrupt chasing boxes. They balance that against the fun and nostalgia of ripping with kids, Tim Hortons packs, and building sets the way many of us did in the 80s and 90s. Along the way they tackle advertising, culture, and where the hobby goes next. Topics in this segment include: • PSA upcharges, comps, and why some people think PSA should have to buy your card at the value they assign• Arena Club criticism, “where collecting begins” marketing, and whether repack-centric products are aimed more at gamblers than collectors• Is opening any sealed product gambling, or does it depend on intent, price point, and expected return?• Pack odds, box price vs expected value, and why the emotional hit of losing on wax feels exactly like losing at the casino for some people• Breakers, gamblers, and the argument that the hobby “needs” high-volume product rippers to create singles for everyone else• Direct-to-consumer vs LCS distribution and whether cards should always come from packs or could one day go straight to auction• Getting more women in the hobby and how to treat everyone at shows as collectors first• What kind of culture shift the hobby actually needs: less divisiveness, more mutual understanding, more integrity from individuals and institutions, and less “my way is the only right way”• Leadership, voting with your wallet, and why content and conversations matter in shaping where the hobby goes next Sports Cards Live streams live on YouTube every Saturday night, and this audio comes from that live video show. If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, subscribe, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and check out the full video replays on the Sports Cards Live YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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