Sports Cards Live

This final segment brings the week to a close with one of the most raw and honest conversations of the episode. The panel wrestles with the idea of “entertainment value” in wax and breaks, pushes back on how people rationalize losses, and digs into why regret, risk, and expected value matter more than most collectors want to admit. It’s blunt, reflective, occasionally uncomfortable, and very much grounded in lived experience rather than theory. The discussion also highlights the difference between nostalgia-driven exceptions and modern price reality, why moderation keeps the hobby sustainable for most people, and how personal thresholds shape collecting behavior far more than hype ever will. Layered throughout is classic Sports Cards Live back-and-forth, humor, chat interaction, and a late-night energy that only comes when people stop posturing and start being honest. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and join us Saturday nights on YouTube for Sports Cards Live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conversation shifts from player legacy into a bigger question that sits under everything in modern collecting: is this a hobby, an industry, or both? The panel reacts to ideas raised from Brett McGrath’s Stacking Slabs and uses it as a launch point to talk about the ecosystem that keeps cards moving, including dealers, flippers, LCS owners, breakers, repackers, and every type of market participant in between. Jeremy lays out a blunt argument: even collectors who never sell a card still depend on selling, and many of the things people complain about are not going away, especially breaking. From there, the chat gets into real pushback, including whether breakers are truly necessary for cards to reach collectors, whether breaking is “good” for the hobby or just the industry, and how wax pricing and distribution models changed post-Covid. In this segment: Loyalty to one-team careers and how that impacts rookie card identity Hobby vs industry and why the market behaves like an ecosystem Breakers, repackers, and what actually puts singles into circulation Flippers vs dealers and where the overlap really lives Wax value, expected value, and why opening product is still a gamble A collector-first take on why “industry talk” turns some people off A practical idea for newcomers: open one box, track every card, sell everything, learn fast This discussion lives right at the intersection of hobby identity and market reality, where emotion, nostalgia, economics, and behavior all collide. It’s candid, sometimes uncomfortable, and very much rooted in real collector experience, with the chat actively shaping where the conversation goes. There’s no attempt to settle the debate, just to understand it more clearly. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and join us Saturday nights on YouTube for Sports Cards Live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris HOJ and Josh Adams join Jeremy for a loose but surprisingly revealing roundtable that starts with NFL playoff energy and quickly turns into real hobby discussion. The group digs into what actually makes a card show worth attending, how many tables matter, and why inventory quality almost always beats raw table count. They also talk honestly about travel costs, expectations, and how card shows have shifted from pure buying trips into social and relationship driven hobby experiences. From there, the conversation pivots into one of the most relatable collector debates out there: when a player changes teams, which uniform do they truly belong to? Using examples like Christian McCaffrey, Reggie Jackson, Michael Jordan, Ohtani, Gretzky, Nolan Ryan, and more, the panel explores how moments, championships, market size, hometown ties, and personal collecting boundaries shape how each collector answers that question differently. The discussion naturally spills into collecting behavior itself, including team collecting versus player collecting, why some collectors restrict uniforms to stay focused, when exceptions make sense, and how iconic moments often outweigh years played. The chat explodes with examples, disagreements, and edge cases, proving just how personal and subjective this topic really is. This segment is equal parts hobby philosophy, collector psychology, and pure Sports Cards Live banter, with strong audience participation and no single “right” answer, just thoughtful perspectives from every angle. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and join us live Saturday nights on YouTube for Sports Cards Live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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