The Hobby With Cage

Lessons from a Card show- Lessons learned about the health of the hobby... and lessons learned about negotiating.

Its the NFL Draft- and di you notice that the cards were front and center? Lets talk about the risk to active playerslets talk NBA playoffslets talk big private sales!

Researching a card and deciding to buy it is a fun process- but be careful. The hobby is filled with Cliques, Naysayers and Echo Chambers that can cloud an objective decision with subjective bias. Enjoy!

Is the market hot? Yes! Can it go down? Sure. Can it also keep going up? Why not?

Auctions end- and I missed out on some. cards- but won some others! I have a question though- can you have too much of a good thing? Can you have too many cards of a single player?

Let's compare vaults- pricing, turn around times, customer service and talk about my experience with them. Stay for the story at the end!

Fanatics Premier Auction system is broken. No One knows when it will end- and they keep all lots open for what reason? Makes no sense. Oh yeah- and even if you can stay awake- good luck trying to win anyway.

My son and I tried out NFL Chrome and got exactly what we deserved. Nothing.

Every time I post a card - some "collector" comments or even DMs me about why the guy I posted is not good. Then dig a little deeper and find out why. The reason? Collectors are Miserable People!

I was shut out bad on the Goldin auctions - but back at it on Sunday! Also- Ohtani is doing Ohtani things!

Read the hobby fine print my friends... always read the fine print. I am old. I have been doing Hobby things for 5 decades and I still make mistakes... usually because I don't know the rules before playing the game. Educate yourself- before you buy.

The Topps Conference is over- and everyone is focusing on the shiny stuff- but lets dive deeper into how some of the announcements might impact how you collect.

Arizona takes center stage as Topps brings everyone in to talk about the hobby in 2026. Lets discuss day 1.

When the hyped rookie card sells for more than the best cards of the all time greats- do we have to start asking some questions about sustainability? Lets take a look at some other Big Rookie sales from the past and see how those turned out.

Injuries... Slumps... DUIs? Lets talk about the risks that come with owning your cardboard.

Anyone can be Indiana Jones and find their great uncle's Babe Ruth Collection in the attic...I would rather be the Goonies.

Sell your Ohtani!! and while you are at it... sell them to ME!!I know I know- he dint have the best opening series. So sell right? Nope. And I tell you what I am buying- even though you may think I am crazy!

Oh No!! Ohtani's is going to crash.. millions lost.. I hate those headlines. But lets talk about it anyway.

I bought a card...and then it fell apart. Or did it? Perhaps telling this story can improve the process?

Today is the day- Baseball is back and it's time to see if the card bets you made this offseason pay off. Or is it time to take a look at the cads you bought and maybe take advantage of some price increases and sell to avoid downside risk.

A recent trade offer had me doing a deeper dive into NFL patch autos and why they seem so rare. Should I have taken the trade?

Today was a good day- a local card show allowed my son to sell some cards and then he had to decide what to do with the money. Two lessons were learned...

I watched a movie with my son and as soon as it ended- we started looking for cards to buy... It was like the Last Dance. But- sometimes what you don't buy is more important that what you do buy!

The Fanatics Premier auction ended after 2 am with the dual logo man auto selling for over $2M! But the story of that auction is not that card.

NCAA is crazy- but that is not the madness I am talking aboutIts Hobby Madness as Huge Cards sell for Huge prices and there are no signs that this is slowing down.