Slabnomics

State of the Hobby 2025 Everyone keeps saying this is 2021 again. They're wrong. And if you're positioning like it's 2021, you're going to get hurt.  I spent weeks treating the card market like an equity analyst treats a stock: pulling index data, PSA submission numbers from SEC filings, volume metrics by price tier. What I found changed how I'm positioning for 2026.  In t...

PSA has officially acquired Beckett, and this is more than breaking news. It’s a structural shift in the sports card market. In this episode of Slabnomics , we break down what the PSA–Beckett acquisition actually means for collectors, investors, and flippers. We zoom out to examine where we are in the market cycle , explain why this moment signals consolidation , and then zoom all the way in to th...

In this episode of Slabnomics , I’m joined by Tyler “T-Pott” Nethercott : Senior VP of Product at Sports Card Investor and one of the key minds behind the Market Movers app. Tyler walks through his journey from banking, risk analysis, and SAP data projects into building one of the most important sports card data platforms in the hobby. From there, we dive deep into what actually separates successf...

Over the last few episodes, I walked through my first full year of selling sports cards...my wins, my mistakes, and what I learned in buying, selling, and grading . Today is different. This one is slower, more reflective, and honestly one of the most important frameworks I’ve shared:   How time actually works in the sports card market. In this episode I cover: Market cycles & engineered scarci...

We wrap the mini-series with grading—the alchemy of the hobby when used correctly. I share the actual ledger: 1,127+ cards graded , $20K+ in fees/shipping , PSA (525 cards; ~$11.7K ) and SGC (602 cards; ~$9.5K ), and why I’d only re-submit ~21% (PSA) and ~17% (SGC) today. You’ll get a pre-grading checklist , a tier/upcharge strategy that protects cash flow, and post-mortems on failed CGC→PSA and B...

Following Part 1 (buying), this episode breaks down the sell-side of my first year— $98K on eBay —and the exact lessons that moved the needle: how to seed early feedback , how to structure PWE vs. bubble mailer shipping (and when to use non-machinable stamps), the true cost of fees & promoted listings , and a negotiation framework so you stop caving under pressure. We also cover budgets to avo...

In this opener to my “Year 1” mini-series, I break down everything I learned on the buy-side of the sports-card game—what worked, what wasted money, and how to buy with exits in mind. From the Spain/Messi spark to my first PSA submission (and why it lost), we cover pre-grading, avoiding “rarity for rarity’s sake,” the meaning of liquidity, negotiating bulk discounts, timing buys around seasonal cy...

sourcing at the nucleus, grading for ROI, and dodging fakes. I unpack the full playbook from my Barcelona trip to find Messi rookies : why Campió (Catalan) issues matter vs Campeón (Spanish) , the true 71 Bis story (third-edition BIS replacement → lower print + set-builder demand), and how Europe’s historic grading friction (pre-PSA EU) created today’s raw opportunity. I walk through Facebook ad t...

Welcome to Slabnomics , where we help sports card enthusiasts make better financial decisions about sports cards. In this episode, host Matthew Worley sits down with Anthony from @Sacccards to talk about the soccer card market - Why this world cup is different from the last one held in America in 1994, what changes he sees as a coach and consultant for youth soccer, and how that meshes with his lo...

 We get tactical on where to sell (COMC/eBay/shows), how to negotiate, when grading pays, and building a seller’s system that wins in any market. Themes: liquidity > hype, plan the exit, cut losses, protect reputation. Highlights: COMC flow vs. liquidity: when “no work” wins, when it doesn’t Negotiation that converts (and why “what’s your best?” kills deals) PSA strategy, turnaround math, and s...

In this episode of Slabnomics , host Matt Worley breaks down one of the most misunderstood concepts in the hobby — liquidity — and why it separates collectors who profit from those who get stuck holding bags. You’ll learn how market velocity , price discovery , and consolidation cycles drive card prices across every tier — from high-end grails to $20 slabs — and why understanding liquidity is the...

On this episode of Slabnomics, Matt sits down with Ryan Alford — serial entrepreneur, marketing titan, and host of “Right About Now” and the new “Trading Cards & Collectibles” podcast — to talk hobby growth, storytelling, and where the market is headed next. 🔑 What you’ll learn • How a Walmart pack rip with his four sons pulled Ryan back into the hobby • The attention economy: why “document,...

Slabnomics is here to help sports card enthusiasts make better financial decisions. In this practical, numbers-first workshop, Matt breaks down how to evaluate cards using real comps, pop data, and market velocity —through the lens of the foundational 2014 Panini World Cup Prizm set. We compare soccer vs. football Prizm set values, dissect the Messi/Ronaldo “Matchups” grails , and map how domino s...

In this episode of Slabnomics , Matt sits down with Raul Bustamante — better known as Stockn_Trade on Instagram — to talk about sports cards, content creation, and the evolving market. Raul shares how his background as an actor helped him bring authenticity and humor into the hobby, why being yourself always wins against the algorithm, and how he went from collecting baseball and basketball to div...

How Scarcity, Timing, and Community Built an Elite Sports Card Collection Rigorous, candid, and collector-first. In this Slabnomics episode, Matt sits down with RodmanPC —a Honduras-based super-collector with one of the strongest Lionel Messi collections in the world—to break down how he pivoted from Michael Jordan 90s inserts to modern soccer grails. We cover the realities of collecting internati...

Welcome to another episode of Slabnomics , where sports cards meet finance, collecting, and market theory. Today’s special guest is Jeremy Lee , host of Sports Cards Live and one of the most respected voices in the hobby. With thousands of hours of content logged, Jeremy brings unmatched insight into how collectors balance passion with financial decisions. In this conversation, we cover: How to th...

Solo Pod - Slabnomics helps sports card enthusiasts make better financial decisions. Is soccer’s card market in a real bull run—or just riding a rising tide? In this Slabnomics episode, Matt breaks down alpha vs. index returns , shows how to use CardLadder indices as a benchmark, and dissects why soccer is outpacing other sports. We compare Messi 71 BIS and Ronaldo 2002 Mega Craques rookies, first...

Ft. Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_dave_sportscards), Host of the Shallow End Podcast. 🎙️ Slabnomics helps sports card enthusiasts make smarter financial decisions. In this episode with Iowa Dave, we explore how compounding knowledge builds like compounding money, why failures are tuition, and how to stick to an investment thesis so you don’t miss the next Shohei Ohtani, but maybe more potently so you don&a...

Don't forget to like and subscribe, it helps the channel tons! 🐤 In this episode of Slabnomics, host Matthew Worley sits down with Cajun Cardboard (Bryan Denison) to talk about his incredible journey through the sports card hobby. From flipping raw Giannis Antetokounmpo Prizm rookies and Luka Dončić cards to building one of the most respected collections of Michael Jordan inserts, Bryan shar...

-Ryan Sever, Author of Cardboard Profit is on to talk about investment opportunites and strategies in sports cards. -Time>Money spectrum -Fast nickels -Anchor biases and falling knives Weekly Newsletter Signup: Slabnomics.com 🎥 Youtube 📸 Instagram

 Slabnomics: The intersection of collecting investment and market theory for sports cards.  -Market Inefficiencies & Conviction  - Cross-Market Comparisons  How do we use Tom Brady's sports card market to evaluate Messi's for cards with old comps? - Liquidity, Scarcity, and Pricing Power  - Valuation Convergence & Mispricing  - Using Outcomes and Catalysts. Weekly Newsletter Sign...

What does it take to build a business in the sports card world? Hear Mark's story on one of the most daunting undertakings in any industry: building a marketplace.  Mark recounts the journey of MyCardPost, what it took to start, build, and scale a Fee-free app with 14k members and over $3.4M in deals done. Weekly Newsletter Signup: Slabnomics.com 🎥 Youtube 📸 Instagram

Practical Buying/Selling tips from the National and SoCoExpo. These will help you be better on both sides of the table. Weekly Newsletter Signup: Slabnomics.com 🎥 Youtube 📸 Instagram

Talking about The National, The Soco Expo, Making your own luck through preparedness, and market trends and evolutions.  Weekly Newsletter Signup: Slabnomics.com 🎥 Youtube 📸 Instagram

Welcoming on Chris Mcgill (@Chris_HOJ) to talk OG sports card podcasting in 2018 with House of Jordans, the origin story of Card Ladder, how to become a podcasting data analyst music producer CEO. We discuss the team at Card Ladder, Underused Tools, Market Dynamics and philosophies, and a peak behind the podcasting curtain. Weekly Newsletter Signup: Slabnomics.com 🎥 Youtube 📸 Instagram