Stacking Slabs

What does The National show us that sales data cannot? Brett sits down with Chris McGill and Josh Johnson to examine the forces shaping today’s card market. They discuss the 2013 Tom Brady Prizm Black Finite 1/1 approaching $1 million, the rising prices across football cards, and why seeing a card sell multiple times can change how collectors view it. The conversation then turns to what happens aw...

The hobby grows when more collectors find a reason to care and a reason to stay. In this episode, Brett explains why categories such as wrestling, WNBA, Disney, Pokémon, and fictional characters matter. He also draws a line between building a collecting community and selling the claim that a market is about to explode. Brett breaks down how to evaluate category growth, why price alone proves littl...

What makes someone choose a team and keep choosing it when the wins are not there? Katelyn sits down with Ike (@istockgrizz) to talk about his connection to the Los Angeles Sparks and the cards that bring him closer to the team. They discuss the Sparks game-day experience, the gap between player accomplishments and card prices, and why Ike buys cards he would feel comfortable holding for life. Ike...

Stephanie Garcia started Mama Breaks while teaching from home and looking for a way to reconnect with cards. Her first goal was to reach 1,000 Instagram followers and host one break. Four years later, she leads a 12-person, multimillion-dollar business. Stephanie shares why she left teaching, how she earned trust with collectors, when she knew it was time to hire, and why the experience around a b...

Supporting collectors gets harder as a business grows. The answer is not to care less. It is to turn that care into a process others can repeat. Brett examines how operators can add capacity without making collectors feel processed. He also sits down with Michael Osacky of Baseball in the Attic at The National. Michael shares what he has learned the years in business, earning trust through indepen...

John Cena’s WrestleMania Patch Auto 1/1 is heading to Goldin’s Summer 100 auction. The opening bid alone will set a public sales record for a Cena card. The final price will tell us how much demand exists beyond wrestling card collectors. Adam and Ryan discuss the card, the bidders who might pursue it, and what the sale means for the wrestling card market. They also break down 2026 Topps WWE Unive...

A reported private sale valued Josh Allen’s 2018 National Treasures Platinum NFL Shield autograph rookie card at $1.7 million. The reaction focused on what Allen has not done. He has not won a Super Bowl. Pack and Brett explain why championships alone cannot determine collectibility. They discuss the power of player connection, recognizable card features, career narratives, and the people willing...

Technology has made it easier to build a product. It has not made it easier to know what deserves to be built. Brett sits down with Josh Johnson, CTO of Card Ladder, at The National to discuss how Card Ladder grew from a problem its team faced as collectors. Josh shares why he spent three months preparing the app for The National, how Card Ladder earned trust through seven years of work, and why t...

The cards are unpacked. The pickup posts have slowed down. That does not mean The National is over. In this episode, Brett looks at the return that does not fit inside a card case: clarity about your collection, evidence that tests your beliefs, relationships worth continuing, opportunities worth testing and a clearer understanding of where your attention belongs. He shares what Wrestling Card Tak...

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Dave Thimesch wanted a 1987 Topps Mark McGwire card. That card started an obsession. At 13, Dave opened a card shop. He returned to the hobby during the Stephen Strasburg rise in 2009, moved from opening products to running group breaks, and built DT Sportscards into a PSA submission business handling thousands of cards. Dave joins Brett to discuss why ripping products created debt, how rising pro...

Most people do not have an idea problem. They have a permission problem. In this episode of Hobby Jobs, Brett explains why operators need to build before the market gives them certainty. He shares a 30-day conviction sprint for testing an unresolved problem, examines how Gabe built his college football card expertise into a career with CardCollector2, and spotlights the content creator role at Lay...

Wrestling Card Takeover filled a room with nearly 400 collectors at The National. The shirts disappeared. The room hit capacity. Deals took shape. One-of-ones surfaced. Collectors traveled from across the country and as far as Germany to take part. Adam, Ryan, and Brett look back on the week that showed how much the wrestling card community has grown. They discuss:  The demand for Oba Femi cards ...

Pack and Brett return from The National to process what they saw across the show floor. Cards priced between $100 and $500 moved at a fast rate. Dealers struggled to keep cases stocked. Seeing cards such as the 2017 Patrick Mahomes Prizm Black Finite and Peyton Manning Gem Masters in person changed how they viewed them. They also close out Linebacker Summer with Luke Kuechly, one of the best defen...

Most collectors know BCW through penny sleeves, top loaders, magnetic holders, and storage boxes. Behind those products sits a company with more than 100 employees serving collectors, shops, breakers, and dealers. Noah Dock joined BCW as CFO after working in finance, private equity, and his family’s pawn business. He did not earn the role because he knew more about cards than everyone else. He ear...

After my first 24 hours at The National, I returned to my hotel with more energy than I had when the day began. It wasn’t because of a card, a sale, or a booth. It came from the conversations. In this episode, I explore how conversations give collectors context that sales data cannot provide. They test our thinking, strengthen our conviction, build trust, and remind us that people exist on both si...

Passion gets you into sports cards. It does not build a product people trust. Brett sits down with Card Ladder co-founder Chris McGill at The National to discuss the work behind one of the hobby’s most used tools. Chris explains why seeing collectors rely on Card Ladder creates pressure, why customer service takes up much of the team’s time, and why standards matter when money is involved. They al...

Gabe did not follow a career path into sports cards. He created one. His interest in college football led him to Bowman University, player research, value boxes, and content built around a part of the hobby few people were covering. Consistency helped Gabe become a trusted voice in college football cards. It also started a relationship with Ryan Johnson of Card Collector 2. That relationship grew...

What happens when a collector starts looking at cards as a source of funding for a business? Brett examines the tension between the collector who wants to keep the card and the operator who sees what selling it can fund. He shares four questions every founder should answer before turning a collection into capital. Recorded at The National in the Card Ladder booth, Brett also sits down with Steve S...

Adam is joined by Brett for a collector-focused conversation during the biggest week of the year. They discuss why Fanatics Fest increased their confidence in wrestling cards, what the Wrestling Card Takeover represents for the community, and how Topps is putting WWE beside its other sports at The National. The conversation also covers the rookie cycle surrounding Oba Femi, collecting Roman Reigns...

Football season reconnects cards to the games, players, and moments that made collectors care in the first place. Pack and Brett examine what changes when the NFL returns. They discuss the rush of collecting active players, the effect of weekly performance on card prices, and the risk of allowing one game to shape a collecting decision. The conversation covers the offseason price movement of Caleb...

More collectors are moving away from quantity and toward concentration. Brett  is one of them. One-of-one cards offer something most cards cannot. Finality. There is no copy to upgrade. One collector owns the card. That does not mean every one-of-one deserves attention. In this episode, Brett explores why one-of-ones appeal to experienced collectors, how modern product volume has changed the meani...

Some cards enter your collection. Other cards change how you see everything you own. Brett explores what happens after a major acquisition raises the standard for your collection. He examines the role of identity, sacrifice, loss, and emotion when one card forces you to question an old collecting plan. You will learn how to tell the difference between a card that reveals your direction and a purch...

The National shows you how large the hobby has become. It can also make you feel lost inside it. This episode explores why collectors gain clarity when they narrow their focus and find people who understand what they collect. Wrestling Card Takeover serves as the backdrop. Brett shares how a community that spent years fighting for space built its own media, knowledge, relationships, and now an eve...

Beau Thompson started One Million Cubs with a goal: trade one million non-Cubs cards for one million Cubs cards. The project took seven and a half years. It also created relationships, operating skills, and a business that changed the direction of his life. Beau joins Brett to discuss the Ernie Banks rookie card that connected two collectors through loss, the 2021 National dinner that gave him the...