The Card Diary by Hobby S. Thompson

Episode 75 is the second half of my chat with Cage Lawyer, where we talk about the two different sets of value of cards - monetary and sentimental, and whether nostalgia is enough to keep the middle age collector in The Hobby.  We also touch on whether being in The Hobby makes us a better parent, spouse, friend, etc.  We continue to talk about the state of Hobby Content and what even is Hobby Cont...

The day has finally come where Cage Lawyer (on IG @cagelawyer) comes onto the podcast.  In this first half of our conversation, we talk about the landscape of Hobby Content, Instagram, running in the content game with horse blinders on, and whether ambient noise filters into our podcast recordings.  Hope you enjoy this one and stay tuned for Part II.  Enjoy! - Denny You can email the show with you...

Nick (on IG @breakcompcards) joins the podcast to talk about being the Kayak of the breaking side of The Hobby.  We talk about how he does not consider himself a reporter of group break prices, as well as this Kayak analogy, data aggregation, and how he monetizes (or plans to) monetize this free service (s/o pc_sportscards). We also get into whether he himself gets into breaks and what he PC’s and...

It’s almost Opening Day 2024!  Tyger, of ta24cards on Instagram and of the 4 and 6 podcast, joins us on today’s episode!  We talk about how he is able to triangulate the exact moment that is captured on a baseball card based on information that is readily available online.  We also talk about hockey, because why not.  However, if you love baseball, I think you are really going to enjoy today’s epi...

We welcome back our first three time guest, Ryan from GemRate (on IG @gemrate and also gemrate.com), who reports on grading companies.  We touch on the acquisition of SGC by Collectors, the parent company of PSA, but end up talking more about BGS and Beckett and what competitive advantages, if any, they have in the very competitive grading space in The Hobby.  We also talk about tribalism within t...

There is a real need for real journalists and real watchdogs in The Hobby.  In this monologue episode, I talk about the different kinds of content creators who report news and happenings in The Hobby.  Why are there so many people out there saying the same exact things over and over again on the same topics over and over again?  As someone who makes content, I try to maybe help explain the thought...

Continuing this mini series of getting to know breakers of all kinds, I bring on Long Island’s Finest, Filthbomb Break’s owner, Stephen Abbondandolo (on Instagram and all other social media platforms @filthbombbreaks).   We talk about the logistics that went into the 100 case break they recently did of 2024 Topps Series 1 Baseball, but also why having educated buyers is important and how baseball...

Sarah (on IG @mrssquirts_cards) is the first ever independent female breaker, and she started out with no allocation, no distribution, just a love of cardboard stemming from when she was a kid collecting sports cards, Pokemon, and pogs.  Hailing from Montana (which is NOT the Midwest, my bad!), she shares how she builds community, how she sees her buyers as real people, and how she puts her heart...

I will fully admit, when I first saw Wizey Official on Instagram (@wizey_official), I did not like him and his content.  He was ripping his shirt off and yelling out “The Hobby Is Alive!”  But what if it had nothing to do with him at all.  Was I intimidated by his confidence? His youth?  Perhaps.   All I initially saw was the outer layer of Wizey, but I am glad that I got to know him more and we p...

Valor Sports Cards is a Fanatics Live breaker who recently pulled the Tom Brady Superfractor 1/1 from 2023 Bowman Draft.  When it occurred, conspiracies started to form that Fanatics gave him a loaded box.  Can anything be a coincidence anymore?  Listen in to hear how maybe not everything in The Hobby has to be a conspiracy…..

And so it begins….again.

Wrapping up a loose end on a story with low stakes, but illustrates a couple of big picture points.  Keep being awesome in and out of The Hobby y’all.  - Denny

If you liked Part I of the conversation with NEO Cards & Comics, you’re going to like Part II, well maybe not, because we get into much different topics.  NEO dives deeper into being a hobby content creator on YouTube and shares some tips as to how he got to where he is today (hint: consistency!).   We field a listener question regarding content, and then pivot to talking about athletes and th...

This was going to be the intro for Part II of a great conversation with NEO Cards & Comics, but turned into a much longer than anticipated monologue about a recent eBay sale I made as a (still newish) eBay seller, and so I made a game time decision to turn this into its own standalone monologue episode.  Part II will drop not too long after this one, but hope you enjoy this one, and by all mea...

Why even go to a card show when you can buy cards exclusively online?  Is it worth going to The National?  Is it more than just all about the cards?  This is Part I of a very scripted podcast guest episode with Neo (on Instagram @neo_cards_comics).  Neo talks about his origin story with starting his YouTube channel and how he came up with his name and logo.  We talk about how we met each other at...

But it doesn't mean that you don't try having them! I come back from an almost month long hiatus for not just holiday time, but getting sick again (and again), and well....I missed doing this! In this monologue episode, I talk about how it is hard as an adult (especially a man, but I didn't talk about this part) to have new friends and that why this could be a motivating factor for som...

Ryan from GemRate stops by to share with us the year in grading (TCG is still over half of all graded cards! Sports down YoY! We as collectors are getting smarter with what we submit! Or are we?).  But of course, this podcast being what it is, we analogize grading companies to fast food restaurants and school teachers.  Ryan shares information about a project he’s been working on with Universal Po...

This is the second half of the podcast chat with Dan, The Great Curator (on IG @the.great.curator).  In our first half of the conversation (Episode 49, published way back on November 9th), we talked about particip-hation, blocking trolls, the state of content in The Hobby.  In this episode, we talk about how people monetize content in The Hobby (#5 will shock you! JK those click bait lists are fun...

We welcome back the better half of the Sports Cards Nonsense duo, Jesse Gibson aka Sports Boi.  We talk about SCN and Card Shop Live, how to save breaking (hint: baby breakers, ok maybe not a subtle hint), and why his partner, Mike Gioseffi, keeps ducking this podcast.   We start by talking about the mega bid/shill bid situation with Sports Card Therapist (seems like eons ago already), because tha...

Continuing my podcast experimentation, I try recording a podcast while recovering being kinda sick.  I probably shouldn’t have recorded this episode, but I was inspired by the recent Juan Soto trade and the discussions by Cage Lawyer and Iowa Dave.  So I’m not an influencer, I’m actually the influenced!  Not to be confused with influenza, which I probably have.  Dad jokes.  Enjoy. - Denny

What’s it like to be a repacker for one of the biggest breakers on the planet?  Matt from Ultimate Sports Breakers (USB) comes on the pod to talk about that and more.  We first talk about his hobby journey and then get into how he got into repacking for Backyard Breaks and then what happened after that relationship ended.  We dive into what it’s like going from “comp-to-table” with buying, packing...

With repacks being such a hot topic currently in The Hobby, I bring on Jonathan Rotonda (on IG @rotobreaks), the founder of a breaking company (Roto Breaks) and repack company (Roto Box) to the pod.  We start off talking about his hobby journey and how comps worked back in 2016 (RIP Card Snoop!).  Then, I pick his brain on how the entire process looks like to get a repack product ready “comp-to-ta...

Who would even consider buying a $12 pineapple?  What happens to your hobby budget when you have a financial event outside of your hobby life?  Who is even buying these boxes of cards that cost five figures?  This is a monologue episode that I recorded in a hotel room and so the audio is going to sound a little bit different (and maybe I’m lower energy on this one too), but I wanted to capture my...

This is a monologue episode about my ever evolving thoughts on the megabid/shill bid situation from Rob G., the Sports Card Therapist and the early stages of grief, or at least in this case, hobby grief.

What does 10X-ing The Hobby mean?  Is it the number of cards, corporate profits, number of participants, or something else altogether?  I bring on the pod someone who was in The Hobby as a kid, but never came back into The Hobby, even during the pandemic.  My very special guest, TK, is my friend from outside The Hobby and I wanted to have a candid discussion with him about The Hobby in this experi...