Send us a text

In this Episode, Hank & Mick discuss their belief that we are at the Top of the current cycle of the Sports Card Market. We discuss how the last couple of months of each year are usually buying months, with prices and sales volumes slightly dipping. Has the Pokemon and TCG boom of 2025 been the driving force behind the market uptick?

We chat about whether Bitcoin and other alternative assets are actually correlated with price moments in trading cards. And both of us, explore the idea that in an increasingly digital world, more and more people are seeking and enjoying physical collectibles like cards, records, comics etc. Enjoy!  

Send us a text

In this Episode, Hank and Mick chat about the pressure to chase new players and new cards in the hobby. Is it really a smart move? Is it important to keep adding new, fresh things to your collection?... or can your improve your collection by focusing on getting better grades of the cards you love and already own. New is not necessarily better, especially in a hobby with deep veins in history, legacy and vintage cards. 

We chat about Wemby, Zion and Cooper Flagg. We touch on Topps and Panini and Jordan Rookie cards again. Hank discusses the 1 of 1 hunt, and how he feels it shouldnt be a core focus of the hobby,  as card collecting is a shared experience. Mick thinks owning too many of a players pinnacle cards, makes you the Dalai Lama of that player, sitting on the mountain top, looking down at others.

With Topps the new kid on the block again, and Panini over. 

Send us a text

In this Episode, Hank and Mick do a deep dive on the handover of the NBA Trading card licence from Panini (who have had the NBA licence for the last 13 years) to Topps (via Fanatics) who will be exclusively be printing NBA trading cards for the foreseeable future. 

We discuss in detail the first Topps NBA licensed product to hit the market this week: Topps 2025-26 NBA Basketball. We dig into the details of the 18 page pack-odds document that Topps have posted, chatting about the multitude of inserts, variants and parallels on offer. 

Mick muses about the end of the Panini era, and what that means for his collecting focus. Hank is curiously sitting back, waiting to see what will be the first Topps card that Mick adds to his PC. 

NOTE: To find the pack odds doc... just jump on the Topps website and download the 2025-26 Topps Basketball pdf (its an interesting doc): https://www.topps.com/pages/odds

Send us a text

In this Episode, Hank & Mick have a ramble about Kabooms!... and the crazy price moves and sales these cards have had recently. With record prices constantly being set for these inserts, is it a good sign that the market is over heated?

We also chat about the wash-up from our trip to LA for the West Coast Card Show, and the joys of finding something at the show, or afterwards, that you werent expecting. Hank also laments never having enough cash at card shows... and Mick hears the National calling next year.

Send us a text

In this Episode, Hank & Mick discuss Big Moves in the hobby. With high profile podcasters such as Chris HOJ & Cajun Cardboard recently making moves into 1/1 Jordans and major consolidation... we chat about our thoughts about making similar moves and pivots. Is now the best time to take a different direction, or is the market too hot?

Mick has made his own strategic move, hunting apex cards for key players. Meanwhile, Hank is sticking to his Jordan lane and sitting on his hands a little as the prices race away from him. Lots to think and talk about! Enjoy the episode.

Send us a text

In this episode, Hank & Mick discuss the current state of the market - which is scorching hot! We discuss our tactics and thoughts of collecting through a bull market, from consolidation to fewer but more significant cards, pivoting to cheaper and more attainable side PCs, and selling into the hot market. 

With every up, there must come a down. So try not to lose your head. Stay calm and focused... and warm up by the fire, but dont get burnt! 

Send us a text

In our biggest and best episode yet, Hank & Mick get out a pair of stone tablets, and chisel our 10 Commandments for The Hobby. From tips such as avoiding the hype, embracing selling cards, and adding cornerstone cards, we dig deep on the most important guidelines for our current collecting journey. 

So lace up, grab a ball and bumper bowl your way to hobby happiness!

Send us a text

In this second part of our ongoing Grading discussion, Hank & Mick chat who we grade with - for us, its a choice between PSA and BGS. BGS has sub grades, half grades and a sturdier slab, where PSA is the industry leader and PSA 10s are getting harder to land. We discuss the key differences between the two, regrading cards across each grading company and preparing cards for grading. Modern cards are virtually worthless unless they hit a PSA 10. For 90s cards a PSA 10 means you hit the jackpot. 

We also talk about how grading standards have changed in recent years, how there are companies like MBA, who grade graded cards... and how AI might impact the grading market in the near future. 

Send us a text

In this Bonus Episode, Hank and Mick begin a multi-part discussion about all things Grading. This episode is all about the beginnings of grading in the 1990s. We reminisce about how when we ran our cards store in 1993, grading was purely subjective: it was up to us to decide the grade of a card. Beckett magazine was our price guide and hobby bible.

PSA changed the game in 1991, but it wasn't until later in the '90s when the hobby got on board the grading train. Mick thinks grading is probably the single biggest change to collecting cards. It provides a universal scale which is used (and overused) to judge card condition and value. 

Fun fact, by 2001 Beckett magazine had a 4 page Graded Card price guide at the back of their magazines. 4 whole pages! 

Send us a text

In this Episode, Hank & Mick discuss collecting Vintage vs Modern cards, and which has the better long term value. Vintage cards are all about condition: centering, corners, registration, surface etc... In 1986 Fleer, there were approximately 3 Jordan rookies in each box. They aren't rare cards - but their value is all tied up in condition. In Modern collecting, the most valuable cards are the scarce parallel cards and inserts. 

Hank thinks these scarce modern cards will have great long term value. Mick is concerned with retired players vs active players, and how important is Legacy in cementing their card prices. Is long term value more closely connected to cultural significance?