November 18, 2025

POPs and COMPs Book Launch + Shill Bidding Policies Exposed + Appendix F on Reserves and House Bidding

44 minutes

Sports Cards Live 289 continues with a big reveal and a very different kind of hobby conversation. Jeremy officially announces his upcoming book, “POPs and COMPs: Truths, Insights and the psychology behind the numbers that drive the sports card market,” and walks through what it covers, how it is structured, and why it has consumed his time for the last several months. The discussion then turns to Appendix F and why a detailed breakdown of auction house reserves, house bidding, employee bidding, and shill bidding policies feels especially relevant right now. From there, the conversation shifts into collecting philosophy, the realities of hobby drama, and a fun vintage segment around 1953 Topps icons and the concept of “flight collecting.”

In this episode of Sports Cards Live 289, we discuss:

• The announcement of “POPs and COMPs” and how the book grew from a 22,000 word idea into an 80,000 plus word manuscript with 83 chapters and seven appendices

• The six part structure of the book, including foundations, pops, comps, integration, demand drivers, and psychology, plus why the appendices are packed with practical tools

• Appendix F and its focus on auction house reserve policies, employee bidding, house bidding, and shill bidding across more than thirty companies

• How the book handles sensitive topics like population control without throwing reckless accusations while still asking hard questions collectors care about

• Why Jeremy chose self publishing on Amazon to keep creative control and move faster rather than waiting a year or more for a traditional route

• A first tease of the separate web based project being built with a software development team, what the MVP timeline looks like, and why it is designed to compete with nobody yet be useful to everybody

• Leighton’s perspective on ignoring daily hobby drama, focusing on family, store level reality, and why a clear educational resource is badly needed right now

• Joe’s 1953 Topps “flight” approach to collecting Mantle, Jackie, and Satchel Paige, along with a thought experiment about a hypothetical 1952 Topps high number Satchel and what that would mean for value and priority

• A quick recap of the Jackie Robinson Museum event and how well run hobby experiences connect history, education, and collecting

Your comments and questions drive the show, so share your thoughts on the book concept, Appendix F, auction house transparency, and how you approach building your own collection.

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