The Hobby Handbook

Alex and Trent play a game where they start with $20 and a list of 15 players. They each need to build a PC of five players with their $20. Unfortunately for Trent, the exercise does not go well for him.

0:00 - Fanatics Fest week is here, and Trent is no longer staying at The Meadowlands

3:00 - The reactions to Topps’ announcement about unsealed mega boxes make no sense. 

10:00 - Getting ready for Fanatics Fest later this week

18:00 - Spend $20 for a PC collection of 5 players

32:00 - Shohei Ohtani Bowman RC Update

39:00 - The under-the-radar stars like Ben Rice and Yordan Alvarez 

44:00 - Topps Chrome Baseball Releases next week

58:00 - Grading vs. selling after Topps Chrome releases

Follow Sports Cards Nonsense:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is very rare we get breaking news in the middle of a show, but after a major Topps announcement, we break down what their new pilot program with 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Basketball mega boxes means. Plus, going through card show etiquette, the mailbag, and more!

0:00 - Alex is back and Trent’s Story about Facebook

10:00 - Alex’s buying habits on Fanatics Collect might be changing if they have fixed shipping

15:50 - Alex’s game for Trent on Ohtani cards

25:00 - Topps Finest Releases Today

35:40 - Topps Chrome Update Basketball and the rookie debut chase

40:00 - Card Show Etiquette 

42:00 - Buying for your PC and your collection 

55:25 - What do you think of the concept of flippers vs. scalpers

1:03:20 - Knowing card prices will help you so much at a card show so you don’t waste time looking up comps

1:09:00 - Breaking Topps announcement about Topps Chrome Update

Follow Sports Cards Nonsense:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Hobby Handbook this week, Alex has another consulting session, this time with Zack's Bowman Hacks!

0:00 - Intro to Zack and his business

4:50 - Selling cards, but not live selling or at card shows, and a move to full-time in cards.

10:00 - The reality of being a live-seller and how Zack is trying to balance life and also sell cards

16:10 - How Zack uses Bowman to fuel his business and how he picks which prospects to chase. 

24:00 - The benefit of buying at a card show and how Zack is slowly shifting his process.

33:00 - How to become a live seller and Alex helps Zack with questions

47:45 - Setting up your space to live stream and sell.

49:40 - “Don’t let your pursuit of perfection prevent progress”

Follow Sports Cards Nonsense:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brandon Stuff has gone from zero followers to nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram in less than a year as he continues to build his card business. While he's focused on buying Shohei Ohtani and Paul Skenes for himself, he still moves cards at shows, online, etc.

0:00 - Trent’s intro with the release schedule this week

2:45 - Introing Brandon Stuff and his backstory in the hobby

6:00 - His card-collecting philosophy 

11:30 - The importance of connections in the hobby and how they help to move bigger cards

17:20 - People don’t utilize Instagram enough for trades/sales

18:45 - Relationships are what make money in the hobby

25:00 - Not being afraid to overpay for a card you want if it is scarce 

33:00 - Avoiding scams in the hobby, especially on higher-end cards

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of The Hobby Handbook with Alex and Trent, we discuss the release of Topps Dynasty and how with a product like this the singles market will always be your friend. Plus, Nationals No. 2 Prospect, P Travis Sykora, joins the show to discuss his own collecting journey and how collecting forced him to improve his own signature!

0:00 - Intro/Trent’s Big Reveal

3:15 - Topps Dynasty Release Day 

9:00 - Inception vs. Dynasty

24:55 - Washington Nationals No. 2 Prospect Travis Sykora joins the show!

28:30 - How does he decide who to collect?

33:55 - How Travis takes pride in his signature now that he’s in the hobby himself, and how he uses inscriptions on cards. 

35:25 - All of the Superfractors that he owns of himself and how he won’t buy anymore because he wants collectors to have some too.

43:10 - The player Travis has struggled with the most and now collects his card. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A loaded episode of The Hobby Handbook with Alex and Trent. Series 2 released today. The importance of having a relationship at your LCS. Plus, a case hit/SSP draft, PSA backlog update, and more!

0:00 - Series 2 release day, and Alex pulled a 1/1 for the first time himself, and it was a 1/1 auto at that.

4:55 - The importance of having a relationship with your LCS. Alex picked up two huge cards at his LCS yesterday from a customer while he was there shopping on his own.

13:15 - What do we think turnaround times will look like for PSA at The National? 

15:50 - Updated PSA backlog: they took in 4 million cards over the 5 days post-announcement. 

22:00 - Topps Finest dropped on Monday, an update on mega boxes

31:00 - SSP/Case Hit Snake Draft

41:00 - What an incredible time in sports between the NBA Finals, the World Cup, and the Stanley Cup Finals

53:15 - Performance over potential seems to finally be winning out in the hobby. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we welcome back Alex and Trent and dig right into the Wemby vs. Ohtani debate. Plus, a look at the state of grading in 2026, post-PSA shutdown of value tiers. What should you grade, where should you grade it, and more importantly, when should you grade it?

0:00 - The boys are back!

3:00 - Have you been to any shows lately? 

9:30 - Wemby is a 1-of-1 and people turn in to watch him do crazy stuff that someone his size shouldn’t be able to do, but can.

11:55 - If you look at the boxes Shohei and Wemby check, it’s the same

16:50 - The price for Wemby winning is already baked in, but similar to Ohtani, if he gets hurt it there’s a floor to how low things will go. High-end stuff won’t budge at all. 

30:00 - How you should decide where to grade, and how you should decide when to grade

45:00 - 2026 Bowman reactions

54:00 - Ethan Holliday injured and the impact it has on Bowman pricing moving forward
Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://collectibleslife.beehiiv.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Hobby Handbook, Doug breaks down the massive Wemby sale and is joined by Aaron Amarant of AAMint Cards.

0:00 - Intro

6:20 - Doug finished his latest set!

9:10 - Aaron from AAMint joins the show!

11:45 - How AAMint got on the map

19:00 - Starting a brick-and-mortar store

30:25 - The Toughest part of owning a sports card shop and breaking company

46:00 - The one product he buys to rip every year

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Doug takes a look at the greatness of Victor Wembanyama and his market. Plus, we dive into a debate about in-person autographs and look at the latest grading data from Gem Rate.

0:00 - Show intro and what is coming up on the show

04:30 - Buy/Sell/Hold Victor Wembanyama

13:00 - Wayne Gretzky's Rookie Card is going to set numerous records

17:30 - Do in-person autographs do anything for you? Do you collect them at all?

32:45 - Hockey Collecting 101

44:17 - Doug rips some packs to close out the show!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Hobby Handbook this week, Doug Plagens breaks down the names moving the most at card shows over the last month. Plus, how he consumes Bowman in the most boring way possible, but it is a money-maker.

Doug dives into:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices