Jason (@contrarian_cards on IG) and Dave begin with the premise, What should a longtime Panini football and basketball card collector know about Topps as Fanatics readies to take over the NFL and NBA card licenses? From there, it's a free-wheeling discussion about what it's like to collect and understand baseball cards in 2025.

In this podcast audio essay, Dave confronts the realities of breaking and sports cards, and the false narratives used to make excuses for it.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

We've all got a horror story, a past decision in our collecting that haunts us. Today's guest, Andrew (IG: @fairstarcards), knows more about failure than most. He preaches it to his students. In this episode, we become his students as he shows us why those past failures should be embraced, not forgotten.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Addiction takes many forms, including within the world of sports cards. From overspending, to patterns of hiding behavior, to an inability to detach from The Hobby, sports-card addiction can leave us feeling hopeless and out of control. Today's guest, Alyx Effron of CollectorsMD, knows this first hand. That's why he's created a platform to help collectors figure out how to get help.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Greg (@Paper_and_Chrome on IG) is an Albert Pujols collector who set out to clarify "The Machine's" best rookie cards. So Greg surveyed 50 Pujols collectors. In this episode of The Shallow End, he shares the results.The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_SportsCards on IG.

If you'd like to watch the video version of this episode, you can do so here on YouTube.

Over several months, Dave read three books about the history of sports cards. Here are 10 takeaways that helped him learn more about The Hobby.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Card Sharks, by Pete Williams (1995)

The Card, by Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson (2007)

Mint Condition, by Dave Jamieson (2010)

Sometimes in sports cards, as in life, you have to confront your past before you can chase your future.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Once you're interested in collecting sports cards, it doesn't take long before something in The Hobby takes hold. If we're not careful, our PC's have a way of getting away from us. In this episode, Cardladder's Chris McGill (⁠@chris_hoj⁠) stops by to discuss collecting goals he sets for himself—and occasionally revises and revisits as his own tastes evolve. No two people have the same goals, but just coming to understand the value of setting your own might be the greatest gift you can give your own PC.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz ⁠@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Nothing about the sports card hobby is perfect, but it's those imperfections and, dare we say, failures, that help make us better collectors. In this audio essay, Dave shares his biggest hobby failure and pleas with one of the hobby's most influential influencers to not give the impression that every deal always works out.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

"Cards and Content episode 8"

YouTube short: "Helping a young collector complete his goal at the Dallas Card Show"

If you're going to collect sports cards, you're going to need to make yourself some rules. But just as importantly, you need to be ready to break those rules when opportunities arise.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards