The Shallow End

Today’s guest is Craig, @NewYorkCitySportsCards on Instagram. Years ago he decided to buy lots of cards of an up-and-coming basketball player, and wouldn’t you know it, Craig nailed his assessment. The player became one of the greatest of his generation. When he decided it was time to sell, what he discovered is sports cards are about the long game, and the first urge to sell might be a better time to instead take a step back.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Today’s guest is Dr. Jim Beckett, host of the long-running podcast, "Dr. James Beckett Sports Card Insights." It might be hard to believe now, but there was a time when Beckett Media was the upstart underdog. As they began to pick up momentum, Dr. Beckett, who sold the company two decades ago, considered how to manage a then-growing company. But as he learned with one decision, bigger is not always better.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Today’s guest is Chad, @Blackhat_Cards on IG. Have you ever really wanted to collect a player, so you buy a card online, it arrives, you look at it, and it doesn’t really do it for you? That’s what happened to Chad. Then it happened again. And again. And, well, you get the picture.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Today’s guest is Dave Spinrad, @ratedrabbi on Instagram, and as you’ll hear at the top of this episode, he’s worn lots of different hats in his life. The one constant, he says, has been failure. But, he wouldn’t have it any other way. In this hobby, sometimes you have to figure out what you DON’T like before you figure out what you do.

The Shallow End is hosted by @iowa_dave_sportscards

Today’s guest is Andrew, who is @FairStarCards on Instagram. Andrew collects hockey and other sports, and he’s a collector who seeks personal connections within the cards he collects. As an educator, he knows that learning can sometimes be painful, but it’s what you do with that pain, and how you react, that makes the difference.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Today’s guest is Theo, who’s ClementeCollector on IG and YouTube. He’s a smart, thoughtful collector, he’s got a growing YouTube audience, and he was a big contributor to this year’s Hobby Palooza. But when he first got back into the hobby, he learned the hard lesson that some cards are irreplaceable.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Today’s guest is Andrew, who’s @StCroixCards on Instagram. Andrew is a soccer collector, among other things, and a contributor to the Slabstox network. These days, Andrew’s collection is in great shape, but there’s one decision he made when he first got back in the hobby that taught this teacher a lesson he’ll never forget.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

What if? That's the question two notorious baseball card overthinkers started from when they decided to start a new show. In this debut episode, how might the hobby be different today if Topps had introduced a full set of parallels beginning in 1952? Welcome to Overthinking Baseball Cards.

For the full experience, see our YouTube channel.

Hosts:

Jason @Contrarian_Cards

Dave: @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

What began as a labor of love for Kevin turned into a hobby quest. Five years ago he picked up his first 1999 Topps Chrome baseball refractor. Last month, he completed a 637-card master refractor set that includes the inserts. This is the story of how Kevin (@Colorado.Collector) did it.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

In this wide-ranging discussion about rookie cards, Robert (@BobHostaCollection) and Dave get into a challenge each is facing: Should they get the iconic 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie? Or should they get the card they agree better captures Aaron the player and person, his 1958 Topps?

The Shallow End is hosted by @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards