Stacking Slabs

The best collections start with connection.In this episode, Katelyn is joined by Griff (@rockyscardboard), one of the hobby's most respected WNBA collectors and a passionate New York Liberty fan.They discuss how Liberty fandom shaped his collection, why Sabrina Ionescu became a cornerstone of his PC, and how buying, selling, and collecting all work together to create a more rewarding hobby experience.The conversation also explores eye appeal, collector psychology, the thrill of the chase, and why building relationships often matters as much as building a collection.Whether you're a...

The best businesses in the hobby are not built one deal at a time.They're built one relationship at a time.Mike from MC Sports Cards returns to Passion to Profession to share why trust has become the foundation of one of the fastest-growing consignment businesses in the hobby.We talk about what happens after the first transaction, why honesty wins over short-term revenue, how technology should support relationships instead of replace them, and why saying no has become one of the most important decisions in growing the business.We also...

Product knowledge gets you in the door.Systems determine how far you go.In this episode of Hobby Jobs, I break down why the next generation of sports card businesses will be built on repeatable processes instead of founder instinct alone.The hobby is getting bigger. Companies are hiring. Events are growing. Expectations are changing. That means the operators who build training, marketing, hiring, customer experience, and operating systems will have the edge.Then I sit down with Ryan Johnson of Cardcollector2 live at Columbus Card Fest.Ryan shares...

WWE finally gave collectors plenty to talk about.Adam and Ryan break down Night of Champions, Oba Femi's King of the Ring win, Sami Zayn capturing the World Heavyweight Championship, and what those moments mean for the wrestling card market.Then the conversation shifts to something every collector should think about.Are you chasing the biggest cards in the hobby? Building the best player collection? Or collecting the cards that mean something to you regardless of the market?The guys introduce three collector personas that explain how people approach wrestling cards...

Chris Johnson reminded football fans why collecting is about more than championships.After sharing his ALS diagnosis, collectors looked back at one of the most electric careers of the last 20 years. Pack and Brett revisit what made CJ2K special, why his cards matter, and why memorable seasons leave a lasting mark on the hobby.The conversation then shifts into one of the biggest collector debates today.Will vintage football cards ever break through? Why are Topps Chrome Superfractors selling at such a premium compared to Black Finite cards? And why do the...

The sports card market keeps reaching new highs.Sales volume continues to climb. Record prices keep falling. New collectors keep entering the hobby.But are collectors making better decisions?In this episode, Brett and Chris McGill discuss what the data is telling us and where they see warning signs. They compare today's market to 2021, break down the record Tim Duncan sale that has everyone talking, and explore why so many collectors wait for validation before making their biggest purchases.They also dive into one of the most overlooked collecting skills and...

You spend years preparing for the grail.You save.You study.You build relationships.You pass on other cards so you're ready when the opportunity comes.Then it happens.The card is finally yours.Now what?This episode explores the part of collecting that rarely gets discussed. What happens after the chase ends.I break down why landing a grail can feel different than you expected. Why ownership is a skill. And how the best collectors turn a major acquisition into something that keeps...

What does it feel like to collect a team with no history?This week, Katelyn is joined by Mark (@ramjamsportscards / @valkyriescardvault), a collector who has built his collection around the Golden State Valkyries from day one.They discuss what makes expansion team collecting different, why patience leads to a better collection, how emotional connections form without nostalgia, and why documenting the beginning of a franchise feels like creating a scrapbook in real time.If you've ever thought about collecting a team instead of chasing the biggest names, this conversation will change how you...

What happens when experienced business operators build a sports card company instead of longtime collectors?In this episode of Passion to Profession, Brett sits down with Gavin Hoover, Chief of Stuff at Tombstone Collectibles, to discuss what happens when enterprise experience meets the hobby.Gavin shares how his background building large retail organizations shaped the way Tombstone approaches breaking, hiring, branding, analytics, customer relationships, and growth. Instead of thinking like a breaker, Tombstone thinks like a business.The conversation covers why trust is the biggest challenge in scaling, how data drives decisions, why...

Growth in the hobby is easy to spot.More inventory.More content.More followers.More customers.The growth that matters is harder to see.As your business expands, your role has to change with it. If every decision, customer issue, hire, and piece of content still depends on you, you've built a bottleneck instead of a company.In this episode, I break down why leadership capacity is becoming one of the biggest competitive advantages in sports cards.I also look at what businesses like Mint Inc...

Who's right?Who's wrong?Adam Gellman and Ryan from RBICru7 put the biggest wrestling card opinions to the test.Are we at the peak of the market?Will Panini-era cards continue to rise?Is 2024 Flawless WWE already an iconic product?Are one-of-ones overrated?Has Topps already changed wrestling cards for the better?Along the way, they break down recent WrestleMania Patch Auto sales, Rey Fenix, Roman Reigns, John Cena, WWE Sapphire print runs, and what makes a great wrestling card breaker....

What makes a football card iconic?This week Pack and Brett McGrath discuss one of the biggest Peyton Manning rookie cards ever to reach the market and why sales like this help define the hobby. From Calvin Johnson and Patrick Surtain to Bronko Nagurski and Mike Ditka, they look at the cards that shape collecting across generations.They also tackle a collector question that sparks a bigger conversation.How should we rank the greatest players of all time?Is it MVPs? Championships? Peak performance? Or something else entirely?Plus:<...

What does the sports industry see when it looks at the hobby?In this episode of Built for the Hobby, Brett McGrath is joined by Scott Lock of InfernoRed Technology and Dan Kaufman, Managing Director at Sports Business Journal, for a conversation at the intersection of sports, collecting, media, technology, and fan engagement. Dan brings a perspective few people can offer. He's a lifelong collector, a sports business leader, and someone who spends his days talking with executives across leagues, teams, media companies, and technology organizations. Topics include: Why sports cards are bec...

In this episode of Stacking Slabs, Brett continues the conversation around taste, conviction, and building a collection that reflects your point of view.This is not an episode about what to buy.It is about how to think.Brett walks through the questions serious collectors need to ask before making decisions:How do you spot opportunity before consensus forms?How do you separate overlooked cards from cards that lack demand?How do you balance personal conviction with market reality?What role should community feedback play?<...

Most collectors focus on the outcome.The card.The deal.The mail day.The auction win.But the best things in this hobby rarely happen overnight.They come from trust built over years.Relationships formed without expectations.Research completed before the opportunity appears.Conviction developed long before consensus arrives.In this episode, Brett explores the power of planting seeds as a collector.Why patience is an active skill.Why clarity creates opportunity.Why trust compounds.And why the...

What does it take to build one of the largest hobby businesses in Canada?John Amendola, CEO of Mintink, joins Passion to Profession to share the story behind turning a pandemic-era card business into a national brand.John discusses the early days of Breaks After Dark, scaling livestream commerce, hiring and developing talent, creating community through retail, and why relationships matter more than transactions.We also explore leadership, mental health, customer experience, the future of hobby retail, and the opportunities most businesses still overlook.This conversation is packed with lessons for...

In this episode of Hobby Jobs, Brett breaks down why “building for the hobby” is too vague to guide a real business.The sports card industry is not one customer.It is trust.It is convenience.It is liquidity.It is discovery.It is fandom.It is customer behavior.Brett expands on this week’s Operator Note and explains why the best operators in sports cards do not build for a category. They build for a person with a clear problem.This e...

Ryan is back in the saddle with Adam for a loaded episode of Booked to Last.This week, they dig into the state of WWE booking, the impact it has on wrestler collectability, and why collectors are trying to make sense of a market that is moving week to week.They break down Topps Cosmic WWE, the ripping experience, the planet odds, and why product structure matters so much in wrestling cards.The main event is a deeper conversation around high-value wrestling cards.With recent WrestleMania patch autograph sales from Tiffany...

One year ago, we launched The Football Card Podcast with a simple idea: create a place where football card collectors could gather every week and talk football cards.Fifty-two episodes later, we're reflecting on what we've learned.Pack and Brett revisit the cards they highlighted in Episode 1, discuss why patience remains one of the biggest advantages in collecting, and explore the growing disconnect between one-of-one sellers and buyers.They also debate whether Ray Lewis is the greatest defensive player of all time, discuss the value of longevity in sports and collecting, examine the...

What makes a card worth chasing?In this episode, Brett breaks down the purchase of one of the most important cards to enter his collection in years: the 2025 Topps Chrome WWE John Cena Superfractor 1/1. But this isn't a story about a big card. It's a story about the process behind the decision.From negotiating against a $10,000 asking price to identifying what makes a card canonical, Brett explores the factors that create conviction in collecting. He discusses scarcity versus significance, the power of personal connection, the role of side collections, using collection equity with intention, and...