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I am getting Anthony Daniels auto at Star Wars Celebration in April and my friend is like “Get him to sign the Golden Rod Card it would be so weird” lol I’m like “who’s weirder here, Anthony Daniels signing the card or the guy wanting him to sign the card?” But also we cannot forget the “Frank Thomas No Name Card” .

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That is such a cool backstory for a card. 😂 And honestly, I think you made the right call breaking the eBay seal. If I had something going into a Zion mag, I’d want to actually see it in the presentation I like too.

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I’ll be upfront that I’m biased here because I host a show on Fanatics Live for the shop I work for, HitSeekers. But it really has become one of my favorite ways to buy, especially when it comes to sealed product. We basically have access to just about anything sealed, so there’s usually a pretty good variety depending on what you’re chasing.

That said, I still use eBay, card shows, shops, Facebook groups, etc. I don’t think there’s one “best” way to buy cards. It really depends on what you’re looking for.

For bigger singles, I’m still a big believer in seeing the card in person when possible. For sealed, though, I love the convenience of live shows and being able to see what’s available in real time

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Totally get it and since there is no clear market cap, some companies absolutely overcharge. We try to create breaks that are more value focused. Can some skunk still? Yes but its going to be on a $20 spot rather than $200 spot. We aren’t one of the Big Dogs so our place in the market is to be a good value option. A good example, I just put up a 6 box break of Series 2 with no vet base, least expensive spot is $15. If you want to go big the max team is the Dodgers at $150. The real winner with all these fish in the sea over all is the collector because of all the options, you can actually shop around and find the best prices

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I could definitely see Iverson being next. His cultural impact is massive, and he has that combination of on-court greatness, personality, and nostalgia that tends to make a player’s cards age really well

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Lol exactly. If I have $13 million sitting around that I can comfortably spend on a piece of cardboard, I’m probably not going to be too worried about whether the card market is having a good year.

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Yeah, it’s pretty wild when you step back and look at how quickly it happened. Pokémon went from something a lot of people associated primarily with kids playing the games and collecting cards to a legitimate high-end collectible market.

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Yeah, I think Logan Paul absolutely played a major role in pushing Pokémon into a different level of mainstream attention. The wild part is that his Pikachu Illustrator eventually sold for $16.5 million, making it the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.

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Yeah we got teams as low as that but it’s always hard when your PC team has a big rookie. Last year I couldn’t ever get the Bucs in a break because of Emeka, now my Reds are pricey because of Sal Stewart lol

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Yeah, I think that’s a huge part of it. The hobby has basically become entertainment, collecting, and investing all rolled into one.

Ten years ago, a crazy pull might make the rounds among collectors. Now somebody pulls a 1/1 on a live stream, a celebrity gets involved, the card gets a bounty, influencers start talking about it, and suddenly millions of people who don’t normally follow cards are seeing it.

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Oh yeah, that would be a nasty chase right now. The Japanese Mega Charizard X ex in a PSA 10 is exactly the kind of card where I’d be watching the market and thinking, “Maybe I should’ve bought this yesterday.”

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Oh yeah, Shining Magikarp is an awesome choice. That card has such a unique look, especially with the contrast between the shiny artwork and the darker background. It just has that “I need to own this” factor.

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Absolutely! I’m rooting for that one too. 😂 If it looks as good in hand as it did in the pictures, hopefully Beckett agrees with us.

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That’s pretty much where I land too. If I’m looking at it strictly as an investment, I’d much rather own one truly iconic grail than a pile of mid-tier cards. There’s something different about owning the card that everybody recognizes and wants.

But as a collector, give me the pile of cards every time. LOL I want the weird inserts, the numbered cards, the players I grew up watching, the cards with stories behind them, and the stuff that maybe isn’t worth a fortune but makes me smile when I flip through the collection.

I think that’s the sweet spot of the hobby: investor brain says grail, collector brain says “Ooh, I need that too.” LMAO

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Yeah, it really does feel like we’ve entered a different phase of the hobby. Between Logan Paul’s Pikachu Illustrator selling for $16.49 million, the $11 million Ohtani, the $4.25 million Jordan, and now the Cooper Flagg 1/1 already getting multimillion-dollar offers, there have been some absolutely insane numbers flying around this year. What’s interesting to me is that it isn’t just traditional sports-card money anymore. Pokémon, Magic, sports, celebrities, influencers… they’re all starting to overlap. It makes me wonder if we’re watching the hobby become a legitimate high-end collectibles market in a way it never really was before.