My favorite deep-dive on the internet this week is reading Reddit threads from real lawyers commenting on the show Suits. It’s funny to see how some get outraged while others grab the popcorn. I have two brothers who are attorneys who enjoy the show. Reminds me of people who get outraged at the hobby for all the wrong reasons. More on that later…today’s newsletter is bit ranty, so bucke up! As always, if you have an opinion, hit “reply” and let me know!

- Cameron

Who’s Ruining the Hobby This Time?

It’s one of the most common talking points I see online:

“[Activity or person] is ruining the hobby!”

A few examples:

• Breakers - The most common target of haters because they get product for X dollars and then make 2X when they sell spots in their break.

• Flippers - People who buy the entire shelf of NBA Prizm at Walmart to resell for double on eBay.

• The Card Companies - “They price it too high!”

• eBay - They take how much?

• Kids Who Swap Jerseys With Wemby - More on this later, lol.

The funny thing that all of these have in common as that they never point the finger at the real culprit:

The people on the other end of the transaction! The person buying into the break, or buying the flipped Prizm boxes, or buying the listed price on Topps’ website when they go live. It’s those people that actually keep the secondary market alive, right?

Now, I don’t think anyone’s really to blame—except maybe capitalism. But I think most of us would agree that we’re okay with capitalism…just when it doesn’t make us pay more for boxes of cards we love.

I think about it like this:

Say you bought an apple from a stand for $1. Then, you walk 50 feet and there’s another stand buying apples for $5. Would you sell that apple?

Would you then walk back to the first stand and buy another apple? Or 10 apples? Or ALL the apples they have and sell them at the second stand?

Yeah, you probably would—even if it means more scarcity at the lower price and a higher resell price from the second stand. You’d be counting your dollars and patting yourself on the back for your ingenuity.

You see, this happens IN MOST INDUSTRIES IN THE WORLD. There are always people who insert themselves into the buying process to make money.

Dropshippers. Wholesalers. Buying from a garage sale and then putting it on eBay. These facilitators make buying the product more convenient.

But there’s more complaining in the hobby because it’s supposed to “pure” and we should have a “love of the game” sort of attitude. I love this hobby. It’s fun and exciting and nostalgic.

But if I can turn a profit on something…that’s exhilarating. Plus, it means I can spend more on the sets I’m building.

But breakers and flippers fill a legitimate roll. Breakers entertain and give people access to higher-end products for low buy-ins. Flippers facilitate a quick sale on eBay when it might be sold out elsewhere. eBay itself gives you a massive marketplace that doesn’t exist elsewhere, and makes it super-convenient to print labels and track shipping.

And the card companies? What are they supposed to do? Sell a product for $200 that they know is going to resell on eBay for $1,000? They’ll get bought out in seconds by breakers and flippers who’ll make a profit instead.

Ferraris and Topps Series 1

When people complain about prices in the hobby, it’s almost become a meme to say, “Think of the children!”

But that’s the thing—I’m convinced a huge number of them actually believe that.

As if a kid is entitled to a hobby box of Prizm basketball.

It would be ridiculous to think of a 16-year-old kid demanding to own a Ferrari, and then their parents posting online that it’s ridiculous that their kid can’t buy one because of the price.

But you know what? That’s why there are old Camrys and Priuses to buy.

And that’s why Topps prints a seemingly infinite number of Topps Series 1. That’s how (in our capitalist society) they keep the costs down and people (kids?) can buy a $100 hobby box that’s generally well-liked. That’s also why Donruss or Hoops or Leaf exist.

There are also blasters and hangers and individual packs from an LCS. There are base cards to be bought on eBay. If someone (kid or adult) is priced out of the Silver Prizm PSA 10, that’s not the seller’s fault. Just go buy the base, or suffer through the indignity of a PSA 9.

No one’s ruining the hobby. You just have to find a place that works with your budget and what you like to do.

Buy / Sell Opportunities

✔ Victor Wembanyama 🏀 - Despite his season-ending injury, his high-end stuff seems to be doing well, as evidenced by a nearly $900k sale after the bad news. But, his lower stuff is dropping. It’s not a bad time to get in at a good price, but it may drop more as he (and his team) will be off the radar for a while.

Here’s his PSA 10 Silver Prizm:

✔ LeBron James 🏀 - It’s pretty safe to hold his stuff forever. However, I think there’s a short-term play to buy now and sell in a few months. The big convo happening right now is if the Lakers can win the championship… you know that’s only going to increase as the playoffs draw closer and Luka puts up big stat lines. The talk will shift to LeBron potentially getting ring #5 and still being incredible at 40. Buy now, sell after a round 1 win.

✔ Roman Anthony ⚾ - Of course, there are lots of MLB prospects this time of year that you can buy for a quick flip once called up. I like Anthony, who’s pushing to make the opening day roster for the Red Sox. MLB.com has him as the #2 prospect who hits for power and average and steals lots of bases.

❌ Jayden Daniels 🏈 - This is your friendly reminder that his stuff (especially Prizm) is still pretty new, so it’s selling at a massive premium. His PSA 10 Prizm rookies are selling for $155. For reference, Justin Herbert’s are selling at $48 and Joe Burrow (who’s been to a Super Bowl) is at $108. Don’t hold these…sell now and buy back in 4 months if you’re really high on him.

❌ Lamar Jackson 🏈 - I was surprised to see that his PSA 9 Prizm rookie is selling for close to double what it was back in September (when there’s usually tons of hype leading into the season). Yes, he had an incredible year…but we’re seeing how hard it is to win a Super Bowl. If he can’t get to the big one for the next few seasons, what then? With two MVPs, he has to win a ring or collectors will start losing interest—and I don’t want to wait years to see if that happens. Sell now while he’s still pretty high.

New Releases

+ 2023-24 Topps Midnight Basketball (February 27 | $310 ) - A new brand that will be unlicensed but has 7 cards with 3 autos and 3 parallels per box. The only other release for these was in UFC, and box prices dropped pretty quick—if that’s any indication, this wasn’t a well-received brand. eBay already has pre-sales at $290 or so, indicating a bit of a drop. However, the chase for Wemby autos might have collectors ripping through these!

+ 2024 Panini Obsidian Football (March 5 | $525 ) - Each box has just 7 cards, with a patch auto, another auto, 2 memorabilia cards, 1 insert, and 2 base/parallels. Honestly, I’ve always thought Obsidian cards were pretty cool… but since it’s missing the top rookies (Caleb, Bo, Jayden, Drake), I’d pass at that price.

*Release dates can (and often do) change as products get delayed 🙄. It’s possible some notable sets are being released this week that I covered in previous editions.

Quick Hits

The best things I saw this week

+ Bo Knows He Won’t Sign That - You’ve probably heard that he doesn’t sign his iconic football-pads-and-bat card, but I enjoyed reading the story behind it.

+ Pointless, Yet Wildly Entertaining - “If You Bought $1,000 Worth of Rare Pokémon Cards in 1999, Here’s How Much You’d Have Now.” And while you’re hopping in the time machine, go back and grab me some Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla….

+ Which of You Did This? - “The Brimfield Police Department is looking for a man who is accused of stealing over $3,000 worth of trading cards from a local Meijer.” That’s three straight weeks I’ve shared a story about sports card-related thefts. Can we keep the streak alive next week? (Word is, he opened the boxes, got back $20 in value, and quit the hobby forever)

+ Controversial Jersey Swap - In December, Wemby swapped jerseys with a young fan. Well, the jersey just sold on Goldin for $73k. The outrage from many is real (most famously Geoff from Sports Card Investor), but let’s be honest: you’re telling me you wouldn’t sell that jersey for life-changing money? I’m as big a basketball fan as there is and that jersey would be gone in a heartbeat. I’m not that poor, but that’s a heck of a lot of money.

Question of the Week