Collector Nation

Why can’t you get cards graded at value prices anymore? In this Surface Issues episode, Ryan Alford talks with Colin Hudson, GM of Beckett Grading, and Nick Dolezal, Director of Grading at MBA, about why value tiers shut down across the hobby, how demand outpaced grading capacity, and what each company is doing about it. Download the Collector Nation app and visit thecollectornation.com for the latest on grading.

Colin explains Beckett’s website outage, when he hopes its services will be back, and in-person submissions at select shows. Nick breaks down the grader shortage, MBA’s approach to consistent grades and its $15 standard tier. Both answer the big one: are grading prices going up?

Topics Covered:

• Why PSA, Beckett and SGC paused value tier grading

• Grading demand vs. capacity: the backlog explained

• Beckett’s $18 base tier and Black Label chase

• Why Beckett’s website and services went offline

• Beckett’s timeline for restoring its price guide, autograph authentication and marketplace

• In-person Beckett submissions at select card shows

• MBA’s raw card grading and Diamond stickers

• The card grader shortage, hiring and training

• Grading consistency: why the same card can get different grades

• MBA’s $15 standard tier and value-based upcharge

• Will grading prices go up?

• The future of the Beckett magazine

Links:

Collector Nation

Website: https://thecollectornation.com

Download the App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/collector-nation/id6795562084

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectornation_

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecollectornation

Beckett Grading

Website: https://www.beckett.com

MBA (Mike Baker Authenticated)

Website: https://grading.mba/

Collector Station

Website: https://thecollectorstation.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectorstation

Ryan Alford

Website: https://www.ryanalford.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford

⭐ Enjoying the show? Follow Collector Nation and leave a 5-star rating. It helps us grow. Download the Collector Nation app for real-time card alerts and market data, and read more at thecollectornation.com.

Topps is shipping Chrome mega boxes without cellophane to fight scalpers. Ryan Alford, Brian Ludden and Bella debate whether that protects collectors or just shifts the risk to local card shops. Download the Collector Nation app and visit thecollectornation.com for more.

The crew also breaks down three record-setting Shohei Ohtani sales, PrizePicks putting top rookie 1/1s into $2,500 repacks, LeBron’s 24 jersey-patch 1/1s and the PSA cards stolen from a FedEx truck. They close with Five Up, Five Down for NFL Week 6 and this week’s Topps Heritage Football, Holiday and Vault Disney releases.

Topics Covered:

Topps shipping Chrome mega boxes unsealed: what it means for collectors and card shops

Searched and X-rayed boxes: Ryan’s suspicious rip

Ohtani 2025 Tokyo Series game-worn jersey sells for $2M+

Ohtani 2026 Topps Chrome Ultraviolet Superfractor 1/1 sells for $329K

Ohtani 2018 Bowman Chrome PSA 9 rookie drops $26K

Cards vs. game-worn memorabilia: which holds value long term?

PrizePicks puts Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Kon Knueppel 1/1 Logomen into $2,500 repacks

Gambling sites and repacks: what it means for the hobby

Topps turns LeBron’s “24” jersey patches into 1/1 cards

PSA cards stolen from a FedEx truck, and why you should insure your shipments

Five Up, Five Down: NFL Week 6 card market movers

Topps Heritage Football: Walter Payton PSA 10 chase

Topps Holiday Baseball and Topps Vault Disney release

Donruss Football returns unlicensed

Topps vs. Panini: why brand matters without a license

🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode

Collector Nation

Website: https://thecollectornation.com

Download the App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/collector-nation/id6795562084

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectornation_

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecollectornation

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecollectornation

Collector Station

Website: https://thecollectorstation.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectorstation

Ryan Alford

Website: https://www.ryanalford.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford

Brian Ludden / Ludex

Website: https://www.ludex.com

Download Ludex: https://www.ludex.com/download

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ludexapp

⭐ Would you buy an unsealed box? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe for weekly hobby news and card market breakdowns. Download the Collector Nation app (iOS and Android) for real-time card alerts. Creators, apply at thecollectornation.com to become a verified creator and start earning.

Ryan Alford sits down with Steve “Greenie” of Greenie Sports Cards and Jeremy Levine of the Big Play Collectibles Network, two lifelong friends who went from flipping baseball cards as kids to running dozens of card shows across multiple states every year.

Jeremy, who has been part of 16 Nationals and produced five, shares how the show changed after COVID and why the hobby’s growth hasn’t slowed. Greenie explains why there’s still something at every price point for every collector, and both make the case for why face-to-face card shows and local shops will keep growing alongside live selling.

They also break down the story behind the Great Lakes Collectors Convention and Greenie Sports Cards Live, the launch of the Big Play Collectibles Network as a home for hobby shows and creators, and what it meant to open and close the Mike Berkus Stage at the National.

Topics Covered

• The state of the hobby from the show floor

• How the National has evolved since 2000

• Something for every collector at every price point

• Why in-person shows still matter

• Collecting across generations

• Building the Great Lakes Collectors Convention

• Greenie Sports Cards Live

• The Big Play Collectibles Network

• The Mike Berkus Stage at the National

• What’s ahead for Greenie shows in 2027

SPONSORS – DraftKings

Download the DraftKings Sports app and use code COLLECTORNATION. New DraftKings customers can spend five and get two hundred in total bonuses paid within 21 days – includes all markets. That's code COLLECTORNATION. In Partnership with DraftKings. The Crown Is Yours.

🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode

Collector Nation

Website: https://thecollectornation.com

App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/collector-nation/id6795562084

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectornation_

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecollectornation

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecollectornation

Greenie Sports Cards

Website: https://greeniesportscards.com

Big Play Collectibles Network

Website: https://www.bigplay.com/pages/collectibles

Collector Station

Website: https://thecollectorstation.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectorstation

Ryan Alford

Website: https://www.ryanalford.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford

⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, follow Collector Nation, leave a 5-star review, download the free Collector Nation app, and share it with another collector.

A Kobe Bryant gold /10 BGS 9.5 went from $156K in 2022 to $1.1M in 2026. Ryan Alford and Bella explain why rising Hall of Famer prices signal a healthy, more stable card market, and how that’s different from chasing rookie 1/1s. Download the Collector Nation app and visit thecollectornation.com for more.

Ryan and Bella also break down the second MJ 1998 Finals jersey to sell for $14M (this one privately), Goldin’s Babe Ruth card vs. Ty Cobb photo result, and where things stand with grading and the PSA backlog. They close with Five Up, Five Down for NFL Week 5 and the latest Topps price hikes on Flagship Basketball and Cosmic Chrome.

Topics Covered:

Kobe Bryant gold /10 BGS 9.5: $156K (2022) → $1.1M (2026)

Why rising Hall of Famer prices mean market stability, not gambling

Second MJ 1998 Finals jersey sells privately for $14M

Private sales vs. open auctions: why “the last comp lies”

Goldin Fall Vintage Elite: Babe Ruth card vs. Ty Cobb Type 1 photo

Grading: the PSA backlog, the value tier, and cost per card

Five Up, Five Down: NFL Week 5 card market movers

Fernando Mendoza’s debut patch going into a Topps 1/1

Topps Update Series markups over MSRP

2026 Topps Flagship Basketball (169.99)andCosmicChrome(489) price hikes

Halloween special preview

SPONSORS

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🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode

Collector Nation
Website: https://thecollectornation.com
Download the App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/collector-nation/id6795562084
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectornation_
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecollectornation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecollectornation

Collector Station
Website: https://thecollectorstation.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectorstation

Ryan Alford
Website: https://www.ryanalford.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford

⭐ Would you have held that Kobe card from 2022 to now? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe for weekly hobby news and market breakdowns. Download the Collector Nation app (iOS and Android) for real-time card alerts, and if you’re a verified creator, you can start earning.

#sportscards #thehobby #collectornation

Ryan Alford sits down with Canadian artist Murray Henderson and Collector Creative founder Zach Nigut to explore one of the most overlooked corners of the hobby: real, hand-made sports art. Murray shares how an accidental paint spill turned a photorealism painter into the creator of "exact abstract," and what it means to be named the 2026 Sport Artist of the Year, with his work going on display in a museum for a full year.

Zach explains how he and Murray met at the 2024 National and built a partnership turning Murray's large original paintings into small-run collectible art cards, each a 1-of-1 variation with its own holographic verification number. The two discuss why real art carries more meaning than AI-generated designs, the hidden details layered into every piece, and how they decide which players and pop-culture moments to bring to life.

Ryan also recounts the emotional Ted Williams painting reveal at the National, makes the case for Topps working with real artists again, and announces an exclusive Murray Henderson original and art card series coming to Collector Station.

Topics Covered

Murray Henderson's 2026 Sport Artist of the Year honor

From photorealism to "exact abstract"

Why great art has to be seen in person

The Collector Creative partnership

Turning paintings into collectible art cards

Real art vs. AI

Verification and premium packaging

The Ted Williams surprise

Artists and the future of card design

Exclusive art coming to Collector Station

🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode

Collector Nation
Website: https://thecollectornation.com
App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/collector-nation/id6795562084
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectornation_
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecollectornation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecollectornation

Murray Henderson
Website: https://www.murrayhendersonart.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murray_henderson

Zach Nigut / Collector Creative
Website: https://www.collectorcreative.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collector_creative

Collector Station
Website: https://thecollectorstation.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectorstation

Ryan Alford
Website: https://www.ryanalford.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford

⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, follow Collector Nation, leave a 5-star review, download the free Collector Nation app, and share it with another collector.