Sports Cards Nonsense

Michael Rubin joins Sports Cards Nonsense for an extensive conversation about Fanatics Collectibles, Topps, the future of sports cards, rising card prices, breakers, hobby shops, global expansion, and the changing collector experience.

Recorded at The National, this interview examines Fanatics’ claim that it may have multiplied the size of the hobby, the company’s plans to grow collecting internationally, the success of its London store, and how athletes such as Lewis Hamilton, Tom Brady and LeBron James are helping introduce sports fans to trading cards.

The conversation also covers Fanatics Fest, Topps’ direct hobby-shop accounts, entry-level versus premium-product pricing, sports-card supply and demand, celebrity collectors, non-sports cards, FIFA and the global future of the hobby.

Topics:

Fanatics Fest versus The National
Fanatics’ growth in sports cards
Global expansion and the London store
Lewis Hamilton and celebrity collectors
How Fanatics measures success
Fanatics’ celebrity-authenticity rule
Is the sports-card boom sustainable?
Breakers versus hobby shops
Card-shop pricing and allocations
Why sports-card prices rise
Topps direct accounts and distribution
Is Fanatics making too much product?
What Fanatics still needs to fix

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Jesse and Gio kick off their Day 2 recap with voices that are almost gone after the MojoBreak x SCN party the night before, doing karaoke. Plus, Gio is joined by Doug Plagens of Nonsense on Ice on the SCN Media Network for a sit-down interview with Upper Deck President Jason Masherah to discuss Upper Deck's deal with Michael Jordan, the incredible run of rookies in the NHL, the Debut Patch project, and more.

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Gio is joined by Dalen from Junk Wax Vintage and Doug from MojoBreak as we look back at the first day of The National. Gio opens with some initial thoughts from the first day, including the incredible lines to get in. Plus, we touch on the PSA news from The National and more!

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Training Camps are starting across the NFL, and we welcome Joe Bartel from RotoWire to the show to look at the 2026 NFL Draft class as the season is on the verge of starting. Plus, an update on the eBay report from last week and looking ahead to The National.

0:00 - Update on eBay Patch Scammers, including trying to call one of the bad actors 12:00 - Gio responds to Darren Rovell's hot take 17:55 - How Fantasy Football can translate to cards with Joe Bartel 23:20 - How Fantasy Football differs from the card market34:37 - Looking ahead to the 2026 NFL rookie class for fantasy and cards

55:00 - Looking ahead to The National
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Getting right into it with a big update on the eBay patch-switching scandal. Plus, with the release of 2026 Topps Chrome Baseball, the big hits are starting to come out. Looking at a local shop near Gio and Jesse that pulled one of the product hits.

0:00 - Intro

2:00 - Gio’s update on the eBay patch-switching scandal

16:00 - Multiple big Ohtani’s have been hit from Chrome so far, including a local Tennessee shop hitting the Ohtani/Judge Dual Logoman auto

24:15 - Jesse is joining Logan Paul and Gary Vee

35:00 - PSA Grading University Boot Camp

38:00 - Interview with The National

46:25 - Mailbag

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