Stacking Slabs

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 why it will matter even more over the next decade.
Topics include:
• Why today's market feels different than 2021
• The significance of Tim Duncan's record one of one sale
• Why social proof holds collectors back
• Building conviction before the market agrees with you
• The underrated skill that creates long term collecting advantages

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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 adding value long after the mail day.
We talk about:
• Why the chase and ownership are two different experiences
• How to keep a grail from becoming another card in the case
• Why stories matter more than scans
• How community deepens ownership
• Why your grail should reorganize your collection instead of ending it
• Questions every collector should ask after landing a major card
If you've ever chased a grail or you're preparing for one, this episode is for you.
Happy collecting.

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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 think about building your collection.
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Get your free copy of Collecting For Keeps: Finding Meaning In A Hobby Built On Hype
Get exclusive content, promote your cards, and connect with other collectors who listen to the pod today by joining the Patreon: Join Stacking Slabs Podcast Patreon
[Distributed on Sunday] Sign up for the Stacking Slabs Weekly Rip Newsletter using this link
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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 great breakers look more like sales professionals than entertainers, and why the future of the hobby depends on keeping collecting at the center of it all.
If you've ever wondered where the hobby is heading as more capital and experienced operators enter the space, this conversation will give you a different perspective.

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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, Rare Candy, and Dave & Adam's are hiring for and what those roles tell us about where the hobby is heading.
If you own a business, want to work in the hobby, or want to understand where the industry is going next, this episode is for you.

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Get exclusive content, promote your cards, and connect with other collectors who listen to the pod today by joining the Patreon: Join Stacking Slabs Podcast Patreon
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