Collector Nation

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What Really Happens Behind the Scenes at a Card Show?! 😱 Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

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

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🔗 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.

This Kobe Card Went From $156K to $1.1M… Here’s What It Means for the Hobby Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

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

Topics Covered

Pokémon 30th Celebration and collector crossover
Cooper Flagg 1/1 auction update
Jackson Dart’s injury and card market
Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams injury concerns
How injuries impact football card prices
Five Up, Five Down in the football card market
Josh Allen, Bryce Young and Jackson Smith-Njigba on the rise
Drake Maye, Cam Ward and Bo Nix trending down
Chris Olave, Christian Watson and Dalton Kincaid under the radar
Pokémon vs. WCW pack battle + 2026 Bowman Football and Arch Manning

🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode

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

Ludex
Website: https://www.ludex.com
App: https://www.ludex.com/download
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ludexapp

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 and share it with another collector.

Whatnot Is Worth $20 BILLION… Are Sports Card Breaks Just Getting Started?! Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Joe Hollywood joins Ryan Alford for a deep dive into the rapid evolution of sports card collecting, live selling and breaking, and how a hobby that once felt niche continues to push further into the mainstream.

Joe shares how he went from selling cards out of his basement with virtually no audience to building the most-followed sports show on Whatnot. He explains why community has been the foundation of that growth, what new breakers get wrong, and why he believes live commerce could eventually extend far beyond mobile apps and become part of the way people watch and shop through traditional media.

Ryan and Joe also discuss the economics behind massive chase cards, the changing grading landscape, PSA backlogs, AI grading, a potential opportunity for Panini, growing demand for iconic names like Jordan, Kobe and Ohtani, vintage wax, missing grails and some of the biggest cards Joe has ever pulled live.

Topics Covered

Joe Hollywood’s journey into live selling
Building the #1 sports show on Whatnot
Growing to roughly 500K followers
The rise of sports card breaking
Why community drives successful live shows
The future of live commerce
Whatnot’s growth
Million-dollar sports card chases
Cooper Flagg and modern chase cards
PSA and grading backlogs
The future of AI grading
Panini’s potential opportunity in grading
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shohei Ohtani
Vintage wax and unopened product
Why rare cards can’t always be valued by last comp
High-end cards that have never surfaced
Joe’s Kobe Bryant Essential Credentials pull
Where the hobby goes next

🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode

Collector Nation
Website: https://thecollectornation.com
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

Joe Hollywood
Website: https://www.joehollywood.com
Whatnot: https://www.whatnot.com/user/joehollywood
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealjoehollywood/

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

Inside a Massive Scottie Pippen Collection + Why 90s Inserts Are Heating Up Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

Ryan Alford and Bella are back with a packed Collector Nation weekly episode covering some of the biggest stories moving through the hobby, starting with the launch of Pokémon’s 30th Celebration. Demand is already intense at Collector Station, and the conversation turns to the reported $20,000 Blue Mew sale and what the early frenzy says about the strength of Pokémon collecting.

They also break down a major shift in card grading as Beckett reopens with a $17.99 value option while PSA continues working through a 9.9 million-card backlog. Ryan and Bella discuss pricing, turnaround times, brand value and why this could be an important window for Beckett to regain ground in the grading market.

The episode also covers the early football card winners and losers, a major jump in a 1997 Metal Universe Michael Jordan, the huge Scottie Pippen insert collection that walked into Collector Station, a record-setting Mickey Mantle photograph, Ken Griffey Jr.’s massive graded population and the multimillion-dollar Cooper Flagg 1/1.

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Topics Covered