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Latest Episodes:

Card Ladder Confidential #18: Why Patience Wins in a Market That Won't Slow Down Mar 31, 2026

Show notes

The market is running. Prices are climbing. Headlines are everywhere.

And yet… the smartest collectors aren’t chasing.

In this episode of Card Ladder Confidential, I sit down with Card Ladder team members Chris McGill and Josh Johnson to break down what’s really happening right now.

We start with the data.
February recorded $481M in online card sales. An all-time high.

But numbers don’t tell the full story.

We get into:

Why rising prices without clear reasoning should make you pause
How new collectors are entering fast and burning out faster
Why patience is the edge no one talks about
What experienced collectors are doing instead of chasing
How to think about “zagging” when everyone else is piling in
The strategy behind buying non-rookies, obscure 1/1s, and overlooked sets

This isn’t a hype conversation.

It’s a reality check.

If you’re feeling the pressure to keep up, this episode will help you slow down and make better decisions.

Check out Card Ladder the official data partner of Stacking Slabs

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Passion to Profession: How Black Gold Sports Cards Doubled Their Team in a Year Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of Passion to Profession, Brett sits down with Bryan Thiessenhusen, CEO of Black Gold
Sports Cards.

Bryan didn’t start with an advantage. He started with tubs of cards, a full-time accounting job, and a willingness to take risk.

What followed was a fast build.

He turned grading prep into revenue.
Turned live streaming into scale.
Turned a side hustle into a 30+ person operation.

In this conversation, Bryan breaks down:

How he used his accounting background to build systems and track every dollar
Why being early and doing what others avoid created momentum
The role of content in driving growth and attention
What most people get wrong about risk, work ethic, and scaling in the hobby
How culture and trust became the foundation of Black Gold

This is a conversation about building something real.

If you’re collecting, operating, or thinking about turning your passion into a business, this one will make you think.

A special thank you to eBay for sponsoring Passion to Profession. The biggest and best marketplace to buy your next favorite trading card.

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The WNBA Card Podcast: Everything Feels Different Now — The Caitlin Clark Effect with John Broggi (@johnbroggi) Mar 29, 2026

Show notes

Check out Card Ladder the official data partner of The WNBA Card Podcast

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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

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Booked to Last #12: WWE Chrome Debut Patch Chase Is Here + The Shop Owner Perspective with Jamison of Port City Sports Collectibles Mar 28, 2026

Show notes

With Ryan out this week, Adam Gellman is joined by Jamison Long of Port City Sports Collectibles to talk wrestling cards from a different angle.

Jamison has built one of the fastest growing card shops in the country. He also collects at a high level. That combination creates a different lens on the hobby.

They cover:

• What changes when you go from collector to shop owner
• Why most collectors misunderstand wax pricing
• The importance of community inside a card shop
• WWE Chrome debut patches and why they matter
• Big recent sales and what they signal about the market

The conversation also hits WWE storylines, prospecting, and how new stars like Oba Femi are impacting collector behavior.

This episode is a reminder that the hobby is not only about big cards. It is about how you show up, what you chase, and how long you can stay in it.

Check out RbiCru7 for all your wrestling and sports card needs!

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The Football Card Podcast #40: The Briggs Bandit, $31K Gronk, and Why You’ll Always Miss Cards Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

Pack and Brett open Episode 40 with a real-time hobby mystery.

A stolen 2025 Prizm Gold Lance Briggs resurfaces across state lines. The hunt is on. Questions start stacking. How many cards disappear before they ever hit public data?

From there, the conversation shifts to what collectors are feeling right now.

The pressure.
The speed.
The constant sense of missing out.

They break down why the hobby feels like a sprint even when everyone says it’s a marathon.

The episode also covers:

• The gap between data and decision-making
• Why social media is distorting collector behavior
• When to sell and how to think about consolidation
• Big recent sales including a $31K Gronk Prizm Gold and a $90K Brady

They close with a reminder most collectors need to hear:

You don’t need every card.
You need the right ones.

Check out Card Ladder the official data partner of Stacking Slabs

Follow The Football Card Podcast on Instagram for memes and stuff.

Get your free copy of Collecting For Keeps: Finding Meaning In A Hobby Built On Hype

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What 12 Hobby Operators Know That Collectors Can Miss Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

Collectors think in comps.

Operators think in systems.

That gap is where mistakes happen.

In this episode, I break down what I learned from 12 hobby operators and how it applies to your decisions as a collector.

We cover:

• Why trust is the product
• Why reacting leads to regret
• How operators actually view comps
• The role of systems and communication

The hobby is growing.

But the rules are not evenly distributed.

If you understand how operators think, you put yourself in a better position to win and avoid mistakes.

Ask yourself one question.

Do the people you buy from reduce uncertainty or create it?

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Discovery Is the Edge Most Collectors Ignore Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

When was the last time you found a card before the hobby told you it mattered?

Not after the sale.
Not after the post.
Not after everyone started chasing it.

Before.

This episode is about discovery and why it is one of the most powerful advantages you can build as a collector.

We are living in a headline-driven hobby.
Attention dictates demand.
Most collectors are choosing from the same small list of cards.

That creates competition.
It creates pressure.
It turns collecting into reaction.

Discovery changes that.

In this episode, I break down:

Why discovery gives you control over your collecting decisions
The psychology behind why discovery feels so rewarding
How attention drives prices and compresses opportunity
The exact system I use to identify cards before the crowd
A real example of how discovery led to one of my favorite recent pickups

This is not about being early.
This is not about guessing.

This is about building a process that helps you collect with intention.

If you want your collection to feel like yours, this one matters.

Check out the awesome software that InfernoRed Technology can build for you.

Get your free copy of Collecting For Keeps: Finding Meaning In A Hobby Built On Hype

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The Staging Area #21: WBC Hype, Opening Day, and The WhatNot of It All Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

Opening Day is here.

Energy is high. Attention is shifting. And the hobby is reacting in real time.

Tory and I dig into what just happened with the World Baseball Classic and what it actually means for you as a collector. Not the surface-level hype. The real takeaway.

We talk about:

Why moments like WBC create short windows of opportunity
What happens when demand spikes and how to act on it
A Kobe Atomic sale that says more about the market than you think
Why Topps Dynasty prices aren’t as crazy as they look
The psychology behind live selling, breaking, and chasing

Then we go deeper.

We address the Whatnot situation head on. Gambling. Responsibility. And where the line actually is.

This is a conversation about awareness.

About knowing your tendencies.

About deciding what kind of collector you want to be before the moment hits.

Because the moment always comes.

The question is what you do when it does.

A special thank you to dcsports87 for supporting this series. Check out dcsports87 for your eBay consignment needs and visit the dcsports87 eBay store to find great cards ending every night.

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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Passion to Profession: Husband and Wife. One Business. Fifteen Hires in a Year with Michael and Mikaela from Rated Rips Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you walk away from stability to bet on cards?

Michael and Mikaela did it.

Both were CPAs. Both were on a clear path. Then COVID hit. Breaking started. Demand showed up fast. And within months, everything changed.

They built Rated Rips from late-night breaks into a full-scale consignment business.

They hired 15 people in a year.

They shifted from taking money out of the hobby to putting money back into collectors’ hands.

In this conversation, we get into what it really looks like to build a business in the hobby.

The risk.
The trust.
The systems.
The people.

We also talk about:

– Leaving a stable career to bet on yourself
– Why most collectors run businesses like hobbies
– How process and data drive their decisions
– The shift from breaking to consignment
– Hiring, delegation, and buying back your time
– Building trust with collectors at scale

If you’ve ever thought about turning your passion into something more, this one will hit.

Brought to you by eBay.

A special thank you to eBay for sponsoring Passion to Profession. The biggest and best marketplace to buy your next favorite trading card.

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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The WNBA Card Podcast: Panini and Sabrina — The Rise of New Forces with Kyle (@kyle_collects) Mar 22, 2026

Show notes

This episode is about a moment that changed everything.

Katelyn sits down with Kyle (@kyle_collects) to break down the shift from 2019 Donruss to 2020 Prizm and why that stretch still shapes how collectors approach WNBA cards today.

They talk through what it felt like to discover WNBA cards before the spotlight. Ripping boxes no one wanted. Finding cards that never made it to showcases. Learning the players one card at a time.

Then everything changed.

Prizm arrived. Sabrina entered the hobby. The world shut down. People started paying attention.

This conversation connects the dots between timing, access, and belief. It explains why certain cards feel different. Why some sets get locked away. Why this era still matters.

If you collect WNBA cards or are thinking about it, this episode will help you understand where the foundation was built and how to approach it today.

Check out Card Ladder the official data partner of The WNBA Card Podcast

Follow the WNBA Card Podcast on Instagram

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

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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