1507 - BlindBoxification, with Josh Luber, Part 3

Dr. Beckett hosts Josh Luber about his 136 page white paper on “BlindBoxification”. They debate Shohei Ohtani’s “GOAT” case in comparison to Babe Ruth, including Ruth’s influence on Japanese baseball, and discuss hobby myths and legends surrounding iconic cards like the 1952 Topps Mantle and T206 Wagner, arguing the myths are “frosting” on already great cards. The discussion covers Bruce McNall’s perceived wealth and relationship with Gretzky, PSA grade price spreads in bull vs. bear markets (especially the gap between 9 and 10), and the Pareto principle as collectors consolidate toward “best of the best” items. Beckett connects blind products to buyers overestimating odds of landing grails and explores an analogy between collecting decisions and Pascal’s Wager, including opportunity cost of staying out of the hobby and why 2021 is cited as the only year a new entrant might regret. Beckett also shares a personalized ChatGPT critique of Josh’s arguments, touching on novelty, collector intent, information asymmetry changing over time, liquidity vs. hobby health, and saturation risk, while both agree markets adapt and digital repacks may dominate. 00:48 Ohtani vs Babe Ruth 02:30 Mantle and Wagner Myths 03:45 McNall and Gretzky Scandal 04:17 Grading Spreads in Markets 06:14 Pareto and Blind Packs 07:35 Pascal Wager for Collectors 10:59 ChatGPT Critiques the Thesis