Ray from Philly, Mike Steveline, and Victor Roman asked me to guest on their YouTube show, discussing this year's ballot of 40 excellent and iconic cards for consideration - we discuss the cards and my choices - thanks guys!
Grant has watched his conception grow and evolve into an extremely interesting and complicated product that has wide and eclectic interest - thanks Grant!
Shwe is investigating the curious and tragic case of collector/investor Dennis Walker - his mysterious death and the whereabouts of the rest of his world-class collection after all these years (more than 30 years ago). Thanks Shwe!
Frank (and his surviving wife Vivian) founded and ran Baseball Hobby News, a very influential publication, which Rich and I, and many others, greatly enjoyed.
I describe my auction winnings, namely a group of seven not-so-new football hobby boxes - I am a card collector, not a box collector - so I opened all the boxes!
The last four weeks of individual daily episodes summarized along with further commentary (in case something was missed ... by me).
Shwe is a journalism student and podcaster on assignment and we had a discussion about the exciting chase (that has always been) central to the sports card hobby.
Thanks to my co-hosts (John Newman and John Keating) and the live call-ins, another robust Saturday morning hobby discussion -listen to the whole hour either live next week or on your favorite podcast app - thanks!
Skepi (not his real name) has sent me many insightful questions about sports cards and this hobby - this episode is about the pros and cons of re-packs, for your consideration.
Ryan and I traded sports card hobby questions and answers - I think I represent the past and Ryan represents the future - but Ryan is a vintage guy at a young age and you gotta love that!
John is the co-founder of the mobile (free) card identification app, Center Stage, which is surprisingly fast, due to their clever approach - thanks John!
Another eight different listener questions worth addressing - from eight different thoughtful listeners - send me your sports card questions about the past, present, or future - thanks!
Most of Ryan's show involved my "show and tell" of a few interesting cards - this is a brief segment more suited to our audio format as our conversation was wide-ranging. Thanks Ryan!
Rich and I talk about the re-birth of Fleer baseball (current player) cards back in 1981 (not a terrible start all things considered) and how Fleer handled the junk wax era before its eventual demise almost 25 years later.
I met Grayson at the MINT Collective and heard about all the good things happening for the sports card hobby in Australia and his interesting business journey - thanks Grayson
What is the best way to optimize or maximize the sale of a 30-card set that lists for $5? Rich and I compare strategies and expectations and downsides ... as it depends.
Questions keep coming in - send yours to doctorjamesbeckett@gmail.com - now trying to answer or comment on eight recent questions or comments in my 15-minute episodes - thanks!
Brutally Honest Kirt challenged my assertion (or presumption) that sports card collecting is the greatest hobby in the world - how's that for hyperbole!
A couple of topics we thoughtfully considered - both of which can have a huge impact on the high-end sports card hobby/industry - thanks Skepi!
I threw out some ideas about kids and then we ran with it for a while - we both agree that more kids in the sports card hobby is better - kid's crate is a great start, but there could (will?) be more!
Torsten regularly sends me his thoughts, and he has been my guest several times via Zoom from Germany - these are his latest sports card questions and comments relating to past episodes. Thanks Torsten!
Brad Bethune TXCardDude and Chris Harris StaleGum were my co-hosts for last month's live call-in Hobby Hotline show - the conversation about Team USA cards and their relative respect was worth sharing.
Kirt had a list of specific constructive criticisms, which I did my best to address both from a current and historical perspective. He's an excellent example of a sharp IT guy who loves the sports card hobby and has found his niche - thanks Kirt!
Skepi and I discuss Card Ladder with a special focus on the future, of what it is now and what it could become. The fact that it started out basketball-centric may be a distant memory in five years - we'll see! Thanks all!