The Sports Card Show

Back in August 2013 on Show #136 I suggest how companies need to start selling direct to the consumer more. Recently Topps announced it was pulling the pre-orders for 2016 Topps Finest Baseball and I believe this is only the beginning. ToppsNOW and other aspects of Topps distribution will be directly to the consumer. I discuss the NFL draft. We discuss some of the listings/cards you can buy & resell. 

On today's show I explain the Panini Group Buyout rumors that are swirling in Italy. Don't be fooled, this will effect the American business - and many feel it already has. The deal hinges on the company getting a bank to extend them a whopping $170 million line of credit. A listener e-mailed in with tax questions. There's a really good thread about it here. Finally I run down the QB/WR/RB's I like and don't like leading up to the NFL draft.

On today's show we touch on the Mastro Auctions shill bidding case & how you should avoid these scam houses for the time being. Panini raised prices to dealers 1.5%. What are some vintage players worth buying not named Mantle, Ruth or Mays? What is a true Rookie Card? Or more specifically - what rookie cards would I collect if I was looking to buy my favorite baseball player/prospect. Finally we touch a bit on the 2016 Industry Summit which this year is being held in beautiful Hawaii.

On today's 1hr+ show we go through a wide range of topics. First I give you an update on my COMC portfolio that I started with $100 dollars about 6 months ago. I discuss the SRP pricing on COMC thanks to a listener question. Other listener question topics include: Where to get investing ideas and buying selling vintage cards. Touch briefly on the auction house shill bidding scandal, more on that to come in a future show. 

Upper Deck looked like the garage sale was in full effect with a $15,000 set that is mostly manufactured patches. However, they bounced back - in what might be the 21st century style garage sale with a web application that allows you to open packs of card digitally - and then redeem certain ones physically via COMC. The funny thing was, I've discussed similar ideas with Tim from COMC as far back as 2013 ... so it was cool actually seeing one of his concepts actually come to light. 

2015 Donruss Signatures football is another terrible Panini football product. It's going to be a brutal year from a re-sellers standpoint this season, I can imagine many people are going to be forced out of business - or simply will just move on to more profitable ventures,

The sun is shining here in California, but apparently most of the east coast is covered in snow so we've got a small show here for everyone that needs some entertainment for the day. Arizona Diamondback pitcher & baseball card collector Brad Ziegler was accused of shill bidding auctions on ebay. A California lawmaker wants to essentially add an extra layer of cost to legitimate autograph dealers ... a move that only hurts the guys doing it right. Upper Deck released a $15,000 set where one of the main hits is a sport bike that was used by Michael Jordan Motorsports ... and not actually by the man himself. Upper Deck tried selling the 2008 bike back in 2012 without any success. Sure feels like a garage sale going on at Upper Deck.

After trading in my DFS twitter timeline for my @SportsCardRadio timeline, I still saw some chatter about how group breaking is going to take the hobby to new heights. Something I've been hearing for several years now. I decided to take a look at the websites of well known, and lesser know breakers I could find the other day - and saw an industry that is far from thriving. In fact, I believe the health of group breaking  as a business model might not be as healthy as much maligned LCS (local card shops). There was also a lack of testimonials, pictures of the breakers themselves, and the websites of most breakers show a business model that is not spitting off much free cash for re-investment into the business. On today's show, I give some suggestions and a state of the industry, which isn't moving nearly as fast & many believe it is.

It's 2016 and we are back! Find out what I've been doing for the last 4 months. We talk about some COMC buying strategies and players I've flipped. I discuss some of the NBA rookies/young players that could be emerging. We discuss why releases are always bunched up at the end of the year - and the middle. That and more.

On today's show I answer 2 different listener requests. The first one is about if sports trading cards is heading towards another collapse based on the overproduction that is still occurring. Second, I give some more detailed tips on COMC and some strategies I've been using.

We have an epic FIVE HOUR PODCAST today. We cover all kinds of topics with the "Jerry Rice of this business" @SportsCardNews live from the 2015 National Sports Collectors Convention. Find out if you're "too dumb to know you're dumb" and get some insight from the #1 documented sports card source in the business!!