The Hobby Handbook

Trent and Alex are back from Nashville. They recap their trip to The Nashional and why Halloween weekend is not the weekend for a card show. What did the guys pickup at the show? Plus, we get into another failed product drop from Topps and why Alex has a solution to get product into people's hands at cost, more efficiently. We wrap up with what has to be the worst hobby-related ad ever created and why you absolutely should not use this repack company after releasing this ad. 0:00 - The Nashional recap - Halloween weekend was the wrong weekend for a card show. 3:55 - A lot of issues are outside of a promoter's hands, but the temperature of the show is one thing you should be able to 8:10 - Alex spent a lot of money at The Nashional, but not sure how he feels about how he did at the show.  13:55 - SCN Challenge Update - Alex is lapping the field 17:45 - Lessons we can use in the SCN Challenge and take to the card market 23:00 - PC pickups at the show, including Alex selling Trent a rare Barry Bonds 30:50 - Cosmic Baseball releases today; will Trent be breaking it? 32:20 - Topps has to do something to help people get products.  37:10 - Topps should send more cases to card shops and sell at MSRP.  38:50 - Topps should seriously consider stopping selling direct to consumers and selling through card shops and change the way allocation works 45:45 - A new repack company has possibly the worst advertising strategy of all time 48:10 - It’s a new low that a company is joking that Jeffrey Epstein is ripping their repacks.  54:00 - Delays with Fanatics Collect shipping - they are up to 18 business days to ship cards 1:03:00 - Repacks are here to stay, and the liquidity they provide is incredible on the singles side Follow Sports Cards Nonsense: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sportscardsnonsense Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sports_cards_nonsense/ Twitter: https://x.com/SCN_Pod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportscardsnonsense Newsletter: https://collectibleslife.beehiiv.com/subscribe SCN Challenge: https://scnchallenge.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/SportsCardsNonsense?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=5764ed98-4893-4eae-bf91-0bd89949ed99 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Trent open The Hobby Handbook and discuss the SCN Challenge's continued dominance by the podcast's members. Is Alex's lead insurmountable, or will Trent and Brendan claw their way back to the top of the leaderboard? Is the hobby slowing down? It certainly feels that way for both Alex and Trent. Plus, getting ready for a big card show with tips to help you before you go to your next show. 0:00 - Hobby Handbook is leading the SCN Challenge for another week 3:00 - The WNBA Finals are at an absurd time 8:00 - Alex’s lead in the SCN Challenge looks insurmountable 16:00 - Surprising results through Week 7 in the SCN Challenge 19:00 - The Nash-ional has a new idea breaking down the table selection ahead of time 27:05 - Are things slowing down in the hobby? 36:20 - Auction advice: Do not have auctions that end in the middle of the day 49:30 - If you are at a show and selling, you should be prepared to buy 51:55 - Speaking of buying, the PSA 10 Mantle sale is crazy, if true.  52:30 - The easiest thing to do at card shows is to pay with cash.  1:00:00 - Pristine Auction Game Follow Sports Cards Nonsense: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sportscardsnonsense Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sports_cards_nonsense/ Twitter: https://x.com/SCN_Pod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportscardsnonsense Newsletter: https://collectibleslife.beehiiv.com/subscribe SCN Challenge: https://scnchallenge.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/SportsCardsNonsense?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=5764ed98-4893-4eae-bf91-0bd89949ed99 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Trent are back with Alex still on top of the SCN Challenge. There's an update on Trent's trade that brought him a Ken Griffey Jr. 1/1 Printing Plate Auto, and it isn't good. What side of the Topps replacement would you prefer? We wrap up with the seven-figure heist from a FedEx truck full of PSA slabs. How can you protect yourself and what you should be on the lookout for when at card shows. 0:00 - SCN Challenge Update + Alex is still on top, but Trent is slipping 7:45 - Breaking down Alex’s moves and whether Trent should make any moves 12:50 - Alex got one of his Jackie Robinson cards back from Arena Club, and it’s tripled since he pulled it. 17:40 - It is so much easier to make money when you have money, and how being prepared going into a card show can help 21:15 - Trent’s trade for the Ken Griffey Jr. Printing Plate Auto 1/1 is going to turn out to be a bad buy 28:05 - Replacing damaged cards can work out, and sometimes it doesn’t - would you rather have a Barry Bonds All-Kings or Bonds On-Card Auto /10 & Ohtani 50/50 Gold /50 40:00 - PSA/FedEx Theft Story and the latest details  42:25 - Be very, very careful buying cards at a card show right now after this theft. If it is too good to be true, it is.  48:30 - People in the hobby can’t do branded boxes/bags/mailers because you need to be inconspicuous when shipping.  52:25 - Alex would rather have a true blue /150 than a Bowman Logofractor /35 55:25 - What is Alex’s plan if there is a strike in baseball? 1:02:55 - There are so many grading companies popping up, but if there is a big card, there is no reason to send it to someone who doesn’t have a corporate booth at the national.  1:08:10 - Grading is dead for now to Alex and Trent.  1:14:40 - Trent has started buying some Pokémon cards. Follow Sports Cards Nonsense: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sportscardsnonsense Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/sports_cards_nonsense/ Twitter: https://x.com/SCN_Pod Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportscardsnonsense Newsletter: https://collectibleslife.beehiiv.com/subscribe SCN Challenge: https://scnchallenge.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/SportsCardsNonsense?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=5764ed98-4893-4eae-bf91-0bd89949ed99 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We open up the Hobby Handbook this week with an update on the SCN Challenge, as we have a new leader: Alex! Trent remains in second, and Brendan will eventually be third. Alex and Trent both had big weekends at shows. Discussing why the market doesn't always respond rationally to new products. Looking at why rarity doesn't equal value in cards. Plus, the guys wrap up with their World Series predictions. 0:00 - SCN Challenge Update + Alex takes the top spot 9:20 - Trent’s big trade at a show this weekend for a big Ken Griffey Jr. auto 15:00 - Alex also went to a show and bought a box full of Ken Griffey Jr. singles 28:15 - Building relationships with people helps facilitate deals 34:30 - The market doesn’t always react rationally  36:55 - The most important thing a new collector can do is to watch people open boxes and get a good sense of what is cool or desirable. 42:00 - Is it a junk wax era? Not so much, but we could call it a junk parallel era.  56:55 - Rare doesn’t equal valuable, but cool cards always carry a premium 1:05:55 - World Series predictions Follow Sports Cards Nonsense: https://www.tiktok.com/@sportscardsnonsense https://www.instagram.com/sports_cards_nonsense/ https://x.com/SCN_Pod https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportscardsnonsense https://collectibleslife.beehiiv.com/subscribe https://scnchallenge.com/ https://linktr.ee/SportsCardsNonsense?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=5764ed98-4893-4eae-bf91-0bd89949ed99 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Caden Favors is in the Guardians system and also a big card collector. He joins Alex and Trent to discuss his baseball journey and his card-collecting journey. Then we get into how Topps Cosmic Baseball isn't an EQL Drop, making it hard for collectors to get their hands on it. Both Trent and Alex completely whiffed on the drop. So what can be done to improve this process? Alex and Trent try to dive into solutions. 0:00- Intro  3:30 - Caden Favors Intro 7:30 - The step up from AA to MLB 10:30 - No 1st Bowman - what’s the process for getting one? 14:10 - Caden is still chasing his first 1/1 15:20 - Who is Caden collecting? Ralphy Velasquez and Braylon Doughty. 21:45 - Lightning Round Questions 24:15 - Is Grading Dead? It seems like collectors are looking for cool cards again than worrying about the grade. 36:45 - Cosmic Baseball instantly doubled on eBay after release and wasn’t an EQL release. 41:05 - Crazy that Cosmic Baseball wasn’t an EQL 46:40 - The market sets the price, and the market is willing to buy Cosmic Baseball at $900 a box. Topps is below market; they just need to do a better job getting boxes into collectors' hands. 49:15 - SCN Challenge Update: Trent is lapping the field 58:00 - Alex is dealing with the issues of not having someone helping with shipping Follow Sports Cards Nonsense: https://www.tiktok.com/@sportscardsnonsense https://www.instagram.com/sports_cards_nonsense/ https://x.com/SCN_Pod https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportscardsnonsense https://collectibleslife.beehiiv.com/subscribe https://scnchallenge.com/ https://linktr.ee/SportsCardsNonsense?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=5764ed98-4893-4eae-bf91-0bd89949ed99 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices