The ONE Rule to Collecting Football Cards
A sports card podcast episode featuring discussion of NFL injuries and market volatility, an interview with Steve Sloan (CEO of Haystack, a card recognition technology company), and numerous voicemail segments. The hosts emphasize unpredictability in football card markets and highlight Haystack's technology for cataloging and recognizing cards across platforms.
Summary
The episode opens with sponsors (eBay Live and The Home Depot) before diving into discussion of Week 2 NFL games and injuries. The hosts stress that the football card market is highly volatile and unpredictable week-to-week, citing injuries to Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels, and other players as examples. They argue that selling when possible is often smarter than holding, contrary to emotional attachment to players. The discussion touches on specific players like Tyler Shug, Derek Henry, and Marcus Mariota, with commentary on how their performance affects card values. The hosts introduce the "one rule" of collecting: sell when you can, unless you're building a personal collection (PC). They compare football's unpredictability to baseball and basketball, noting football sees more significant injuries and unexpected outcomes. Steve Sloan, CEO of Haystack, joins for an extended interview discussing his background in the hobby (starting in 1986, professionally since 2005 at Upper Deck, then PSA/Collectors). He explains how PSA overtook Beckett as the dominant grading company through content-focused marketing and transparent pricing. Sloan discusses Haystack's mission to solve card recognition problems through AI technology, allowing collectors and businesses to catalog cards efficiently across platforms like eBay and Shopify. He announces StoreConnect, a beta product launching October 1st, which enables hobby shop customers to scan cards and receive offers. Sloan highlights the global expansion of the hobby and predicts continued growth despite potential short-term pullbacks. He expresses concern about baseball labor stoppages and critiques the "wild west" nature of What Not selling. The episode includes rapid-fire personal questions revealing Sloan is a San Jose Sharks fan and Oakland A's collector, frustrated with the Moneyball film's portrayal of the team. The voicemail segment features dozens of calls covering topics including: grading questions, product pricing concerns, collector experiences, a Rushmore-style ranking system for regular callers (Larry, Hans Gruber/Klaus, Caleb from Indianapolis, and Beefcake from Boston are frontrunners), and personal anecdotes. Notable callers include Jason from Seattle criticizing lack of follow-through on historical parallel rankings, Danny from Wilkes-Barre describing a Joe Burrow pull, and Sherman, Texas caller noting physical attributes of card shop owners. The hosts discuss watch trades, upcoming card shows, and plan for guest visits including Larry (from voicemails), Daylon from Junk Wax Vintage, and other collectors. They mention breaking a case of Topps Definitive Basketball and discuss pricing concerns in the hobby, particularly around product accessibility and celebrity allocations.
About this episode
Mike and Jesse are back after a chaotic Week 2 in the NFL. Major injuries across the league have thrown a wrench into the NFL season, the SCN Challenge, fantasy football, and more. Mike has the most important rule about football cards you can hear. Plus, we get to Steve Sloan from Heystack to discuss his time in the hobby, the prospect of collecting a team that is leaving your city, and the tech Heystack has that you need. Wrapping up with voicemails! 0:00 - Intro & why you need to sell football whenever a player has a big game. 10:00 - Breaking down Week 2 in the NFL 30:00 - Steve Sloan from Heystack joins the podcast and discusses his history in the hobby 41:15 - What is Steve Sloan collecting these days 45:30 - The biggest concern Steve has in the hobby is a prolonged MLB work stoppage 52:15 - Favorite PC pieces are Oakland A’s and Macklin Celebrini 58:10 - We need regulation in the card-breaking industry to cut down in the Wild West attitude. 1:05:10 - Voicemails presented by Trove 1:09:25 - Frozenfractor isn’t going to age well, but looking at some of the Topps case hits could hold value long-term. Kaiju 1:15:30 - What to do with a football hit out of Flagship 1:30:00 - Looking at the prices of Definitive Basketball and how breakers jacked up pricing on it 1:32:30 - Dark predictions for the hobby 1:41:00 - Can SCN scale the SCN Challenge? 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<sid=5764ed98-4893-4eae-bf91-0bd89949ed99 Voicemail Mt. Rushmore: Larry Hans Gruber Caleb Donny Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Key Insights
- The host argues that football card markets are uniquely unpredictable compared to baseball and basketball because more players suffer significant injuries week-to-week, making it impossible to predict long-term value
- Steve Sloan claims PSA overtook Beckett as the dominant grader not through superior slabs but through free, transparent content marketing and pricing information that built collector trust
- The host observes that selling cards when they're hot is strategically superior to holding based on emotional attachment, using examples of players like Jackson Dart whose prices drop after poor performances
- Sloan argues that Haystack's core value is removing the burden of keeping up with endless parallels and product releases from collectors by automatically recognizing and cataloging cards
- The hosts identify that the secondary market for high-end products like Topps Definitive is completely disconnected from retail pricing, with boxes selling for $49,000-$20,000 despite $7,500 retail
- Sloan expresses concern that the hobby lacks sufficient regulation and trust, particularly on platforms like What Not where cavalier sellers engage in scams that damage industry credibility
- The host contends that future hobby corrections are likely when enough overleveraged dealers and breakers hold inventory of consecutive product failures, similar to 2013 and 2017 slowdowns
- Sloan argues the hobby's future strength lies in manufacturer decisions to restrict supply during slowdowns rather than increasing production, which prevents market crashes
- The host demonstrates that CMC's two touchdowns in a blowout loss was still a market win because touchdowns provide immediate value regardless of game context
- Sloan reveals that StoreConnect's real innovation is helping hobby shop owners understand market values in real-time so they can make informed buying offers to customers walking in with collections
- The host observes that celebrity shop allocations are overblown as a grievance since most smaller shops weren't receiving significant allocation to begin with
- Multiple callers indicate that newer products with high parallels and inserts create confusion about which versions actually hold value, creating opportunities for informed dealers at card shows
Topics
Transcript
Before we start, a quick word from our sponsor, eBay Live. If you've never checked it out, eBay Live is eBay's live shopping experience built for collectors. It's where you find rare, exclusive, and hard-to-find items. Through live auctions and special drops, you can only get there. What makes it different is the energy in the community. Real sellers, engaging hosts like SportsCardsNonsense, and streamers that make it fun and interactive. It's all backed by eBay's protection and authenticity guarantees, so you can shop with confidence. Just download the eBay app and hit the eBay Live button under the search bar and jump in. Now back to your show. Thinking about refreshing the carpet in your home? Now's the time…
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