Passion to Profession: Selling Cards Without Pressuring Collectors with Collins Boyce

Collins Boyce shares his entrepreneurial journey in the sports card industry, starting with a childhood connection to cards through his uncle's Mike Trout collection. He initially began trading cards seriously during COVID and launched Blitz Sports Memorabilia as a solo operation before partnering with close friend Angel to form Curated Cards and Collectibles in December 2023. The conversation reveals how his background in baseball—where he developed a strong work ethic through grinding and discipline rather than natural talent—directly translated to his card business approach.

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on eBay Live selling, where Collins discovered that live platform collectors differ fundamentally from traditional show and online buyers. eBay Live audiences comprise primarily end-user collectors seeking cards they genuinely love rather than resellers looking for arbitrage opportunities. This insight led Curated to adopt a low-pressure, entertainment-focused streaming approach without yelling, screaming, or aggressive upselling tactics—deliberately differentiating from mainstream live sellers.

Collins details the operational complexity of managing a multi-channel business. Curated operates through eBay Live, eBay Core, physical retail, card shows, and collection buying. When a collection is purchased, cards are strategically allocated: premium cards ($2,500+) to eBay Core for organic discovery; niche or local interest cards to the physical store; everything else distributed between eBay Live and consignment partners. The business moved from relying heavily on large collections at 65-75% of value to a more balanced model where eBay Live fees and retail sales provide better margins.

The retail store, opened in November 2024 after a "screw it, why not" decision, operates at a loss as a standalone but generates significant profits when inventory purchased there is sold through other channels. This model reflects Collins's broader philosophy: not every transaction or product line needs to be profitable individually; profitability is assessed at the portfolio level.

Collins emphasizes the importance of systems and infrastructure, noting that almost no resources exist for building scalable operations in the card industry. His operations team uses SKU systems, shipping infrastructure, and inventory tracking across three distinct channels. The business recently moved to a larger office to accommodate scaling from approximately 3,500-4,500 items per week on eBay Live, with plans for simultaneous multi-stream capability.

A key business philosophy emerges around pricing and market assessment. Collins identifies undervalued cards—those where auction comps don't reflect actual market value—as ideal purchases. He provides specific examples like Griffey PSA 10s and soccer cards that consistently outperform last-sale comps. He argues that buy-it-now and best-offer sales often represent truer market value than auction comps, since auctions have limited visibility windows.

The conversation also addresses loss management and portfolio thinking. Collins describes scenarios where holding volatile modern cards risks larger losses than cutting losses early, and he consigns underperforming inventory to distribution centers despite losing money on individual cards because the overall collection deal remains profitable. He critiques greedy holdouts where buyers refuse losses of a few hundred dollars and end up losing thousands when cards continue declining.

On scaling and future vision, Collins aims to consolidate all operations—live selling, retail, collection buying, and office space—under one roof within two to five years, recognizing that current split locations create operational friction. His growth strategy prioritizes organization and relationship-building over rapid expansion.

Final advice emphasizes patience, relationship-building, willingness to absorb losses as learning experiences, and understanding that profitability takes years to develop in the card business. Collins stresses that the only way to truly learn what works and what doesn't is through direct financial losses from poor buying decisions.