October 27, 2025 • 36 mins
@yanxchick on Twitter and IG has been active in the hobby for decades, working for various companies like Goldin, Topps, and now CGC.Meet A Content Creator
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
All right, hey everybody, it is Mike.
This is the Meet a content Creator podcast and I'm joined
by Suze, also known as Yanks chick on Twitter and Instagram,
right? Yeah, pretty much every social
media channel I try to just keepYanks chick across the board.
Yeah, that's smart. Thanks for joining me.
(00:21):
It's a it's a pleasure having you.
I've actually been doing this for 4 1/2 years and I've never
had a woman on to discuss cards.Well, I'm happy to be the first.
Yeah, it's, you know, I've, I'veasked a bunch and I think that a
lot of women see the sports cardspace as less inviting than they
(00:44):
would like. And they're, they're afraid of
the getting their faces out there and in.
And I get it. I'm on Twitter, I see the
controversies, the the, the people attacking women for
expressing their opinions. So how do you avoid that?
Because I don't see any controversies with you
whatsoever. Well, I think a lot of it has to
(01:09):
do with personality and that's not like a shot at anybody.
I just want to say that I am very much been a person who is,
I don't care what you have to say or what you think.
So people have like a problem with something.
I'm like, OK, like that's a you problem.
You need to figure that out for yourself.
So I kind of just like, you know, focus on me and like
(01:33):
curating my feet, so to speak, of what I want to see.
So, you know, it's less about like getting involved in the
drama because like, also like wemay be of a similar age.
I'm too old for drama. Like I'm a mom, you know what I
mean? I've been, I've been long out of
high school. Like I don't really have time
(01:54):
for drama. So when I generally see like
drama and that kind of stuff, honestly, I just scroll past it.
I it's not something that like fills my cup.
Yeah, I love sports cards. I love content.
I love about sports cards. So I try to find the things that
are going to like, fill my cup and make me feel, you know,
whole and satisfied. And drama's not it.
(02:17):
Yeah, yeah. I scroll by it too.
It, it interests me, I would say, but not in a way that I
want to get involved in it. And so I see all the things that
are happening and I just, I justkeep on scrolling.
I don't like any of the posts. I just that's not for me and I
move on and I think I'm too old for Drama is the perfect title
for this episode. It's.
(02:39):
Fair, let's do it. I'm too old for drama.
Yeah, so first of all, I should probably give a better
introduction to you. Why don't let why don't I let
you do it? What Who are you and what do you
do on social media and for your job since it's also card
related? Yeah, who I am, I'm still trying
(02:59):
to figure that out, even though I'm too old for drama.
So everyday I'm still trying to figure out who I am.
But I'm serious, you know, my content creation actually
started long before sort of the explosion of social media, as
you would back in 2007. I created a blog called A
Cardboard Problem, which still exists on the Internet but
(03:22):
hasn't been updated in a very, very long time.
But it was during like the sort of heyday of blogs.
And back then sports cards blogswere actually like incredibly
popular and blowing up. And my friend Marie and I had
one of the most popular sports cards blogs out there.
People liked it. And to be fair, I'll say they
liked it because it was like, oh, here are two women who are
(03:44):
collecting sports cards, not something you see everyday.
So we became pretty popular based off of that.
But it was, it was more than that, right?
It was like, here are two peoplewho are like super passionate
about cards and know about cards.
And, you know, to be honest, I never felt, and I still see this
a lot now on social media. I never felt like people were
like testing me like, like, you know, who was card number 1 And
(04:07):
like this, you know, it was likenever like anybody was trying to
test me on my card knowledge. So that was appreciated because
I do think, you know, our passion, the fact that we just
love the cards and we were in itfor the sake of collecting,
really like was able to shine through.
So I did card blogging, so to speak, for, for a very long
time. It's now almost, Oh my gosh,
(04:29):
almost 20 years later, you know,you forget that 22,000 and seven
was almost, almost 20 years ago.But you know, so I started, we
started out then, then I was, I was a sports reporter at the
time covering different sports. So I was covering baseball and
hockey and football and everything.
And with that, you know, my writing was also like, it was
(04:54):
like pretty good writing, if I may say so myself.
And I started actually then freelancing for Beckett.
So I was freelancing for severalof their magazines after about
2009, I want to say it started. And then in 2012 I became their
hockey, football and basketball editor of Back In Magazine.
(05:16):
So I was writing about that and that's actually really where a
lot of what I do on social media, mostly on Twitter really
was born from. So started sharing a lot of
content on Twitter. That's actually my week.
I have a weekly card chat on Twitter where, you know, I just
every Wednesday announce every Wednesday at 8:00 PM, you know,
(05:36):
I have 6 questions during the hour, different topics,
different topics of cards. It started during that time.
So with the card chat, weekly Twitter chat has been going on
since about 20, 2012, 2013. So that's been going on for a
while. So yeah, then I started working
at TOPS after two years of 2014.I worked at Tops.
I was there. One of the jobs I had was
(05:57):
picking the images of cards, which is always fun.
But then I was also running their social media channels for
four years. So a lot of my content creation
personally kind of took a back seat to what I was doing versus
4 Tops. And then I left and went to
other places outside the industry and then I came back,
worked for Golden, and now I'm the senior marketing manager at
(06:19):
CGC Cards. Yeah, and that's where I met
you, was at the National. You helped me get my order done
at CGC at the booth. Yeah, so that's what I do.
And then I also have a newsletter card chat, 'cause
that's what my Twitter was like,a weekly card chat.
And then I have a newsletter that I've been doing since 2020
(06:39):
on the collectibles industry andless about like how expensive
cards are and more about I've been involved for so long in the
industry and like sort of using my knowledge of what I have
about from working out all thesecompanies to sort of, you know,
give my perspective and insight into the hobby.
(06:59):
Yeah, and your newsletter's amazing and I wish you published
more of it. Me too.
I think that there's in the lasttwo years we've seen a pretty
large growth in newsletters and sports cars.
And I would say that yours is probably the best I've seen.
And, you know, you said you're apretty good writer.
I would. I think that undersells a little
(07:20):
bit your story about selecting. I don't remember.
Was it Stadium Club, theater card?
Yeah, that was great. They're all great.
But that that that one has always stuck with me.
I appreciate that. Like, and that's part of it too.
Like, like I said, I've worked in these places.
So it's funny 'cause like some of these things happen to me and
I just tell these stories to like my husband or to other
(07:41):
people and they're like, that's really cool.
Like you should tell that story,those stories to more people.
And I'm like, yeah, you know what, I I probably should, I
probably have some like an interesting stories of like, you
know, also just like how things are done right.
Like I got to spend three years picking the images for Stadium
Club. Like what an amazing honestly,
though, what an amazing job to say like the coolest product
(08:03):
with the coolest images. Like I I did that like that,
that was and that was so much fun.
And like, and the reason with the Jeter, I'm a huge Derek
Jeter collector. Like that's my PC.
And, you know, I spoke about howthe the image I picked for that
card was the last time he ran onto the field at Yankee
Stadium. And maybe some people don't
realize that just by looking, you got the card, you know, it's
(08:23):
like, oh, these are Derek Jeter running out of the dugout.
But there's a there's a story behind that picture.
And for me, you know, that was super important because like,
yeah, that's my PCI get to, I get to, I get to do that.
Like it was. It was fun.
Yeah, it's very cool. It's very cool job.
It's kind of if you're a collector, that's kind of the
dream, right? Yeah.
(08:44):
Yeah. And when I was a kid, I was.
When did Stadium Club come out in 91?
I was 12 and so it was kind of, I was approaching the end of my
time as a collector in 91, as a,you know, entering my teens.
I think I ended, I stopped collecting at some point in 94,
(09:05):
but Stadium Club was the peak. The, the, the absolute pinnacle.
I hate to say pinnacle cause Pinnacle was also cool but the
best set and then when tops brought it back?
When did Tops bring Stadium Clubback?
Oh, I wanna say 2009 is stickingout is like one of the years
they brought it back. I'm really bad.
I'm just terrible at history of cards.
(09:27):
I thank goodness for Google because.
It's they have kept the, the kind of essence or the spirit
alive of Stadium Club, which is,you know, the the coolest, most
unique photos, not just the the fun action photos, but there's,
there's a higher quality to Stadium Club.
(09:48):
Yeah, definitely. And I think that's in, you know,
going in when they're like, hey,we want you to pick the images
for Stadium Club this year. Like that's cool.
And like for me as a collector, like that's a lot of pressure,
right? It's like every other product
you're like, OK, I kind of know like this is what I'm going to
go in and these are kind of shots, but no Stadium Club, you
need to find the best of the best images.
(10:09):
And, you know, and it's so like a lot of pressure, but it's also
a lot of fun. You know, you go in and, you
know, uses Getty Images for the pictures that go on cards.
So you just sit there and like, you know, you just scroll and
scroll and scroll and scroll until you like, oh, and for me,
I always say like, I, I try to look for pictures that made me
feel something because like a random action shot, whatever.
(10:30):
But like, if something made me feel something and that's when I
would see that, then I'd be like, oh, OK, this is one of the
options. Cause and then I'd end up with
like 10 tabs across. Like, you know, the top of my
browser was like all the different images I made were
were like potential possibilities of what would end
up on the card. That's awesome.
So another thing I find really genuine about you on Twitter is
(10:51):
that a lot of people like you orme who are posting a fair amount
on Twitter are, you know, they have the blue check mark and
there's no knock on the blue check mark or people who have
it. But a lot of those people tend
to some of them, their content feels a little bit less genuine,
like they're chasing views so that they can get more money
(11:13):
from Twitter for their posts. Kind of like YouTube where a lot
of people are are chasing views,but you don't have that.
You have 23,000 followers on Twitter and you don't have the
blue check mark. So you're just doing it for the
love of cards? Yeah, that's kind of been my
motto. You know, when I worked at TOPS,
(11:34):
that's actually when I got into marketing, because actually when
I was working at TOPS, you know,social media PRI started all
that really started at Tops because prior to that I was a
sports journalist. And my goal, and I've said this
a million times to whoever listened to me, is I just want
people to love cards as much as I do.
And that's still how I feel about it to this day.
(11:56):
So for me, it's about, you know,and he knows it's about
community. Like cards are cards is a lot of
fun. Cards are a lot of fun, but it's
more fun with people and it's more fun sharing that with other
collectors. So I think that's also part of
like we talked about like the drama, like that doesn't that
that doesn't do it for me. That doesn't move my needle.
Like I want to talk about cool cards.
(12:16):
I want to talk about yeah, like,yeah, things that are happening
in the industry because I do think that's important.
That's where my newsletter comesin.
But like I want to be able to share that with people and
engage with people and just havefun.
Like I don't need to make, I would like to make more money in
general, like in life, you know?But like when it comes to like
Twitter, I don't, I don't, I don't need to.
(12:38):
It's always fun when you see a post, it's like, Oh my gosh, I
got a lot of views. But like, I don't need that.
I just want to be with other collectors.
That's what makes this hobby so much fun.
Yeah, that's cool. So Speaking of collecting, you
are a mega Jeter collector. How many unique Jeter cards do
you have? I don't know, I have a bunch I
(13:00):
got recently that I haven't logged.
So but it's it's probably close to like 3100 different Jeter
cards right now. Yeah, I recently got AI was at
my local card shop and they're like, hey, we got some really
cool Yankees cards that came in.You want to check this out?
I'm like, yeah, sure. So I'm going through the box and
as I'm pulling out the Jeter cards I don't have and there's
still like a whole row of Jeter cards in this box and I'm
(13:22):
looking and I'm like, I'm about half and half of like what I
don't have versus what I have. And I was like, here's a crazy
question. I'm like, how much is for all of
them? I'm just going to take it all.
I'm not even going to look through them.
And they gave me an amazing price and I was like, yeah, so
let's do it. So I have not lost probably
about 100 different. It was like 100 more cards.
Haven't really gone through themall to see what I have and don't
have. But it's it's probably close to
(13:43):
about 3100 right now. So when you're doing that, what
where are you logging your cards?
Is it TCDB or is it a spreadsheet?
So right now everything's on Google Sheets.
I'm and I only have a have list because because Derek Jeter has
like 25,000 to 30,000 different cards, which is, you know, I'm
never going to complete that. I've come to accept this a long
(14:03):
time ago. I'm OK with that.
But the problem with that is like, I don't have a want list
and I need a want list. And so I've actually been going
into trading card database to create a want list.
So I one day not too long ago, acouple months ago, went into
trading card database and to literally clicked on all Derek
(14:25):
Jeter cards and said put this inmy want list.
I thought I broke the site by the way, because then I get like
a like it was like a screen of death.
It was like this application. I was like, Oh no, don't tell
anyone I broke the site. So now I've been slowly going
through and putting all the cards that I have in my have
list so on that site. And then I will go through again
and remove everything I don't want.
(14:45):
Cause like to be honest, like I love autographs.
I will buy them, but they're notlike the chase for me.
I really want like bass and inserts and parallels, like
really cool cards. So then I'll go through and like
remove the hit so to speak and like just the cards I wouldn't
be chasing. So I will one day, not probably
anytime soon, but one day have like a definitive want list.
(15:08):
Yeah, so I also track mine in inGoogle Sheets and there's there
are so many different places where you can track your
collection and they're all way too complicated for me.
I need something very simple andI don't want to spend $20.00 a
month to track my collection. And I think TCDB keeps it
(15:31):
simple. I haven't used it extensively,
but that's probably the closest to what I'd be looking for.
Is, you know, this. The simplicity of it is
appealing to me. Maybe because I'm a simple man,
I don't know. No, I actually, that's one of
the reasons I liked it too. But what what actually had
happened was for years, way evenbefore I was working for them, I
(15:52):
was actually keeping my Jeter collection in Beckett Beckett's
database. Like they have an their database
is incredible for Kards. And when I'm looking up Kards
like generally they're one of the first places I search.
And if I can't find it there, then I'll go to TC.
This is why we just say trading card database because I
constantly want to say TCBY and like probably knows what that
is. So I was just thinking, I was
(16:13):
telling somebody about TCBY justlike 2 weeks ago, and they were
like, there were frozen yogurt places all around the country.
Yeah, they were everywhere. Yeah.
So that's why I'm like, I just don't use their initials because
I always want to say TCBY. So and in Beckett, like I had my
whole Jeter collection and then one day it got wiped out and I
(16:34):
was very upset naturally 'cause it was like all this work, all
these years of logging in my cards and now they're gone.
So it's actually why I use Google Sheets while I'm still
relying on Google. But in this case, like, you
know, I'm less concerned about Google going away one day then I
am about like a third party website.
(16:54):
Yeah, going away. Yeah.
So what is the favorite, your favorite Jeter card that you
own? Yeah, I mean, not not the most
valuable, just your favorite one.
Depends on the day you asked me.So today it's always going to be
up there for me. 2014 TOPS update, like the All Star sort
(17:16):
of subset in TOPS update becausethat was the first card that I
got to pick the image for, for Derek Jeter on a tops card.
So that to me will always be like #1 not always #1 which,
like I said, depends on the day.It's always in the top five.
So do you. Have do you have each of the
variations of that one? Don't you know, and that was
(17:37):
something it is on my eBay want list.
So like everyday and I check my you know, when the emails come
through for eBay, I check my little search.
It's like, oh, do I have you know, anything that I don't have
is popped up today. So I do not have the rainbow for
that, which is actually quite disappointing because I only
realized that like maybe like a year ago, that was like, why did
I never, because you know what, I even though I collect Jeter,
(17:59):
I've never been like a rainbow person to be like, I need every
parallel of everything. And then I was like, but why
didn't I collect this, this rainbow?
Having said that, I do have the clear variation which my husband
had bought for me for like an anniversary present one year,
one year. So I think that's why I was like
once I had because those are number to 10.
I was like, once I had that, like I didn't really feel the
need to chase every parallel, but I have a bunch of them.
(18:21):
Thankfully the rainbow from 2014is like 8 cards and not 67.
Yeah, and it's gotten infinitelymore difficult to be a super
collector of a player now, especially a player like Jeter
who is going to get a ton of cards every single year, making
it far more difficult for you toever complete collecting them,
(18:42):
right. Yes, but I've also like I have a
hierarchy of cards. If you want to say of like what
my focus is on collecting his cards.
Would I want to complete every card he's ever owned?
Yeah, but that's not realistic. So for me, it's like 92 to 96,
which are his like rookie minor league prospect years.
Like that's number one. So if I, it's like if you have a
(19:02):
choice like here's a card from 1996 versus a card from 2015,
I'm going to pick the 1996 card.And then it's his playing years.
His playing years again will always come before like like
anything from like retired times.
So like like if so, if the options are I'm choosing playing
years versus non playing years, I'll choose the playing years
(19:23):
first. So I'm not as concerned with the
cards, so to speak, from his nonplaying years and from the cards
I didn't pick the picture of because for that point I'm like
there's no time for me for these.
So like there is a hierarchy of like how I collect the Jeter
cards because I don't necessarily need, yeah, 2025
(19:45):
cards as much as I need cards from 2005.
Yeah, that's exactly how I feel.I'm I'm a Red Sox fan.
I'm a Pedro collector. I wouldn't call myself a super
collector, but I love Pedro Martinez and I don't, I actually
don't care to ever have any of his post career, actually his
post Red Sox cards. I like his Expos, his Dodgers
(20:07):
and his Red Sox cards. And then after that I have no
interest in having them. And Pedro has far fewer new
cards coming out than Jeter. I guess that's the, the Yankees
dynasty benefit. If you're a, if you love any
Jeter cards, you're going to geta lot of them because they, they
were massive in the 90s and early 2000s.
(20:30):
So yeah, I, I'm looking for 1990s and early 2000s refractors
of Pedro. And then I have, I don't know,
900 or so unique Pedro cards leading up to before 2005.
That's awesome. Yeah, don't tell anybody, but I
like Pedro too, but don't, not to not to collect his cards,
(20:50):
just so just to be clear, but I do.
I actually when I was a reporterthat we mentioned before, I
covered the Phillies and he he played for the Phillies for one
season. And like, as I'm like, you know,
interviewing and stuff. I'm like, gosh, I really like
him. I didn't like he makes me mad,
but I I kind of like him. Yeah, the the Pedro Yankees
moment in 2003 was was epic. I was at, I was at Game 7.
(21:16):
You were at Game 7. Yeah, when Aaron Boone hit that
walk off, I was at that game. Yeah, I think Red Sox fans are
kind of enjoying the Aaron Boonecomeuppance now cuz he's kind
of, he's kind of hated by Yankees fans and by Red Sox
fans. Yeah, I mean, it was probably
the best game. I mean, I've been to a lot of
crazy games and it was probably the best game I've ever been to
in my life. Was that 2003?
(21:37):
Just the sheer euphoria after that game was in.
It was, gosh, it was insane. And I could still picture,
'cause I was, I was, you know, the Yankee state and Bleacher
creatures, like I was a Bleachercreature.
And I could still picture like in my mind, I just see it like
it's like a movie in my head. And I just see that ball the way
I just flew into the night at that home run.
(21:59):
Me too. It's not a great memory for me,
but they got good, they got payback.
Yeah, I don't think about the next year.
I blocked that. That one's blocked from my
memory. I'm sure.
Yeah. So shoot, what was I about to
say about that? Oh yeah.
So I, I like Mariano Rivera. Not supposed to, but, and I,
(22:23):
I've talked about this a few times on my channel, Mariano
Rivera was always hated. As a Red Sox fan, you kind of
had like, we have to hate Jeter,we have to hate LeBron James.
These guys that have beaten our team, we hate them.
But Mariano Rivera in 2005 when he was introduced at Fenway
Park, let me think here, 2000 and he had was it 2005?
(22:45):
He had given up the game-winninghit in 2004.
And then he was being introducedat Fenway Park and the crowd
booed him and he smiled and tipped his hat and the crowd
went crazy. Like that's most guys don't want
it, don't like that they get upset about it.
(23:05):
And he just he he thrived on it.And that changed.
I think that changed millions ofRed Sox fans opinions of him.
Like, OK, he's cool. Yeah, I mean, you know, he, he's
just like, you know, he, he's always struck me as this guy.
He's like, he's living his best life, you know?
He's like, he's lived this absolutely incredible life, you
know who's like. And yeah, you don't Boo
(23:28):
nobodies, right? Is that what Reggie Jackson
said? You know what?
We don't Boo nobodies. That's exactly right.
Yeah, it's a classic Reggie Jackson quote.
So what about a Derek Jeter cardthat you don't own outside of
the 2014 Tops update Rainbow? That is your number one target.
So there's two on my list, but I'll go with a 96 tops.
(23:51):
Chrome refractor don't have it. I've come close a couple of
times to like I remember the last one popped up on eBay and I
was like I'll put my snipe in. This snipe is higher than the
last ones that sold. Like I'm going to be the top
bidder because this card in thisgrade has never sold for this
price, and I didn't win. Yeah, I'm not the only one.
(24:14):
It's got to be $1000. Yeah, even I forget it was like,
I think it was like an 8 and like it went over 1000 bucks and
I bet I bid over $1000 thinking like yeah, OK, like this is my
shot. And like it was one of those
were like somebody bid just morethan me.
So like my bid was like the, youknow, incrementally, like the
bid was just over mine, but who knows what that person was also
(24:37):
willing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I, I know I guessed $1000 because I also collect Nomar
Garcia Para and his 96 tops. Chrome refractor is very
expensive. It's, I'm gonna say $150.00
maybe. And for Nomar, well, I know it's
much easier to collect Nomar than than it is for Jeter.
(25:00):
And so, yeah, tough though for me to justify spending that kind
of money on Nomar. I'm not.
I haven't done it. The.
Most the most I've ever spent ona Nomar card is probably $30.
Yeah, look, I've never spent 500.
I'm like, I don't, I don't spenda lot of money on cars.
I've never spent $500 on a card.I have spent a couple times $300
(25:21):
on like super rare one O ones orlike things like that.
The fact that I was willing to bid $1000 on a card kind of made
me sick a little bit. I'm not gonna lie because I
again, I'm a huge collector I'vebeen collecting for, but I'm not
one of these people who like I'mout there like, yeah, let's just
spend money on cars. That's not me.
That's not my style. So it was a little sickening,
(25:45):
but also like I was like, I didn't win.
That's OK cuz I still I still have those $1000.
Yeah, I I feel the same way. I at the 2024 National, I spent
$1100 on one card and it was like double what I'd ever spent
on a card before. And I still haven't come close
to it since then. And it's just, I remember just
(26:05):
having this pit in my stomach for hours that day, like $1100.
But that card, yeah, exactly that card now is worth like
16-17 hundred. So I feel like, OK, maybe it
wasn't such a, such a terrible purchase.
What else? So you're, you're just this
morning on my video, I talked about CGC and the increase in
(26:29):
their, their grading in the past, well, really in the last
90 to 180 days. But last month they, they
increased across the board. Sports cars were up like 46%.
There must be an excitement at work, right?
Yeah, I mean it, you know, CGC is the fastest growing card
company right now. Like it's just you could see by
the numbers, right, what generate and there's excitement
(26:50):
because there's just a plethora of opportunity for CGC out
there. And not just, and I think people
don't realize it's not just here, but like internationally,
you know, CGC has offices in theUK, in Germany, in Hong Kong, in
Shanghai, in Dubai, and, and then here in America.
So it's like the opportunities that are available to CGC are
(27:13):
sort of feel limitless right now.
There's just so much out there. And like ice collecting grows
and grows internationally. It's like what, what, what can,
what else can we do? And it's like you're not limited
just by what's been done before because there's so much just
newness, especially overseas in this space that like, I don't
know, you always say that it is really exciting.
(27:35):
And for me, it's like, OK, I go to work today, what's going to
be different today? And like, what cool, who, who am
I going to be meeting with today?
Because like lots of, that's thething.
Like with that comes lots of opportunities.
We're different companies and people want to work with you.
So it was really nice to see like, you know, when I started,
you know, CGC was two different companies, you know, there was a
(27:56):
CSG and A/C, GC trading cards. And now it's just CGC.
It's really exciting and fulfilling to see how far you
know it's come as a grading company in cards because in
comics, you know, they've they've been around for a long
time and they've been number onein comics.
But it's been and nice seeing how collectors have really
embraced it as well. Yeah, I actually have a the
(28:19):
first Nintendo Power magazine headed to CGC very soon.
Very cool. Yeah, yeah.
You know, I feel like there's a little bit of a tide change with
sports cards just in terms of excitement of CGCI.
Remember there was some excitement in 2022.
Was it 2020? No, 2021 when CSG got started.
(28:41):
And then I feel like there's just this a little bit of a
turn. You hear more people talking
about them. You hear people talking about
their the beautiful slabs much more frequently in the last six
months than in the last three years combined does.
You must feel that too, right? Yeah, IA 100% because I'll have
people like on Twitter, like reach out to me or DM me and
(29:04):
just like you want to just show me like, hey, I'm dropping off
these new cookies cards. Like I want to show you what I'm
going to have in my collection for great.
And I'm like it. And it's cool that to see that
because like you said, it's, it's definitely feels like
there's an upswell right now. And it's, it's nice to see
because I am a big fan of competition in this space,
(29:25):
regardless of what it is, Cardi manufacturing, grading and
everything. I love competition.
I love there being options. I want options as a collector.
So, you know, the fact that, youknow, CGC is able to give
options to other collectors, youknow, is, is for me, it's like
it's, it's gratifying not just as somebody who works for CGC,
(29:45):
but also as a collector. Absolutely, I agree.
And just seeing like if if any of the other companies were to
start surging, I would be excited about it because getting
that, you know, competition has to be good for for collectors.
So I'm I'm enjoying it, I'm following it, I'm talking about
(30:06):
it every week almost about seeing this and hoping that it
continues and and expands. Yeah.
I mean CGC is definitely all in on cards.
You know, just from like I said,the meetings I'm having and from
support from like, you know, theexecutives, they are all in on
cards because they see the growth, they see how far it's
(30:27):
come. They see not just the growth,
but then the opportunities that are available and just what's
happening and they're they're in.
So it's not as though like, you know, anybody has to like, oh,
you know, are they going to be around?
Like CGC and the company as a whole has been around since I
should probably know this numberand I want to say 1987 because
when they started grading pay mepaper money and then coins.
(30:49):
But CGC then has been around since 2000 grading comics if
they celebrated the 25th anniversary of this year.
So it's also not one of those things where collectors are
like, well, are they going to how long are they going to be
around? Is this going to be one of those
companies who like gets real hotfor a minute and then goes away?
No, it's not like they're they're here.
They're not done anywhere. Yeah, and there are a lot of
(31:09):
those too. Like I just saw a Cooper flag
card fresh out of the pack was graded by a company that I'm not
going to name here, but it went viral because it was already
graded. And people got excited that,
wow, this Cooper flag card is already graded.
But it was, I think the guy who pulled it from the pack just
graded it and slapped it in his own basement maybe.
(31:30):
And that's there are a lot of those and people get excited
about them because it's only $8 per card or $6 per card degrade,
but people aren't considering that.
That's not a legitimate company.Yeah, I mean the one sorry
about. That no go ahead.
Well, the one thing I know, and I can't speak for other
companies, but I can't speak forCGC in the sense of what they
(31:51):
have to do to be a grader. This isn't like, you know, it's
like, yeah, OK, I'm gonna, oh, Ithink this card I look at, I
think it's, you know, I think this is a nine.
I'm gonna slap it a nine in my, in my basement.
But when it comes to being a grader at CGC, like there's
extensive training and educationthat's happening.
So it's not like somebody can just show up and be like, and we
are, we've been looking for graders because of how busy we
(32:12):
are, but it's not like I'm goingto apply to be a grader and then
you're like, OK, next week you're grading.
Let's go. Like there's an actual like
training that's involved that you have to go through like
process. And then months down the line,
like, OK, you've now been promoted to a grader because
you've been able to go through this training.
And what's important is it's notjust one person that does like
(32:33):
essentially the grading at CGC. There has, there's two, there's
always two people who are who are looking at the card.
And if one person is like, OK, this I went through every,
everything, all like, you know, edges, corner, surface,
everything. I think this is an 8 1/2 and
somebody else look at then it'llgo through like a SEC.
They get the second person, theyhave to agree on the grade.
Otherwise, like then they have to talk about it and figure out
(32:54):
like, you know, where are we? Where are we seeing something
different? But two people look at the card
and have to agree on the grade for it to be able to get the
grade that it gets. And I think that's important
too, because it's like, it's notjust, it's not just my opinion.
And I get it how people, I know how people think about grading
was like it's subjective. But the fact that it's not just
one person's opinion and, you know, going through multiple
(33:15):
graders to be able to come to that conclusion I think is
important too. Yeah, well said.
I I love that about CGC. You know, I think that there's,
they're more transparent about the grading process.
In fact, you could do, you can put people through the grading
process. I remember last year, 2024, you
(33:35):
had that at the National. My friend Orlando went through
it. Orlando of a collector's dream.
Yeah, just a it's a really cool thing.
Yeah, and I think that was something that for me was very
important, that transparency andeducation because like, you
know, we've done YouTube videos too.
And one of them is like, how do graders grade your cards?
And it's actually probably one of our most popular videos
(33:57):
because that's what people want to know.
What is the how to see GC Grade my cards?
You know, it goes through like the YouTube series called grade
school. So it goes through like, OK, and
this is how we look at like specifically like was how we
look at edges. And this is how we look at
surface. And it's how we look at corners
for sports cards. And this is how we look at
corners for TCG because there isa difference.
So there's gonna be more of thatcoming next year, more of that
(34:19):
sort of education and transparency because that is
important to CGC to say, you know, we're not like the Wizard
of Oz. There's not, you know, we're not
going to have a big curtain. Never let anybody see what's
behind the curtain. Yeah, that's cool.
Well, Suze, where can people find you?
So Twitter 4 XI don't know what kids call it these days.
(34:44):
Twitter at Yankschick which is the name is on the screen there
YANXCHICK cuz I'm a Yankees fan.Some people don't pick up on
that. So I'm just saying it's like the
edgy way cuz I'm old remember I'm old, I've been I was born in
the 80s. So it was the edgy way to say
Yanks as opposed to, you know, YNKS on Twitter, Instagram,
(35:04):
TikTok, YouTube, even though I don't really do a lot on
YouTube, I'm a writer. So I tend to focus more on like
in outlets versus like videos orimagery.
And then my my newsletter, whichis at cardchat.substack.com.
Yeah, strong recommend. I I follow Sue's, I'm I'm sure I
(35:25):
follow you on Instagram too, butI'm so rarely on Instagram.
Yeah and but on Twitter, I'm on there twice a day, first thing
in the morning and at night and always very engaging stuff, very
interesting. And the the car chat substack is
great too. Yeah, and, and I, and honestly,
I love your stuff too. Like I watch your videos, I
(35:46):
subscribe to your newsletter. I know I think it was on hiatus
for a little bit, but I, I love the fact that like you're able
to get like really cool stories about like really neat finds And
I, I do enjoy. I join your content as well.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
All right, thank you, Suze, hangaround for a minute.
We're going to wrap this up, butI will see you on the other
side. Thanks everybody for watching or
(36:09):
listening.
All right, hey everybody, it is Mike.
This is the Meet a content Creator podcast and I'm joined
by Suze, also known as Yanks chick on Twitter and Instagram,
right? Yeah, pretty much every social
media channel I try to just keepYanks chick across the board.
Yeah, that's smart. Thanks for joining me.
(00:21):
It's a it's a pleasure having you.
I've actually been doing this for 4 1/2 years and I've never
had a woman on to discuss cards.Well, I'm happy to be the first.
Yeah, it's, you know, I've, I'veasked a bunch and I think that a
lot of women see the sports cardspace as less inviting than they
(00:44):
would like. And they're, they're afraid of
the getting their faces out there and in.
And I get it. I'm on Twitter, I see the
controversies, the the, the people attacking women for
expressing their opinions. So how do you avoid that?
Because I don't see any controversies with you
whatsoever. Well, I think a lot of it has to
(01:09):
do with personality and that's not like a shot at anybody.
I just want to say that I am very much been a person who is,
I don't care what you have to say or what you think.
So people have like a problem with something.
I'm like, OK, like that's a you problem.
You need to figure that out for yourself.
So I kind of just like, you know, focus on me and like
(01:33):
curating my feet, so to speak, of what I want to see.
So, you know, it's less about like getting involved in the
drama because like, also like wemay be of a similar age.
I'm too old for drama. Like I'm a mom, you know what I
mean? I've been, I've been long out of
high school. Like I don't really have time
(01:54):
for drama. So when I generally see like
drama and that kind of stuff, honestly, I just scroll past it.
I it's not something that like fills my cup.
Yeah, I love sports cards. I love content.
I love about sports cards. So I try to find the things that
are going to like, fill my cup and make me feel, you know,
whole and satisfied. And drama's not it.
(02:17):
Yeah, yeah. I scroll by it too.
It, it interests me, I would say, but not in a way that I
want to get involved in it. And so I see all the things that
are happening and I just, I justkeep on scrolling.
I don't like any of the posts. I just that's not for me and I
move on and I think I'm too old for Drama is the perfect title
for this episode. It's.
(02:39):
Fair, let's do it. I'm too old for drama.
Yeah, so first of all, I should probably give a better
introduction to you. Why don't let why don't I let
you do it? What Who are you and what do you
do on social media and for your job since it's also card
related? Yeah, who I am, I'm still trying
(02:59):
to figure that out, even though I'm too old for drama.
So everyday I'm still trying to figure out who I am.
But I'm serious, you know, my content creation actually
started long before sort of the explosion of social media, as
you would back in 2007. I created a blog called A
Cardboard Problem, which still exists on the Internet but
(03:22):
hasn't been updated in a very, very long time.
But it was during like the sort of heyday of blogs.
And back then sports cards blogswere actually like incredibly
popular and blowing up. And my friend Marie and I had
one of the most popular sports cards blogs out there.
People liked it. And to be fair, I'll say they
liked it because it was like, oh, here are two women who are
(03:44):
collecting sports cards, not something you see everyday.
So we became pretty popular based off of that.
But it was, it was more than that, right?
It was like, here are two peoplewho are like super passionate
about cards and know about cards.
And, you know, to be honest, I never felt, and I still see this
a lot now on social media. I never felt like people were
like testing me like, like, you know, who was card number 1 And
(04:07):
like this, you know, it was likenever like anybody was trying to
test me on my card knowledge. So that was appreciated because
I do think, you know, our passion, the fact that we just
love the cards and we were in itfor the sake of collecting,
really like was able to shine through.
So I did card blogging, so to speak, for, for a very long
time. It's now almost, Oh my gosh,
(04:29):
almost 20 years later, you know,you forget that 22,000 and seven
was almost, almost 20 years ago.But you know, so I started, we
started out then, then I was, I was a sports reporter at the
time covering different sports. So I was covering baseball and
hockey and football and everything.
And with that, you know, my writing was also like, it was
(04:54):
like pretty good writing, if I may say so myself.
And I started actually then freelancing for Beckett.
So I was freelancing for severalof their magazines after about
2009, I want to say it started. And then in 2012 I became their
hockey, football and basketball editor of Back In Magazine.
(05:16):
So I was writing about that and that's actually really where a
lot of what I do on social media, mostly on Twitter really
was born from. So started sharing a lot of
content on Twitter. That's actually my week.
I have a weekly card chat on Twitter where, you know, I just
every Wednesday announce every Wednesday at 8:00 PM, you know,
(05:36):
I have 6 questions during the hour, different topics,
different topics of cards. It started during that time.
So with the card chat, weekly Twitter chat has been going on
since about 20, 2012, 2013. So that's been going on for a
while. So yeah, then I started working
at TOPS after two years of 2014.I worked at Tops.
I was there. One of the jobs I had was
(05:57):
picking the images of cards, which is always fun.
But then I was also running their social media channels for
four years. So a lot of my content creation
personally kind of took a back seat to what I was doing versus
4 Tops. And then I left and went to
other places outside the industry and then I came back,
worked for Golden, and now I'm the senior marketing manager at
(06:19):
CGC Cards. Yeah, and that's where I met
you, was at the National. You helped me get my order done
at CGC at the booth. Yeah, so that's what I do.
And then I also have a newsletter card chat, 'cause
that's what my Twitter was like,a weekly card chat.
And then I have a newsletter that I've been doing since 2020
(06:39):
on the collectibles industry andless about like how expensive
cards are and more about I've been involved for so long in the
industry and like sort of using my knowledge of what I have
about from working out all thesecompanies to sort of, you know,
give my perspective and insight into the hobby.
(06:59):
Yeah, and your newsletter's amazing and I wish you published
more of it. Me too.
I think that there's in the lasttwo years we've seen a pretty
large growth in newsletters and sports cars.
And I would say that yours is probably the best I've seen.
And, you know, you said you're apretty good writer.
I would. I think that undersells a little
(07:20):
bit your story about selecting. I don't remember.
Was it Stadium Club, theater card?
Yeah, that was great. They're all great.
But that that that one has always stuck with me.
I appreciate that. Like, and that's part of it too.
Like, like I said, I've worked in these places.
So it's funny 'cause like some of these things happen to me and
I just tell these stories to like my husband or to other
(07:41):
people and they're like, that's really cool.
Like you should tell that story,those stories to more people.
And I'm like, yeah, you know what, I I probably should, I
probably have some like an interesting stories of like, you
know, also just like how things are done right.
Like I got to spend three years picking the images for Stadium
Club. Like what an amazing honestly,
though, what an amazing job to say like the coolest product
(08:03):
with the coolest images. Like I I did that like that,
that was and that was so much fun.
And like, and the reason with the Jeter, I'm a huge Derek
Jeter collector. Like that's my PC.
And, you know, I spoke about howthe the image I picked for that
card was the last time he ran onto the field at Yankee
Stadium. And maybe some people don't
realize that just by looking, you got the card, you know, it's
(08:23):
like, oh, these are Derek Jeter running out of the dugout.
But there's a there's a story behind that picture.
And for me, you know, that was super important because like,
yeah, that's my PCI get to, I get to, I get to do that.
Like it was. It was fun.
Yeah, it's very cool. It's very cool job.
It's kind of if you're a collector, that's kind of the
dream, right? Yeah.
(08:44):
Yeah. And when I was a kid, I was.
When did Stadium Club come out in 91?
I was 12 and so it was kind of, I was approaching the end of my
time as a collector in 91, as a,you know, entering my teens.
I think I ended, I stopped collecting at some point in 94,
(09:05):
but Stadium Club was the peak. The, the, the absolute pinnacle.
I hate to say pinnacle cause Pinnacle was also cool but the
best set and then when tops brought it back?
When did Tops bring Stadium Clubback?
Oh, I wanna say 2009 is stickingout is like one of the years
they brought it back. I'm really bad.
I'm just terrible at history of cards.
(09:27):
I thank goodness for Google because.
It's they have kept the, the kind of essence or the spirit
alive of Stadium Club, which is,you know, the the coolest, most
unique photos, not just the the fun action photos, but there's,
there's a higher quality to Stadium Club.
(09:48):
Yeah, definitely. And I think that's in, you know,
going in when they're like, hey,we want you to pick the images
for Stadium Club this year. Like that's cool.
And like for me as a collector, like that's a lot of pressure,
right? It's like every other product
you're like, OK, I kind of know like this is what I'm going to
go in and these are kind of shots, but no Stadium Club, you
need to find the best of the best images.
(10:09):
And, you know, and it's so like a lot of pressure, but it's also
a lot of fun. You know, you go in and, you
know, uses Getty Images for the pictures that go on cards.
So you just sit there and like, you know, you just scroll and
scroll and scroll and scroll until you like, oh, and for me,
I always say like, I, I try to look for pictures that made me
feel something because like a random action shot, whatever.
(10:30):
But like, if something made me feel something and that's when I
would see that, then I'd be like, oh, OK, this is one of the
options. Cause and then I'd end up with
like 10 tabs across. Like, you know, the top of my
browser was like all the different images I made were
were like potential possibilities of what would end
up on the card. That's awesome.
So another thing I find really genuine about you on Twitter is
(10:51):
that a lot of people like you orme who are posting a fair amount
on Twitter are, you know, they have the blue check mark and
there's no knock on the blue check mark or people who have
it. But a lot of those people tend
to some of them, their content feels a little bit less genuine,
like they're chasing views so that they can get more money
(11:13):
from Twitter for their posts. Kind of like YouTube where a lot
of people are are chasing views,but you don't have that.
You have 23,000 followers on Twitter and you don't have the
blue check mark. So you're just doing it for the
love of cards? Yeah, that's kind of been my
motto. You know, when I worked at TOPS,
(11:34):
that's actually when I got into marketing, because actually when
I was working at TOPS, you know,social media PRI started all
that really started at Tops because prior to that I was a
sports journalist. And my goal, and I've said this
a million times to whoever listened to me, is I just want
people to love cards as much as I do.
And that's still how I feel about it to this day.
(11:56):
So for me, it's about, you know,and he knows it's about
community. Like cards are cards is a lot of
fun. Cards are a lot of fun, but it's
more fun with people and it's more fun sharing that with other
collectors. So I think that's also part of
like we talked about like the drama, like that doesn't that
that doesn't do it for me. That doesn't move my needle.
Like I want to talk about cool cards.
(12:16):
I want to talk about yeah, like,yeah, things that are happening
in the industry because I do think that's important.
That's where my newsletter comesin.
But like I want to be able to share that with people and
engage with people and just havefun.
Like I don't need to make, I would like to make more money in
general, like in life, you know?But like when it comes to like
Twitter, I don't, I don't, I don't need to.
(12:38):
It's always fun when you see a post, it's like, Oh my gosh, I
got a lot of views. But like, I don't need that.
I just want to be with other collectors.
That's what makes this hobby so much fun.
Yeah, that's cool. So Speaking of collecting, you
are a mega Jeter collector. How many unique Jeter cards do
you have? I don't know, I have a bunch I
(13:00):
got recently that I haven't logged.
So but it's it's probably close to like 3100 different Jeter
cards right now. Yeah, I recently got AI was at
my local card shop and they're like, hey, we got some really
cool Yankees cards that came in.You want to check this out?
I'm like, yeah, sure. So I'm going through the box and
as I'm pulling out the Jeter cards I don't have and there's
still like a whole row of Jeter cards in this box and I'm
(13:22):
looking and I'm like, I'm about half and half of like what I
don't have versus what I have. And I was like, here's a crazy
question. I'm like, how much is for all of
them? I'm just going to take it all.
I'm not even going to look through them.
And they gave me an amazing price and I was like, yeah, so
let's do it. So I have not lost probably
about 100 different. It was like 100 more cards.
Haven't really gone through themall to see what I have and don't
have. But it's it's probably close to
(13:43):
about 3100 right now. So when you're doing that, what
where are you logging your cards?
Is it TCDB or is it a spreadsheet?
So right now everything's on Google Sheets.
I'm and I only have a have list because because Derek Jeter has
like 25,000 to 30,000 different cards, which is, you know, I'm
never going to complete that. I've come to accept this a long
(14:03):
time ago. I'm OK with that.
But the problem with that is like, I don't have a want list
and I need a want list. And so I've actually been going
into trading card database to create a want list.
So I one day not too long ago, acouple months ago, went into
trading card database and to literally clicked on all Derek
(14:25):
Jeter cards and said put this inmy want list.
I thought I broke the site by the way, because then I get like
a like it was like a screen of death.
It was like this application. I was like, Oh no, don't tell
anyone I broke the site. So now I've been slowly going
through and putting all the cards that I have in my have
list so on that site. And then I will go through again
and remove everything I don't want.
(14:45):
Cause like to be honest, like I love autographs.
I will buy them, but they're notlike the chase for me.
I really want like bass and inserts and parallels, like
really cool cards. So then I'll go through and like
remove the hit so to speak and like just the cards I wouldn't
be chasing. So I will one day, not probably
anytime soon, but one day have like a definitive want list.
(15:08):
Yeah, so I also track mine in inGoogle Sheets and there's there
are so many different places where you can track your
collection and they're all way too complicated for me.
I need something very simple andI don't want to spend $20.00 a
month to track my collection. And I think TCDB keeps it
(15:31):
simple. I haven't used it extensively,
but that's probably the closest to what I'd be looking for.
Is, you know, this. The simplicity of it is
appealing to me. Maybe because I'm a simple man,
I don't know. No, I actually, that's one of
the reasons I liked it too. But what what actually had
happened was for years, way evenbefore I was working for them, I
(15:52):
was actually keeping my Jeter collection in Beckett Beckett's
database. Like they have an their database
is incredible for Kards. And when I'm looking up Kards
like generally they're one of the first places I search.
And if I can't find it there, then I'll go to TC.
This is why we just say trading card database because I
constantly want to say TCBY and like probably knows what that
is. So I was just thinking, I was
(16:13):
telling somebody about TCBY justlike 2 weeks ago, and they were
like, there were frozen yogurt places all around the country.
Yeah, they were everywhere. Yeah.
So that's why I'm like, I just don't use their initials because
I always want to say TCBY. So and in Beckett, like I had my
whole Jeter collection and then one day it got wiped out and I
(16:34):
was very upset naturally 'cause it was like all this work, all
these years of logging in my cards and now they're gone.
So it's actually why I use Google Sheets while I'm still
relying on Google. But in this case, like, you
know, I'm less concerned about Google going away one day then I
am about like a third party website.
(16:54):
Yeah, going away. Yeah.
So what is the favorite, your favorite Jeter card that you
own? Yeah, I mean, not not the most
valuable, just your favorite one.
Depends on the day you asked me.So today it's always going to be
up there for me. 2014 TOPS update, like the All Star sort
(17:16):
of subset in TOPS update becausethat was the first card that I
got to pick the image for, for Derek Jeter on a tops card.
So that to me will always be like #1 not always #1 which,
like I said, depends on the day.It's always in the top five.
So do you. Have do you have each of the
variations of that one? Don't you know, and that was
(17:37):
something it is on my eBay want list.
So like everyday and I check my you know, when the emails come
through for eBay, I check my little search.
It's like, oh, do I have you know, anything that I don't have
is popped up today. So I do not have the rainbow for
that, which is actually quite disappointing because I only
realized that like maybe like a year ago, that was like, why did
I never, because you know what, I even though I collect Jeter,
(17:59):
I've never been like a rainbow person to be like, I need every
parallel of everything. And then I was like, but why
didn't I collect this, this rainbow?
Having said that, I do have the clear variation which my husband
had bought for me for like an anniversary present one year,
one year. So I think that's why I was like
once I had because those are number to 10.
I was like, once I had that, like I didn't really feel the
need to chase every parallel, but I have a bunch of them.
(18:21):
Thankfully the rainbow from 2014is like 8 cards and not 67.
Yeah, and it's gotten infinitelymore difficult to be a super
collector of a player now, especially a player like Jeter
who is going to get a ton of cards every single year, making
it far more difficult for you toever complete collecting them,
(18:42):
right. Yes, but I've also like I have a
hierarchy of cards. If you want to say of like what
my focus is on collecting his cards.
Would I want to complete every card he's ever owned?
Yeah, but that's not realistic. So for me, it's like 92 to 96,
which are his like rookie minor league prospect years.
Like that's number one. So if I, it's like if you have a
(19:02):
choice like here's a card from 1996 versus a card from 2015,
I'm going to pick the 1996 card.And then it's his playing years.
His playing years again will always come before like like
anything from like retired times.
So like like if so, if the options are I'm choosing playing
years versus non playing years, I'll choose the playing years
(19:23):
first. So I'm not as concerned with the
cards, so to speak, from his nonplaying years and from the cards
I didn't pick the picture of because for that point I'm like
there's no time for me for these.
So like there is a hierarchy of like how I collect the Jeter
cards because I don't necessarily need, yeah, 2025
(19:45):
cards as much as I need cards from 2005.
Yeah, that's exactly how I feel.I'm I'm a Red Sox fan.
I'm a Pedro collector. I wouldn't call myself a super
collector, but I love Pedro Martinez and I don't, I actually
don't care to ever have any of his post career, actually his
post Red Sox cards. I like his Expos, his Dodgers
(20:07):
and his Red Sox cards. And then after that I have no
interest in having them. And Pedro has far fewer new
cards coming out than Jeter. I guess that's the, the Yankees
dynasty benefit. If you're a, if you love any
Jeter cards, you're going to geta lot of them because they, they
were massive in the 90s and early 2000s.
(20:30):
So yeah, I, I'm looking for 1990s and early 2000s refractors
of Pedro. And then I have, I don't know,
900 or so unique Pedro cards leading up to before 2005.
That's awesome. Yeah, don't tell anybody, but I
like Pedro too, but don't, not to not to collect his cards,
(20:50):
just so just to be clear, but I do.
I actually when I was a reporterthat we mentioned before, I
covered the Phillies and he he played for the Phillies for one
season. And like, as I'm like, you know,
interviewing and stuff. I'm like, gosh, I really like
him. I didn't like he makes me mad,
but I I kind of like him. Yeah, the the Pedro Yankees
moment in 2003 was was epic. I was at, I was at Game 7.
(21:16):
You were at Game 7. Yeah, when Aaron Boone hit that
walk off, I was at that game. Yeah, I think Red Sox fans are
kind of enjoying the Aaron Boonecomeuppance now cuz he's kind
of, he's kind of hated by Yankees fans and by Red Sox
fans. Yeah, I mean, it was probably
the best game. I mean, I've been to a lot of
crazy games and it was probably the best game I've ever been to
in my life. Was that 2003?
(21:37):
Just the sheer euphoria after that game was in.
It was, gosh, it was insane. And I could still picture,
'cause I was, I was, you know, the Yankee state and Bleacher
creatures, like I was a Bleachercreature.
And I could still picture like in my mind, I just see it like
it's like a movie in my head. And I just see that ball the way
I just flew into the night at that home run.
(21:59):
Me too. It's not a great memory for me,
but they got good, they got payback.
Yeah, I don't think about the next year.
I blocked that. That one's blocked from my
memory. I'm sure.
Yeah. So shoot, what was I about to
say about that? Oh yeah.
So I, I like Mariano Rivera. Not supposed to, but, and I,
(22:23):
I've talked about this a few times on my channel, Mariano
Rivera was always hated. As a Red Sox fan, you kind of
had like, we have to hate Jeter,we have to hate LeBron James.
These guys that have beaten our team, we hate them.
But Mariano Rivera in 2005 when he was introduced at Fenway
Park, let me think here, 2000 and he had was it 2005?
(22:45):
He had given up the game-winninghit in 2004.
And then he was being introducedat Fenway Park and the crowd
booed him and he smiled and tipped his hat and the crowd
went crazy. Like that's most guys don't want
it, don't like that they get upset about it.
(23:05):
And he just he he thrived on it.And that changed.
I think that changed millions ofRed Sox fans opinions of him.
Like, OK, he's cool. Yeah, I mean, you know, he, he's
just like, you know, he, he's always struck me as this guy.
He's like, he's living his best life, you know?
He's like, he's lived this absolutely incredible life, you
know who's like. And yeah, you don't Boo
(23:28):
nobodies, right? Is that what Reggie Jackson
said? You know what?
We don't Boo nobodies. That's exactly right.
Yeah, it's a classic Reggie Jackson quote.
So what about a Derek Jeter cardthat you don't own outside of
the 2014 Tops update Rainbow? That is your number one target.
So there's two on my list, but I'll go with a 96 tops.
(23:51):
Chrome refractor don't have it. I've come close a couple of
times to like I remember the last one popped up on eBay and I
was like I'll put my snipe in. This snipe is higher than the
last ones that sold. Like I'm going to be the top
bidder because this card in thisgrade has never sold for this
price, and I didn't win. Yeah, I'm not the only one.
(24:14):
It's got to be $1000. Yeah, even I forget it was like,
I think it was like an 8 and like it went over 1000 bucks and
I bet I bid over $1000 thinking like yeah, OK, like this is my
shot. And like it was one of those
were like somebody bid just morethan me.
So like my bid was like the, youknow, incrementally, like the
bid was just over mine, but who knows what that person was also
(24:37):
willing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I, I know I guessed $1000 because I also collect Nomar
Garcia Para and his 96 tops. Chrome refractor is very
expensive. It's, I'm gonna say $150.00
maybe. And for Nomar, well, I know it's
much easier to collect Nomar than than it is for Jeter.
(25:00):
And so, yeah, tough though for me to justify spending that kind
of money on Nomar. I'm not.
I haven't done it. The.
Most the most I've ever spent ona Nomar card is probably $30.
Yeah, look, I've never spent 500.
I'm like, I don't, I don't spenda lot of money on cars.
I've never spent $500 on a card.I have spent a couple times $300
(25:21):
on like super rare one O ones orlike things like that.
The fact that I was willing to bid $1000 on a card kind of made
me sick a little bit. I'm not gonna lie because I
again, I'm a huge collector I'vebeen collecting for, but I'm not
one of these people who like I'mout there like, yeah, let's just
spend money on cars. That's not me.
That's not my style. So it was a little sickening,
(25:45):
but also like I was like, I didn't win.
That's OK cuz I still I still have those $1000.
Yeah, I I feel the same way. I at the 2024 National, I spent
$1100 on one card and it was like double what I'd ever spent
on a card before. And I still haven't come close
to it since then. And it's just, I remember just
(26:05):
having this pit in my stomach for hours that day, like $1100.
But that card, yeah, exactly that card now is worth like
16-17 hundred. So I feel like, OK, maybe it
wasn't such a, such a terrible purchase.
What else? So you're, you're just this
morning on my video, I talked about CGC and the increase in
(26:29):
their, their grading in the past, well, really in the last
90 to 180 days. But last month they, they
increased across the board. Sports cars were up like 46%.
There must be an excitement at work, right?
Yeah, I mean it, you know, CGC is the fastest growing card
company right now. Like it's just you could see by
the numbers, right, what generate and there's excitement
(26:50):
because there's just a plethora of opportunity for CGC out
there. And not just, and I think people
don't realize it's not just here, but like internationally,
you know, CGC has offices in theUK, in Germany, in Hong Kong, in
Shanghai, in Dubai, and, and then here in America.
So it's like the opportunities that are available to CGC are
(27:13):
sort of feel limitless right now.
There's just so much out there. And like ice collecting grows
and grows internationally. It's like what, what, what can,
what else can we do? And it's like you're not limited
just by what's been done before because there's so much just
newness, especially overseas in this space that like, I don't
know, you always say that it is really exciting.
(27:35):
And for me, it's like, OK, I go to work today, what's going to
be different today? And like, what cool, who, who am
I going to be meeting with today?
Because like lots of, that's thething.
Like with that comes lots of opportunities.
We're different companies and people want to work with you.
So it was really nice to see like, you know, when I started,
you know, CGC was two different companies, you know, there was a
(27:56):
CSG and A/C, GC trading cards. And now it's just CGC.
It's really exciting and fulfilling to see how far you
know it's come as a grading company in cards because in
comics, you know, they've they've been around for a long
time and they've been number onein comics.
But it's been and nice seeing how collectors have really
embraced it as well. Yeah, I actually have a the
(28:19):
first Nintendo Power magazine headed to CGC very soon.
Very cool. Yeah, yeah.
You know, I feel like there's a little bit of a tide change with
sports cards just in terms of excitement of CGCI.
Remember there was some excitement in 2022.
Was it 2020? No, 2021 when CSG got started.
(28:41):
And then I feel like there's just this a little bit of a
turn. You hear more people talking
about them. You hear people talking about
their the beautiful slabs much more frequently in the last six
months than in the last three years combined does.
You must feel that too, right? Yeah, IA 100% because I'll have
people like on Twitter, like reach out to me or DM me and
(29:04):
just like you want to just show me like, hey, I'm dropping off
these new cookies cards. Like I want to show you what I'm
going to have in my collection for great.
And I'm like it. And it's cool that to see that
because like you said, it's, it's definitely feels like
there's an upswell right now. And it's, it's nice to see
because I am a big fan of competition in this space,
(29:25):
regardless of what it is, Cardi manufacturing, grading and
everything. I love competition.
I love there being options. I want options as a collector.
So, you know, the fact that, youknow, CGC is able to give
options to other collectors, youknow, is, is for me, it's like
it's, it's gratifying not just as somebody who works for CGC,
(29:45):
but also as a collector. Absolutely, I agree.
And just seeing like if if any of the other companies were to
start surging, I would be excited about it because getting
that, you know, competition has to be good for for collectors.
So I'm I'm enjoying it, I'm following it, I'm talking about
(30:06):
it every week almost about seeing this and hoping that it
continues and and expands. Yeah.
I mean CGC is definitely all in on cards.
You know, just from like I said,the meetings I'm having and from
support from like, you know, theexecutives, they are all in on
cards because they see the growth, they see how far it's
(30:27):
come. They see not just the growth,
but then the opportunities that are available and just what's
happening and they're they're in.
So it's not as though like, you know, anybody has to like, oh,
you know, are they going to be around?
Like CGC and the company as a whole has been around since I
should probably know this numberand I want to say 1987 because
when they started grading pay mepaper money and then coins.
(30:49):
But CGC then has been around since 2000 grading comics if
they celebrated the 25th anniversary of this year.
So it's also not one of those things where collectors are
like, well, are they going to how long are they going to be
around? Is this going to be one of those
companies who like gets real hotfor a minute and then goes away?
No, it's not like they're they're here.
They're not done anywhere. Yeah, and there are a lot of
(31:09):
those too. Like I just saw a Cooper flag
card fresh out of the pack was graded by a company that I'm not
going to name here, but it went viral because it was already
graded. And people got excited that,
wow, this Cooper flag card is already graded.
But it was, I think the guy who pulled it from the pack just
graded it and slapped it in his own basement maybe.
(31:30):
And that's there are a lot of those and people get excited
about them because it's only $8 per card or $6 per card degrade,
but people aren't considering that.
That's not a legitimate company.Yeah, I mean the one sorry
about. That no go ahead.
Well, the one thing I know, and I can't speak for other
companies, but I can't speak forCGC in the sense of what they
(31:51):
have to do to be a grader. This isn't like, you know, it's
like, yeah, OK, I'm gonna, oh, Ithink this card I look at, I
think it's, you know, I think this is a nine.
I'm gonna slap it a nine in my, in my basement.
But when it comes to being a grader at CGC, like there's
extensive training and educationthat's happening.
So it's not like somebody can just show up and be like, and we
are, we've been looking for graders because of how busy we
(32:12):
are, but it's not like I'm goingto apply to be a grader and then
you're like, OK, next week you're grading.
Let's go. Like there's an actual like
training that's involved that you have to go through like
process. And then months down the line,
like, OK, you've now been promoted to a grader because
you've been able to go through this training.
And what's important is it's notjust one person that does like
(32:33):
essentially the grading at CGC. There has, there's two, there's
always two people who are who are looking at the card.
And if one person is like, OK, this I went through every,
everything, all like, you know, edges, corner, surface,
everything. I think this is an 8 1/2 and
somebody else look at then it'llgo through like a SEC.
They get the second person, theyhave to agree on the grade.
Otherwise, like then they have to talk about it and figure out
(32:54):
like, you know, where are we? Where are we seeing something
different? But two people look at the card
and have to agree on the grade for it to be able to get the
grade that it gets. And I think that's important
too, because it's like, it's notjust, it's not just my opinion.
And I get it how people, I know how people think about grading
was like it's subjective. But the fact that it's not just
one person's opinion and, you know, going through multiple
(33:15):
graders to be able to come to that conclusion I think is
important too. Yeah, well said.
I I love that about CGC. You know, I think that there's,
they're more transparent about the grading process.
In fact, you could do, you can put people through the grading
process. I remember last year, 2024, you
(33:35):
had that at the National. My friend Orlando went through
it. Orlando of a collector's dream.
Yeah, just a it's a really cool thing.
Yeah, and I think that was something that for me was very
important, that transparency andeducation because like, you
know, we've done YouTube videos too.
And one of them is like, how do graders grade your cards?
And it's actually probably one of our most popular videos
(33:57):
because that's what people want to know.
What is the how to see GC Grade my cards?
You know, it goes through like the YouTube series called grade
school. So it goes through like, OK, and
this is how we look at like specifically like was how we
look at edges. And this is how we look at
surface. And it's how we look at corners
for sports cards. And this is how we look at
corners for TCG because there isa difference.
So there's gonna be more of thatcoming next year, more of that
(34:19):
sort of education and transparency because that is
important to CGC to say, you know, we're not like the Wizard
of Oz. There's not, you know, we're not
going to have a big curtain. Never let anybody see what's
behind the curtain. Yeah, that's cool.
Well, Suze, where can people find you?
So Twitter 4 XI don't know what kids call it these days.
(34:44):
Twitter at Yankschick which is the name is on the screen there
YANXCHICK cuz I'm a Yankees fan.Some people don't pick up on
that. So I'm just saying it's like the
edgy way cuz I'm old remember I'm old, I've been I was born in
the 80s. So it was the edgy way to say
Yanks as opposed to, you know, YNKS on Twitter, Instagram,
(35:04):
TikTok, YouTube, even though I don't really do a lot on
YouTube, I'm a writer. So I tend to focus more on like
in outlets versus like videos orimagery.
And then my my newsletter, whichis at cardchat.substack.com.
Yeah, strong recommend. I I follow Sue's, I'm I'm sure I
(35:25):
follow you on Instagram too, butI'm so rarely on Instagram.
Yeah and but on Twitter, I'm on there twice a day, first thing
in the morning and at night and always very engaging stuff, very
interesting. And the the car chat substack is
great too. Yeah, and, and I, and honestly,
I love your stuff too. Like I watch your videos, I
(35:46):
subscribe to your newsletter. I know I think it was on hiatus
for a little bit, but I, I love the fact that like you're able
to get like really cool stories about like really neat finds And
I, I do enjoy. I join your content as well.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
All right, thank you, Suze, hangaround for a minute.
We're going to wrap this up, butI will see you on the other
side. Thanks everybody for watching or
(36:09):
listening.
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