September 22, 2025 • 35 mins
Graig of MidLife Sports Cards has a YouTube channel and does a weekly Question and Answer series about Sports Cards. You can find his latest episode of this Q & A series every Wednesday on his YouTube channel.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:10):
What's going on everybody all right it is I'm recording this
on Monday. This episode is going to post on
Wednesday. Now lot a lot of stuff.
I don't usually record things this early lot of stuff going on
(00:31):
anyway it First off, let me say everybody out there who is
already listened to the first episode of my new podcast with
Mike of junk wax hero called surface issues over on the
sports card clubhouse, either YouTube channel.
(00:55):
It posted there yesterday or on Apple and Spotify Podcasts.
Again, Sports Card Clubhouse. It has been there since I think
Sunday. Thank you.
The reception to that concept that we're working on, just
trying out and see how, seeing how it goes has been
(01:19):
overwhelming. So thank you to everybody who
has checked that out. If you haven't yet, again,
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sports Card Clubhouse.
Thank you. See, I thought it would be
easier to say SCC sports card clubhouse or on our YouTube
channel. Again, I had a lot of fun on the
(01:42):
first one and it's going to be no frills.
It's going to be just Mike and Italking Hopefully once a week.
We are likely to be posting it on to podcast formats before
YouTube, but eventually it will go on to YouTube.
Again, there will usually be probably a lag there between the
(02:06):
two. Now it's Q&A week, Q&A day.
What am I talking about? It's not actually Q&A day
because it's Monday for me, but this is airing on Q&A day, which
is Wednesday. So if you have a question for an
upcoming episode, as always, I encourage you down below in the
comments to ask the question. Last few weeks I've had a few
(02:27):
last questions than normal. Maybe I'm not as interesting as
I used to be as possible. Maybe people are busy watching
football. My Niners are two and O.
And by the way, Wednesday, no brain is my brain is completely
scrambled right now. It was a long weekend.
(02:49):
Monday this coming Monday Midlife live #9 my panel will
not disappoint. I will announce the panel on
Friday. Now I recorded AI will be
recording but it will air on either Friday or Saturday.
(03:09):
Is going to be an off topic episode with a really cool
couple of guests. Excited for that and also I am
time permitting in the near future, hopefully in the next
three days or so, going to post the pickups from the month of
August from all of you, the midlife community show and tell.
(03:31):
So let's get to the questions again.
Don't forget below in the comments ask a question if you
have it for an upcoming episode.I am willing to take on anything
except for politics and religion.
That said, let's take a look at the first question here.
This first one says you're awesome.
Greg. In your experience, do higher
(03:54):
vendor table costs at card showssometimes influence sellers to
price cards above comps, even unintentionally, as a way to
offset the expenses? I understand vendors are free to
set their own prices, but what steps do you think could help
encourage more consistent pricing around comps at shows so
(04:15):
both buyers and sellers feel good about the market?
All right, like this question because I love card shows.
I love going to card shows. There is supposed to be a card
show. Well, there's going to be a card
show this weekend. It's about an hour from me and I
(04:35):
know Coach wants to go my dad, so we're tentatively planning on
going to that. It would likely be on Saturday.
So hopefully I will be attendingthat card show and in
California, table prices are notcheap at this card show.
It's a couple of it's like a 2 1/2 day show.
(04:56):
I think they charge like 200 or $250 per table, which is a lot
of money. How do I know that?
I know that because my dad and Ihave set up at this show a
couple of times. In fact, I saw my guy John Eric
at the one of these shows not that long ago from nerding out
(05:17):
with cards. Check his channel out.
He was at one of these shows when he was because he was in
the Coast Guard. He was stationed in Vallejo,
which is like, I don't know, 20 minutes away.
So anyway, I'm not answering thequestion yet.
Let me answer the question. Let me first say this.
I want dealers to be successful at shows because then dealers
(05:39):
will continue to set up at shows.
When you think about it, you go,well, let's say a card is $100.
If if you list it on eBay and you sell it for $100, the
dealer's going to end up with about 85.
If they set up a card show, they're going to end up with 100
if they sell it for 100. So you would think, well, they
(06:02):
would offered at a discount, right, because it because it's
they're going to net the full 100 instead of the 85.
But then they've got the table fees.
Now, I totally understand that in other parts of the country
that aren't as expensive, tablesaren't as expensive, but I
personally would say a couple ofthings.
(06:24):
First, I try to buy something atevery show that I go to, even
when there are times that there's not really anything so
much that I'm not interested in because I just want to support
the dealers. So I look at it this way as
well. Let's say I bought that $100
card on eBay. I would be paying about 115
(06:49):
'cause I'm going to have in California, we have like 8 1/2
percent sales tax. So there's another 850 and it's
going to be probably 5-6, seven dollars to ship it.
So I'm going to be all in $115 if I bought it on eBay.
So if I buy it at the show for 100, I'm saving 15 bucks too,
(07:11):
even if I buy it a little bit over.
So what I try to do is at card shows, I try to buy some less
expensive cards. So unless there's a big card
that I find, which it usually isn't the case.
So like at this show, the Fairfield Card Show, one of the
best card shows in Northern California.
Most of the time I bought an 86 Tops, traded Berry Bonds and I
(07:36):
bought a Leaf Frank Thomas because those are like $2530
cards. And if I buy those on eBay and
let's just say it's a $25 card and then I pay, I don't know, 2
bucks in in taxes and $6 in shipping, it's now a $33 card,
(07:58):
$34 card, something like that. So the percentage of the
purchase when you buy a cheap card online is like 3540% of the
purchase. So I agree that at times,
sometimes dealers prices are full sticker or even maybe a
(08:20):
little above, but in most cases we still come out ahead too if
we buy it in person and don't have to pay for all those other
things. Unless you live in Oregon where
there's no sales tax. So I don't really have a problem
overpaying a little bit at times.
I also don't have a problem overpaying because at times what
(08:44):
that means is I'm actually saving compared to eBay, right?
So, and if I want dealers to continue to set up and pay the
table fees, then I've got to support them.
So I haven't really answered your question.
So what can we do to get dealersdo OK, I, I haven't answered the
(09:06):
question at all, I guess. So let me now, after all that
preamble Saturday night hashtag Chris Hosh, I will say I think
that number one, there are goingto be table fees and the dealers
want to cover their fees just like, OK, here I go.
(09:29):
I know here I go. In my town, there's a brand new
shop. It's a little town.
There's like 5000 people that live out here.
It's it's 25 minutes southeast of Sacramento.
There's like 2 shopping centers.One was built in like the early
80s, one is like 3 years old, much newer, much nicer.
(09:55):
The rent is double at the new shopping center.
So when I'm choosing to go out to a restaurant, for example,
out here, it is going to be a little bit more expensive to be
in the new modern buildings at the new modern shopping center
because the rent is double. Isn't that say, I mean, that's
(10:16):
kind of Fair. Like we if we want these
businesses to be successful, then we have to help them be
successful. No, you don't have to buy.
I'm not saying everybody, I'm not saying you need to go
overpay and pay for overpriced stuff.
I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is for me, I
don't mind paying a few extra dollars to help support a
(10:40):
dealer, a local show, so that they're doing well, so that it
keeps money flowing in the room so it keeps the show healthy.
I'm also saying I do understand that they've got to cover their
their overhead and the old shopping center in town in town.
The food is genuinely noticeablycheaper at the old shopping
(11:02):
center restaurants than the new shopping center restaurants.
And it's not because of the quality of the food, it's
because of the rent. So I just have to say, is it
worth it to me? And for me at times depends.
So I don't blame them when they have a high table fee that they
(11:22):
charge a little bit more. Do I think the prices are a
little bit more at an expensive show than a cheap show?
I do. Do I blame them?
I don't. I don't know if I answered the
question, but I tried to answer the question as a whole.
I try to buy something at every show that I go to.
(11:43):
I don't always. There's been a couple of times I
haven't bought anything. I try to buy something because I
want to be a community member that keeps the community hobby
thriving. But that's just me.
That doesn't mean that's what others have to do.
Hall of Fame commenter Andrew says.
Greg, question for next week or a future Q&A episode.
(12:07):
It's getting closer to your three years of posting videos on
YouTube. I was wondering, do you think
your card collection, what wouldit look like had you not created
your channel? Thanks.
All right, Andrew Hall of Fame commenter.
Andrew, you are an important cogin the hobby, in the hobby
(12:32):
community my friend, and I always appreciate your
questions. To answer your question, what do
I think my collection would looklike had I not started a YouTube
channel? Well, there's a couple of
different components to that. Through the YouTube community, I
have become what I would consider, at least for me, I
(12:55):
don't know if I am for them, some really, really good
friends, some lifelong friends Ihave met through the hobby and
through the YouTube community and in tons and tons of
conversations with those people on camera and off.
A lot of the times people say why do you have the same people
(13:16):
on all the time? I tend to have people on that
are my friends. So why do I keep having Darren
on 'cause I love him. Why do I have Tony on?
Love him? Why do I have Petty on?
Love him too. Did I just tell you who the
(13:37):
Monday live panel is? I might have.
I might have. Through conversations with those
people and hearing their passionand excitement for certain cards
and certain areas of the hobby, it starts to rub off on you.
I bought a card last night. I won an auction, won an
(14:03):
auction. I paid for a card that I
purchased through an eBay auction.
That absolutely is a direct influence of a good friend and
the hobby. It absolutely is.
So I do think that that is a piece of it.
(14:24):
When I hear Orlando of A Collector's Dream, when I hear
him talk about his Goodwin Champions cards, every time he
does a Goodwin Champions episode, I fire up the the
different searches on the different auctions about Goodwin
Champions carts because I'm like, I need to have one of
these in my collection. They're amazing.
(14:45):
And I love Orlando's explanationand his passion.
It's it's absolutely contagious.So I do see the fingerprint of
other people in the community that I'm friends with in my
(15:06):
collection. Absolutely.
The other piece is I, I can't deny that I do earn some revenue
from YouTube. It's not a ton of revenue.
Trust me. I don't know what people think.
I don't know what people think YouTube channels make.
(15:28):
It's not very much. And I I for almost 3 full years
I did not have a single sponsor.The only sponsor I have right
now, the sole exclusive at the moment exclusive at the moment
sponsor is card ladder. By the way, promo code midlife
(15:54):
gets you a a month free or $20 off a year long subscription
Card ladder promo code midlife. It's an awesome promo code that
gets you a lot. I don't make a ton from that,
but I make some. I make some.
Now if I broke it down to how much I make per hour, it's, it's
a little embarrassing. Cause like for example, the
(16:18):
community show and tell episode that hopefully will post either
Friday or Saturday of this week is I will spend I'd say 5 or 6
hours on that episode. And that episode I might make, I
don't know, 15 or 20 bucks off of it maybe.
(16:41):
So what's that breakdown to like3 or 4 bucks an hour, but it's
still a few bucks, which goes into my card account.
Any, any money that I get through this goes into my card
account. But it's not much.
So I have to admit when you ask this question, my card
(17:05):
collection has a few extra dollars in it because of
YouTube. Had I used the same amount of
time to do tutoring or extra hour things at work or extra
duties at work, it would be a absolute mountain more of cash
(17:28):
over the last three years. But it is a few extra dollars,
which has helped me to pick up afew extra cards.
Is that why I do it? If I was doing it for the money,
then I am the dumbest human being of all time.
So. But yeah, I would say definitely
influence and seeing the passionand joy from friends in the
(17:52):
hobby that I've made from the channel has affected my
collection. And then a few extra dollars
that I'm able to spend from timeto time has helped as well.
So I don't know if I fully answered the question.
I didn't give any exact examples, but if you look at my
collection now versus 3 years ago, you would go, well,
(18:14):
something changed here. And a lot of that is the
influence and a little bit of that is a little bit of extra
money to spend this one says Greg.
Why don't PSA and SGC combine their services and give the
submitter an option of having a tuck slab or not put the
(18:36):
initials PSA in big bold like SGC does on a tuck slab.
This is a really good question. And I think a lot of SGC people
and people who have SGC and PSA slab cards would love for this
(18:56):
to happen. I would love for this to happen
if there was permanently an option when I go to the PSA or
the SGC site where I could clicka drop down.
I say do I want APSA grade or anSGC grade?
Do I want an SGC tux slab or APSA slab?
(19:16):
Like could I have APSA graded card in the tux looking slab or
potentially vice versa where thelabel would say the greater
standards 'cause they do have different, slightly different
standards. PSA and STC do have slightly
different standards. So a lot of the times when we
(19:37):
compare them, oh, it crossed from this to this.
Well, sometimes that's because the standards they are a little
bit different. If you look at them side by
side. I think that that would make a
lot of collectors happy. So to ask to to your question
then why don't they do it? It must not be cost effective it
(19:58):
it must not boost revenue more than it would raise overhead.
If if the margin if the margin of income went up as a result of
adding this option, I think theywould do it.
(20:21):
And I don't know if they've looked into it, but I'm guessing
that they don't think that as a whole they will make more money
as a result of opening that option up.
I don't know though. I think see this question is a
(20:41):
perfect example of how collectors view the big
companies versus how the big companies view the big
companies. As collectors, we say, I mean,
we some of us like PSA, some of us like SGC, some of us like the
PSA slab, some of us like the SGC slab.
(21:02):
Why not just merge them and giveus two options on the same
platform? I can send in my submission, put
these in a PSA slab, put these in a tux lab.
But businesses don't look at it like a collector.
Businesses look at numbers. And that's why a lot of times if
(21:24):
you go to a dealer, they'll say,you know, I'll buy anything.
If the numbers work, I'll sell any of these cards.
If the numbers work, you know, are you buying?
Well, if the numbers work a lot of the time for businesses it's
just about the numbers and they must feel, my guess is at least
at this moment that they won't come out financially ahead if
(21:52):
they offer those options. But as a collector, I would, I
think that would be great. So I have to think that as PSA
is, is there the, the, the people in charge running PSA and
collectors and SGCI think that they have to have had some
(22:15):
conversations sitting around a table and said, here are our
options. Keep SGC and keep PSA, Keep them
separate like we have or keep PSA and keep SGC and merge it or
you have options like this or keep PSA and there's no longer a
(22:41):
need or a demand for SGC. So we'll get rid of it and we'll
try to get all those people to stay with PSAI Have to believe,
I don't know. I don't know anything.
I'm just, I mean, I'm a teacher.I just got home an hour ago.
I, I have to believe that they've sat around a table and
(23:02):
thrown around some ideas. And at this point, my guess is
they don't think that they'd come out more ahead as a result
of making that change. But from my seat, from my
perspective, I don't want STC going anywhere.
I don't want PSA going anywhere and I want to have the option
(23:25):
for both. And part of me kind of wants
them to stay separate because then they're kind of indirectly
competing. Even though they're not directly
competing, they're kind of kind of competing.
There's a little bit of competition between them, like,
(23:45):
oh, the SGC brand is netting more money than they were last
month, but the PSA brand isn't. It seems like there would be
some internal like competition, but I don't know.
So I don't know. This one says I'm liquidating
some of my cards to buy a higherend card.
(24:07):
There's a nice Otani I have my eyes on.
Or should I buy several cards ofsome all time greats Aaron
Clemente. All right, There are definitely
some channels out there that would tell you what you should
be buying and what you shouldn'tbe buying and what has upward
(24:29):
potential more than other things.
And this is better than that. And that is the last thing I'm
ever going to do. I'm never going to tell somebody
else what they should buy. I'm just not that is that is not
a lane that I'm ever going to get on board with.
(24:51):
Now it sounds from reading this question, from going through
reading this question, it soundsto me like you want the Ohtani
card. That's what it sounds like.
And my answer when it comes to ahobby and which cards you should
(25:12):
be purchasing and adding to yourcollection in this hobby, the
answer is always going to be from me.
Whichever 1 you like best, that's the one I think you
should buy. And it sounds to me, since
you've identified this in particular, Otani card, which it
sounds like you're very interested in, but it's almost
(25:35):
like you're trying to say, can you talk me out of it because
there's something I'm missing. I should go over here.
I think you want the Otani card.And if you want the Otani card,
I don't blame you. I think Otani is a special
player. I think he's a generational
talent now. I think that because Otani is
(25:57):
still mid career, because Otani is still active, because Otani
is still alive, there are thingsthat could happen that could
affect value. But you're it does.
I mean, let me reread it. I'm liquidating some of my cards
to buy a higher end card. There's a nice Otani I have my
(26:19):
eyes on. Or should I buy several cards at
some all time greats? So you're not asking about
what's safer. You're not asking about what has
more potential. You're asking what should you
buy. You got to buy the card you
want. It sounds like you want the
Otani now. I understand why someone would
(26:40):
want a Hank Aaron card. I understand why someone would
want a Roberto Clemente card. I also understand why someone
would want an Otani card now if we're talking about the
volatility of each. Well Otani's still alive and
Otani is still playing and Otaniis mid career so his his career
(27:02):
is only part over. Clemente and Aaron, their career
is over and they have since passed on.
So they are kind of like, it's sort of like a a done deal, what
you're getting there. So you're not going to get any
surprises. You know, Hank Aaron's not going
to tear his ACL. Hank Aaron's not going to need
(27:25):
Tommy John surgery. Roberto Clemente is not going to
have a really bad season next year.
So there's definitely one has some potential volatility.
I think one has more potential short term upside and downside,
(27:47):
but you got to buy what you want, not what I think.
I'm just a dude with his phone on a tripod on a stack of
pillows as he sits on his bed after he got home from work one
day. Buy the card you want.
And it really sounds to me like you want the Otani, so why not
buy the Otani? And finally, this one says Greg.
(28:11):
Great video once again. My question is when will we ever
have a secure and rapid method to personally grade and
authenticate our cards without the requirement of PSA being
directly involved? Technology has to one day
empower us and therefore eliminate the inconvenience and
(28:33):
inconsistencies we see today with PSA and others.
It is time we take back our vintage hobby and gain the
proper respect we as the community so rightly deserve.
Technology will be our friend and not the enemy PSA has
become. Looking forward to that one day,
(28:55):
Greg. Guessing what's going to happen
with technology is like, I mean,we've, we've, we've flown people
to the moon and we did that years before I was even born.
I never in a million years, never in a million years thought
(29:19):
I would be able to have a devicein my pocket that it's not
currently in my pocket. It's currently right there that
I could call people with no longdistance fees.
Then I could watch movies and TVlive.
Then I could talk to people, video conference them live.
(29:45):
That would be a phone, high end phone, a high end video
recording device, access the Internet, the Internet.
I'm, I'm, I am not really a visionary.
Other people are like, oh, yeah,someday this will happen.
(30:07):
Like, I don't know, I watch Backto the Future to see what's
going to happen, right? Like that's, I don't know what's
going to happen. I'm, I just, I just react when
it comes to technology. So is it reasonable to think
that at some point there would be an app or some sort of device
(30:33):
where we could have a universal grade that is spit out after
videoing the front and the back of a card or pit taking pictures
of a front and back of a card? That seems very reasonable to
me. Now that grade I think could
(30:54):
change. I think it could change because
one of the things that card graders do is they grade it and
then they encapsulate it so it doesn't change.
But I, I think it's very possible that there's some 100
point scale, maybe even 1000 point scale.
I don't know where you video allover a card, flip it over, video
(31:18):
all over my phone turns on when it recognizes my face.
How does that, how does it know it's me?
There's so, yeah, the technology's crazy.
Do I think that's possible? 100%.
(31:39):
And I think it's possible that if you put the card in the
sleeve and you kind of scuff thebottom again and you rescan it,
that the grade would change. I think that's very, very
possible. I think that's very possible.
Will it happen? It seems hard to believe that
that wouldn't happen. Are we close to that?
(32:01):
I have no idea. I can't even believe some of
this stuff AI can do. People are like, hey, have you
tried this? And I'm like, no, I do it.
I'm like, whoa, that's crazy. That's that is crazy.
So we might be closer to that than we think.
(32:23):
We might be further from that than we think.
No clue I have heard. Now.
I have no idea if this is true. I have heard other people say
that if you take a picture of the front and the back of a card
and you ask some of the AI software to grade it using PSA
(32:47):
standards, I have heard that it does a pretty good job.
I've never tried that, but I've heard people talk about that.
I don't even know. Is that like a ChatGPT?
Like I don't know. I have heard people say yeah,
cover the grain. I've covered the grade.
I've taken a picture of the front, taken a picture of the
(33:09):
back, said grade this with PSA standards and it gets the grade
that PSA said fairly fairly regularly.
Don't take my word for that. I've just heard that.
I probably should have tried that or something before I said,
but again, that's just a rumor and you know about rumors.
(33:33):
I think it's a good question. I think that we all hope that we
could get to that point. That would be fantastic if we
could sit there and scan a card via video or pictures front and
back 10 times in a row and get the same score 10 times in a row
from that app or that software. That'd be amazing, especially
(33:55):
for the people that don't like to have their cards
encapsulated. That would be amazing.
Is it going to happen? Hope so.
Will it happen? Maybe, I have no idea, but I
like the thought that that mightbe coming because boy would that
(34:16):
give the power back to the collectors, wouldn't it?
If you guys have a question for an upcoming episode, please,
seriously please down below in the comments.
Just ask the question again. If you haven't checked out
Surface Issues yet, my new podcast with Mike of Junk Wax
(34:39):
Hero, check it out again. Spotify, Apple.
It is under the network of Sports Card Clubhouse.
Another episode will drop soon. I need to reach out to Mike and
see when we're going to record the next one.
We're going to try really hard to do 1A week.
(35:01):
It's been fun so far, but we've only done 1, so thanks for
everybody's support on that and with everything.
Thank you guys for your continued support of me, this
channel, this hobby, this community.
What's going on everybody all right it is I'm recording this
on Monday. This episode is going to post on
Wednesday. Now lot a lot of stuff.
I don't usually record things this early lot of stuff going on
(00:31):
anyway it First off, let me say everybody out there who is
already listened to the first episode of my new podcast with
Mike of junk wax hero called surface issues over on the
sports card clubhouse, either YouTube channel.
(00:55):
It posted there yesterday or on Apple and Spotify Podcasts.
Again, Sports Card Clubhouse. It has been there since I think
Sunday. Thank you.
The reception to that concept that we're working on, just
trying out and see how, seeing how it goes has been
(01:19):
overwhelming. So thank you to everybody who
has checked that out. If you haven't yet, again,
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sports Card Clubhouse.
Thank you. See, I thought it would be
easier to say SCC sports card clubhouse or on our YouTube
channel. Again, I had a lot of fun on the
(01:42):
first one and it's going to be no frills.
It's going to be just Mike and Italking Hopefully once a week.
We are likely to be posting it on to podcast formats before
YouTube, but eventually it will go on to YouTube.
Again, there will usually be probably a lag there between the
(02:06):
two. Now it's Q&A week, Q&A day.
What am I talking about? It's not actually Q&A day
because it's Monday for me, but this is airing on Q&A day, which
is Wednesday. So if you have a question for an
upcoming episode, as always, I encourage you down below in the
comments to ask the question. Last few weeks I've had a few
(02:27):
last questions than normal. Maybe I'm not as interesting as
I used to be as possible. Maybe people are busy watching
football. My Niners are two and O.
And by the way, Wednesday, no brain is my brain is completely
scrambled right now. It was a long weekend.
(02:49):
Monday this coming Monday Midlife live #9 my panel will
not disappoint. I will announce the panel on
Friday. Now I recorded AI will be
recording but it will air on either Friday or Saturday.
(03:09):
Is going to be an off topic episode with a really cool
couple of guests. Excited for that and also I am
time permitting in the near future, hopefully in the next
three days or so, going to post the pickups from the month of
August from all of you, the midlife community show and tell.
(03:31):
So let's get to the questions again.
Don't forget below in the comments ask a question if you
have it for an upcoming episode.I am willing to take on anything
except for politics and religion.
That said, let's take a look at the first question here.
This first one says you're awesome.
Greg. In your experience, do higher
(03:54):
vendor table costs at card showssometimes influence sellers to
price cards above comps, even unintentionally, as a way to
offset the expenses? I understand vendors are free to
set their own prices, but what steps do you think could help
encourage more consistent pricing around comps at shows so
(04:15):
both buyers and sellers feel good about the market?
All right, like this question because I love card shows.
I love going to card shows. There is supposed to be a card
show. Well, there's going to be a card
show this weekend. It's about an hour from me and I
(04:35):
know Coach wants to go my dad, so we're tentatively planning on
going to that. It would likely be on Saturday.
So hopefully I will be attendingthat card show and in
California, table prices are notcheap at this card show.
It's a couple of it's like a 2 1/2 day show.
(04:56):
I think they charge like 200 or $250 per table, which is a lot
of money. How do I know that?
I know that because my dad and Ihave set up at this show a
couple of times. In fact, I saw my guy John Eric
at the one of these shows not that long ago from nerding out
(05:17):
with cards. Check his channel out.
He was at one of these shows when he was because he was in
the Coast Guard. He was stationed in Vallejo,
which is like, I don't know, 20 minutes away.
So anyway, I'm not answering thequestion yet.
Let me answer the question. Let me first say this.
I want dealers to be successful at shows because then dealers
(05:39):
will continue to set up at shows.
When you think about it, you go,well, let's say a card is $100.
If if you list it on eBay and you sell it for $100, the
dealer's going to end up with about 85.
If they set up a card show, they're going to end up with 100
if they sell it for 100. So you would think, well, they
(06:02):
would offered at a discount, right, because it because it's
they're going to net the full 100 instead of the 85.
But then they've got the table fees.
Now, I totally understand that in other parts of the country
that aren't as expensive, tablesaren't as expensive, but I
personally would say a couple ofthings.
(06:24):
First, I try to buy something atevery show that I go to, even
when there are times that there's not really anything so
much that I'm not interested in because I just want to support
the dealers. So I look at it this way as
well. Let's say I bought that $100
card on eBay. I would be paying about 115
(06:49):
'cause I'm going to have in California, we have like 8 1/2
percent sales tax. So there's another 850 and it's
going to be probably 5-6, seven dollars to ship it.
So I'm going to be all in $115 if I bought it on eBay.
So if I buy it at the show for 100, I'm saving 15 bucks too,
(07:11):
even if I buy it a little bit over.
So what I try to do is at card shows, I try to buy some less
expensive cards. So unless there's a big card
that I find, which it usually isn't the case.
So like at this show, the Fairfield Card Show, one of the
best card shows in Northern California.
Most of the time I bought an 86 Tops, traded Berry Bonds and I
(07:36):
bought a Leaf Frank Thomas because those are like $2530
cards. And if I buy those on eBay and
let's just say it's a $25 card and then I pay, I don't know, 2
bucks in in taxes and $6 in shipping, it's now a $33 card,
(07:58):
$34 card, something like that. So the percentage of the
purchase when you buy a cheap card online is like 3540% of the
purchase. So I agree that at times,
sometimes dealers prices are full sticker or even maybe a
(08:20):
little above, but in most cases we still come out ahead too if
we buy it in person and don't have to pay for all those other
things. Unless you live in Oregon where
there's no sales tax. So I don't really have a problem
overpaying a little bit at times.
I also don't have a problem overpaying because at times what
(08:44):
that means is I'm actually saving compared to eBay, right?
So, and if I want dealers to continue to set up and pay the
table fees, then I've got to support them.
So I haven't really answered your question.
So what can we do to get dealersdo OK, I, I haven't answered the
(09:06):
question at all, I guess. So let me now, after all that
preamble Saturday night hashtag Chris Hosh, I will say I think
that number one, there are goingto be table fees and the dealers
want to cover their fees just like, OK, here I go.
(09:29):
I know here I go. In my town, there's a brand new
shop. It's a little town.
There's like 5000 people that live out here.
It's it's 25 minutes southeast of Sacramento.
There's like 2 shopping centers.One was built in like the early
80s, one is like 3 years old, much newer, much nicer.
(09:55):
The rent is double at the new shopping center.
So when I'm choosing to go out to a restaurant, for example,
out here, it is going to be a little bit more expensive to be
in the new modern buildings at the new modern shopping center
because the rent is double. Isn't that say, I mean, that's
(10:16):
kind of Fair. Like we if we want these
businesses to be successful, then we have to help them be
successful. No, you don't have to buy.
I'm not saying everybody, I'm not saying you need to go
overpay and pay for overpriced stuff.
I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is for me, I
don't mind paying a few extra dollars to help support a
(10:40):
dealer, a local show, so that they're doing well, so that it
keeps money flowing in the room so it keeps the show healthy.
I'm also saying I do understand that they've got to cover their
their overhead and the old shopping center in town in town.
The food is genuinely noticeablycheaper at the old shopping
(11:02):
center restaurants than the new shopping center restaurants.
And it's not because of the quality of the food, it's
because of the rent. So I just have to say, is it
worth it to me? And for me at times depends.
So I don't blame them when they have a high table fee that they
(11:22):
charge a little bit more. Do I think the prices are a
little bit more at an expensive show than a cheap show?
I do. Do I blame them?
I don't. I don't know if I answered the
question, but I tried to answer the question as a whole.
I try to buy something at every show that I go to.
(11:43):
I don't always. There's been a couple of times I
haven't bought anything. I try to buy something because I
want to be a community member that keeps the community hobby
thriving. But that's just me.
That doesn't mean that's what others have to do.
Hall of Fame commenter Andrew says.
Greg, question for next week or a future Q&A episode.
(12:07):
It's getting closer to your three years of posting videos on
YouTube. I was wondering, do you think
your card collection, what wouldit look like had you not created
your channel? Thanks.
All right, Andrew Hall of Fame commenter.
Andrew, you are an important cogin the hobby, in the hobby
(12:32):
community my friend, and I always appreciate your
questions. To answer your question, what do
I think my collection would looklike had I not started a YouTube
channel? Well, there's a couple of
different components to that. Through the YouTube community, I
have become what I would consider, at least for me, I
(12:55):
don't know if I am for them, some really, really good
friends, some lifelong friends Ihave met through the hobby and
through the YouTube community and in tons and tons of
conversations with those people on camera and off.
A lot of the times people say why do you have the same people
(13:16):
on all the time? I tend to have people on that
are my friends. So why do I keep having Darren
on 'cause I love him. Why do I have Tony on?
Love him? Why do I have Petty on?
Love him too. Did I just tell you who the
(13:37):
Monday live panel is? I might have.
I might have. Through conversations with those
people and hearing their passionand excitement for certain cards
and certain areas of the hobby, it starts to rub off on you.
I bought a card last night. I won an auction, won an
(14:03):
auction. I paid for a card that I
purchased through an eBay auction.
That absolutely is a direct influence of a good friend and
the hobby. It absolutely is.
So I do think that that is a piece of it.
(14:24):
When I hear Orlando of A Collector's Dream, when I hear
him talk about his Goodwin Champions cards, every time he
does a Goodwin Champions episode, I fire up the the
different searches on the different auctions about Goodwin
Champions carts because I'm like, I need to have one of
these in my collection. They're amazing.
(14:45):
And I love Orlando's explanationand his passion.
It's it's absolutely contagious.So I do see the fingerprint of
other people in the community that I'm friends with in my
(15:06):
collection. Absolutely.
The other piece is I, I can't deny that I do earn some revenue
from YouTube. It's not a ton of revenue.
Trust me. I don't know what people think.
I don't know what people think YouTube channels make.
(15:28):
It's not very much. And I I for almost 3 full years
I did not have a single sponsor.The only sponsor I have right
now, the sole exclusive at the moment exclusive at the moment
sponsor is card ladder. By the way, promo code midlife
(15:54):
gets you a a month free or $20 off a year long subscription
Card ladder promo code midlife. It's an awesome promo code that
gets you a lot. I don't make a ton from that,
but I make some. I make some.
Now if I broke it down to how much I make per hour, it's, it's
a little embarrassing. Cause like for example, the
(16:18):
community show and tell episode that hopefully will post either
Friday or Saturday of this week is I will spend I'd say 5 or 6
hours on that episode. And that episode I might make, I
don't know, 15 or 20 bucks off of it maybe.
(16:41):
So what's that breakdown to like3 or 4 bucks an hour, but it's
still a few bucks, which goes into my card account.
Any, any money that I get through this goes into my card
account. But it's not much.
So I have to admit when you ask this question, my card
(17:05):
collection has a few extra dollars in it because of
YouTube. Had I used the same amount of
time to do tutoring or extra hour things at work or extra
duties at work, it would be a absolute mountain more of cash
(17:28):
over the last three years. But it is a few extra dollars,
which has helped me to pick up afew extra cards.
Is that why I do it? If I was doing it for the money,
then I am the dumbest human being of all time.
So. But yeah, I would say definitely
influence and seeing the passionand joy from friends in the
(17:52):
hobby that I've made from the channel has affected my
collection. And then a few extra dollars
that I'm able to spend from timeto time has helped as well.
So I don't know if I fully answered the question.
I didn't give any exact examples, but if you look at my
collection now versus 3 years ago, you would go, well,
(18:14):
something changed here. And a lot of that is the
influence and a little bit of that is a little bit of extra
money to spend this one says Greg.
Why don't PSA and SGC combine their services and give the
submitter an option of having a tuck slab or not put the
(18:36):
initials PSA in big bold like SGC does on a tuck slab.
This is a really good question. And I think a lot of SGC people
and people who have SGC and PSA slab cards would love for this
(18:56):
to happen. I would love for this to happen
if there was permanently an option when I go to the PSA or
the SGC site where I could clicka drop down.
I say do I want APSA grade or anSGC grade?
Do I want an SGC tux slab or APSA slab?
(19:16):
Like could I have APSA graded card in the tux looking slab or
potentially vice versa where thelabel would say the greater
standards 'cause they do have different, slightly different
standards. PSA and STC do have slightly
different standards. So a lot of the times when we
(19:37):
compare them, oh, it crossed from this to this.
Well, sometimes that's because the standards they are a little
bit different. If you look at them side by
side. I think that that would make a
lot of collectors happy. So to ask to to your question
then why don't they do it? It must not be cost effective it
(19:58):
it must not boost revenue more than it would raise overhead.
If if the margin if the margin of income went up as a result of
adding this option, I think theywould do it.
(20:21):
And I don't know if they've looked into it, but I'm guessing
that they don't think that as a whole they will make more money
as a result of opening that option up.
I don't know though. I think see this question is a
(20:41):
perfect example of how collectors view the big
companies versus how the big companies view the big
companies. As collectors, we say, I mean,
we some of us like PSA, some of us like SGC, some of us like the
PSA slab, some of us like the SGC slab.
(21:02):
Why not just merge them and giveus two options on the same
platform? I can send in my submission, put
these in a PSA slab, put these in a tux lab.
But businesses don't look at it like a collector.
Businesses look at numbers. And that's why a lot of times if
(21:24):
you go to a dealer, they'll say,you know, I'll buy anything.
If the numbers work, I'll sell any of these cards.
If the numbers work, you know, are you buying?
Well, if the numbers work a lot of the time for businesses it's
just about the numbers and they must feel, my guess is at least
at this moment that they won't come out financially ahead if
(21:52):
they offer those options. But as a collector, I would, I
think that would be great. So I have to think that as PSA
is, is there the, the, the people in charge running PSA and
collectors and SGCI think that they have to have had some
(22:15):
conversations sitting around a table and said, here are our
options. Keep SGC and keep PSA, Keep them
separate like we have or keep PSA and keep SGC and merge it or
you have options like this or keep PSA and there's no longer a
(22:41):
need or a demand for SGC. So we'll get rid of it and we'll
try to get all those people to stay with PSAI Have to believe,
I don't know. I don't know anything.
I'm just, I mean, I'm a teacher.I just got home an hour ago.
I, I have to believe that they've sat around a table and
(23:02):
thrown around some ideas. And at this point, my guess is
they don't think that they'd come out more ahead as a result
of making that change. But from my seat, from my
perspective, I don't want STC going anywhere.
I don't want PSA going anywhere and I want to have the option
(23:25):
for both. And part of me kind of wants
them to stay separate because then they're kind of indirectly
competing. Even though they're not directly
competing, they're kind of kind of competing.
There's a little bit of competition between them, like,
(23:45):
oh, the SGC brand is netting more money than they were last
month, but the PSA brand isn't. It seems like there would be
some internal like competition, but I don't know.
So I don't know. This one says I'm liquidating
some of my cards to buy a higherend card.
(24:07):
There's a nice Otani I have my eyes on.
Or should I buy several cards ofsome all time greats Aaron
Clemente. All right, There are definitely
some channels out there that would tell you what you should
be buying and what you shouldn'tbe buying and what has upward
(24:29):
potential more than other things.
And this is better than that. And that is the last thing I'm
ever going to do. I'm never going to tell somebody
else what they should buy. I'm just not that is that is not
a lane that I'm ever going to get on board with.
(24:51):
Now it sounds from reading this question, from going through
reading this question, it soundsto me like you want the Ohtani
card. That's what it sounds like.
And my answer when it comes to ahobby and which cards you should
(25:12):
be purchasing and adding to yourcollection in this hobby, the
answer is always going to be from me.
Whichever 1 you like best, that's the one I think you
should buy. And it sounds to me, since
you've identified this in particular, Otani card, which it
sounds like you're very interested in, but it's almost
(25:35):
like you're trying to say, can you talk me out of it because
there's something I'm missing. I should go over here.
I think you want the Otani card.And if you want the Otani card,
I don't blame you. I think Otani is a special
player. I think he's a generational
talent now. I think that because Otani is
(25:57):
still mid career, because Otani is still active, because Otani
is still alive, there are thingsthat could happen that could
affect value. But you're it does.
I mean, let me reread it. I'm liquidating some of my cards
to buy a higher end card. There's a nice Otani I have my
(26:19):
eyes on. Or should I buy several cards at
some all time greats? So you're not asking about
what's safer. You're not asking about what has
more potential. You're asking what should you
buy. You got to buy the card you
want. It sounds like you want the
Otani now. I understand why someone would
(26:40):
want a Hank Aaron card. I understand why someone would
want a Roberto Clemente card. I also understand why someone
would want an Otani card now if we're talking about the
volatility of each. Well Otani's still alive and
Otani is still playing and Otaniis mid career so his his career
(27:02):
is only part over. Clemente and Aaron, their career
is over and they have since passed on.
So they are kind of like, it's sort of like a a done deal, what
you're getting there. So you're not going to get any
surprises. You know, Hank Aaron's not going
to tear his ACL. Hank Aaron's not going to need
(27:25):
Tommy John surgery. Roberto Clemente is not going to
have a really bad season next year.
So there's definitely one has some potential volatility.
I think one has more potential short term upside and downside,
(27:47):
but you got to buy what you want, not what I think.
I'm just a dude with his phone on a tripod on a stack of
pillows as he sits on his bed after he got home from work one
day. Buy the card you want.
And it really sounds to me like you want the Otani, so why not
buy the Otani? And finally, this one says Greg.
(28:11):
Great video once again. My question is when will we ever
have a secure and rapid method to personally grade and
authenticate our cards without the requirement of PSA being
directly involved? Technology has to one day
empower us and therefore eliminate the inconvenience and
(28:33):
inconsistencies we see today with PSA and others.
It is time we take back our vintage hobby and gain the
proper respect we as the community so rightly deserve.
Technology will be our friend and not the enemy PSA has
become. Looking forward to that one day,
(28:55):
Greg. Guessing what's going to happen
with technology is like, I mean,we've, we've, we've flown people
to the moon and we did that years before I was even born.
I never in a million years, never in a million years thought
(29:19):
I would be able to have a devicein my pocket that it's not
currently in my pocket. It's currently right there that
I could call people with no longdistance fees.
Then I could watch movies and TVlive.
Then I could talk to people, video conference them live.
(29:45):
That would be a phone, high end phone, a high end video
recording device, access the Internet, the Internet.
I'm, I'm, I am not really a visionary.
Other people are like, oh, yeah,someday this will happen.
(30:07):
Like, I don't know, I watch Backto the Future to see what's
going to happen, right? Like that's, I don't know what's
going to happen. I'm, I just, I just react when
it comes to technology. So is it reasonable to think
that at some point there would be an app or some sort of device
(30:33):
where we could have a universal grade that is spit out after
videoing the front and the back of a card or pit taking pictures
of a front and back of a card? That seems very reasonable to
me. Now that grade I think could
(30:54):
change. I think it could change because
one of the things that card graders do is they grade it and
then they encapsulate it so it doesn't change.
But I, I think it's very possible that there's some 100
point scale, maybe even 1000 point scale.
I don't know where you video allover a card, flip it over, video
(31:18):
all over my phone turns on when it recognizes my face.
How does that, how does it know it's me?
There's so, yeah, the technology's crazy.
Do I think that's possible? 100%.
(31:39):
And I think it's possible that if you put the card in the
sleeve and you kind of scuff thebottom again and you rescan it,
that the grade would change. I think that's very, very
possible. I think that's very possible.
Will it happen? It seems hard to believe that
that wouldn't happen. Are we close to that?
(32:01):
I have no idea. I can't even believe some of
this stuff AI can do. People are like, hey, have you
tried this? And I'm like, no, I do it.
I'm like, whoa, that's crazy. That's that is crazy.
So we might be closer to that than we think.
(32:23):
We might be further from that than we think.
No clue I have heard. Now.
I have no idea if this is true. I have heard other people say
that if you take a picture of the front and the back of a card
and you ask some of the AI software to grade it using PSA
(32:47):
standards, I have heard that it does a pretty good job.
I've never tried that, but I've heard people talk about that.
I don't even know. Is that like a ChatGPT?
Like I don't know. I have heard people say yeah,
cover the grain. I've covered the grade.
I've taken a picture of the front, taken a picture of the
(33:09):
back, said grade this with PSA standards and it gets the grade
that PSA said fairly fairly regularly.
Don't take my word for that. I've just heard that.
I probably should have tried that or something before I said,
but again, that's just a rumor and you know about rumors.
(33:33):
I think it's a good question. I think that we all hope that we
could get to that point. That would be fantastic if we
could sit there and scan a card via video or pictures front and
back 10 times in a row and get the same score 10 times in a row
from that app or that software. That'd be amazing, especially
(33:55):
for the people that don't like to have their cards
encapsulated. That would be amazing.
Is it going to happen? Hope so.
Will it happen? Maybe, I have no idea, but I
like the thought that that mightbe coming because boy would that
(34:16):
give the power back to the collectors, wouldn't it?
If you guys have a question for an upcoming episode, please,
seriously please down below in the comments.
Just ask the question again. If you haven't checked out
Surface Issues yet, my new podcast with Mike of Junk Wax
(34:39):
Hero, check it out again. Spotify, Apple.
It is under the network of Sports Card Clubhouse.
Another episode will drop soon. I need to reach out to Mike and
see when we're going to record the next one.
We're going to try really hard to do 1A week.
(35:01):
It's been fun so far, but we've only done 1, so thanks for
everybody's support on that and with everything.
Thank you guys for your continued support of me, this
channel, this hobby, this community.
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