#5: Save the Hobby. Don't Recycle.
👋 Hello, I’m Brett from the Stacking Slabs Podcast and welcome you each week to my newsletter the Weekly Rip. The goal of this newsletter is to elevate the people who make the Hobby better.
How are you doing Hobby friend?
I hope you’ve had a great week of life and the Weekly Rip #5 lands in your inbox with a purpose.
When I was thinking about creating a companion to the podcast I immediately knew it had to be written copy.
I love following megatrends in media (e.g. audio and video) and testing out the next big channel (e.g. Clubhouse or TikTok). This is what is required of me in my professional career. I need to understand where our audience is hanging out and make sure I understand how they like their content. Understanding psychology and consumer behavior is the basic building blocks of marketing.
I try to fuse elements of my professional career into SSP, but also just like to get back to my roots as a marketer, too. I’m passionate about writing and from the feedback that I’ve received from subscribers you appreciate it, too.
We operate in a market that relies on instant gratification, new forms of media to get the message across, and a whole lot of scrolling.
I hope the Weekly Rip can be your pattern interrupt for the week. It’s a piece of content that stands separate from YouTube channels, podcasts, or even bad ass cards in your Instagram feed.
Sometimes we just need to slow down and smell the Hobby roses.
I’m fortunate to be writing this newsletter from sunny Sanibel, FL.
I’ve been going here to let life slow down and get away for my entire life.
This trip I’ve tried to get my head out of work, but I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about our Hobby.
Here’s a few reflections that I’ve made since being here:
Refuse to allow negativity to interrupt your Hobby experience. There are unhappy people in this market and there’s nothing you can do to change them. Protect your escape.
Find more areas to go all-in. Find gaps in this market and identify opportunities where you have the skills to make it better
Be adaptable. The market today looks very different than it did a month ago. Undeniable changes will always exist. Ride the waves and never stop being a fan.
I think I might have a few more before the end of this week, but hope those few allow you to reflect on opportunities to enjoy the Hobby.
We don’t need roadblocks.
We don’t need people telling us what to buy.
We just need passion and a willingness to give back.
The more we lean into this the more the Hobby will give back.
On with the newsletter.
♻️Recycled photos for $2k+
I’ve talked about the significance of the Prizm product in this newsletter and throughout other channels.
I believe this product is significant because it brings together both collectors and investors. We need more opportunities for fusion in our Hobby.
I think Prizm Basketball is such a pillar of this market that I decided to do something that I’ve never done before. I dropped an episode this week in honor of it’s release. I had fun with this one and used Card Ladder data to call out the top 10 biggest sales in Prizm basketball history.
I’m not going to be the one that goes out and spends $2k+ on Hobby boxes or buys into a bunch of breaks, but I understand there are a lot of people that will do that.
That’s good. We need people that support new products and we do need to see all of the excitement around new products in our IG feeds. These are all signals that we are operating in a Hobby that is expanding and that should be exciting for anyone who owns not just Prizm basketball, but sports cards in general.
It can’t be all roses, can it?
Panini we have a problem!
I noticed something odd, but it didn’t click when I saw Panini’s preview post of the images from the new release.
The first card that stood out to me was the new Stephen Curry. When I scrolled quickly through the post something about the card seemed familiar to me, but I didn’t take the time to let it sink in.
On release day I saw the card again and then it clicked.
This was the same image from the 2019 Select Concourse Stephen Curry card that I own.
WTF!
I had Darius Leonard Super Collector @maniacsportscards asking me if I had noticed the recycled photography in the Prizm product and to see if I could give it some airtime on the Weekly Rip for this week.
Well here you go!
It wasn’t long before people started sending me more examples:
Kevin Durant
Zion Williamson
Cassius Stanley
Those examples were the first that I noticed or were sent to me.
Can there be more? Yep there’s more. You get the point.
I’m trying to think of all of the possible excuses that Panini could make to justify this outcome and they all come up flat for me:
We didn’t want to use photos of empty arenas
We struggled getting new photos during the pandemic
We are printing money hand over fist and quite frankly DGAF
I don’t really care what the reason is and I’m sure you don’t either.
This is laziness.
We should hold Panini accountable, but does it matter?
There are many signs emerging that let us know why it’s not good for sports cards to let one manufacturer have a monopoly on a license.
I want competition man!
Photography is one of the few items that separates sports cards from being just another commodity. Aesthetics matter and we should hold manufacturers like Panini to a higher standard.
If we let stuff like this slide it will only get worse.
If someone from Panini is reading this and wants to come on my show to talk about it the microphone is yours.
💉A Shot in the Arm of Optimism
Card Shows are poppin’ .
There are so many personalities in the Hobby and I love watching world’s collide right from my iPhone. When people go live at these shows I’m jumping in their streams to see what in the hell I am missing.
I’ve been the spectator. I’m on the bench and waiting for my number to be called.
Everyone has their own level of comfort when it comes to the pandemic. This past year has taught us a lot and has changed the way we operate.
It’s undeniable that the past year brought more interest than ever in the Hobby and the past few months have been a collapse of digital and physical world’s.
I’ve stayed on the bench because I’ve been on the more cautious side of the pandemic. My wife is in health care. She’s been on the frontlines of COVID-19 since the jump and hearing her stories has made it very real to me.
It’s not lost on me that readers of the Weekly Rip have been impacted by the pandemic. I think that is where cards can come in and provide an amazing escape during a rough stretch.
I had an amazing moment happen to me this past Monday. Indiana opened the vaccine to under 40, I signed up, and will be getting my shot when I return from FL.
The first thought that came into my head was that I’ll be fully vaccinated by May and feel comfortable going to card shows.
My brother and I booked our room for The National. Yes, we all hope it happens.
This past week so many great card shows have been promoting themselves in the coming weeks and figured it would be a good time to make sure everyone who reads this newsletter is aware of what’s going on.
Upcoming shows:
Miami Courtside Show - May 1st-2nd (Follow: @CourtSideCardshow; @summertimecards)
Wisconsin Dells Card Show - May 14th-16th (Follow: @wisdellscardshow; @waldorfstories)
Dallas Card Show - May 20-23 (Follow: @dallascardshow)
I can’t wait to be at card shows. It’s not just about the cards. It’s about networking, gathering information, and building relationships.
Maybe I’ll see you at one soon?
🏀What about Bob?
Have you ever seen this movie with Billy Murray?
I feel like I’ve seen each scene from this movie 100x separately, but maybe only once all together.
The reason I bring up this movie is because there was an Instagram account I followed a few months ago and it caused me to choke much like Leo when I first pulled it up.
The account: @bobmtrack
His name is Bob and he’s a LeBron supercollector.
I know he’s got the greatest LeBron collector that I’ve ever seen. Part of the reason I am featuring him here is because I think you should all go follow along the journey with me.
I was first made aware of Bob’s page when he was interviewed by fellow LeBron collector Josh in a episode 78 of Cardboard Chronicles
I re-listened back to the episode this week and in Bob’s opening statement of why he started collecting LeBron in 2003 he simplified it down to 3 primary points.
Card companies weren’t going to flood the market with cards - instead they started serial numbering cards
Grading was coming into the picture - this made exchange and understanding the market easier
LeBron was going to be the real deal
I won’t break down the entire episode, but I think it’s notable that Bob bought a majority of the cards that you see on his page on eBay. Also, he said on several occasions that viewed his LeBron hunting as an escape from his busy career.
I can relate with a ton of his sentiment. I love it how Bob has no intention to sell these cards. I love all of the reasons for why he started collecting LeBron. I love all of the passion.
His page is stunning. Sharing just one photo will not do it justice.
Go follow Bob and you learned what’s the deal with his collection.
📈A PSA on adaptability
IG blew up this week regarding the news of PSA cutting off intake of new cards outside of Super Express ($300/card). This newsletter isn’t here to rehash the news.
If you are reading this you all understand the changes and each of you has a different opinion of what it means for you and your operation.
When I saw the first post my immediate reaction was well done, Nat.
I jumped in Chris and Josh’s live stream and saw a comment from @yamwax that encompassed everything that I was thinking at that point in time.
This is tough news for many, and I feel that. But this *strategic* move by PSA is a signal of solid, intentional operators at the helm - Yam
While I understand this news hit everyone differently, let's not forget who is in charge of PSA right now.
A guy who is one of us who has one of the best collections that I’ve ever seen.
The ends always justify the means.
Be patient.
Trust in the process.
Above all else never quit believing in this Hobby and treating it as the ultimate escape.
I ask you two things in closing:
Do whatever you can to use your skills to give back to the Hobby - we need it more than ever
Please share this newsletter with whoever you think can benefit
Happy collecting,
Brett (@stackingslabs)
P.S. Like wrestling cards? Check out my conversation with Zhan Mourning that dropped today.