The Weekly Rip 2.18.24 [The Hobby is Hard to Explain]
This week's edition of The Weekly Rip looks at where the hobby is moving and how collector's can help influence the direction.
A big thank you to the Card Ladder team for being the official data sponsor of Stacking Slabs. Their team and product is amazing. If you’re looking to make more data driven collecting decisions make sure you check out Card Ladder.
I watched the TV, forget what I'm told
Well I am too young and they are too old
The joke is on you, this place is a zoo
You're right, it's true
The Strokes - Hard to Explain (Is This It, 2001)
There’s moments when I feel like I need to connect my two passions around sports cards and music. The opening notes of this edition of The Weekly Rip is one of those moments. We experience transformative moments in our lives that shape our interests. The Strokes changed the way I thought about rock and roll music in 2001. The sound was raw, the lyrics were honest, and the band’s presence stood on its own. The Strokes quickly became my favorite band in the world. I saw them perform live my sophomore year of high school at a show in Indianapolis that I’ll never forget. I saw them headline Primavera Sound in Barcelona for my 30th birthday. They’ve been a band that’s always been with me through the ups and downs. Their songs are always stuck in my head. In fact, before I sat down at the keyboard I couldn’t get the melody of “Hard to Explain” out of my head. I tried to ignore it, but figured it might be a sign of what I should talk about this week. That track has always been one of my favorites in their catalog. I have always understood the song to be about having certain intentions in life, but struggling to be able to make yourself vulnerable and express them transparently.
Wondering what does this song have to do with sports cards yet?
It has everything to do with sports cards for me.
There’s so much change to navigate in this era of collecting. There’s a myriad of distractions that are trying to compete for our attention. These distractions are manufactured by big hobby businesses. It’s not bad. It’s just different. It’s the over promotion of gimmick cards, box breaks, and clueless influencers flooding our feeds.
I just did one simple search in Card Ladder to understand that the gimmick era is one big ticking time bomb on values. If you look up “2023 Tom Brady Bowman Chrome Gold” you’ll notice the same gimmick card being sold across platforms and losing a cool $20k in the process….but ya know what? I’m sure it’s hard to explain!
It’s on collectors to understand the game that’s being played and the position that we take. We can choose to get sucked up in the vortex of the mainstream of the hobby or we can continue to be passionate about the cards that we collect. I dropped Episode 397 of SSP this week where I talked about how the gimmick generation of the hobby isn’t just selling its users props, but it’s also obsessed with attaching itself to sports gambling by hook or by crook. It’s not about collecting cards. It’s about selling how we can win big with cards and then by the way check out the line for the Bucks and Pistons game tonight while you’re at it.
You can call me a cardboard curmudgeon. I’ll take the branding over losing my ass and leaving the hobby with a negative experience. The current administration of the hobby lacks a focus on education. There’s zero interest in keeping members here past their next paycheck or whenever their parents realize what’s really getting put on their credit cards. The transactional mindset that has taken over leaves little hope for creating the next generation of collectors who are going to be doing what we’re doing 25 years from now. I don’t want to sound like the hobby’s grim reaper, but I can’t deny what I’m seeing in plain sight and how consumers are responding. We need less consumerism and need more collectorism to be sustainable.
I go back to my personal interpretation of “Hard to Explain” and tie it back to collecting cards. I have a lot of conviction around the fact that this is an era in collecting where we need to make ourselves more vulnerable than ever and express transparently the reasons for why we collect.
This list isn’t exclusive, but here are some things I’d recommend:
Post your damn cards and use the caption to tell us why that card matters to you
Support individuals who are creating collecting focused content by sharing their content with your audience
Create a regular stream of conversations with other collectors…community is powerful!
Celebrate your collecting wins, but also share your losses
Help other collectors in the community find cards and don’t expect anything in return
I might be negative on the direction of where the mainstream is headed, but I’m more bullish than ever about the collector’s ability to express their passion through sports cards. You might not realize it, but your posts, content, and conversations can have a dramatic impact on the direction of other aspiring collectors in the community.
It’s easy to turn down the noise.
It’s a lot harder to turn up the activity around the things that inspire other collectors.
I wish it was more straightforward, but that’s what makes collecting sports cards wonderful.
It’s hard to explain.
Your Hobby Community Alternative
We saw the Patreon group continue to grow in numbers this week. I keep telling you the more people that come in the more motivated I get around dropping more content.
Some highlights from this week:
The Power of Sharing Acquisition Stories (Join to listen)
Acquisition Stories: Drake McGruder (Join to watch)
Video of Episode 398 about How to Build the Best collection of a Player with Christopher (@borderland.cards) (Join to watch)
Scanning Weekly Gold Prizm Sales (Join to watch)
Collectors are joining to consume exclusive content, connect with other collectors, and promote their cards. I dropped an exclusive episode on defensive players this week for members. Members can expect more data focused, collector content with your membership.
A Collector To Follow
I’ve been following @mcdoylesports ever since jumping back into the hobby. Matt’s collecting mentality is amazing. I’ve learned a lot from his approaches and got a chance to chat with him during Episode 256 about how to treat the Hobby as an escape. He posts a card or two from his collection every week. Each time he posts it always stops me in my tracks. Matt’s a great collector to follow especially if you’re looking to explore the history from legends of the games that we love.
How to Build the Best Collection of a Player with Christopher (@borderland.cards)
We unlocked a new character during this Friday’s conversation on the main feed of SSP. Christopher (@borderland.cards) has the best Aaron Jones collection in the universe. We talked about the reasons why he collects joins and the process he takes to make sure he is able to acquire his best cards.
A Space for Promoting Auctions
A big part of the new Patreon roll out is creating more opportunity to bring visibility to cards at auction. I’m a big believer in the use of consignors. They alleviate so much work for me, but oftentimes can’t offer the promotional treatment for every card that comes through.
Here are some cards ending tonight from members of the group.
2005 TOPPS CHROME THROWBACKS REFRACTOR TOM BRADY /100 #TB10 PSA 9 MINT
2002 TOPPS PRISTINE REFRACTOR TOM BRADY /349 #15 PSA 10 GEM MINT
1989 SWELL GREATS JOHNNY UNITAS AUTO #104 PSA AUTH
Happy collecting,
Brett