The Weekly Rip 4.27.25 [chasing]
We explore if we love a card or just chasing it in this week's edition of The Weekly Rip
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The Weekly Rip
Your Stacking Slabs Sunday Update
April 27, 2025
There’s a moment every collector knows.
You hit BIN.
You win the auction.
The tracking updates.
The card shows up.
And for a second, you’re excited.
Then it fades.
You look at it.
But you don’t feel anything.
You tuck it away.
You move on.
And somewhere deep down, you start to wonder…
Was I chasing the card, or chasing the feeling?
This question has been stuck in my head, and I’m unpacking it on next week’s flagship episode. But I wanted to warm it up here first.
Because it’s real.
It’s personal.
And it impacts every single collector I talk to.
Here’s what I’ve come to realize: collecting is emotional. We talk about rarity, comps, liquidity, and market cycles. But underneath it all, there’s a current of psychology running the show.
And the psychology of the chase is strong.
Dopamine spikes during the hunt, not the win.
Random rewards (like auctions or scrolling eBay) mimic addiction loops.
FOMO turns someone else’s card into your emergency.
None of this makes you a bad collector.
It makes you human.
The problem is when these forces start to control your decisions.
When you’re stacking cards you don’t really care about.
When you’re buying out of urgency instead of clarity.
When the thrill of “what’s next?” hijacks your love of “what’s here?”
That’s when collecting starts to lose its meaning.
I’ve been there.
I’ve had cards show up that I completely forgot I bought.
I’ve opened packages and felt nothing.
I’ve told myself, “It was a good deal,” instead of “I love this card.”
That’s not collecting with intention. That’s chasing a feeling.
But here’s the good news.
You can take the wheel back.
You can collect on your terms.
You can separate the card from the chase.
Ask yourself:
Would I still want this if no one ever saw it?
Would I trade it for the next hot card that pops up?
Will this card mean more to me in six months or less?
That’s how you begin to build a collection with soul.
Not just a stash of wins, but a reflection of what matters to you.
This week’s flagship episode is for every collector who’s ever felt this tension.
It’s not about shame. It’s about awareness.
And learning how to build something that lasts.
Because you deserve to love your collection.
Not just the chase to build it.
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A Collector to Follow
I’ve been following @catchingheaters for a long time. I don’t collect baseball, but really enjoy the passion he brings to his page. He’s been posting some Albert Pujols heaters lately. Go give Matt a follow.
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Take care,
Brett