Latest / Sports Card Clubhouse / MidLife Sports Cards Q & A- January 8th, 2026

Transcript

MidLife Sports Cards Q & A- January 8th, 2026 · Sports Card Clubhouse

0:11
What's going on everybody? All right, I've had a lot going
0:14
on already this week and I have a couple more episodes coming up
0:18
later in the week Monday. Did my question to all of you
0:21
check that out if you haven't yesterday over on the Sports
0:25
Card Clubhouse Network on podcast only posted a really
0:32
interesting conversation with myself and Ash, the well known
0:37
dealer in the hobby, one of the top vintage dealers in in the
0:42
world really that again on the Sports Car Clubhouse Network.
0:46
I'll put a link down below in the description to that.
0:51
Again, won't come out on YouTube, will only come out on
0:54
the podcast two to three, probably going to be two to
0:57
three podcast episodes a month over on there that won't be on
1:02
YouTube that I will be hosting conversations from.
1:07
And then later in the week I I'm selling some of my cards.
1:11
I'm selling my collection. Not really I'm I'm selling some
1:15
cards, though. The CIA auction collector
1:20
investor auctions that is currently in preview, which is
1:25
about to open later this week. I will, I have 8:00-ish eight, I
1:32
think 7 or 8 cards that I have put up for auction.
1:37
So what are the cards you want to own?
1:40
One of the cards that I am selling.
1:43
I got some actually, to be honest with you, I think they're
1:45
pretty good cards. So Greg, if they're good cards,
1:48
why are you selling them? There are just some other
1:50
targets that I'm trying to build towards, like I talked about
1:55
with Darren in my yearly preview gold target episode, where I
2:00
think the cards that I'm, I'm going towards, I'm trying to
2:04
build a war chest to be able to acquire.
2:08
They are cards I want more and I can't have everything.
2:13
And I've had a lot of people say, man, Greg, you've, you've
2:16
bought some pretty interesting cards recently.
2:20
How you doing that? I thought your budget was $100 a
2:24
month, $150.00 a month. It is.
2:28
But in order to be able to buy things, I have to sell some
2:32
things. So my, my collection has
2:37
definitely been undergoing some changes over the last year.
2:43
So again, check that out later in the week.
2:45
It'll be myself and Theo, and that'll be a great episode.
2:49
You want to check out what other really cool stuff is going up
2:53
for auction in the CIA auction this month?
2:58
Again, I said this before, CIA is a sponsor of the channel, and
3:05
that's because I trust them. That's because I like them.
3:09
That's because they're a company that I'm willing to do business
3:13
with. And that's the same reason why
3:16
I'm willing to put some of my cards up for auction there is
3:20
because I believe they're going to get good value and I also
3:23
believe that they're trustworthy, good people.
3:26
So again, that'll be later in the week, and then I'm going to
3:30
do an episode on a very, very meaningful card that I've talked
3:37
about this for a little bit. I've just been waiting for it to
3:40
show up and it has. So in the next couple of days I
3:45
expect to post that video. Probably probably going to be
3:49
Saturday. Probably going to be Saturday.
3:52
I'll post the video about the card and why I wanted the card
3:59
and the story behind why I wanted the card.
4:03
Been searching for that for a while, so a lot coming up later
4:06
in the week. I said the other day I want to
4:10
try to cut back and do 3 or 4 episodes a week instead of four
4:14
or five. I should have 4 this week,
4:18
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, today's Wednesday.
4:24
All right, let's go ahead and take a look.
4:26
Again, 5 questions from all of you.
4:28
If you have a question for an upcoming episode down below,
4:31
simply ask it. 5 great questions this week.
4:34
Let's take a look at the first one here.
4:38
My good pal Tony Southern Collector 14 says I have SGC
4:43
slabs and with high dollar cards in them.
4:45
I'm not. Worried my question for next
4:48
week is the following. What's your thoughts on the
4:51
Strongsville show doing what they have done?
4:57
All right, my guy, Tony. Tony, by the way, put out a
5:01
really awesome video yesterday. Check that out if you haven't.
5:04
Southern Collector 14. So my the question, what do I
5:09
think about the Strongsville news?
5:12
OK, so I'm not the hobby news channel and, and not that Tony
5:17
is implying that that I am, I'm, I'm just sharing the reason why
5:20
I haven't already talked about this is because that's just not
5:25
really what I do. What I do is I, I talk
5:28
philosophically, I talk strategically, I talk
5:31
acquisition. Acquisitionally might be a word,
5:35
I don't know, but I talk about that kind of stuff.
5:39
And occasionally I mix in some hobby news.
5:41
And quite frankly, the hobby news you're going to get from me
5:44
is going to be hearing my input to questions on Wednesday
5:49
episodes. Rarely will I do an episode in
5:52
itself on hobby news, but occasionally that said, OK, I, I
5:58
haven't talked about this really yet, at least not on this
6:01
channel. I had a conversation with Mike
6:05
on our Surface Issues episode. It dropped on podcast on
6:09
Saturday every Saturday morning and then on Thursdays it posts
6:13
on YouTube. That said, let me guess if you
6:18
haven't heard yet. I know a lot of people have done
6:21
episodes about it. I've not and and people have
6:24
talked about it and shared their take on it, but I haven't talked
6:26
about it. So in case you haven't heard,
6:29
the Strongsville Show, which is the 2nd, the second weekend of
6:36
April, which is in the Cleveland area, it's a little South of
6:40
Cleveland. It has decided to, at least for
6:45
this year, move from the ice rink, which is across the street
6:50
from the Best Western Hotel, not even across the street across
6:54
the parking lot from the Best Western Hotel, and it is moving
6:58
a few miles away. In addition to that, in addition
7:04
to moving, it is also going to not be walking distance from a
7:10
hotel and it is going to have a curtain down the middle of it.
7:16
And on one side of the curtain is going to be modern and
7:20
Pokémon stuff and the other side is going to be the vintage only
7:24
show. So what do I think of this?
7:27
I mean let me let me reread the question again to make sure I
7:30
get this. My question for next week is the
7:32
following. What are your thoughts on the
7:34
Strongsville show doing what they have done?
7:39
Well in my episode with Mike the other day I expressed
7:45
displeasure about it. I said I compared it to Sturgis.
7:50
Sturgis is this big motorcycle rally in like 1 of the Dakotas
7:54
and it's been in the same little town of 7000 people for like
7:58
since before World War 2. And what if all of a sudden they
8:01
said, eh, let's move it to Dallas just because there's more
8:06
infrastructure there, it's bigger.
8:08
That would kind of ruin the whole charm and tradition of it.
8:11
And that is my concern with the Strongsville show.
8:14
Now, the Strongsville Show has always been about vintage cards
8:20
and it has been about people that I like all being in one
8:23
place. And so they, the the people that
8:28
I like are still going to be close by.
8:31
They may not be down the hall, they may not be up a couple of
8:35
stories in in the building, but we're all probably still going
8:39
to be close by. The fact that there is going to
8:44
be probably a longer line to get in, the fact that some of the
8:49
resources will be distracted over to other parts of the show.
8:53
I'm not thrilled about it. I'm not thrilled about it.
8:57
I am. I feel what I feel like is over
9:01
the last couple of years, a lot of things have kind of been
9:10
corporate has gotten a hold of some of the charm in vintage
9:15
cards. You know, for a long time, PSA
9:19
started to put sort of the priority as modern cards and
9:23
then TCG cards, but we still had SGC and then they bought SGC and
9:29
they stuffed them in the broom closet.
9:34
That kind of sucked. I think that the charm of the
9:40
National where you could, you know, book your hotel early, you
9:45
could be across the street, you could be nearby.
9:49
Well, the the National has decided that they have blocked
9:53
out all the rooms within a mile. So the only way to get a hotel
9:59
room within one mile of the actual facility is you have to
10:03
go through the National. Of course they're going to take
10:06
their cut. Of course it's going to make it
10:08
more expensive. Of course that means that all
10:11
the VIP people will have first access and all of us peasants
10:15
will be further down the list. That kind of sucks.
10:22
There have just, it just feels like every time we turn around,
10:27
something is a kick in the nuts to us vintage card collectors.
10:32
And but we had Strongsville. We had this little show in an
10:37
ice rink in this little dumpy hotel where we got to converge
10:43
and hang out together and take over the lobby and and take over
10:48
some little room where we could all sit around and put chairs
10:52
around tables and just talk and hang out and show our pickups
10:55
from the day. And now that has been taken too.
11:00
Does that mean the show will be bad?
11:03
No. Does it mean that I won't have
11:05
fun? I don't know the way.
11:08
So let me back up and say this. I'm still going to the show.
11:13
I will still be at the Strongsville show.
11:17
I don't know what they're calling it now, but I will still
11:20
be at the Strongsville show. About 2 1/2 miles from the new
11:26
location is a series of hotels. There's like a Holiday Inn,
11:32
there's an Embassy Suites, there are a couple of others.
11:35
I will be staying at the Embassy Suites.
11:38
All righty. I have already booked my room,
11:41
so I will still be flying in. I will be there all day Friday.
11:45
I will be there all day Saturday.
11:46
I will be leaving early Sunday morning.
11:49
Sunday I think is the 12th if I'm not mistaken.
11:54
I will be in Strongsville. No, I will be in.
12:00
What's the name of the town? I don't even remember the name
12:02
of the town, but I will be at the Embassy Suite.
12:05
So if you want to stay at the same hotel as me, Embassy
12:07
Suites. I've talked to Chris Missouri.
12:10
He's still planning on doing his Friday YouTube hangout.
12:16
I've talked to several of the guys with the for collectors.
12:21
They're still planning on doing a, a trade night.
12:25
I know they're struggling on finding a location that they
12:28
like at the moment, but my understanding is the plan is
12:31
that the trade night is still going to be on Saturday.
12:36
I, I, I fully will be at both of those things.
12:40
So if you are going to hang out with people, you'll still be
12:43
able to hang out with people. They might be in your hotel,
12:46
they might be in a hotel across the street.
12:48
Again, I know a lot of dealers are going to be staying at the
12:51
Holiday Inn. I know a couple of people that
12:54
I'm friendly with are going to be at the Holiday Inn.
12:57
I will be at the Embassy Suites. A lot of my friends are going to
13:01
be at the Embassy Suites. So I think the main YouTube
13:06
hotel is going to be the Embassy Suites.
13:10
I'm not thrilled about the continued change and reducing
13:17
the the charm of the different things that the vintage
13:20
community has or had, but such is life.
13:26
I guess I'm going to go in with an open mind.
13:29
I'm going to hope that it's still as much fun as it has
13:31
been. If so, I will continue to go,
13:34
but I will come back and I will report to everybody my feelings
13:38
on it. And if it's not what it used to
13:42
be, then I don't know if after this year I'll go.
13:47
We'll find out. I'm open to continuing to going.
13:51
I'm open to saying it's not worth it anymore.
13:54
You have to keep in mind it's a 5 1/2 hour flight with a layover
14:00
from Sacramento, where I'm coming from.
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It's I spent $900 on my plane ticket.
14:06
The Embassy Suites is about twice as much as the Best
14:10
Western would have been. So I I'm now going to be
14:13
spending about $500 on my hotel room.
14:18
So I'm going to spend $1500 with all in before a rental car.
14:24
If I end up needing to get a rental car just to attend.
14:27
And I'm not even certain if it's going to be the same thing as it
14:32
used to be. We'll see.
14:35
Again, not happy is what it is. Am I surprised?
14:40
No. Everything's going corporate.
14:42
Why wouldn't this? Will they go back to the ice
14:46
rink? I kind of hope so.
14:48
I kind of hope so. Is this permanent?
14:51
I don't know. We will see, but I'm not
14:54
thrilled about it. Other people can say that
14:58
they're fine with it and they're good with it.
14:59
That's great for them. Other people might be mad about
15:02
it. Good for them.
15:03
I'm going to be cautiously optimistic that it'll be as much
15:08
fun as I've ever had and then I'll keep continuing to go.
15:13
But I kind of don't really like how the rug got pulled out from
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under us, especially as close to it as it is after people had
15:22
already made reservations and made flights and made travel
15:26
arrangements and all this stuff. Why couldn't we have done this
15:30
months ago? So we will see how this plays
15:33
out, but that's my take. This week's second question says
15:39
really appreciate your channel and wishing you a great 2026
15:44
question for a future Q&A. As you have been buying higher
15:48
priced cards, do you feel any of the fun has gone away because
15:53
there is so much pressure involved in each decision?
15:59
I think this is a good question. I think a lot of people think
16:01
about this because as some people are considering whether
16:05
they want to be a, a collector that has a lot of breadth to
16:10
their collection, if they want to have a narrower collection,
16:13
if they want to consolidate their collection.
16:16
There is a concern of if I change from what I'm currently
16:20
doing, am I going to still like it?
16:22
Is it going to be as much fun? And if I'm spending a lot of
16:25
money on a card, if I'm spending $1000 on a card and normally I
16:29
buy cards that are 50 to $100, is it going to become stressful?
16:34
Is it going to lack some of the enjoyment?
16:37
Is it going to take some of the fun away from the hobby?
16:42
Well, I personally have sold a fair amount of cards over the
16:47
last six months. I have been consolidating.
16:50
I have been buying some bigger cards.
16:53
I just did my top 50 video the other day and six of my top 10
16:57
cards I purchased during 2025. That tells you something about
17:01
the direction that I've been going.
17:03
So does it create stress? Does it take some of the joy out
17:08
of it? I would compare it to like when
17:11
I moved out when I was a, you know, a teenager and I moved out
17:16
teenager when I was about 20 and I moved out into an apartment.
17:20
It was kind of exciting. It was kind of, it's kind of
17:23
cool to move into an apartment. And and then I moved into a
17:29
bigger, better apartment and, and that was kind of exciting.
17:32
It was probably maybe even a little bit more exciting than
17:35
the first kind of small little dumpy apartment.
17:38
And then I bought my my first house and that was way more
17:43
exciting. And then I bought a second house
17:45
that was even more exciting. And then I bought the house I'm
17:48
in now that was even more exciting.
17:52
So as I've scaled up with where I live, it hasn't been more
17:59
stressful. It's actually for me, even more
18:02
enjoyable. It's like reaching a new goal
18:07
that you didn't know if you'd ever reach.
18:09
And if you buy the small starter house and you go into a nicer
18:13
house in a nicer neighborhood and then a bigger and nicer
18:16
house than that in a better St. in a better neighborhood, to me,
18:22
that scaling up adds enjoyment. It doesn't add stress for me as
18:29
I have been purchasing some cards.
18:31
I mean I I own a Cy Young card now I own a Ty Cobb card now I
18:36
own a Sandy Koufax rookie card, a Christy Mathewson card, 2
18:41
Christy Matheson cards, 2 Walter Johnson cards.
18:44
I own some big cards, T2O6 cards, earliest 50s cards.
18:50
I own my Ernie Banks rookie card and my Brooks Robinson rookie
18:54
card. And these are cards that I
18:55
didn't know if I'd ever have. So when you reach an
19:01
accomplishment that you wanted, but you didn't know if you'd be
19:06
able to actually get to do, to me, it's exciting.
19:12
It's not really nerve racking. It's exciting.
19:16
And this I think is an important piece too.
19:18
If you buy smart, if you're patient and you buy a copy that
19:24
a lot of people would want a, a card that has good, I appeal a,
19:29
a card that is universally admirable, then I think what
19:34
happens is you're not really risking a ton.
19:37
Because if I bought my house and I got a good deal on it and it's
19:42
a nice house that a lot of people would be happy to live
19:46
in, you'll always be able to sell it If you had to get out of
19:50
it. If you buy a really nice Ernie
19:53
Banks rookie card and it's nicely centered and it doesn't
19:56
have a bunch of flaws, that would turn some people off.
19:59
If it's a card that a lot of people would say, man, that's a
20:03
card I'd like to have. It's not that risky 'cause you
20:08
could always sell it and get most of or all of your money
20:12
back. So if you get good deals, if you
20:15
shop around, if you get high, I appeal.
20:18
I don't think it's that scary or that risky or stressful, because
20:24
it's an asset that is going to at least mostly maintain its
20:30
value if you buy appropriately. Now, if you go out and you buy a
20:35
Wander Franco, one of one super factor and then Wander Franco
20:40
pulls A Wander Franco, that's probably a problem.
20:45
But if you buy a Ty Cobb T2O6 that has good registration and
20:51
good centering and good eye appeal, you'll, you'll always be
20:56
able to at least get a lot of your money out.
20:58
So it's not that risky. So because the equity in the
21:02
card, you could liquidate if you had to, it's not that risky if
21:10
you buy smart, if you're patient and if you get a good deal.
21:14
So that's my take. That's been my experience.
21:17
If somebody else out there has bought a couple of big cards and
21:20
they've been freaking out over it, share that in the comments
21:23
down below. I'd love to hear about that.
21:25
But but of my friends, of the people that I associate with, I
21:30
haven't heard a lot of a lot of people scaling up and getting
21:34
big cards and going, man, it's not fun anymore.
21:36
I'm just freaking out because of how much money I'm spending.
21:39
I haven't personally experienced that or heard many people
21:42
experience that. That doesn't mean it doesn't,
21:45
but that's been my experience. This one says Craig de Greg.
21:51
Hi Greg, love your channel and happy New Year.
21:54
Here is my New Year's resolution question.
21:58
I have been blessed and worked very hard to plan for years to
22:02
acquire for me the Holy Grail this year of 2026, the 1952
22:08
Mantle. I have saved between 25 to
22:12
35,000 for this purchase. What I'd like your thoughts on
22:17
are what are the most financially prudent and
22:20
beneficial ways or way to make my Holy Grail purchase this
22:25
year? Should I broker a deal at card
22:28
shows to avoid eBay fees? Is there someone in the industry
22:33
who can help me finalize a deal? Are there other ways to acquire
22:37
this card that I am not considering?
22:40
To be more specific, I'm interested in a reasonably
22:44
priced authentic PSA one, PSA 1.5 or even PSA two quality of
22:50
card. I am also open to SGC and BVG
22:55
cards as well. I desire a mantle with decent
22:59
eye appeal that is not missing too many pieces and a crease or
23:03
2 is OK. Many authentic mantels look
23:06
amazing even though they may have been trimmed.
23:09
What? Are your thoughts?
23:11
Thanks again. Well, first of all,
23:14
congratulations. That's a major deal.
23:17
That is an absolute grail card for a lot of us.
23:20
And the fact that you have been disciplined and worked hard and
23:23
been able to set aside funds to make this a reality is something
23:27
to celebrate. And you do want to make sure
23:30
that you obtain the right example of the card.
23:34
This is a fantastic story and I look forward to on an upcoming
23:38
community show and tell episode seeing you submit this card.
23:43
We all will want to see it. OK, so here's my take.
23:49
And, and I know I, I know a lot of you probably get annoyed or
23:55
you guys get a little bit tired of me using analogies, but think
24:02
of other major purchases that you've made in your life.
24:06
Maybe it was a boat or a car, a used car, a nice used car, a
24:14
house, some an investment property.
24:19
How did you research finding the right one, right.
24:25
How did you research that? For one, you probably put some
24:30
feelers out to some salespeople that specialize in that.
24:35
For example, maybe a couple of real estate agents that are in
24:41
that neighborhood or in that area that you were looking to
24:44
buy. You said, hey, I'm looking for
24:46
this four bedroom, 3 bath, quiet St. open floor plan, recently
24:53
renovated house. It can be two-story or one
24:57
story. I want it to be a bigger lot.
25:01
And then you've now put a bug in their ear.
25:03
And when a house that kind of is along those lines pops up,
25:09
they'll say, hey, found this one.
25:11
Is this kind of what you're thinking about?
25:12
You want to take a look at it? You want to come check it out
25:15
and then maybe another real estate agent you've reached out
25:18
to and you've asked them to do the same and they see some
25:20
houses and and they say, what do you think about this one?
25:23
And then you check it out, right?
25:25
That's one way that when you were searching for house for a
25:29
house that you searched for the house is you put out feelers to
25:33
experts in that community of people who sell that product,
25:38
right? So that's one method.
25:41
Another method you did is you did your own research, right?
25:45
You probably went on like, you know, one of these Zillow or you
25:50
know, I know it's been a while since I've looked out here.
25:55
We have like there's like a metro list and like an MLS
26:00
listing. And I don't even know the names
26:02
of them all, but you know, there are websites where you can
26:04
search in this area. What are the houses that are for
26:08
sale and you can put in parameters and filters.
26:11
I want 4 bedrooms. I want three baths.
26:13
I want this size lot. I want single story, I want
26:16
two-story, I want whatever it is.
26:19
And then you researched it yourself that that's another
26:22
way, right? And then another way that maybe
26:24
when you were searching for a house is you kind of just drove
26:27
around. Like maybe you drove to the
26:29
neighborhood and you kind of drove around.
26:31
You said, yeah, maybe a house that's kind of like that or like
26:34
this. Let's see if there's anything.
26:36
It's got a for sale sign in front of it.
26:38
We'll just kind of check it out and see neighborhoods, what we
26:40
like, right? Those are probably the three
26:43
main ways that you would search for a house.
26:46
You'd ask an expert salesperson, you would look online at the
26:51
online listings, and you would look in person.
26:54
I would say it's exactly the same thing for buying a big
26:57
Mantle Grail card. If if you want a 52 tops Mantle
27:03
and you want an authentic one, A 1 1/2 or A2 and you wanted to
27:08
have certain centering, you want to have certain I appeal, you're
27:11
OK with, you know, PSASGCBVG, all the things that you just
27:17
listed. I would reach out to three or
27:20
four of the kind of bigger people in the industry.
27:24
Maybe reach out to my buddy Ash, maybe reach out to Stan of of
27:30
Stan's vintage cards, maybe reach out to Leighton Sheldon,
27:35
Whoever it is that you're going to reach out to.
27:37
I would I would reach out to three or four different dealers
27:40
and say, hey, if you come across something, shoot me a text, show
27:44
me a picture and I'll see if it's something that meets my
27:47
needs. Don't buy it to sell to me
27:49
without me me approving it. But if you see something or you
27:53
come across it, let me know. I would also look on the
27:56
different auction houses. I would also look on, you know,
28:00
eBay and I would look on CIA auctions and I would look on Rea
28:04
and I would look at, you know, Heritage and all the auction
28:06
houses. I would also go to card shows
28:10
and I would look for it and I would talk to some of the
28:13
dealers there and I'd walk the walk the floor at the National
28:16
at the Strongsville show. I would look for the right copy.
28:19
I would just do exactly what you would do for any big purchase.
28:23
Same thing with a car. You might have a couple of
28:26
people who you know, that sell used cars.
28:28
You could go to the lot. You can give them your name.
28:30
This is what I'm looking for. If it comes in, you might go to
28:33
like, you know, Auto Trader, cars.com, wherever they sell
28:40
cars, you might walk the lots yourself.
28:45
Those are really the three ways that a lot of us make major
28:48
purchases. And I would do exactly that.
28:52
So if you're interested in specific dealers, feel free to
28:58
e-mail me. You could ask in the comments
29:01
down below who are some dealers I should put feelers out with?
29:04
And I have no doubt that people will share their opinion.
29:07
That's probably a really good way to do it.
29:09
Hey, if you live in this area, do you guys know of anybody, you
29:13
know, whatever it is, but though that I would just treat it like
29:17
any major purchase that you make.
29:19
And again, seriously, congratulations, this is a big
29:23
deal. This one says, have a good
29:26
question for your next Q&A. With grading, how will AI affect
29:32
the industry and prediction of the human element and qualified
29:36
grading for the cards that are already in cases?
29:40
Can AI be trained for average human elements in grading or
29:45
perfection created by a person creating the software which I
29:50
know nothing about? A six in AI is more of a six
29:54
human element then your cards lost hundreds or thousands of
29:58
dollars. Let's face it, the younger
30:01
generation is different. Bitcoin, debit cards, PayPal.
30:05
Today's grading may be a loss depending on the criteria of AI
30:11
in the way technology goes. Maybe a couple years ago.
30:16
Thanks. OK.
30:20
This is a good question. I think a lot of us are curious
30:23
about this. AI is changing a lot of things.
30:26
I mean, if you look at a lot of thumbnails that a lot of video
30:31
creators are making, a lot of those are AI generated.
30:36
Some of them are AI edited. Some of the content that you're
30:40
seeing is AI created. It's starting to get to where
30:45
it's like what's authentic? What is even real anymore?
30:49
You know, if you scroll through any sort of social media, you
30:52
will see some articles pop up that appear to be from some sort
30:55
of news outlet, but are they actually a news outlet or is
30:59
this some sort of AI generated fake news story?
31:03
Hard to tell. I do think I, I would, I would
31:08
even go so far to say is I think it's virtually certain that AI
31:14
will play a role or at least a bigger role in grading.
31:17
I think AI is playing a role right now.
31:20
I think the grading companies are likely at least some of them
31:25
at least. So the really big ones or big
31:28
one is probably doing some measuring via AI, some centering
31:36
feedback via AAI and so on. So I think AI has been
31:42
incorporated. I don't think it's a coincidence
31:45
that the grading standard seemed to have gotten harder right
31:48
along the same time that collectors was purchased and
31:54
collectors also purchased an AI company to help assist the human
32:01
graders. I, I, I don't think that's a
32:04
coincidence. Long story short, I do think
32:07
it's going to play a factor. I think it's going to continue
32:10
to play an increasingly bigger role.
32:13
What I think, listen, it's $1,000,000 question.
32:18
Nobody knows the answer You're, you're asking me.
32:21
Let me see. Do you have a prediction, a
32:24
prediction on the human element? So here's my prediction.
32:29
My prediction is cards that are already in cases.
32:34
Cards that are. Already slabbed PSA, slab STC,
32:38
whatever the company is, there will be some sort of AI company
32:45
or AI software or AI scan where what you could do is you could
32:50
scan the card that's already been graded, that's already in a
32:53
holder and it will do its thing and give you some sort of report
33:00
about the card. And I think what will happen is
33:04
some of the cards that are in 8 holders, the AI software will
33:09
say this is actually more like a six.
33:11
The centering is this, the surface is this, the edges are
33:15
this, the corners are this, the color is this.
33:19
I think it's absolutely possible that there will become a catalog
33:24
of reports about cards that are already in holders.
33:30
And when that happens, if it if it can create consistency, if
33:35
you could scan it over and over and over and get virtually
33:39
identical or near identical results, then those reports will
33:46
start to supersede what the grade says.
33:50
So the card is in A7 holder, but it was put in a 7 holder by a
33:54
human who has you know, you know, we every human has floss,
34:01
right? And so the human says I think
34:04
it's a 7, but the AI system says that should have been a 5 1/2
34:09
and here's why. And here's the report.
34:12
And then you can look up that and I think what will happen and
34:18
you're asking for a prediction. I'm just this is my crystal
34:21
ball. I'm looking inside of my crystal
34:23
ball. What will happen is if that AI
34:28
could generate the same thing over and over and over again and
34:31
be consistent, then that grade on the slab will mean less and
34:37
less and less. And the people who are just
34:40
buying grades right now, because there are, there are, I mean
34:44
every. I do it all the time.
34:47
I will do my monthly review of cards under 50 and somebody will
34:52
put up a call. There will be a card that
34:54
somebody bought for $4000. It's a common because it's a
34:56
ten. Well, what will happen to that
35:00
card if this AI software says that should have been an 8 1/2
35:06
because as a Ding at the top right hand corner that got
35:08
missed or maybe happened while slabbing it.
35:12
The centering is actually only, you know, 4555 and there's
35:20
actually a little bit of color loss.
35:23
It's it's not fully vibrant color and it should have been an
35:26
8 1/2. Well, that card still sell, sell
35:28
for 10 prices. If person after person after
35:31
person can scan it and get the report on what it should have
35:33
been. I don't think, I don't know, but
35:37
I don't think that people are going to start cracking cards
35:40
out as holders and and maybe that'll happen too.
35:45
But I think it's going to be sort of like the Mike Baker
35:47
stickers where they're like the eye appeal stickers where the
35:50
gold or the silver gets assigned to a card that yeah, that's a
35:53
three, but man, that's a, that's as good a looking 3 as you can
35:58
get. I think.
36:00
I think that adds value to a card because people go, well, it
36:06
got the three, but somebody else is agreeing with what I feel
36:10
like I'm seeing, which is that card looks more like a 5 and so
36:16
it sells for more than a three because it looks more like A5
36:19
than a three. Those are clearly selling for
36:22
more. If you scan it and it has a
36:26
three and the scan, scan after scan after scan keeps coming
36:31
back. Yeah, it's more like A5.
36:32
And here's why. Has the qualities of five
36:35
corners and five centering and five color and five surface.
36:39
No idea why they gave it a three that that could start to
36:44
supersede the number on the slab.
36:48
And and if I'm right, again, this is a prediction.
36:51
I'm I'm sure I'll look back on this in five years and go, oh,
36:53
that was crazy. That was stupid.
36:55
That was that was the dumbest thing you said.
36:57
Maybe. But if that happens, that some
37:02
sort of software can do that, some sort of app can do that,
37:07
some sort of program can do that.
37:09
If that's the case, then all those people who bought those
37:13
ugly eights and nines and 10s, that should have been more like
37:17
sixes and sevens and eights, they're going to be out a lot of
37:21
money. So I would continue to say use
37:26
the grade as some information, but use your eye as well and
37:35
don't just blindly trust the grade.
37:38
Don't see a 7 and go? Well then it's a 7.
37:42
See a 7 and go somewhere between a six and an 8.
37:50
That's my take. Am I crazy?
37:52
Tell me down below, am I crazy? If I'm crazy, that's OK, I'm OK
37:56
being crazy. Just let me know if I am all
37:59
right. Another great Q&A and I
38:02
appreciate your thoughts. Here's a new question.
38:05
I am a frequent buyer and seller on eBay.
38:08
I have noticed just recently on eBay that Greg Morris Graded has
38:12
a whole bunch of MBA Mike Baker graded cards for sale.
38:17
I. Really like the look and clarity
38:19
of the MBA graded cards. They.
38:21
Appear to be graded fair and accurate in my opinion.
38:25
Their fees to grade are much lower than PSA as well, starting
38:30
at $10. Wouldn't this be great as a way
38:34
to go if you have a bunch of vintage raw cards that you
38:37
wanted to grade? Especially for people like me
38:40
who are sick of PSA Collector's universe Vintage cards look
38:45
amazing in these slaps. Also, don't you think NBA has a
38:49
chance to gain a larger market share of the hobby in the
38:52
future? OK, this is a lot of people.
38:58
OK, Where do I start? Where I start, I think is this.
39:04
I understand where you're coming from.
39:06
Where you're coming from is where a lot of us are coming
39:08
from. We're saying we had PSA, we had
39:11
SGC, we had Beckett, and now all of a sudden it feels like we
39:15
don't have SGC. It feels like PSA is charging us
39:19
a lot. Feels like turn around time is
39:21
taking a long time. It feels like grades aren't
39:24
consistent. Beckett, are they going to do to
39:27
Beckett what they did to SGC? The other companies?
39:31
CGC seems to be popular, but isn't it mostly popular with
39:35
modern and with with modern and with TCG it will it become
39:42
popular with with vintage? Baker's been around for a long
39:47
time. Baker has the stickers.
39:49
And so why would if people trust Baker stickers, why wouldn't
39:53
they trust Baker grading? We're all searching or a new
40:00
home. Not all of us.
40:02
A lot of people are searching for a new home.
40:04
I'm still sending stuff to SGC and I'm I know a lot of people
40:10
have sworn off. I'll never send apsai still
40:13
might I I think I probably will at some point send back to PSA
40:19
again. That pissed that just five
40:20
people just unsubscribe. That's OK.
40:23
Here's my thing. I think that.
40:28
You're not alone in feeling like you want another option,
40:32
especially as a vintage collector.
40:34
And at the moment, CGC doesn't feel like an option for a
40:40
vintage collector. BBG kind of.
40:45
SGC, yeah, and PSA, yeah. But if they're all under the
40:51
same umbrella and you want a different option and you want a
40:55
different, you want an option, you're like, we want to, we want
40:59
to, we want to sort of put someone on that new pedestal to
41:05
take the place of what was SGC. That's what we want, right?
41:09
That's what we, what we all want is SGC back.
41:13
That's what we want. That's what vintage collectors
41:16
want, is we want SGC like they were three years ago.
41:20
Two years ago. Give us our old SGC back.
41:27
I don't know if Baker's the answer now.
41:31
I've never met the guy, I've never spoken with the guy.
41:35
But I do know that there is a history of some issues with Gai.
41:48
When he worked at Gai again, he was like the first head grader
41:54
at PSA. He may have even been involved
41:58
in grading that initial Hannes Wagner, the serial number one,
42:02
the one that we all know is trimmed, that's in an 8 holder.
42:05
He eventually left and went to Gai and then that flamed out
42:09
when there was some sort of scandals there.
42:12
And then there's the new grading company that he just started
42:17
about maybe a year ago. And I agree, a lot of the cards
42:22
look nice in the holders. Does that mean that we should
42:26
use them? I'm a there are early adopters
42:31
and there are late adopters. I was still buying a plasma TV
42:35
when everyone was still buying. When everyone was buying, what
42:38
was it? LEDLCDLSDI?
42:43
Don't remember what it was, but I'm a late adopter to things.
42:48
I just think that there are some things in the past that some
42:56
people have expressed. I wasn't, I never had.
43:02
I never had any experience with Gai and I was never really
43:07
burned. And I'm not a person who's
43:09
really read into some of the scandals surrounding that stuff.
43:13
So if you are a person who was Privy to that, who's informed on
43:17
that down below in the comments share what what exactly took
43:22
place. But that and at least one other
43:29
person that helped form the new Mike Baker Grading Company, not
43:35
the sticker company. But the grading also has a
43:40
little bit of of a history in the hobby that some people don't
43:49
look at favorably. It's hard for me to make an
43:52
accusation against people when, quite frankly, I haven't really
43:56
read about this. I haven't really.
43:58
I wasn't along for the ride. I didn't get burned by it.
44:02
I didn't experience it. But I have enough people that
44:07
I'm associated with that did experience some of the
44:12
shenanigans that allegedly took place.
44:16
Is it alleged or is it real? I don't know.
44:18
Again, if you know down below in the comments share.
44:22
But Baker left GAI&GAGAI kind of went away with some not so great
44:35
stuff going on. And then another person who
44:39
helped form the new Mike Baker grading, from what I've been
44:43
told is another name. I don't know it off the top of
44:47
my head. I could find it.
44:49
That isn't a name that has proven to be trustworthy by a
44:56
lot of people who have been in the hobby and in and and
45:00
knowledgeable of the grading history for a long time.
45:04
I'll say that. So do I want another company
45:10
like STC to pop up? Yes.
45:14
I am a huge believer in competition.
45:17
Am I rooting for Mike Baker grading?
45:20
Sure, because they would be another option.
45:23
And even if somebody likes PSA or STC still or Beckett still,
45:28
competition is still good because what it will do is force
45:32
the company that you like to be better.
45:34
See. Even if you're.
45:36
APSA person or an SGC person or a Mike Baker person or whoever
45:41
you want competition because the customer continues to win.
45:45
Whenever there is competition, it's going to help prices, it's
45:49
going to help service, it's going to help turn around times,
45:51
it's going to help quality. So we want competition.
45:55
So I would love it if Mike Baker grading became widely accepted
46:00
and adopted by the community because it would be a
46:04
competitor. Then I would have the choice on
46:08
whether or not I wanted to buy cards in those holders or I
46:13
wanted to send cards to that company.
46:17
So I am rooting for anybody and everybody.
46:20
I am rooting for CGC to start getting part of the vintage
46:23
market. I am rooting for all the little
46:26
companies. I am rooting for TAG to get more
46:29
into sports cards and less into TCG cards.
46:33
I want TAG to start grading vintage cards instead of only
46:38
modern cards. I want all of that.
46:40
I want it as much as anybody. But the question was do what was
46:47
the question? Wouldn't this be a great way to
46:56
go if you have a bunch of vintage rock cards that you want
47:00
a grade to grade? Especially for people like me
47:03
that are sick of PSA collector's universe.
47:09
I'm a late adopter. I'm not an early adopter of new
47:13
products and brands. So I'm the I, I, I'm gonna, I'm
47:17
in a wait and see. I'm going to sit on the
47:19
sidelines for Mike Baker grading and hope that they can start to
47:24
put pressure on the big guys. I'm going to hope for that, but
47:28
I'm not going to put a bunch of my cards in those holders yet
47:33
until I see if they get widely adopted.
47:37
You're asking my advice. Am I wrong in saying that I'm
47:43
just kind of a cautious person? I'm kind of a cautious person.
47:48
I'm kind of conservative with my decision making, and that's a
47:52
big decision to take all of your raw cards and send them to a
47:57
company that we don't yet know if they're going to be widely
48:01
accepted. Surely they're doing some deals
48:04
with GMCGMC. Greg Morris graded Greg Morris
48:11
cards. Yeah, Greg Morris.
48:13
They're clearly doing some deals with Greg Morris.
48:17
Are they legit just because Greg Morris and them have some sort
48:22
of partnership? I don't know.
48:24
We'll find out. We will find out, but I
48:29
personally am not sending cards to them yet, but would I in the
48:34
future. I'm open to it.
48:36
I'm open to a lot of things, but I'm not going to be the first
48:40
guy to try it. But that's just me.
48:43
If you have a question for an upcoming episode, leave it in
48:46
the comments down below. Lots of things I'd love your
48:49
guys's feedback on this week. Again, later in the week, CIA
48:53
auction preview, including some of my cards for sale.
48:57
And I am going to bare my soul to all of you about a big
49:04
purchase that I made and why it means so much to me.
49:08
I hope that you'll check those out.