What's going on everybody? Welcome back to Stacking Slabs, this is your hobby content alternative. I'm your host, Brett McGrath. I collect sports cards. I have a podcast about collecting sports cards.

And each and every week, I get up here on the flagship episode of Stacking Slabs to talk about a topic that I think matters, exploring a topic, digging in, getting into the weeds, and sharing some personal experience that I hope resonates with you.

This hobby rules. It is an escape.

It is so much fun. We collect cards. We interact with community. We go to shows. We meet face to face. We interact online. We do all these things. But to me, I think the most fun I have is the critical thinking component.

That moment where I'm sitting there and deciding, do I wanna sell this card? If I'm gonna sell this card, how am I gonna sell this? Do I wanna buy this card? How am I going to come up with funds? Do I need this card for my collection?

Is the collection that I'm currently building worth my time? Is it excite me? There are so many decisions that we're constantly making, and those decisions aren't easy, they're stressful, it can be tough.

But if that, those moments where we have to sit and think and, like, really melt on if we wanna do something or not, if that didn't exist in this space, I think it would be boring.

And I think those challenges are so fun. And that's what makes this hobby so great. I know we connect with our fandom. I know we connect with people.

But the more I reflect on my own personal experience, decision making, that process of critical thinking, that's when I get really lit up and that's when I get really excited and that's when I come up with a damn topic for a flagship episode of Stacking Slabs.

Today's episode, we're gonna do that. We're going to identify opportunities beyond our primary collection.

When we see that signal, when we go towards a new lane, when we make those decisions, going through that process, I wanna talk about that. And now, an awesome promotion from my friends at eBay.

It's time to turn your cards into cash with lower fees on eBay. Now through May 4, you can get 50% off of final value fees when you sell a card on eBay for a thousand dollars or more.

There's no limit to how many you can sell, and we're talking any trading card, graded or ungraded, from sports to non sports to TCG. Whether you're a first time seller or seasoned pro, now's the time to sell on eBay.

The largest global online marketplace for trading cards. Opt in today at ebay. com/sellfifty. That's five zero. That's ebay. com/sell5zero. Terms and conditions apply.

Now, start selling today to fund your next big pickup. I've got a lot of notes. I've got a lot of ground to cover. Before we do that, I got a plug from the top. Make sure you are checking out on Monday's Passion to Profession.

I am loving these conversations. I wanna shout out eBay for sponsoring the series, but this past week, or this week when it went live, I talked with Mike from Leahy, who is the number one f one seller on eBay.

I knew very, very little in f one cards outside of what I've seen on Instagram or what I've heard in other people's podcasts. To listen to an individual who's built their business around a specific category was super cool.

And I am really enjoying, not only talking cards, but most importantly, digging into the entrepreneurial journey of those business owners who love card like we do.

So make sure you go check that out. Also, I gotta plug the Patreon. You know I do. New and exclusive content each and every damn day on the Patreon.

What is really fun, and I talk about this a lot in the hobby. I talk about the importance of shrinking the sea, of there's so much going on, so many different personas, so many different categories, so many different lanes.

And I think sometimes we just wanna block out the noise, and we just wanna have conversations about collecting, and conversations about psychology, and conversations about building, and conversations about creating.

And I have been a witness to this group for a year. It's been almost a year since we've been open, and we might have just hit the year mark.

I gotta go look at that. But this group has evolved into this place where there is really thoughtful dialogue. And when this group was created, that's not necessarily something that I thought would happen, but here we are.

Just paragraphs and paragraphs of posts and discussion topics, and it's made me think differently about so much in this space. And I spend probably an exorbitant amount of time doing research, learning, being curious.

I think those are key traits for me and my role and what I'm doing. I have to be. But I can't know everything, and I can't seem to know everything. And oftentimes, the best source of information are people in the community.

And to be able to activate those conversations in real time is freaking awesome. So if you're looking for a place, not only for content, but for discussion, I'd recommend you go checking out the Stacking Slabs Patreon.

Link is in the show notes. Also, just hit the follow button on this main feed. I'm working hard for you. Make sure you're following the show. And if you're following the show, tell a damn friend about it.

Alright, let's get into this topic, okay? Let's set the tone. Let's get excited, okay? I got so many notes this past week about people just sharing when and where they listen to this content.

People driving to work, people working out, all this stuff. Like, I appreciate you letting me know. Appreciate you listening, but let's get excited, okay? Let's get excited to talk about a topic that we think about.

We think about as collectors, undeniably. And so, I want to talk about when we decide to, or how we decide to identify opportunities beyond our primary collection and then making the decision to take action.

Like, what causes? What inspires? Why is that good? Why is that potentially bad? That's what I wanna explore.

I'm gonna share a story about a moment over the last year, year and a half, where I spotted a category, I spotted a card, and saw I got excited, saw upside, and also was connecting to something that I deeply appreciated and decided to pounce.

We're gonna talk about that in this episode.

But the core idea is collectors have lanes. We all have lanes. But I think stepping outside of those lanes, or our comfort zones, can be a catalyst for a lot of really, really fun and exciting things in the hobby.

What I've learned in my time, is that being rigid and having a strict set of rules around what you collect, I love the fact that it provides structure, but on the flip side, it can give you a limited outlook on other categories, communities, or collectors.

And that limited outlook in those spaces might prevent you from exploring something new and something new that motivates you maybe even more than what you're currently involved in.

Okay? In this episode, I'll make this very clear. I'm not recommending you just stop what you're doing, sell what you're doing, go pick up and start something new.

This to me is more of experiment. It is more of dipping your toes into new waters that might interest you and just checking it out. And you don't check it out by just selling your collection and going and buying a new collection.

That's not how it works. But checking it out might be buying a new card, buying a new player, buying a new product, and seeing finding other people who collect that stuff.

And engaging, having conversations, having dialogue around that new thing, that can be very exciting and very motivating.

To me, experimentation is everything. You might find that one thing that you had been looking for this entire time, and you wouldn't have known that if you didn't try.

So that's what we're gonna talk about today. I hope that's a cool topic for you. I'm excited to dig into this. I've got a bunch of notes, but let's just roll.

Let's go, baby. So we all have these moments when we're collecting. We can have these moments in a conversation, DM with another collector, when we see a card listed, when we see a sale price.

And I think we need to analyze when we recognize and analyze that when we have these moments, we try to identify what triggers that feeling. And a lot of the time, when we have these moments, it is this idea or thought around upside.

Now, I'm not talking about upside or mainstream upside that we get so accustomed to hearing about in the hobby when a new massive product like Prism drops and there's all of these rookies and everyone's spinning narratives around why each rookie has tremendous upside.

That's for the birds. We're not talking about that. I am talking about upside on specific categories, specific players, specific products that have been a certain way and aren't being hyped up.

And, naturally, through your education, through your research, through your personal experience, you just question, why is this card selling for this?

I see these things about this card that makes me believe that this card could be selling for x down the road. And it's not a transactional thing. It's like, you can't just go think that way based on something you don't care about.

Typically, it's a category that you're interested in. It's a player that you've appreciated. It's all of these factors. But we're looking for upside, looking for a low price compared to last sales.

Just this idea of being undervalued. And that undervalued gets tossed around and people poke fun at it, and it's a term that is used. And when it's people say it, typically, the reaction is kinda, oh, brother.

Here we go again. It's not that. It's a feeling deeply inside of your mind collector mindset, where you believe that attention isn't on something that you believe in.

And market trends and shifts can also influence real upside. Now, I have built up, broken down, evolved. Every chance I've gotten, I've refined my overall collecting experience to be open to new ideas.

And I've learned that these moments when I dip my toes into new waters and I start exploring, there is this sense of newness, this sense of, it's kind of this, like, unapologetic, just being naive to the situation in a way.

It's like, I feel like I'm a younger version of myself when I'm not trying to over analyze and overthink everything.

I just see something, and I think it's cool, and it aligns with my interest and passion, and there's something in my brain telling me to pursue it.

And so, these moments that I've had throughout the course of collecting are very exciting moments in my chapter of collecting sports cards. They begin to be the saved searches I look at towards the top.

They begin to be the areas where I wanna engage in dialogue with people who have been in that space for a long time. And certainly, prior to last year, the beginning of last year, I did not even think about collecting WNBA cards.

I just didn't even think about it. Things change, right? Things change when generational superstar gets dropped into your city. A season happens, and when the season is over with, there is this just hunger for more.

And when that type of fandom comes out, for me, the natural reaction I have as a collector is, how do I express this feeling in my collection? And so, that's where this time last year, I started to deeply research.

And research is a part of my process. It's a research research is a part of almost everything I do because I'm a very curious person, and I want to be informed, and I want to be educated, and I like to go off and venture and learn.

And so through the research phase, it's getting an understanding of the catalog, getting an understanding of the sets, getting an understanding of the players, getting an understanding of the community, and all of those things makes for a great experience.

Now, I could say, you know what? Because Caitlin Clark is the reason why I'm very, very interested in this category, all I'm gonna do is collect Caitlin Clark.

I could easily do that. I'd also probably be broke. But to me, it's more than that. There's an exciting opportunity that I perceive based on where I'm as a at am as a fan, where that category is, and aligning those things together.

And to me, when you align those things together, there's a lot of excitement. Now I'll be 100% completely honest.

This time last year, there's no chance that I thought, well, when you know, I can't afford the Caitlin Clark gold prism that comes out, but when the Angel Reese gold prism comes out, that's gonna be a card that I'm gonna pursue.

When that card dropped, it was like this moment where I just couldn't help but think about that card in the story of getting involved in being a fan of women's basketball, the w, and just the significance of what that card meant.

Also, on the other side, I saw what the card was gonna cost me based on some negotiation, and to me, they just screamed like, okay, well, there's upside here based on the way I feel about this category.

Now, I think there's a difference between speculation and smart collecting.

There's a focus on value retention, stored value. And this is where I think we have to embrace our passion. We have to trust our ex the experience that we've built.

And I think you learn a lot from doing this over a long period of time. And all of this tribal knowledge we've inherited through this long period of time of collecting, like, apply it. Like, go apply it to something new.

When you go apply it to something new, really fun things happen. Okay? That's fun. So I think identifying opportunities outside of your main focus can lead to new found excitement and can eventually lead to long term wins.

So we spin this into, like, the psychology And the psychology around staying in just one lane, or our existing lane. I think I ask the question of why do collectors stay so rigidly focused on their main PC?

And so, if I'm asking myself that question, I start to think about things like comfort and familiarity. People don't like change. I think about fear of making a mistake in an unknown space.

Like, getting overzealous and spending way too much money on a card that's been sitting there for a while. But this is where it's like, don't care about what other people think. Don't care about what other people do.

You can, in a way, enter a new category and you might look like a bull in a China shop from an outsider perspective, but it's maybe it's because they just haven't seen anyone do what you've done in a category before.

And you can be the one to unearth maybe new opportunities that were just sitting there collecting dust on marketplaces like eBay. People also say, like, we don't wanna waste money on something outside of their core collection.

That's fair. But I don't know. To me, that seems like a little bit of a limited mindset. I think experimentation is great for humans and great for collectors.

The re there's a lot of reasons why I think experimentation and trying something new is great for humans and great for collectors. I think it keeps our minds active and engaged.

I think when something new presents itself, it helps stimulate our brain. When we try new things, it creates fresh connections. It makes us more engaged. It makes us more curious. I think it helps prevent mental stagnation.

Human beings and collectors, most specifically, thrive on learning, discovery, and exploration. To me, the excitement of researching a new set or insert or whatever it is brings me back to the thrill of the chase.

I think experimentation reduces the fear of change and helps us build confidence as collectors. Trying something new helps us realize that stepping outside our comfort zone isn't as risky as we think.

The more we experiment, the more it becomes easy to embrace change. I think a collector might be hesitant to buy a non PC card, but once they do, they build confidence in evaluating different markets.

I think experimentation helps us discover new interests and passion. Many people accidentally find their passions by exploring stuff outside of their usual preferences.

A collector focused on prism might stumble across a nineties card and fall in love with the design history and community, and then the rest is history.

I think new things enhance problem solving, decision making, and critical thinking. Experimentation forces us to adapt and think critically.

It sharpens our ability to analyze trends, patterns, and potential opportunities. I think collectors who experiment with different sports or eras get better at recognizing cards that might be undervalued.

Finally, I think experimentation makes life and collecting more fun. I'm a routine oriented human being. Like, my wife, it kills her sometimes.

I'm so routine oriented. I'm very rigid, and I have to be called out on stuff. Be in the moment. Enjoy what's going on. And I, I'm working through this. But I think routine can lead to burnout, right?

Exploring something new keeps the hobby fresh and exciting. Even if the experiment isn't a long term shift, the process itself is really rewarding. I also think experimentation can help strengthen your main collection.

Learning about other markets you hadn't paid attention to, discovering sets, parallels that might become a part of your main collect it ultimately helps the way we think about our overall long term collecting.

And I think experimentation can bring a lot of energy. So what do we do? Like, what are the steps?

How do we do this? I mentioned dipping your toe into new waters as just, like, the the thought behind it. But I think it's just, like, start small. Pick a category you've always been curious about but never have collected.

Look for Don't look don't go into it and be like, I'm gonna buy this card because I think it's gonna three x in three months. That's silly. Just look for cards that you think are going to hold value.

What holds value if you decide to move on? When we experiment, not all experiments are gonna hit, and what you don't want is the cards that you bought or picked up, you don't want them to go sideways.

But if you look at it from the lens of this has a lot of opportunity to store value, even if you don't pursue the category long term, you'll be in good shape. Engage with the community. See if you like the people.

See if you like how they think. Every collecting lane has its own die hard fan base. Ask questions. Be super curious. Set a budget. Treat it as an experiment, not an investment, and use it as a learning experience.

Even if you sell a card later, you've gained so much knowledge. I think a few of these steps can open up a lot of doors and enhance your over collecting experience. To me, staying stagnant sucks. It's just not how I operate.

I like movement. I like change. I like to keep things rolling. I think it's great to have a primary focus, but testing new lanes enhances the overall experience. My ask of you, as a listener, would be show up next week.

Keep supporting Stacking Slabs. Appreciate that. I wanna encourage you to take a small step outside your lane and share. Like, share what that went through. Like, what did you experience?

Did you buy something? Did you sell something? What was that like? If you got a card that represents this, post it. Tag me at stacking slabs. I would love to share it. I think we all have to take calculated risks.

We all have to experiment. And it might be tough, it might be challenging, but the more we do that, the more the hobby is going to sink its teeth in us. And I think that's kinda what we're looking for. I love I love the space.

I love doing content. I love the fact that you show up in Sean every week to support what I'm doing here. Appreciate your time. We got a whole lot more stacking slabs on this main feed. Appreciate you. Talk to you soon.