What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another episode here of stacking slabs. I am testing out some new formats, some new ways to approach content.

You can say workshopping a little bit as we head into 2026. One thing I'll say to you all, the content you're getting from stacking slabs is only going to, increase, and it's going to get more specific.

It is one of my goals as we move into 2026 to really find ways to bring collector focused content to the surface and to share it with all of you.

And I wanna thank you all for spending so much time here with Stacking Slabs. A couple things I'd ask of you if you have not already or you're stumbling across Stacking Slabs for the first time, welcome.

Make sure you hit the follow button. That means a lot. I am working on figuring out how to get stacking slabs in front of more collectors, now than ever before, and a great way that you all can help is just hit follow button.

And if you're feeling, energized, from this episode, leave a review on wherever you're listening to this show. I really appreciate that.

So the inspiration for today's episode is a format that I have been thinking a lot about. And I think one of the biggest opportunities for all of us in the hobby and for all of the us who collect cards is context.

And so much of what we see and so much of what is promoted, is very surface level. It gets thrown at us via an algorithm. It hits our feed.

We see it. We swipe. We move on, and we just do that over and over and over again. And I think one of the things, especially on the card front, that is missing is just context. There are layers and layers of context to everything.

And I think it's helpful when we spend a moment in an on an important topic giving the context or offering visibility into those layers. And I don't necessarily have a name for this show yet.

This show might appear. It might not. This is what we call a test drive. It's December. We're doing, some workshopping. If you like this format, definitely let me know at stacking slabs across all social media, channels.

Maybe it'll be called layers. I think that's kind of fun. But what I wanna do in this specific show and perhaps in future shows like this is offer layers of context for one big sale that has happened, in the hobby over the week.

I wanna talk about one big thing happening in my collection, and I also wanna provide commentary on one observation I'm seeing across the industry.

And so we've got three different things that we're going to dig into, and, hopefully, we're going to offer more context or layers of context in this episode than we might have previously seen just on the surface.

So let's get into it. We gotta talk about the big sale first, and I think it is appropriate to maybe dissect a sale that when I woke up on Sunday morning, I couldn't see enough of it.

Turns out there are a lot of Tom Brady, collectors or Tom Tom Brady investors in my Instagram community.

There was a ton of sharing, ton of reposting, ton of commentary, a lot of individual collectors who were super fractures, collectors, and even Tom Brady's super fracture collectors, all were circling around this sale.

And I think that sale that we're referencing is the 2,005 top's finest Tom Brady super factor PSA authentic one of one sale that sold on Golden for $704,550.

And that's a big sale. It's a monster sale. And I think we, as participants in the hobby just see the number, and it's like, holy cow.

How where did how did we get here? That's a big number. We should go all buy a bunch of Tom Brady cards. But I think the what I think it's lost is just the context.

The context for the sale, how did we get here, what is important about this sale, and talking specifically about the card, the era, the product, and its overall impact on football cards.

Undeniably, this sale is historic. It's historic for Tom Brady collectors. It's historic for Super Fracture collectors.

It's historic for football card collectors. When you start to hit a bunch of different segments in the hobby in in in it impacts those different categories, and it's not just one category, that is the sign of a big sale.

There has been a lot of reporting, a lot of information that has come out about this card. And my journey with this card has been, one where I saw a post about it on Instagram, and it was the a raw the raw copy of the that card.

And I don't even remember where it was posted, but I remember stopping and being like, oh, wow. That's cool. That's the o five finest Brady Superfractor.

That is a card I've never seen before. And I have seen the o six. I've, in fact, held the o six at the National, when it was owned by a buddy, which as a fan of this era football, as a fan of shiny cards, those those moments were cool.

But I lost sight after I saw the picture and then all of a sudden noticed that it was up for auction on golden.

And what a time to sell a card like this considering never been sold before. Allegedly, it had rumored to be missing for twenty years.

This was the first public sale of this car. And this card is a card that has almost every ingredient or every quality from my observation to be, considered a historically important or significant Brady card or football card in general.

I think and I don't want this even though we're covering a big sale, I don't wanna spend a ton of time talking about the sale itself and the dollar value and comparing and contrasting.

That's not necessarily the intention of this, but I think it's important, especially if we're offering layers of context to share that this card absolutely destroyed the previous, high sale of any Brady Bowman or Brady Superfractor.

You had in 2021, which we all know that was a very, very hot time for sports cards. You had the previous record, which was the 2014 Topps chrome Brady Superfractor, which sold for 216 k.

You also had the twenty twenty three Bowman Draft Expo Superfractor PSA nine, which, you know, can be argued as more or less of a gimmick card for a $158,600.

And then in 2022, you had the 2007 Bowman Chrome Tom Brady, Superfractor PSA 10 that sold for 90,000. These sales are all according to card ladder.

And then, obviously, if you look at this 2,005 finest sale, you see that it is, you know, nearly $500,000, a half $1,000,000 more than the previous high. And so the questions start coming in.

What is causing this? Is it the current momentum for sports cards and specifically for football cards? Is it a desire to have some of the to in a race for some of Tom Brady's biggest and best cards? Is it something else?

And outside of us understanding the owner of this card and having an interview with them, which if you own this card and you wanna be on Stacking Slabs and you wanna talk about it and take this conversation further, we'll do an episode.

I would love to have a conversation, and, we will talk about all of the the reasons for why, you purchased this card.

Would love to have you. You can find me, almost anywhere, and I'm I'm very responsive. So, let's let's try to make that happen.

But I think what and I I look at this sale, and when we're collectors and we're trying to understand values and of of items, one thing that often gets discussed by the group of collectors paying attention is the importance of firsts.

And there is a desire in the shows in the sales data.

You can go back whether it's a an important parallel, important set that has your lineage and legacy. The first appearance always matters. And so collectors put a premium on the first, whether it's, you know, the parallel new set.

And a premium this high is obviously a one that is sounding off the alarm bells, but you can consider the 2,005 finest Brady to be the first Brady Superfractor in a major Topps product.

Now this is the inaugural Super Fracture in finest. 2005 is the birth year for Super Fractures. It's not a rookie card, but it's Brady's first true finest Super Fracture, which resonates with collectors.

You put that on top of 2005, 2006 finest being products that are adored, by football card collectors collectors based on design, based on parallel structure.

All of these elements, like, those are very, very important sets to collectors.

I will say, which I have not seen seen this set yet, but it continues kind of this thread, and this is by no means me downplaying the card. I think based on the promotion, there's been a lot of, like, this is the card.

This is the first. I think if you really wanna spend time and you understand, like, which one popped up first, I'm using the caveat of major when you've got the 2,005, tops draft picks and prospects product.

That set itself, from my understanding, is the first set that has the Super Fracture aesthetic built into it on the football side.

We have highlighted the Aaron Rodgers, rookie super fractures and posting posted on blowout where you've got a serial numbered version and an uncirculated version, and the owner had both copies.

I did a reference check, and there is a Tom Brady in that set. And so that card has a super factor.

And I think if you wanted to get in the nitty gritty and you wanted to try to line up which one was actually first, from my understanding based on release date, and this is getting very technical and nerdy, that the draft picks Brady would be the first super factor, and the finest would follow.

That's neither here nor there. Obviously, the finest product, especially in football card collecting circles, has esteem, and that esteem obviously translates into a high dollar value.

So maybe some more context for those of you who are not familiar with the two era of 2 thousands.

And I went back because I wrote an article on the Patreon group, at stacking slabs. And if you wanna be a part of that, there's a free trial. Check it out. Link is in the show notes.

But I I wrote an article about 2,000 to 2,010 football cards right when I started the Patreon group and just how it was interesting to me where you had this entire decade of cards that wasn't getting the, wasn't getting the same attention from a monetary perspective as the '90 stuff, and certainly wasn't getting enough attention from the ultra modern stuff, and it just, like, sat in the middle.

And it was for me as a collector trying to understand this, I always try to break it down, and I'd always try to figure out why.

Now you had a base of collectors that I've interacted with, I've had on the show that love this. This is their lane, 02/2010.

And I think part of that was because these cards, for the most part, for so long, were very affordable, generally affordable. Like, you could buy golds in at a 50 or, 49 of 2006 if we're getting super technical.

But you you could buy these cards for a fraction of what a gold prism sold for, and you could buy if you could find them one of ones for a percentage of what a gym master sold for.

So there's all of these, like, opportunities if you love this stuff to come in and buy these cards because for whatever reason, there wasn't a ton of attention, which is interesting because these are the years of Tom Brady.

These are the years of Peyton Manning. These are the years of Aaron Rodgers.

These are the years of Drew Brees. These are the years of Philip Rivers, Ladanian Tomlinson, and the list goes on. Like, this is the core years of their cards and a a time that many of us are very enamored with with football.

And I think what what we see here is a sale like this is almost like, a collector planting, a a flag in not only Brady Superfractor, but then also this era.

The 02/2010 era football cards had far fewer one of ones in ultra rare parallels than today.

Across chrome finest, across Topps chrome finest and Bowman Chrome, only 30 total parallels with print runs of 10 or less were produced in that decade.

For perspective, the in 2023, Prism Football, there contains 11 different parallels, number two, ten or less. This Brady super fracture comes from that undersupplied era, a time when hitting a one of one seemed almost mythical.

It's these sales show how special these cards really are, and I don't we'll get into it, but I don't know what happens next.

But I think collectors are now looking at Brady early super super fractures and low no low no low numbered cards as potentially, untapped segments of the market. So I think this card and this sale is a big deal for collectors.

I mean, beyond rarity, the card checks every box. Beloved player, all time great, the goat, major product line, finest, and the most coveted parallel of this era, the super fracture.

So it's when just when you line up those things, it's like the first or arguably the first, goat, major product line, most loved parallel.

All these things stew together and result in a sale like this. I think one of the things I'm thinking about is the downstream effects on the market. So when a major grail sells, what are the ripples that follow? We've seen it before.

One big sale can suddenly flush out similar cards or drive up interest in related items. In this case, other Brady collectors might seize the moment to sell their rare Brady inserts or parallels now that the bar has been raised.

We might also see increase in demand for Brady second tier cards, whether that's a parallels, you know, not just one of ones, but, stuff that is maybe not available but more readily accessible.

I think history has shown that after record breaking sales, the market often tests the waters with adjacent cards.

Like, we will not obviously see hopefully, we don't see this card pop up again. We won't see this card again, but do we see another super fracture?

Do we see some reds? Do like, what are we gonna see? We're going to see something. So I think it's don't be surprised if other low number Brady stuff from this era goes to auction.

I think one of the things I'm left with is the value of a grail sale sale to the hobby. You know, big public sales like this are hobby milestones.

They'll serve as reference points. And the finest Superfractor result tells us that collectors are willing to invest deep 6 figures in a non rookie, non autograph Brady card when it is the right era brand or scarcity.

I think it also reinforces the idea that the hobby isn't just about rookie cards. Primary goat players, first stuff, all of those elements that any collector collects off of or many collectors collect off of still holds a ton of value.

It also reflects confidence in football cards. I have been around long enough to know that if you said a Tom Brady car Superfractor sold for, you know, 700,000, you know, three or four years ago, people would laugh in your face.

But the understanding from me as a collector and the people who I interact with, there has always been a lot of football card collectors passionately buying and collecting this stuff, and they've been doing it aggressively because they look at what has happened at another sport like basketball, and it doesn't make any sense to them.

And so then they just keep buying and buying, and then all of a sudden, they have this treasure chest when it appreciates over time.

And that's like a lesson I'll say. Just if something seems cheap to you and you love it and it doesn't make any sense, keep buying it.

Like, keep doing it. That is the best. You are in a special spot in the hobby when you can do that. I wish the stuff there I've been in those moments, and it's so much fun.

And I wish I was back in one of those moments, and maybe I am a little bit. I don't know. But I think this also reflects confidence just in people putting their money in football cards.

It doesn't just need to be basketball cards. It doesn't need to just be vintage. I think this is a good sign and indication for Brady or Brady and football cards.

I wasn't expecting to talk twenty minutes on that sale, but there you go. Alright. We're talking about pickups now. One pickup or maybe a few pickups that I wanna talk about.

So I'm gonna move from football to basketball, and I want to talk about some recent pickups that I made. And all of these happened last week and unexpectedly, whether it was auctions closing out or these cards picking up.

But they were three gold out of 10 from 2024, '25 Panini one and one basketball. I added these three gore gorgeous gold out of 10 cards to my collection.

They were the Pascal Siakam, the Miles Turner. I know. I can't believe I did that, but I did. And the Andrew Nembhard. Each of these cards is a base parallel number to just 10. These cards came from Panini one and one.

They are encased, and I think these cards are really cool. So I wanna spend a second talking about connecting with a specific product. I think Panini one and one basketball is one of the best products of the Panini era.

And I say best. I'm gonna take best out because best is subjective and will replace best with favorite. This product is my favorite or one of my favorites for basketball cards in the Panini era.

I love how these cards are configured in a box for a specific segment of the hobby, and that is the gambling side, but then filter its way to third party marketplaces like eBay and then get sold to people who want to build collections who love these cards.

It is one of the most interesting scenarios that I've observed of of cards in this spot.

These cards literally are a lottery ticket. These boxes, you buy a box or buy into a break, and they're opening it, and you just get two random encased cards.

And I would never do that. The risk is way too high. It's just way too high, and, you know, I MSRP on these cards at the time of release just doesn't justify it.

But what happens is people lose or they think they lose, but then other people win like me who are spending well under what a box of these or even a half of the box of these costs when they came out and released.

And I probably should've looked that up ahead of time, but I'll be completely transparent and let you know what I spend on all these cards.

So I got the Siakam. I want it. Did I win this, or was this best offer? I'm getting them all mixed up. It was an offer accepted. I got the Siacom for $60. I got the Turner for $55, and I got the Nemhard for 77.

Now in each of the so so that that element is, so good, where there are these cards that are gorgeous, that get ripped, and get put on these marketplaces and sell for a percentage of what they come out of the box for.

So the the the the 2023 or excuse me, 2425 design specifically is beautiful. I think it's stunning. I have thought the my my opinion on each year varies.

Generally, I love them all. I really like the last edition, which is another, like, fun side effect is that, like, Panini basketball crushed it on this last lap, and I had not gotten around to trying to collect my team until now.

And now I'm here, and I'm hooked on it. I'm just so infatuated by these cards.

So what's fun about the three cards that I picked up, they're all wearing the gold jerseys, which is what the Pacers, wore during, you know, their deep playoff runs, with signature signature jersey.

Now you've got the gold on gold with the parallel. And to me, that is just an incredible Pacers card when you've got the gold on gold.

But you've got just incredible photography that takes up a majority of the card with you know, you've got borders, but I just love the way these cards look.

And the people who I interact with around these cards are people who are trying to collect them like me.

Like, very few people, and I'm sure there are people out there, are buying these to resell. That's their their intention. Am I ever going to sell one of these?

I might. I certainly might. But for now, I'm trying to build out the collection. Now why I think this is fun is the fact that it gives me the opportunity as a collector while I'm so aggressively collecting Colts Prism football stuff.

It gives me a whole another lane or a whole another product on the basketball side to obsess over. I I just there's something about these cards that has always just attracted to me have been attractive to me.

And it's the aesthetics. It's the opportunity while these debuted in 2019 to this last set to try to do whatever I can to acquire as many of the players that I want to, whether it's trying to collect the whole team set or whatever.

But I think it's important to understand that one on one, while hit focus, is scarce by design, and it's really hard to find these cards.

And I have learned that they're with a lot of basketball stuff, a lot of these cards end up in Asia and are really challenging to try to get.

So I don't know. I wasn't expecting that to take place this week, but that take that took place, and it it energizes me.

And it it it it causes me based on my makeup and DNA as a collector, it causes me to want to unearth more because I just think these cards absolutely rule.

Alright. The last topic is one big industry observation, and it is hobby marketing versus collector retention.

If you're listening to my content for the first time or one of the first time, I have been very transparent about my previous life. I've worked my entire career in marketing.

Last year, I went solo. I've been doing stacking slab solo, Obviously, as a part of being a content, creator in the space, there's a big piece of marketing that goes into it. I'm very mindful about the way my brand shows up.

I'm very mindful about the way my content gets distributed, and I'm very mindful about the audience that I'm trying to reach because I value all of the elements that go into you taking time to consume what I have to say and taking time out of your day.

Now while I'm very interested in consumer behavior, I'm very interested in psychology, and a lot of these topics come and are presented on the flagship episode, which drops on Wednesday.

I'm also very interested in analyzing and providing commentary on how the industry or hobby companies are marketing or going to market.

I have not I have not created an outlet for me to be able to provide commentary on this. Typically, it pops up in different conversations, but I never get to dedicate time to it. And I I want to because I I've got stuff to say.

And I I I think based on what I've done my entire career in building brands for companies and building go to market strategies, alongside of doing it independently for myself and creating a content platform that allows me to support my family, that I've got I've got I've got thoughts.

I've got stuff to say. And so this topic of hobby marketing versus collector retention is just a constant topic that I'm thinking about.

Undeniably, there's a mass marketing blitz that's happening in the hobby. And lately, the my observations is that the hobby has felt like it's in full on marketing overdrive.

You've got the major players. You got fanatics. New, you know, owner of Topps is aggressively promoting sports cards to a wider audience. We're seeing everything from celebrity breaker events to ads on major sports broadcast.

The goal here is to get sports fans exposed to sports cards. That's the strategy. You've even got newer platforms jumping in crazy just watching TV, but seeing an arena club, commercial just on TV.

That, like, seeing the exposure is fun. I think it's exciting. I think as a individual who's building a business in the space, I want the pie to grow. I want more people involved. I want there to be new collectors popping up.

And I think it's very apparent the the approach and strategy that is being taken to do this is to ride the coattails of a macro trend that is happening in our lives, and that is the promotion of gambling.

That is for the promotion of, you know, fan daily fantasy. And the big players within the industry have looked at the success of that type of ad spend, that type of messaging, and have said, you know what?

We're going to try this because in the hobby, because this culture, this gambling culture, which when I was in college did not exist.

If if I wanted to go place a bet, I had to go hop in a buddy's car and, you know, drive to some shady neighborhood and knock on someone's door and give them cash.

Like, that's what I had to do. Now it's you just grab your phone and place a bet. And it's it's it's it's so easy. It's so accessible.

And this what's happening with gambling culture and just seeing DraftKings, FanDuel's placement everywhere, in arenas, on broadcast, everywhere you see, it is impacting the way humans think about sports, and fantasy has impacted the way people think about sports.

And this thinking has translated into major players in the hobby trying to get people's attention and get them to think about sports cards in a similar approach.

So this casino style approach is attracting newcomers. It's a lot of marketing, and the content is aimed at new collectors, and it is got this casino layer over it.

You got live case breaks with flashy graphics and suspense suspenseful reveals or repract products that are sold like lottery tickets. The hobby's playbook lately has leaned heavily on the thrill of the chase.

Fanatics and tops host massive breaking events, hype big pulls is, like, they're in jack the hitting the jet like, the similar is hitting the jackpots, and we've got platforms encouraging people to buy spots and breaks rather than single cards, emphasizing the random chance aspect.

It's not subtle. The hobby is often being sold as a form of sports betting or a slot machine just with trading cards.

This gamification does work to get people in the door. It's fun and the adrenaline pumping to potentially hit a big card, but also edges into problematic territory.

We're basically marketing to prospective collectors, and the idea that ripping packs is like playing a game of chance with potentially huge payoffs, it's worth asking.

Are we creating collectors, or are we creating temporary gamblers? Fanatics has openly talked about wanting to 10 x the hobby.

This is no this is no, secret. And their tactics show it. They've tightened the control over card distribution and leaned into breakers as the sales channel because group breaks maximize revenue even at high box prices.

We're also seeing things like bounty programs for certain cards, constant high profile auctions of chase cards, and products designed purely around hits. Arena Club ads promote digital repacks with transparent odds.

Again, basically, framing collecting as a game of odds. There's a sense that big companies are trying to trying every flashy fear of missing out, tricked, rope people in as quickly as possible.

This isn't evil. Good growth is good. I'm a pro growth guy, but sometimes feels like the collector part is an afterthought in the marketing.

The missing emphasis on education and true collecting is becoming apparent. Contrast the casino approach with what long term collectors value, knowledge, community, passion for the cards.

Very little of the marketing pushes about educating new collectors. Examples like explaining card grades, how to store cards, simple joy, why certain sets matter.

Those things don't exist. The focus is mostly on chasing hits rather than enjoying the hobby. I think the industry could do a better job of onboarding new com newcomers in a balanced way.

For instance, when someone buys their first pack because they saw a glitzy ad, who's teaching them what to do next if they don't hit a big card?

It would be great to see more initiatives like guides, hobby one zero one content, and incentives to help mature individuals who enter the hobby to that next stage.

Education and community building might not have the immediately immediate flash of a big TV spot, but the payoff is retention.

Are we thinking about retention, or are we just continuing to pump new people in and watch them fall out the bottom?

New folks will stick around if they find genuine enjoyment and understanding rather than just chasing the next big pull.

My personal stance is multiple entry points are fine, but balance is needed. I'll be honest. I enjoy many of the hobby formats. I've participated in breaks before. I love a good pull.

I don't mind that some people treat cards at an as an investment or high stakes game. I'm pro anything that gets people into collecting, whether they come in through a nostalgia kick, gambling throw, or an invest investment angle.

The hobby is big enough for all kinds of entrants. However, I do worry that the pendulum has swung too far towards the casino mindset and marketing. The imbalance is evident when so many hobby media is box break, big hit, repeat.

And so little is here's how to collect and enjoy cards for the long run. If we only appeal to gamblers impulse, we risk alienating traditional collectors and burning out the new ones.

A newcomer who sees dollar signs and slot machines mechanics might not develop any deeper appreciation to keep them around if they don't strike it rich right away. I'd love to see the industry leaders temper the hype with some heart.

Essentially, sell the sizzle and the steak. Tell people about the fun of organizing your collection, the thrill of trading with a friend, or the satisfaction of chasing your favorite players cards year over year.

Those are the things that create hobby lifers. In my experience and observing many other collectors, and this is what I do all day every day, and I'm I feel very fortunate that part of my job is to do this.

What I've seen is the folks who stick with the hobby aren't the ones who treated it purely like a scratch off ticket.

They're the ones who fell in love with something deeper, the community, the nostalgia, the love of sports, the beauty of the cards itself.

Maybe they started chasing hits, but they stayed for the friendships, the routine to the card shop, meeting friends, opening packs.

Long term collectors often cite stories, not profits. When you ask them what they cherish, they talk about the cards.

Cards. They talk about the meaning. The current marketing machine doesn't highlight those aspects much, but they're the glue that will keep the hobby together through the ups and downs.

Even if the recent news that, was crazy and I talked about this, but it hit, LinkedIn. I've never seen a hobby LinkedIn post go viral.

But when the upper deck president recently cautioned the hobby's recent boom is not sustainable growth driven by collectors who love the hobby, but rather a narrow group of high rollers, which isn't healthy long term.

I take that to heart. I think it's a reminder that we need balance, chase the excitement, yes, but cultivate the collector mentality.

So what can we do? What what do we wanna look at as we, move ahead? I'd love to see companies and content creators ask, are we hooking people only to have them flame out, or are we truly welcome welcoming them into the fold?

Going forward, mix of strategies could help. For every flashy break, maybe there's a collector night at a local shop focused on trading and learning.

If fanatics is spending on Super Bowl ads, maybe also invest in some sort of content program or platform to help educate. Let's encourage alternative access paths that don't just lead all the way through a paywall of luck.

Breaks and high end products are great, but so are inexpensive sets, card shows, collecting challenges, and reward that reward patience and knowledge.

Ultimately, this hobby will thrive if it grows not just in numbers, but in engagement and enthusiasm of those numbers. The goal shouldn't just be millions of people buying cards at once.

It should be millions of collectors who keep coming back because they love it here. That means making sure the hobby's culture isn't only buy, rip, gamble, but also learn, share, collect.

As a lifelong collector, I'm excited about the influx of new faces. I just wanna make sure we're giving them reasons to stay beyond the initial rush.

Hope you enjoyed this episode. I really enjoyed having it. I'm feeling energy. I'm feeling fired up. Didn't think we'd go over forty minutes, but that's what we do here.

Appreciate you supporting Stacking Slabs. Make sure you hit follow. Leave a review if you'd be so kind. Tell a damn friend. Do all the things. We'll have the flagship episode out tomorrow. Talk to you soon.