Welcome back to another episode of Stacking Slabs, your hobby content alternative. I'm your host, Brett. Flagship episode, Wednesday, coming at you. These topics are becoming more and more dense, and I'm loving it.

I think we're at a fun time in our, hobby experience, and it's good to reflect. It's good to think about the things that we're doing and remind ourselves why we're here and enjoy it, be present for as much of it as possible.

And what I wanna talk about today is the long game and what sets long term collectors apart from everyone else.

Now this topic was inspired by a recent trip that I had. I got my car, 70 West, landed in Greencastle, Indiana, DePauw University, my alma mater, to give a talk.

And so there was a question, and that really inspired this whole episode. So make sure you're, engaging with individuals about the hobby.

And sometimes it could be individuals who don't even collect, but are much, much younger than you that are excited about what you're doing, that inspire, new thinking or ideas.

And so I'm gonna dig into that in this episode, but really wanna think about what is it about a long game player and what makes up long game collectors here in the hobby.

First, make sure you're following stacking slabs to get all of the content each and every week.

Super easy. Hit follow. If you wanna be nice, leave a review. That means a ton. Also, more exclusive content coming in the Patreon each and every day.

Link is in the show notes. Also, book, it's out. Collecting for keeps, finding meaning in a hobby build on hype, all digital. Again, link in the show notes. Gotta get my plugs in. Let's get in. This is gonna be a fun episode.

So we'll start by sharing the experience from last week. I had an opportunity to speak at DePaul University talking to a room full of students. Now these students had been on campus for I think they were entering week three of classes.

So they were members of the marketing, club or group and also management fellows, which is another group on campus, and I was excited to be back.

It had been a while since Bennett was back on campus. It was beautiful. But I got asked to come on back on campus and talk about, a topic around building a business that I love.

And, obviously, I'm I'm in that. So my top my headline was taking the leap to build a business you love in the creator economy. It was, shout out, wrestling card wizard, Graham, for putting together the deck.

It's so much fun to work with other people in the hobby on things that I need, and I've built a pretty fun little network of creatives in this space that helps support stacking slabs.

So, I wanna thank Graham for that. But it was an energizing conversation where I told my story and what I'd learned during my journey.

And during the question and answer session, one student asked me a question that it's not gonna be verbatim, but it was something around this effect.

She asked, how do you differentiate your content with so many options out there and make sure that the right people keep coming back to it?

And I sat there, and I was on stage, and I was like, this is a remarkable question, and I cannot wait to explore it.

It made me reflect deeply on why I create content and I do, and who I'm creating content for. My answer to her was all about understanding you, the listener out there, my audience at a granule granular level.

The truth is when I'm building stacking slabs and I'm creating stacking slabs, I'm not creating it for everyone. I'm not creating it for everyone who does sports cards things. It's by design. My design of my content, it's very specific.

And if I'm trying to make my content for everybody, it becomes built for no one. It's built for a very specific type of hobby participant. It's the kind of collector I often refer to as long game players.

I think I put out a disclaimer back in 2021 that stacking slabs content best fits with long term players. And this is when I was trying to ideate and differentiate and, going back to kinda her question.

Wanted to emphasize the qualities I saw in dedicated collectors. And I've said this a lot, but, typically, busy parents, professionals, limited time in their day.

There's more, and I don't wanna if you're if if you're not a busy professional or a parent, I don't wanna isolate you, but just the majority of listeners are typically fall into that bucket.

And I think the small sliver of time that you have, is dedicated to collecting and savoring all the joy that comes with it.

And these collectors would rather have cards in their cases than cash in their pockets, meaning they derive more satisfaction from holding great cards long term than flipping those cards for a quick profit.

Now in a hobby climate where so much content and conversation centers around making money in the short term hype, I've consciously chosen to spark the other side.

The collector's playing the long game driven by passion over profit. And I think that exchange that I had at DePaul got my wheels turning.

It inspired the theme of this flagship episode, and I wanna unpack what truly defines a long term player in the hobby and what's the DNA of the collector who's in it for the long haul?

And for those who aspire to have that mindset, how do we get there? We're living in an unprecedented time in the hobby. It's exciting. There's a lot of hype. There's a lot of momentum.

You know, Card lighter just recorded August 2025, $416,000,000 spent on, sports cards and trading cards. If you listen to the Card lighter confidential episode that came out this week, we dig into that further.

So much going on. So what sets long term players apart during these times? I think that's exactly what we're going to explore today.

We'll be breaking down the kinda components, like the DNA of the long term collector, those traits that I view and values that define the long game mindset, then I think we're gonna spend some time digging into kinda, like, journeys and steps individuals go through on their way to becoming long term players.

And then we'll close it out by talking about some psychological factors, the motivations, mindsets, and maybe some pitfalls that influence how we collect in the long run.

And, hopefully, by the end of this, we'll have a clear picture of what it means to be a long term player. So whatever you consider yourself on the other side, we'll see if this resonates.

So let's dive into the DNA of a long term collector. What exactly differentiates a long term collector from the rest of the pack? When I think about this, I break it down into some characteristics.

One characteristic that's already been mentioned, passion over profit. Long game players are motivated by the love of the process, the love of collecting more than the financial gain.

Yes. We're aware of card values, but the allure of cards goes beyond the monetary value. These collectors derive genuine enjoyment from the cards itself.

The stories, the players, the art, not just the potential payout. I think we get mixed up a lot and, you know, we hear these phrases about true collectors and all all this stuff.

I I don't know about that, but what I can say is that if you would if if you get more enjoyment from the the position you take to build collections rather than constantly on this burn and churn wheel of trying to make quick flips and profits, then you're likely more of a long game player than not.

Think long term collectors might even scoff at the idea of selling their favorite cards even during these crazy market times because to them, the personal value of the cards is greater than the dollar amount.

The ethos stands in stark contrast to the flip game or the short term mindset. The long term collector would rather collect what they love than chase what's trendy or hot, if it doesn't fit their personal taste.

Their collection is often deeply personal, a reflection of their personality and interest rather than a clone of what the market says is valuable.

I I think embracing authenticity and passion is super important, and we all have our own preferences, and we all have our own nostalgia.

And those things make up the long term mindset. I think it's having a deep understanding of your niche.

Long term collectors typically develop a focused identity within the hobby. I think if you follow my page, you can probably tell quickly, not only am I a Colts fan, but I am a Colts prism, collector.

And I hope you think that I'm a great collector when it comes to that, that I'm doing something that you haven't seen before.

That uniqueness is important to me. But I am so deep in the weeds on this front that I identify as a long term Colts prism collector makes me happy.

I love learning more. I love figuring out where cards are at. I'm not trying to chase fads. I'm I'm not trying to pay attention of mainstream what's on the front of the hobby news.

I'm very focused on my lane. For me, it's a favorite team. It's representing my city. It could be a player for you, specific era set. But over time, I these collectors accumulate wealth of knowledge about their niche.

Checklist, I hear Chris Hodge talking about spreadsheets. Great. We we begin to have a deep understanding of those lanes. This expertise not only helps us make informed decisions, but it also increases enjoyment.

Knowledge adds meaning to each card that we own. And crucially, it means they're less likely to fall outside of hype. Now I'm not here to say, like, I don't get driven to go buy something that I end up selling.

It's part of the process. But I think awareness and knowing what your North Star is is certainly important. I think their collectors tend to be unique and filled with items that tell their story rather than anyone else.

And I think the focus builds loyalty. And just as my content speaks to a specific audience, I think a collector who specializes deeply in something tends to build a network of fellow collectors who appreciate the same focus.

So we did passion over profit, deep understanding of your niche.

And the next one is something in life I'm not great at, but it's having patience and having a long view. And I think perhaps this is the most defining trait of collectors is patience.

The playing the long game. You hear diamond hands a lot. In terms of collecting strategy, they're willing to wait months or even even years to find the right card at the right pot price.

And when they find it, they keep it, and they hold it, and they don't do anything but enjoy it. They don't feel pressured to complete a project or a set today or chase a card that doesn't feel like a good value.

I think the patience extends on how they react to the market swings. You the like, think about this. Yeah. The market is nuts. We're selling more cards than ever before, but how many Michael Jordan, PMG greens have come to market?

None. Because the owners of that card don't care. They don't care. They want that card. There there's a prestige to holding that card.

I think during the boom times, like our current sir and times like our current surge, long term collectors generally don't succumb to panic or FOMO. They've seen these hype cycles come and go, and they trust in their conviction.

That's why it's funny when you see these new participants emerge and they're telling they're trying to instruct and tell everyone how to do things and what to do, but they weren't a part of the last phase. And it's just kinda funny.

Everybody who's a long term player kinda looks at these individuals and say and and no one is negative or mean, but it's, like, very apparent and obvious that if a person's speaking out and they're trying to direct and give advice, a lot of us are in the background being like, well, dude, you obviously weren't here for the last rodeo.

So I think in many cases, people who are patient position themselves, from a position of advantage during hype cycles rather than getting swept up.

So for like, when prices skyrocket due to speculation, a long term collector might sell off a couple overhyped items that they don't love in their collection.

And it's not because they're not they're leaving the hobby, but it's because they see it as an opportunity to use funds to go buy a car that they never imagined they could get.

And I think, conversely, during these downturns or hobby recessions, the long term player doesn't bail. They actually maybe have more fun and are more active because of their passion and conviction of the hobby.

It's often noted that collectibles tend to reward patients. And then I think, in fact, historically, high quality sports cards held over a long period of time can be quite resilient to broader market conditions.

It's about being less impulsive. It's about being absolutely dedicated to the space and being patient because you love it.

There's also community and relationships, which is a huge component to the DNA of long term players. These collectors aren't in it just for themselves.

They generally value the camaraderie and the connection and the communication with other collectors who are, doing what they're doing, not just attached to the cards, but attached to the people in the stories.

This is something that resonates with me. I love talking with other collectors who collect what I collect and how they collect it and learning.

I've obviously done enough to build a whole platform around it. There's also intrinsic rewards and enjoyment, and it's kind of what's underpinning all of this. And I think the hobby is fun and enriching itself and in itself.

And the folks who are playing the long game find joy in the process of collecting, not just the outcome. The love of the chase, the love of the hunt, sometimes is even more rewarding.

Psychologically, collectors often love the chase pursuing a rare item item more than actually landing the card itself. I think it's savoring the journey, not necessarily being driven completely by the outcome, but just the process.

I've heard a lot of collectors talking about how the hobby just makes their life better. It makes their life better. What would they be doing without it? Probably not good stuff.

And so by recognizing the value that just being in this space offers, it inevitably will help support not only your enjoyment of the hobby, but likely indicates you're probably more of a long term collector than not.

Long term collectors differentiate themselves through authenticity, focus, patience, community values, and a love of the game.

They know not every move has to be optimized for immediate profit. But it's again, I keep going back to it's being patient.

And so that's the setting of the stage, I think, for maybe my observations and some of the DNA that makes up long term players. And so the journey to long term collecting, I think, has key stages and steps.

It's not linear, but I've talked to enough collectors who've gone through this process that this is my observations. I think it's helpful to recognize becoming a long term collector doesn't happen overnight.

It's usually a process. And many collectors evolve through several phases before settling in into a more sustainable approach to collecting sports cards.

Your path is different than mine, and no paths are likely completely identical, but here are some steps that I've observed. You've got the spark, which is the discovery of the hobby.

And almost every long term collector story begins with falling in love with collecting, often from a childhood perspective. That's then, there's that initial spark, ripping packs, trading cards on the playground.

And at this stage, it's all about curiosity and enjoyment. And you're not thinking too much about values. It's driven by joy. It's driven by wonder. There's an innocence to it in a way that's very charming.

There's that dopamine hit by ripping packs and the thrill of finding your favorite player. And we've all of us who are collecting cards now are don't wanna speak for all of us, but most of us have had that spark or earlier on.

We've been through the learning curve phase or riding the hype, and many collectors return and get swept up by the hype.

Right? They saw YouTube. They saw a show. They They saw something on the front page of the news. I think about the marrying of the almost $13,000,000 dual logoman sale with the $14,416,000,000 August number.

And I think about that being out there and how many people are seeing it are immediately just being like, I'm collecting cards, and I'm gonna do it.

And then they go search and they to discover, and it's all about flipping and hype. And I think we all get swept up into that. We buy in the newest the newest products, newest prospects, and we make a ton of mistakes.

We make a ton of escape. It's it's, we figure out what's for us and what's not for us. I've been through this. A lot of us have been through this, but it offers us the opportunity for self discovery.

And then that's once we realize, like, either we leave or we stay and find a new way to do this. It's where we kinda refine our focus or end up in this category where we hear everyone talk about of collecting what you love.

Almost every veteran collector I know has that moment of clarity where they pivot from being all over the place to narrowing their focus after dabbling in various products and trends.

Start asking yourself questions like, what do I actually enjoy the most? What do I want my collection to be about? This step, I think for me it was, it's a turning point for many.

It's we consciously choose to collect what we love, and pursue that passion around that category, players, whatever it is. This is the stage where your collections collection starts to become unique to you and thereby more fulfilling.

I consider myself a very independent thinker, a very independent per person. The last thing on earth I would do would be to build a collection that looks anything close to what someone else is building because I appreciate standing out.

I appreciate expressing myself in a way that's different than others. I think, from a tactical perspective, it might mean selling off cards that don't fit your collection, and that changes.

In one era, they fit, and the next era, they don't. Having that adaptability is really important, and you figure that out when you're collecting what you love.

There's also building knowledge and discipline. I think as focus sharpens, the next step is becoming an expert, creating good habits, choosing your lane.

I know more about Prism Football and that product than I would imagine most people because it's my primary focus. The years, the sets, the parallels, what's different, the checklist, the variations, all of it.

I immerse myself in that because I'm disciplined. Now I have this thought a lot where I'll see a card that pops up, and it maybe falls outside that Prism Cult's bucket, and let's say it's $1,500, and I start to question.

When I start to question and I don't take immediate action on something, that's usually when I know, that's probably not worth 1,500 to me or maybe I just don't need it in my collection.

But if the right piece pops up that fits inside my Colt's Prism collection and is $1,500 and there's no sales or whatever, but deep inside, I feel like I need it.

I pursue it and don't even think twice. I talked on the football card podcast about a deal I just made for Liatu Liatu's rookie black finite, one of one.

Shout out Ragnar cards for selling me that card. I needed that card. I wanted that card. I was willing to pay double the last comp for that card. But I have the discipline to know that I'm not doing that for all cards.

I'm doing it for cards that deeply fit into the collection that I'm building. And my confidence in that in buying cards for that much only happens when I reach this certain maturity through collecting.

You've got the community engagement and contribution when you're settling in, and this is where it, like, sinks its teeth in you.

Social connection, belonging, people reinforcing your ideas, you figuring out other people who are collecting in a similar way, this enthusiasm, this shared passion.

It really it's like pouring gasoline on it. There's this balance and adaptation that goes by gets put in place too, and it's kinda like the final step, which is really an ongoing practice.

But it's figuring out how to sustain your hobby enjoyment over a long run-in balance with your actual life. Life changes, careers get busy, kids come along.

Literally, like, the last year of my life, I quit my job to go full all in on stacking slabs while collecting cards and also having another child along the way, which is so it's been crazy.

But, like, as a long term collector, I need to learn to adapt my hobby habits according to my current life conditions.

And I think a part of this is maintaining a healthy balance. Long term players know how to keep the hobby fun and under control, so it doesn't turn into a source of stress.

I say this a lot. If you are stressed out by collecting and what you're doing, you need to make a change. Nothing about this, even when the values and the money goes up, nothing about this should be stressful for you.

Yes. You get in this element of deals where maybe stress levels could slightly rise, but it should never sustain over a long period of time. If you're stressed out, you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong.

You gotta set boundaries. Allocating certain amount of time for to cards or certain amount of money to cards or making rules, like, I'm only, taking equity out of my collection when I'm buying cards.

I think by making the hobby part of your life rather than the center of your life.

You need to continue to enjoy it for years to come. There's burnout. There's all these things. I think sustaining it is making sure you have a flexible mindset. Long term collectors and the ones I've met don't fear change.

They adapt and find ways to let new developments enhance their experience rather than derail it. Whenever I hear people bitching and complaining about what's going on in the hobby, my first reaction is they're not a long term player.

Like, they're not you're not adaptable. Like, you if you in any market, in anything in life, you have to be able to adapt.

You have to have some sort of ability to, evolve when what's happening around you evolve. It's a narrow world view to say, because I want these things to be this way, this is the way they have to be.

It's just not how anything works. And so I understand there's something very emotional about collecting cards, and there's something very, you know, you have to have a certain ability of passion and to be able to spend money on cards.

And I understand whenever you're messing with money and finances and the way things were, it's people are gonna get bummed out and bent out of shape.

But if the hobbies bum you out or bum out of shape, it's it's you just gotta reevaluate. You gotta keep reinvesting emotionally in the hobby in new ways, and I think there's always something to look forward to.

I think by managing balance and continually finding purpose or a new purpose for you, the long term player truly makes the hobby a lifelong adventure.

And and, again, I I'm gonna reinforce this. Not everyone's path will look the same, but these steps are common patterns.

And I think if you're finding yourself somewhere in the middle of the journey, say you're in the height phase or starting to refine your focus, that's a that's a normal progression.

The key is always learning to adjust. I want to dig into the psychology behind this as we're maybe in the last part of this conversation, digging into mindset and motivations and kinda managing some risks.

If you're a long time listener of stacking slabs, you know I like to talk about the psychology behind collecting.

It's really, become a tent pole of the flagship episodes, but wanna dig through some of this stuff. So you've got intrinsic motivation and identity, and long term collectors, almost by definition, have strong int intrinsic motivations.

They collect because it fulfills internal needs, joy, nostalgia, personal interests, rather than because of the external rewards, money, or recognition.

Psychology tells us that when an activity is internally rewarding, we're more likely to stick with it in the long run.

Nostalgia, powerful motivator motivator. Many long term collectors integrate collecting into their identity. And I think setting goals, figuring making sure the hobby is continually to be continuing to be satisfying is really important.

You got the dopamine rush for sustainable enjoyment. This is a big thing. It's like, are you trying to buy cards to get a bunch of mail days to get the dopamine? Are you trying to rip packs to get the dopamine?

Or are you willing to be patient and wait and play the long game and understand that sometimes you're gonna lose, sometimes you're gonna win big, but over a long period of time, it's a process.

I think it's figuring out your position from a financial perspective because a lot of our positions are different because we all have different financial situations, but finding out what works best for you and gives you peace of mind.

I think one psychological differentiator for long term versus short term mindset is how one views money.

A long term collector tends to think of their collection as a slow growing investment or even just a sunk cost in entertainment, like money you'd spend on any hobby rather than an ATM machine.

This perspective actually reduces stress. If you're not constantly worrying about will this card five x in value next month or should I sell it now.

You can actually enjoy it owning it without anxiety. Long term collectors often budget hobby spending exactly that, spending on a hobby, and they don't gamble more than they can lose.

This is psychologically freeing. By setting clear financial limits, you avoid the mental strain and being in that zone that you don't wanna be where you're stressed out about the hobby.

Think financial discipline might sound dry, but it actually enhances enjoyment. Every card you do buy, you can truly savor because you know it fits your plan. You you didn't blow your mortgage on a card that didn't work or your yeah.

Your mortgage payment on a card that didn't work out. It also means when big life events happen, you're in a position where you can make moves and take care of that. Remember, there's always things more important than cards.

I always think about ways that I can avoid burnout, and luckily, I'm more excited than ever before, but it's all about keeping perspective. Thinking about what you're doing and figuring out if it's what you're doing is making you happy.

I think it's about maximizing positive emotions and those benefits. And, again, whenever I think about positive emotions and benefits in the hobby, I think about nostalgia, joy, accomplishments, social connection, relaxing.

Like, does the hobby make you relax? It should. While managing negative ones, which is like addiction, overspending, stress. Long term players become experts at doing their hobby in a healthy and enriching way.

You know the triggers, and you prevent those triggers from happening. And it's an easy trigger, another one is curating your online experience and the people you interact with.

That's one I continue to see people struggle with. I'm like, quit struggling with it. Like, why are you wasting your time complaining about someone else? Like, fix it. Alright. Let's tie all this back to the current moment.

We're in an unprecedented boom. Record sales, ton of buzz. What are long term players doing during these height filled times that sets them apart? I think it's a great question that we should ask ourselves ask ourselves.

I'm reflecting on that now, and here are some of the things that I'm thinking about. Sticking to my plan. I've got a plan. I've got a philosophy. I don't care if the market is booming. I'm sticking to it.

And I'm not letting the market or what's going on around me control any decisions I'm making. Remember, we're the CEOs of RPC. Stick to your plan, man. You set a plan. Stick to it. Taking advantage of a seller's market. Yeah.

Sometimes it sell. I did a whole episode on selling. Sometimes you need to sell into the market, and I think this is a good time. Put your cards on judgment day. Are there cards that you don't fit within your long term projections?

Are there cards that if you sold now likely would fetch you more money that you would rather have that money than the card? Like, have that conversation. Go through your collection.

It's a great we're mostly I would imagine most of us are long term collectors rather have the cards and the cash, but, inevitably, there are always cards in our case that command more cash than maybe we bought it for.

It's good to have those conversations.

Easy one, avoid the FOMO and the noise. There's so much noise. And in this round, it's actually, like, I feel way more experienced to understand, like, the position of people making the noise and what they're doing.

It is a positioning war going on. Everyone's positioning themselves. Everyone is, I I this might this term, I don't know.

This is what I this is the term that I use. I call them I call I call them, auction humpers. There's just auction humpers everywhere. Everyone, sees an auction that fetches a big price and humps the auction.

They show everyone cards that are adjacent to theirs or maybe even their own copy to show how smart they are. Like, this is nonstop, and it's only happening because we're in a strong bull market.

So watch out for those hobby humpers out there. It's a good opportunity to connect with the community. Right? There's crazy sales stuff going on. Like, we all have our network of people. Talk to them. Lean into those conversations.

It's what makes the hobby fun. It's about staying level headed in volatility. Stick to your plan. Like, you've got a plan. Don't blow it up just because the market's on fire. Just remember to be thoughtful.

Remember to be community minded, selective, and strategic. That was a deep conversation, a lot of meat on that bone. But maybe we'll close it out by circling back to that student's question that sparked this episode.

Like, how do you differentiate your content, so that the right people keep coming back? And I think the answer lies in everything we discussed by speaking to and embodying the values of the long term collector.

The right those are the right people for me and for stacking slabs. Shiny object, but by consistently focusing on core principles, a lot of those I talk about in collecting for keeps, that make this hobby fulfilling in the long run.

So if you're listening to this and some of it resonated, maybe you should see a bit of yourself in the descriptions of the long term collector.

Or maybe you're in an earlier phase and want to move into that direction. I would encourage you to embrace the long game. It's a wonderful place to be. It means your hobby experience gets richer and compounds over time, not poor.

You're gonna avoid stress. You're gonna really dig it. It means you're building something that's truly yours, and you enjoy a community of fellow collectors rather than constantly competing or worrying about the market.

It means when someone asks you five, ten, or twenty years from now, are are you still into those cards? You can proudly say, hell yeah. Absolutely. Say decades worth of stories and cherished items to show for it.

I love the hobby. I love having conversations about collecting, thinking deeply about the things and doing what we're doing. We are in a space that is better than any other space I've been in.

Collecting sports cards rules. Appreciate you being along for the ride. Your dedication, your passion. Make sure you tell a damn friend. Take care. We'll talk to you soon.