Welcome back, loyal listeners of the stacking slabs podcast to episode three of the WNBA card podcast. I am your host, Caitlin. I go by at cold lunch cards on the Instagram machine and everywhere else on the Internet.

And I'm joined by my fantastic cohost, Brett McGrath, at Stacking Slabs today, and we're excited to bring you some more WNBA focused content, focused on the hobby, focused on everything that we wanna be talking about today.

Brett, how are you doing today? I'm well. I survived a trip, weekend trip to Vegas. I'm back. I'm, like, in my comfort zone. I was out of my routine for a few days, and I feel very I'm very routine oriented.

So I I feel very comfortable now that I'm, like, back in my office and recording content because I I was looking at the agenda ahead of this just to, like, remember because I put it together in advanced.

And I saw all your notes, and I was like, oh, man. We have a lot to talk about, which is great. So just wanna thank the listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in.

I appreciate all of you listening, all the comments and everything else. And the followers of the new Instagram handle at WNBA card pod, Caitlin is doing a phenomenal job with, putting that page together.

So really excited about that. Excited about this show, and I know we've got a ton to talk about. How are you? Oh, I'm doing well, Brett. It's an exciting week for me.

On a different note, I'm traveling back to home to Green Bay for another lane of my collecting, which is for the NFL draft. So we got a lot going on in the card world this weekend and going into next weekend.

I'm excited you're back from Vegas. You made it out in one piece after WrestleMania. So happy to have you back. And I suppose, like you said, we've got a ton on the agenda to cover today in the WNBA card world.

So why don't we just kick it off, with our first topic today, which is tip-off? We're talking about league talk, hobby news, anything that's relevant to the collector.

And the first thing that Brett and I wanted to talk about was an amazing pull that happened over the past week, in the hobby world. Brett's screen sharing here for our Patreon watchers.

But anybody listening, he's screen sharing at grand slam collectibles Instagram page. There's a photo of a little girl smiling ear to ear holding up a gold prism rookie card variation out of 10 of the one, the only, Caitlin Clark.

And the caption says, Ryan and her dad traded some cards for a WNBA prism box. She was literally in tears. I mean, Brett, what do you make of this? What are your initial thoughts when you saw this come up on your feed?

To me, it is reminds reminded me of the purity of the hobby. Like, the story of a dad and his daughter trading cards for a box of WNBA Prism and to pull a Caitlin Clark gold, is is what it's all about.

I think so often when we have these big pulls, they're pulled by breakers, and then we see them on another marketplace. And we're talking about how much they sold for, and we never really know where they end up.

And then maybe a couple years later, we see them relisted again and then maybe again. And I just think this is so cool. I I I've I'm I love this story, and I wanted to lead off with it.

It just it reminds me I I can promise you as a as a as a child after a baseball game, I would always beg my parents to take me to the card shop on 70 First in Binford here in Indianapolis.

And, you know, I they take me inside, and I get a pick, you know, some packs of cards. I can assure you in that era, and I don't wanna date myself too much, but I never pulled anything like this.

But this is what's cool. Like, I'm like, man, now, you know, dads and moms taking their children into hobby shops, they can pull, like, life altering, life changing cards.

And, obviously, I'm a big Caitlin Clark fan. So to see this, one of the one of these 10 variation golds being pulled by, someone maybe just starting their hobby journey is pretty special.

I couldn't agree more, Brett. This this made me really happy and just brought a smile to my face when I saw it.

I think I I put myself in her shoes, when I maybe I was around her age, and I would ask for cards similarly either, like, on Christmas or another holiday or go to my local shop right outside Lambeau Field.

And one, let's start with the obvious. They weren't selling WNBA Prism back then, and that wasn't that long ago.

And so I just think it's awesome that a little girl can walk into a shop with her parents, with her dad, her mom, whoever, trade in some cards that they already have, and then get a a card of a, you know, a generational talent that also happens to be a woman.

I this is just everything that's good about the hobby, and I I hope more pulls like this are coming to people that that that need it and deserve it like this.

And, yeah, great pull by Ryan, and congrats to Grand Slam Collectibles for bringing a platform so that she could share this with the world.

Yes. Shout out Grand Slam Collectibles for posting this story and giving us something to, tip-off the third episode of the WNBA card podcast with.

Awesome. Well, I think we're gonna go into our second topic today, which is somewhat related to Caitlin Clark, which is that the WNBA tips off in less than a month.

I actually plugged in and tried to figure out how long we have, and it's less than a month.

And the last possible date for the the season to end is October 17. So we've got one hundred and fifty four days of WNBA basketball coming at you.

We'll be here through it all, and I'm just really excited, to see how things look post free agency, post draft, post blockbuster trades, and see how my Minnesota links and your Indiana fever do, going into the season.

What are your thoughts heading into week one, I suppose, heading coming up soon?

Yeah. First of all, it's it's I I've made reference to this that this past year feels like the fastest year of my entire life with, like, family, stacking slabs, everything else.

And when I'm wearing my Pacers hat right now because Pacers are in the playoffs, but it it like, this moment of, like, the Pacers going on their run last year while the fever were starting to play, it feels like it was g it just happened.

And so I I can't believe we're back here. I don't know. Like, there was a lot of buzz and momentum around the league last year with the debut of Caitlin Clark, but I don't think everybody jumped in right away.

Gradually, we saw new fans emerge and people watching it. We saw more commentary than ever before, and that momentum was really building.

And I think in this, in the off season with you know, you had the Olympics, you've got, unrivaled, Like, people are people are feigning for this. Like, people are ready. People are there's more momentum and excitement than ever before.

And so while I thought last year going into the season was, kind of game changing, crazy momentum. This year feels even more and I think it is you string together the the Clark class, and you've got Paige coming in.

People are just ready to watch the w, and I think that's cool. So, we've got a, I say we. I tend to do that a lot with my my fandom. The fever, tip-off against the, Chicago Sky, which to me is just their their arrival.

Like, they're close, Angel Reese. So that's the matchup, I've got circled and can't wait for it to start. How are you feeling about the start of the season? I know the the links were really close last year.

Like, what are your expectations? Oh, boy. We're starting hot here. Bringing up last year, that's a sore subject. For anybody that doesn't know, the championship was stolen from my Minnesota Lynx last year against the New York Liberty.

Liberty fans, I don't wanna hear it. Don't DM me about it. You know it's true. We'll leave it at that. Otherwise, I'll get too excited.

But that being said, this year is the Nafissa Collier revenge tour. I fully believe that wholeheartedly. We tip-off against the Dallas wings, who now have Paige Becker's the Minnesota native. So I'm really excited for that matchup.

I won't be rooting for Paige Becker's. I will, of course, be rooting for the Minnesota links. I hope for a good game. But I'm really excited for the season to tip-off for this revenge tour to commence.

And, you know, over the off season, we saw a lot of changes. But one team that kinda was quiet and didn't make too many moves, at least not in the outstanding surprising category, was my Minnesota Lynx.

Cheryl Reeve already had a team put together that she liked. They found, you know, a piece or two that maybe might make the roster in the draft.

We got Carly Carly Samuelson, the sister of Katie Lou Samuelson, in a in a trade. But other than that, things look relatively the same, and I would expect the Minnesota lings to come out guns blazing.

Last year had a little bit of a learning curve where we started a bit slow and ended off, obviously, playing some of the best basketball I've seen, and I'd expect them to pick off right where they left off.

So couldn't be more excited. You said people are feending.

I'm feending. I feel like, I've been without women's bass or women's pro basketball for far too long, and I'm excited to, watch on the TV with League Pass, but also hopefully attend a few games at the Target Center here in Minneapolis.

Yeah. The the links have it going on. I mean, they were one of the squads last year just watching them.

You could tell even when the fever kind of reached that new level where the chemistry was built between Boston, Mitchell, and Clark, even when they reached that level and they played a team like the Lynx, it was like, the Lynx are in another class ahead of them.

So I think the move or the lack of moves by them just shows the depth and the talent, of that team.

And it's fee squad. She's gonna be, out, like you mentioned, looking for revenge. And, man, I I just can't wait to watch it happen. Yeah. Revenge in, like, the most respectful way possible also. She won't even be in your face about it.

She's probably just gonna, like, kill you with kindness. So looking forward to seeing her on the court, but also looking forward to seeing what the new landscape of the w looks like post some of these big trades.

Brett and I wanted to recap what we thought were some of the biggest moves that teams made this off season.

And so I'll kick it off by sharing what I thought was the most influential, meaning which one's gonna have the most impact in the wins column.

Not so much just who made a big move that was shocking, who who I think is gonna benefit the most from from the move, which was that big three way trade between, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

For anybody that is unfamiliar, Kelsey Plum went from the aces to the sparks, then Jewel Lloyd and the thirteenth pick who ended up being Aliyah Nye from Alabama.

Those two came from Seattle to Vegas, and then Lee from, the sparks went to Seattle. So that's a lot of, moving parts there.

But one thing I'll highlight here is that Jewel Lloyd went from Seattle to Las Vegas to join forces with Chelsea Gray and AJ Wilson. I truly think Jewel Lloyd is an amazing player. She can shoot. She can pass.

She's she's really fun to watch as well, and I think she's gonna be a good, piece into that Vegas roster that really didn't need too much help. So that's that's the move that I thought will be the most influential this upcoming season.

Do you I think that's obviously a marquee move. Do you anticipate maybe digging into cards a little bit? The change of scenery for Jewel Lloyd and the change of scenery, yeah, maybe four jeweled.

You could throw Kelsey Plum in there too. Do do you think that will have any impact on just their overall cards and people collecting them or continuing or new collectors entering?

What are your thoughts there? Yeah. I like the idea of new collectors entering. I mean, in the in the w, there's a lot of moves happening all the time.

It's always been this way. You know? Free agency is a big topic for the WNBA, and there seems to be what would in another league be considered blockbuster every single year. And this one I would consider blockbuster.

So for a play like Jewel Lloyd who has been in Seattle for the majority, if not all of her career, I think teaming up with a a powerhouse like the aces, with AJ Wilson is only gonna bring more fans to the table.

I I I wouldn't expect Seattle Collectors to completely abandon, Jewel Lloyd lanes in their PC, but, I would expect Las Vegas to kind of latch on to their their new guard. So, yeah, I think I think they'll become more in demand.

And like you said, Kelsey Plum going to to Los Angeles, so leaving Las Vegas and going to Los Angeles and joining forces with some of those younger talents like Cameron Brink and and Rakia Jackson.

I think that's also gonna help her market. So I don't see these moves as being particularly harmful, unless you're going to, like, the Connecticut Sun or a team like that, which I like the Connecticut Sun, guys.

It's no hate, but, you know, the Connecticut Sun have lost, I think, almost all if yeah.

Four or five of their starters from last year. So, they got it. They're in a rebuild, type of mode. And that, I could think, is a little bit more harmful than joining, the likes of the Sparks or the Aces.

Stewie might be like the the example. Right? You know? Yeah. Spending the career, in Seattle, having success, and then moving over to maybe a bigger platform.

And it it it feel like if I'm thinking about prices and values of cards, like Stewie is consistently at the top, and it it it just people recognize her greatness and her place in the hobby, which is how it should always work.

It's like she's a transformational player. She's had all of the success, so more people should be after her cards, which increases the value.

And I think that might be the example of moving from, like, Seattle, which where she found a lot of success and then replicated that success in New York, on a bigger platform.

For sure. I think we're gonna see more of the super team type build that's happening. We saw it last year with the Liberty when they bought their championship. Sorry, guys.

That just rolled off the tongue so naturally. I couldn't stop myself. But I think we're gonna see more and more of that where teams are really gonna collect these blockbuster trades and, create a roster that's really competitive.

I think there were some other moves that were really impactful as well. I'll call out the Mercury. The Mercury lost some key legends like Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi. BG went to the Atlanta dream and DT obviously, retired, sadly.

Congrats to her, but she's no longer on the Mercury and they're they're gonna have to find a new identity. And with that, they picked up two new players, Satu Sabli from the Dallas wings and Alyssa Thomas from the Connecticut sun.

Two, I would say, extremely, if not some of the most physical players in the WNBA. And I think that's really gonna help them craft that new identity and chemistry on that team, and I'm excited to see what they do.

The Mercury are obviously an outstanding franchise with a, you know, impressive legacy and history in the WNBA of keeping players there and taking care of them.

So I would say that I'm looking forward to seeing how, AT transitions from Connecticut to Arizona, see how that plays out.

You know, she's a, a a culture shifter, and I would imagine you you lose DT, the goat, and she's got this level of toughness that just translates throughout the entire team.

And I would imagine if you're the Mercury front office, you're like, we need to continue this toughness to build our new our identity in this new era, and AT definitely is going to bring that.

So, I don't play the Mercury, is is even though they lost pieces is certainly not gonna be easier.

I can't in watching her last year, AT, she just does everything, and so I think they're gonna be really happy, with her, in Phoenix. Yeah. For anybody watching Mercury games, just keep an eye on AT's jump shot.

It's something else. You've never seen anything like it. I think she, like, tore her one of her shoulders, so she had to Both of them. Both of her. Both of her shoulders, so she had to switch shooting hands.

So it's not the prettiest thing in the world, but, man, could she get downhill and into the paint? It's pretty impressive. I think the Mercury were really happy with that despite losing their, their legends.

I guess go ahead. Yeah. I was just gonna say I I'll have to mention with the changing landscape, big one, we'll get into this when we talk about what's going to be happening with cards and the licenses and all of that.

I think that's an important topic. But to me, I gotta mention the fever.

But just at the macro, you have all of these stars changing teams. And to me, it's really, really important that whatever is next happens quickly, and we're not waiting forever because, like, the momentum is here.

You've got, new reasons to buy product. We, as collectors, have new players on our team, and this is this is just throughout the entire league.

So I I know, the cart before the horse will save it a little bit because we're gonna be talking about it, but I think that's really important.

Fever, I, as a fan, couldn't be more excited about all the moves that were made from front office transition to new coach transition to new team.

You know, they're really doing whatever they can to surround Caitlin Clark with key pieces, veteran pieces that really didn't exist outside of, you know, Kelsey Mitchell prior to last year.

I I would say the centerpiece of the pickups was Dwanna Bonner, legend of the game. Would never have anticipated her coming to Indy, especially, there was a lot of heat between, no pun intended, the sun and the fever.

And a lot like, there were go back and watch the tape. Like, Clark is jawjacking with, DB, and there it was just this whole thing. And now they've got the Suns coach from last year.

They've got one of the Suns' star player from last year, and so I'm I'm thrilled that she's on the squad. Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham, and, Sydney Colston, also veteran additions, and we've been sharing back and forth.

Shout out IndieCard Exchange here locally. They had Sydney Colston in the shop, doing content on cards, which is amazing. And she I already know.

Like, I followed her a little bit, and she always made me laugh, but, like, she's the personality. So they're definitely bringing her in as, like, culture builder, get the team tied together, and she she did that in, Las Vegas.

So excited to have her. I'm I'm ready to watch. I just want it to happen. It's like a lot of talking about these moves. I just wanna see it translate to on the court performance. Yeah. I'm super excited to see the fever this year.

I saw a clip of, Clark at a a Pacers game, I think, where she was with Steph White's kids in the crowd. I'm like, wow. They're really building a family over there after breaking up the sun's family.

So I'm excited to see how that goes. It looks it looks good. You've got the face of the league and sit on your team, so that's really exciting too. She's great.

Yeah. So, yeah, I'm I'm ready. Again, shameless plug, and they're not League Pass is not a sponsor of this podcast. However, if if you are out there and you work for w the w League Pass at any level, you know, we're easy to find.

Cold lunch cards, stacking slab, we'll we'll happily entertain that, conversation. But it's it's the best value sports investment of all time.

It's %. Cost nothing, and you can watch everything. Couldn't agree more. Alright. Should we shift our focus from the WNBA maybe a little bit more towards college ball here for a second?

Let's do it. There was a big sale that happened, recently. Sarah Strong's super fracture sold for just over $6,600 on April 19, so post national championship.

Brett, we'll start with with this big question. Does this surprise you? If so, why? And if not, why not? Oh, this is a good question. I will take you into my mindset on this card first, and then I'll answer the question.

I have a Sarah Strong searched, set up on eBay, and I've been looking for opportunities. One of those opportunities I'll talk about in a a little bit.

You know, her cards are getting priced very, very high from a a buy it now perspective. Think it's easy to see why, the limitless potential national champion what what she did in the national championship.

We, as collectors, gravitate to potential and what if or what could be next. So that is very understandable, very relevant. And it it was it was interesting when this card popped up. I it, like, stopped me in my tracks.

I was like, this can't be, and then it I was like, it is. And I believe it was, yeah, DC Sports eighty seven who I've had a chance to talk with them, their awesome operation. They got this card in, and it ran at auction.

Now I hit favorite on it, and I immediately said I would love to own this card. This is a card I would really like and had a budget in my mind of potentially what I would pay for this card at this point.

Now I wasn't confident that my budget would be enough for this card. And come to find out, it was one of those, like, I don't think whatever I lay down will win.

And I got distracted because I was in Vegas when this thing ended, and then the card sold. And it sold for which was way outside my budget for this card, $6,625 like you mentioned. And I think and it it's that's a lot of money.

It's a lot of money for, you know, there's still a lot of room left. Like, what's gonna happen? Obviously, God forbid, you have to worry about, like, the injury risk and that happening with a player like this.

But I was not surprised based on the way Sarah Strong left last season and, her the expectations for her. And I think about this, and it's like somebody spent $6,600 on this card.

And if Sarah Strong continues on this trajectory, likely when we've got some tie, but likely when she goes number one in the WNBA draft, because, I mean, I think when she comes out, it's it's gonna be very hard to, for her not to go number one.

If someone's holding this card, say they get it graded and they put it up for auction, this thing is going to blow past that. So I think, although outside of my budget and really high, you know, in any category Mhmm.

But, like, especially in a new category, like women's basketball and Bowman Chrome, college women's basketball and Bowman Chrome, to me, like, whoever ended up with this card, I see you out there, and, I respect the purchase.

You're sitting on something, very precious. Yeah. That that's a lot that you said right there, and I I agree with almost every single point.

I think you're right. It seems like this is a high price point. There's no denying that. For any piece of cardboard, $6,600 is a lot of money, especially for what we would call an emerging or niche category like women's basketball.

That being said, I think it was an incredibly smart purchase. And if I was in this tax bracket, I think I would pay that.

This is this is a really strong, no pun intended, purchase here. And, you know, I think, like you said, there's a lot of room for growth. You know, she's only, what, 18, 19 years old.

She's gonna play at the powerhouse Yukon, and she's gonna compete for national championships every single year. I think, you know, when we talk about if this result is surprising or not, it's such a nuanced conversation.

It's like surprising compared to what? You know, like, the Juju Watkins equivalent of this card, I believe, did around 40,000, roughly, give or take.

The the Paige Becker's autograph version of this card did 30,000. The Caitlin Clark, autograph version did around 75,000. Those are all way bigger multipliers than this one.

And, Sarah Strong is being touted and, you know, rightfully so as the next one up, if not more. Every time you hear Sarah Strong's name mentioned on a broadcast, somehow they're weaving in Maya Moore.

Somehow they're weaving in another WNBA legend. They're calling Sarah Strong and as in when I say they, I mean, Diana Taurasi was on the broadcast and called her baby Jokic.

Guys, you don't just get called baby Jokic for no reason, especially as a freshman playing women's basketball. I mean, I really think this is an awesome card. I'm excited to see where it goes.

I'd love to see it in a PSA holder. From an aesthetic side, side, I just wanna say I love the look of the card, the the photo. It's it's hit or miss for some folks. I love it. Mhmm. It just shows that she's not a one trick pony.

She's a defender too. So really excited to see where this goes. And I think, you know, the example has been set. And, Sarah Strong is gonna set another one here soon, and I can't wait to see, what the market thinks about it.

I know we touched on this a little bit in a previous episode, but with a sale like this, they're I I I kinda wanna dig into the if you don't mind that, like, the prospecting side of Bowman Chrome U and First Bowman's with women's basketball.

Because before this, there wasn't any, like, sustainable structure in place if you wanted to prospect, you know, pre WNBA.

And now Topps have has kind of laid this out and said, well, we've done this historically in other sports like baseball, and this is our, product that we're offering the market to be able to do that in, you know, women's basketball.

Like, I'm I guess I'm curious just like I'm buying these cards.

Like, now I'm not buying this card, unfortunately, but I I'm buying these cards. And when I think about buying these cards, it's fun to have a connection with a sport that you watch regularly. But then, also, I'm not gonna lie.

Like, there's a piece of it with this being so new and such an emerging category that while I have not been on the prospecting side in any other sports that I've collected over the for a long time, this is affording me the opportunity to do it in a manner at a cost that's not thousands and thousands of dollars, which I think is really fun.

It's a fun new flavor of the hobby that I'm, I'm entertaining and I'm buying in. I'm just curious, like, on your side, like, what kind of mindset do you have with a product like Bowman Chrome, you?

Yeah. I think it's a a mindset shifter product. And when I say that, I mean, you know, the hobby machine, however you define that, really emphasizes short term, quote, unquote, investments or short term performances that drive up value.

With women's basketball, specifically, Baumann, you chrome, everything should be seen as a longer Doesn't have to be years long now, but longer than a week investment, longer than a month, sometimes longer than a year investment.

And making that shift in your mind as a collector is really valuable. You're saying no to the hype machine. You're saying no to, you know, big hobby, and you're saying, I believe in this card.

I believe in this player, and I'm willing to take on that risk, however much risk you're willing to take on, for instance, in this this buyer's case, $6,600 for Sarah Strong, and say, hey.

Let's see what happens. And I think when you shift your mind like that in collecting, one, you get more time to enjoy the card itself.

You're still collecting if you're holding the card for a year, folks. That is collecting. But two, it also affords you the opportunity to make a little bit of money and make a play. It allows you to root for a player and for a team.

And I think when you've got a substantial amount of money, however you define that, you know, for me, it could be $10. It doesn't matter. When you have some money, in the game, it makes it more fun to watch and more fun to cheer for.

And, you know, if you know what you're talking about, you can make a couple extra bucks for your PC. So I think the Bowman U Chrome idea from Topps to introduce it in basketball similar to baseball is incredible.

I think it really changed the landscape of cards specifically for women's basketball where there weren't a lot of options like you said.

And while I'm not a experienced MLB, collector in any way, I do see the parallels between the two. And I see it as a a really fun place to to put my money and to invest and to to wait it out.

I, recently, we talked about last week about my show. And some of those cards I went back because I meticulously track every single card I've purchased, guys.

Every single one from my from when I was, like, six years old. It's all in one spreadsheet. And I was looking at the purchase dates of some of the cards that I was selling, And I had had them for over a year and a half.

That's, like, right up to the initial release of the product. And, you know, I looked at that and I said to myself, I'm really proud of myself.

There were a lot of points that I could have sold these cards beforehand, but I decided to hold them because I believed in them and I, you know, I also got lucky with some of them.

I also got unlucky with a few others, but, I just think that Baumann UChrome gives the collector a different mindset to operate in that isn't exactly, the prescribed notion or the the the, I suppose, status quo of collecting.

So I love it, and I'm excited to see where it goes. Have you, you have been kind of in this space longer than than I have buying, selling, trading.

Is there anything you've picked up from other collectors out there in the way they approach this product and kind of what they're doing with it, whether they're holding, selling, any of that stuff?

I think, like, the big thing that I catch on to is that everybody loves to grade stuff. Now whether or not you you like it, because that is, you know, up to each collector, that's up to you. I do think it obviously increases value.

And if you're able to secure a card at such a low price raw, early in a investment, say that Sarah Strong or this this super factor is a little bit more confusing because it's a one of one, but just say, like, a Sarah Strong, True Blue out of $1.

99. Let's say you get that early on right now for, I don't know, $25. I have no idea what they're doing.

Just say $25. If you're able to grade that for an extra $20, you're only into that card for $50. If it tends, now we're up to a hundred dollars value. You've already doubled it without Sarah Strong even hitting the court.

So I think that grading is what I see from other collectors on how they maximize their profit. And honestly, it's super fun to do because, there's not as many collectors.

So the pop reports on these cards are inherently lower, which means the price is gonna be higher. So I think the the key that I've noticed and I'm really bad at grading. I've only really submitted, I think, a handful of cards.

But when I did, that's when I saw, the biggest returns. So grading is something that I think that Bowman U collectors can really leverage to either, like, build up their equity in their PC or to, make some more profit.

I I love that. I think one other important thing to call out, especially too when we're comparing and contrasting with the Bowman, first baseball market.

You know, you you can probably, each and every year in as that product releases. I'm not a baseball collector, but I know the misses far outweigh the hits.

And I think about that. It's like most of the prospects never end up getting called up or doing anything. However, there was a lot of hype around them, and they sold for a lot.

So that's it's just like being cautionary and knowing that while something might look like a sure thing, it might not be. And I think about the w specifically, and there's only so many spots.

There's only so many spots and no we see so many great women's college basketball players, like, make noise and just grab headlines and then struggle to make a w team.

So that's just an important call out. It's like prospecting regardless of the category, it comes with risk, and you just have to be okay with that if you're dipping your toe in that water. Yeah.

The thing that I tell myself when I'm taking on that risk is, you know, there's coaches, athletic directors, general managers that are getting paid, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars to figure this out, and they can't do it.

So, maybe don't place that much confidence in yourself and take a calculated risk that isn't a stupid financial decision.

I I just wanna preface by saying that and I think that's a good call out, but there is money to be made if you're smart about it.

But there's also money to be lost. So everybody be smart and, I don't know. Sarah Strong is a good place to put you on. I I agree 100%. Alright. Well, I think we're gonna transition into our second segment.

We spent a long time on tip-off. So let's move into product pulse, which is where we talk about upcoming releases or any hobby card news that came out, regarding new products.

And, Brett, I don't know about you, but it's kind of been crickets from my end. I don't know if you've been seeing anything new from Topps or Panini or anything like that.

No. And I I will say just to follow back around on, last week's conversation on the the Panini instant, that did come out in between us recording.

So it was it was nice to see that in motion, and in place. But did you make any buys on that at all, Caitlin? No. No. No. No. I did not. I didn't I didn't either.

Not necessarily my thing. But so I just wanted to, like, follow back on that. But I I'm interested I've been digging in, researching, trying to figure out. And I I alluded to this at the top, but there's so much uncertainty.

There's so much uncertainty on what happens next with w cards and the license. I don't know if we're getting another Europrism. I don't know if those the w is moving over to tops and fanatics.

It's been very interest it's been quiet. And while other sports, you kinda anticipated and knew what was going on, I I just I think that's, like, a it's something that I'm very, curious about what's what's happening.

I think you saw with Panini, obviously, they locked up Caitlin Clark and Paige Beckers in exclusive deals, which is really important for that company.

And I'm I'm I'm interested. Is that because it's going to help push momentum in their focus around w cards, or is it they they're doing that to combat the license transitioning over the tops?

I don't know. We did get some sort of news around Panini and their involvement in women's basketball cars.

But before we jump over to that, I want I wanted to see if you had any comments or commentary on just, like, the we talk about all this changing landscape in the w, but there's so much uncertainty around the cards.

Like, how how are you feeling about that right now? I'm feeling lost as a collector.

I'm looking for a little bit more certainty, that word. I I would love to know what's coming next. And, honestly, if they don't know, I did just appreciate some transparency from the companies at this point.

I mean, it seems like every day there's a new, I don't know, unlicensed basketball product or football product, and they're just flying off the shelves and being advertised like no other.

And I just want a couple some some news for the WNBA collectors out here. I'd appreciate some more, drops or news of expected release dates, those types of things.

So I'm just I'm just excited to see what's next, but also patiently waiting, which is very hard, but a good lesson. So we did see this on Instagram.

This was five weeks ago, and it came from unrivaled, which shout out unrivaled, master marketers just I can't give enough flowers to unrivaled how they presented themselves and how they're communicating with their audience.

But unrivaled posted showed a little, logo on the hoop of Panini and said with a post five weeks ago, new partnership loading, which leads me to believe that we are getting unrivaled cards, which are gonna be fun, prism, Panini, and I'm excited about that.

But, again, I'm left with this question.

It's like, okay. Because they're locking in the license with unrivaled, does that mean they're losing Right. The license with the w? That's what I don't know, and I just need answers. Yeah. I just want answers.

I'm really excited about this partnership, though, and it kind of reminds me of the soccer collecting community where they have and now correct my terminology here because I'm not a soccer fan, but they have like their club teams and then their national teams.

And I think that that's something that a lot of soccer players or soccer collectors appreciate. And I think that unrivaled in WNBA could have a similar structure where, you know, this is a different league, a different format.

And so maybe if, say for instance, your rival team, star player, like Brianna Stewart, for instance, is on the unrivaled team that you cheer for, that gives you an opportunity to collect her cards without, breaking the the guardrails that you've put up in your own collection.

And so I'm excited to see what comes from this. I'm hoping that there's autographs. I would love to see exclusive drops at the games themselves. I'm sure that, Unrivaled being an innovative, entity is gonna come up with some fun things.

And, you know, with fee and Stewie at the helm, I I'm sure we won't be disappointed. But if they could put out some news, I'd love to hear what they have to say. Yeah.

The the unrivaled, machine, it's like you just come from a place of they're paying the players more money in the first year than it than a, league that's been around forever, which I think puts the power in the players' hands, which is I'm always for that.

And I know there's a new CBA coming up in the w, and that'll likely change. But, yeah. And I'm I'm excited for for any sorts of cards in leagues and play that have players that I'm excited about and watching.

So, yeah, uncertain. We're getting unrivaled. We'll see what's next on the w front. For sure. And we'll keep everyone here looped in as we hear things. I wish I had more insider knowledge, but, we're in the same boat as you right now.

Yeah. If you're out there and you work for any of these companies and you wanna talk about it, we've got a podcast. Exactly. Well, Brett, are we ready to move into our third segment of the day?

Yeah. Let's do it. Watch. Yeah. We're gonna do this. We'll hit these. This is what I'm gonna do. I'm going to just fly by and cover these five sales, and then, Caitlin, I would love maybe your reaction to any of these.

We had the twenty twenty four, twenty five Caitlin Clark prism rookie black gold sell on eBay via auction for $12,100. I think it's import it's a variation.

So we talked about the true gold, pool up front, but I think it interesting to track, even though they're likely outside of the budget of most of us, Caitlin Clark is at the top, and it's really, I think, advantageous for all of us to be able to track kinda her bigger sales that are going down.

There's also and I this is one where I'm gonna I I'm try I'm like a I I buy cards, and my goal always is, like, hold for the long term.

But also at times, like, there might be, consolidation and things. So I'm not too hurt about this, but I I own this card.

But I wanna talk about it because I bought this card for way more than it sold for, this last week, and that's the Angel Reese twenty four, gold prism, non variation, kind of her true gold.

It sold via auction on eBay April fifteenth for $1,250.

I spent, I think, $500 more than that on mine. Mine's at PSA getting graded right now. Regardless of however it grades, it's like, you know what? I I don't get busted up about that.

It's like, whatever. Like, I have this card, and we'll see what happens next. But I I picked this card just to to call out kinda like in emerging markets. Like, maybe if you're a little more patient, you can get a better deal.

We we've got the Rittenhouse, Candace Parker, two thousand eight, rookie auto selling for $581 via fixed price on eBay. We've got the o five Rittenhouse, Diana Taurasi for 4 is in a PSA 10 auto for $470 via auction on eBay.

And then also the 2020 debut year prism Asia Wilson green pulsars, maybe not a super popular parallel, but it's out of 25 in a PSA nine selling via best offer for $400.

So those are the kind of card sales that I picked up and were interesting to me from this past week. What kind of comments or commentary do you have on any of these, Caitlin? Yeah. Let's start with that Angel Reese that, you shared.

Let me just say here, for our Patreon listeners, you can see the listing. This is not a great photo, and not to be that picky, but, you know, the card doesn't even look like it has corners in this photo showing.

So perhaps this isn't the greatest representation of a sale. And I think that's something we gotta keep in mind when we're looking at comps.

You know, they aren't the bible. They aren't, everything. And so I I if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't be too concerned, whether or not, you know, it was a good picture or not.

I think that, like you said, in emerging market, sales happen, and sometimes they go high and sometimes they get go low.

Can I ask you a quest can I ask you a question? So let's say you had my card Mhmm. Stickered when you were at the show, and let's say you had it for 2 k. And this sale happened, let's say, during the show, and someone said, hey.

Look at this sale for $12. 50. How do you how based on what you said, which I think is is valid, like, who knows how busted up this card is because there's it's not a great photo.

Like, how do you have that conversation with the individuals coming up to your table who might want this sale price on the card.

Yeah. I mean, I'd start by saying if I was on your on your side of the table trying to buy this card, I would also leverage this cheapest sale ever recorded with the worst photo.

So I totally understand where you're coming from, but let's not fool ourselves here. The seller did not do a great job advertising that, and as a result, buyers are not willing to straight pay as strong of a price.

That being said, it does exist, and I wouldn't ignore it, but it wouldn't be the whole the whole truth. I certainly wouldn't sell this Angel Reese if I had it for this price. I think that this is, a steal.

And when we look at it relative to the black gold Caitlin Clark that we talked about, which typically the black golds are less desirable than the true golds, it's one tenth of the price. I mean, that doesn't even make sense.

No matter how you feel about Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese, one tenth of the price seems like a bargain to me. So, yeah, if that was me on on the selling side, I certainly wouldn't, offer the card for, $1,200.

I love it. Any other comments you have on these? I just think these are good sales, and it shows the depth of the WNBA card collecting hobby.

You know, we've got shiny gold, black gold. We've got green pulsar, whatever that means, and we've also got some Rittenhouse autos of the goats. So just a lot to look at, and these are selling every week.

So a lot to learn and dive into if you're interested in collecting. You gotta share with listeners before we move off of this. What you call this Asia Wilson card because I thought that was quite clever.

Yeah. In in our notes, I put this as the Christmas tree card. I mean, it literally looks like an inverted Christmas tree. I I I'm not the biggest fan of this design, but, you know, it is the goat, so respect. I love it.

Alright, Brett. I think we're we're done covering our our market watch for the weekend. We can go into our pickups of the weekend. I'll start by saying it's been a recovery week from the show for me. So I've been paused on the buying.

I haven't picked up anything new, though. I will share with the listeners that I tried to. I was trying to make a deal on some twenty twenty four select gold prisms out of 10 of Nafissa Collier, the premier and the courtside levels.

That didn't happen, but perhaps if that listener is listening, they might wanna DM me and, shore up that deal. Did you pick anything up this week? Oh, I love it.

I did, and it actually just came, and it's a topic of conversation. But I think it's a good one, and I I wanted to I changed it originally. I had something on the sheet, and I was like, this will be more fun to talk about.

But I have I got the Sarah Strong Gold refractor out of Bowman You. And I messaged Caitlin about this when I picked it up, and someone had posted it on eBay for a hundred dollars.

And I just looked at it, and I was like, that seems based on how I feel about Sarah Strong and me wanting Sarah Strong cards and also there being it being a gold, which is a favorite parallel of mine, seem like a no brainer.

So I'm excited to own this card. I will be getting this card graded.

Hopefully, it gems. It looks pretty good. What I will also note, which is something to that I think is important to talk about is when this card was put up, it was like I think I saw it instantly, like, right when it was posted.

There's also an auction going on for another copy of this card. So I smashed Ben on this thing. I it even had a best offer, and I just smashed Ben.

I was like, this I this seems like a great price. Well, the auction ended on the other one, and the other one ended up for over $200, which is, to me, was like validation for how I felt about this.

And, you know, we we lose a lot in the hobby. We we sell cards and we lose, and it's part of it.

But I don't know. It felt like a a a victory because not only did I get the card for half the cost of the current market value, but it was a it was a card I really wanted to have in my collection.

So I wanted to highlight on my that on my pickup for the week. That's an awesome pickup. I'm jealous. I'd love to get my hands on one of those. And for a hundred bucks bin, that seems like stealing candy from a baby, to be honest.

So good pickup, Brett. I love it. Yeah. This is the, Sarah Strong hype, podcast if you haven't already. Yeah. Yeah. We are the ministers of Sarah Strong propaganda folks.

So maybe you could Oh. Alright. So sorry guys that I didn't have anything to share for pickups, but, I think we can we can highlight our collector spotlight this week. We picked a super fun account at kyle underscore collects.

Kyle's been in a couple WNBA group chats and we've chatted before. Great page which with lots of, fun cards of both the WNBA and the M NBA or the men's national basketball association.

But I just wanna highlight two of his PC players. So if you're looking on the Patreon, you'll notice a lot of Kalia Copper and a lot of Velana Smith.

These are both former Sky players who are now playing on other teams. I think Kyle's a Sky fan, so it's interesting to see that, you know, they're collecting cards of maybe players that used to be, part of his team but are no longer.

Brett's showing an awesome video of, Kyle's Alana Smith PC. There's a lot of fun parallels. Alana Smith was part of that 02/2019 rookie class that we talked about last week.

So some fun, parallels is in addition to some prism golds that are being shown. So awesome collection. I always love going through this page and talking to Kyle.

If you guys don't follow him, would highly encourage it. Yeah. I followed Kyle, really enjoy his collection, the way he curates it, and always awesome to shine a light on cool collectors, in the w space.

Awesome. Well, Kyle, I hope you enjoyed that. I I really wanna get my hands on some of your Alana Smith, so maybe it'll freeze him up.

Alright. I think we're closing it out today with our buzzer beaters, our final segment, which is Brett and I draft three questions offline that we don't share with each other and then pose them to each other at the end of the pod.

We're looking for quick hard hitting answers, but, typically, we hit questions that are not easy to answer in one sentence. So, you can guys can watch us struggle to answer these questions.

I'll start Brett with my first one, which is a fun one. If card comps were based on vibes and popularity instead of performance and stats, which WNBA player do you think is the most undervalued?

This is a good question. Oh, man. Say it one more time. If card comps or values were based on vibes and popularity instead of performances or stats, which WNBA player do you think is the most undervalued?

This this has me twisted a little bit because it can go in so many different directions.

I would there's one that there's several that I have going on in my head right now, but I would probably say just based on name was mentioned at the top.

I'm gonna just go Sydney Colson. Yes. That's my answer, bud. Oh, perfect. This is why we do a podcast together.

She's, if you've not caught any of her unfamiliar just getting into it, she's a character, and I had someone I think the fee there's a reason why the fever brought her into locker room. She's incredible.

So that that's mine. I I agree. Good. Okay. So so based on expectations going into the w this year, which team do you think will who might be projected to be, high up in the rankings will will not do as well as they anticipated?

So, like, who who is hyped up right now who, for whatever reason, might struggle?

And that struggle could be, like, maybe they were anticipated to be, like, a a two or three seed, and they just barely get into the the playoffs, or maybe they're expected to be a playoff team and missed the playoffs.

Like, is there any team that you think, might struggle even though they're being talked about in another light right now?

Can I say the liberty? Is that too much hating for one podcast episode? I will Can you explain yourself? Yeah. I'll explain myself, which is, objectively, it's very hard to repeat back to back.

And so the expectations are the highest they could possibly be after winning a WNBA championship. And I think that, you know, statistically, the odds are not in their favor to do it again.

I also think that, you know, last year was kind of a blip for them, so I don't think that they're gonna perform as well as people are expecting them to.

Though I am concerned, I'll add this, when we're talking about the landscape of the shift of the WNBA, Maureen Johannes will be rejoining the New York Liberty, which does not make me happy.

And perhaps that is the the thing that they need to keep going and keep meeting those expectations.

But, honestly, like, I think they're the odds on favorite right now for, the title, and, I don't expect them to do that. I think that's just statistically very difficult, to repeat. So I'll go with the liberty.

I love it how we are a new podcast, and we're alienating the big the probably the where the most listeners are. It's great great work, Caitlin. Hey, Mel. Hey, Mel. It's only right. I don't know what to tell you guys.

And Liberty fans, you guys can take it. You guys dish it out. I you know what? I'll I'll accept my punishment via DM. So if you have something to say, reach out. We can talk about it in a civilized manner.

Yeah. It's all love. It's all love. Okay. Are you ready, Brett? I'm ready. Question two. Stacking slabs gets to create the next great hobby chase card. It can't be gold or black or a one of one.

What is the parallel? How about this is hey. If you're a manufacturer and you're listening to this, first, why don't you give us a a call? We're looking for some sponsorship, so give us a a shout.

But second, here's a here's some free advice. Here's some free advice because this is what you do. You create a and this is gonna be hard to pull off, but if you wanna be innovative, this is what you do.

You create a color match parallel that has a little bit of different aesthetic that's consistent throughout all the color match, and you just have the same, print run for all those.

So you would pick a color like fever. You know, you'd have the the the red, and it would have, like, I something that's coming to my mind is, like, in the shining stars in prism or or the rubies.

You'd have, like, that aesthetic into it, and it's consistent with a silver for the aces, and they're, like, of 15.

So that's what I would do. Oh, I like this idea. I like this idea a lot, Brett. I don't think I would have been able to answer that question that quick. It was tough. I don't I just kinda pulled it together out of my way.

Know what you're talking about. Okay. So, obviously, a lot of attention on this coming up or w season upcoming. Lot of collecting cards, lot of prospecting with, rookies from last year.

What player from last year's class do you think has the best chance to move from, I was a rookie last year and this year, I am an all star for the first time, or I'm a an emerging all star?

Kate Martin immediately. I think that Kate Martin's transition to the Valkyries is going to be one that people underestimated. We're looking at a day You're on mute. Oh, no. Can you guys hear me?

Yes. Okay. So I started by saying I think it's gonna be Kate Martin. And I think that her transitioning to the Golden State valkyries for their debut franchise season is gonna have a bigger impact than what people are expecting.

So I'll go with Kate Martin. She's a good player. She got picked, obviously, in the expansion draft to be the face of their team, and I expect her to make some waves.

Yeah. The I I I was not thinking about her, but that's a great pick. And I just love, like, she's gonna get the minutes, so she's gonna get the opportunity. Exactly.

She's got it all laid out for her. She just has to take the opportunity. Alright. Are you ready for this? One? Yeah. This is the last one for me. You can trade one retired WNBA legend's career for one active player's hype in the market.

Who would you swap? Okay. These are some tough questions this week, Caitlin. Okay. Say it one more time. Okay. You can trade one retired WNBA legend's career for one active player's hype in the market.

Is this card related? Yeah. Card related. Who would you swap? So, like, if somebody was, say, Sue Bird, she was drafted in 02/2002. If you could put her in today's market with the hype of a player, who would you swap her with?

Okay. Players. Oh, man. How about what what about what about, like, similar profiles? What if you did, like, Rebecca Lobo with, Cameron Brink?

Oh, I like that. I like that. Okay. Good pick. That was a tough that was maybe the toughest one yet. That I was like, my brain was doing, that was like mental gymnastics trying to come up with that one.

Well done. Last one, you are trying really hard to acquire card a card or cards from an individual. This could be happening, or maybe it's can just in a hypothetical.

What sort of, tactics do you employ to try to secure cards from another individual, whether it's online or at a show for a price that fits within your budget? I think the biggest thing is to demonstrate my authenticity as a collector.

I think a lot of collectors want to sell to collectors that they think are going to take care of their cards, whether or not that's based in any sort of, like, truth.

I don't know. But I think conveying that I'm a true fan, which could mean, you know, if I'm targeting Alana Smith cards, I would maybe post an Alana Smith highlight after a game.

And that would signal to that collector that I'm watching, I'm paying attention, and I'm a fan of her. So you should give me her card instead of just some random auction on eBay.

That's my number one tactic that I would employ. But there's many others such as guilt. Guilt is a good one to use, folks. We're just we're trying to give you all, some great ideas on how to grab those cards.

This was fun. Caitlin, another episode in the can. We covered we're we we're covering more ground with each episode, which I think is a really good thing. 100%. Thanks everyone for listening, and can't wait for next week. Thank you.