Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Welcome to the Stacking Slabs, a podcast for sports cards collectors. There's been a tremendous amount of change to our Hobby over the last few years and the one constant has been the passion from the collecting community. Stacking Slabs is built by the collector and lives to tell stories for the collector.
Welcome back, loyal listeners of the Stacking Slabs podcast, to season three episode seven of the WNBA card podcast.
My name is Caitlin. I go by at cold lunch cards, mostly on the Instagram machine, but everywhere else on the Internet as well.
And I'm joined by my amazing cohost today, Brett McGrath at stacking slabs, and we're excited to continue to deliver collector driven and community focused content to your headphones, to your stereo, to wherever you're listening to us today.
We appreciate you being here. Brett, how are you doing?
You know, I am well. The, for most people are listening to this, but Caitlin and I are in fact matching today, not by design. We're both wearing our card ladder hoodies. So shout out to the to the maybe we'll we'll just do this.
We'll shout out to our amazing, sponsors, card ladder, Great Lakes Trading Cards. Both of you are amazing. We appreciate your support. But Caitlin and I decided to just randomly both wear our card ladder hoodies, so that's fun.
I'll also say I'm cold here in Indianapolis, and my question to Caitlin was like, if I'm cold, you're in Minnesota. Like, you've really gotta be cold. So and, Caitlin decided to show her phone and show the temp.
What's the what's the current temp there in, Saint Paul? We're operating at negative seven, folks. Negative seven. Negative good thing the Internet is still, working up there for you.
Yeah. Don't jinx it now, Brett. Don't jinx it. But, yeah, I'm well. Aside from, you know, the holidays and all of that, and, you know, we've got a new baby coming very soon anytime now, and I've got my oldest sick.
I I I told I told Caitlin I'll share it with you, the audience, that I've got a sick kid with an ear infection on the other side of this door.
She's watching, some Disney plus, and I tried to set her up, but we might get a run-in, and maybe we'll get her to jump on the pod. But, yeah, outside of that, I'm I'm doing pretty good.
How about you, Caitlin? Not too bad. Little distracted by the weather, to be honest. It's been a sharp downturn here in Saint Paul from, tolerable to no longer tolerable, which means lots more content to be be consumed in my household.
A lot I've been consuming a lot of card content, a lot of WNBA content, a lot of other sports content and other things.
So, the winter is officially here, but I'm excited. We had a lot of talk about today, and this topic that you proposed is very exciting.
I think I have a lot of thoughts, and just just pumped to get into it today. I know you do. I was doing a quick look at the the format, and I'm excited to dig into it.
One question about where you live. It do people can I know it's the Twin Cities, but it it feels like do people confuse the two, like, that don't live there? Like, do people think you live in Minneapolis when you live in Saint Paul?
Like, what's that dynamic like? I I would say Saint Paul's got a little bit of the little brother syndrome. That's what I thought. Yeah. And I love it. I I live in Saint Paul.
I used I lived in Minneapolis for four years, also loved it, but moved out to Saint Paul. And, yes, people get us confused all the time. Minneapolis is kinda what you picture. Hustle, bustle, big city. Lots going on.
Business, businesses, corporations, all that good stuff. Saint Paul's a little bit more low key. Got the capital. Got the cathedral. Got nice Victorian the longest stretch of Victorian houses in the country, Brett, on a singular road.
Yeah. That's what I call home, and I'm proud to call Saint Paul home. So Awesome. I'm I'm glad we got that, you know, northern, geo lesson.
That's what we do here. We're trying to educate. And I wanna start this conversation off today, which the primary topic, that we're gonna be talking about is how new product shapes, distracts, and deepens our collecting.
But wanna shout out loyal listener, Mitch, at Almanac Sports Cards, who shot me a DM this weekend.
I know Mitch is a loyal listener, and he's a very awesome collector. Part of the reason why I don't collect Tamika Catchings is because Mitch has a ridiculous Tamika Catchings collection.
He's got all the cards. I'm like, I can just enjoy him through his collection. But he sent me a note about last week, which I last week's episode, which I thought was really good.
And it was around the news of Panini and the WNBA, licensing deal. And and it wasn't about the WNBA in Panini, but it was the WNBA PA in Panini. And I think it it was good to, clarify just the news.
And the way we talked about it last week was WNBA and, Panini renewed their deal. And it would that deal is still in place, but there's an additional deal, and it's just with the Players Association.
So the implications and the reasons why this all transpired and take, took place the way it did, I don't think we have that those facts and information.
I think we can all speculate. I don't really wanna spend, time speculating on the reasons why. But I do appreciate listener feedback, and I think that was good feedback.
And I just wanted from the top to, clarify that. Caitlin, anything additional you wanna add to that? I'm just interested to see how this plays out because when I saw this distinction thanks, Mitch, for for alerting me of this.
I was like, so what so what? What does that mean? So, hopefully, we'll get some answers here soon. If Panini wants to clarify, hit us up, and we'll be sure to give it a platform.
Absolutely. We'd love to. We're trying to inform everybody who's buying WNBA cards. And I think here's another thing that came from the note from Mitch, which shout out Mitch because you helped inspire this episode.
But Mitch also shared a calendar view of women's basketball slash sports related products that were on the horizon.
And I looked at it, and us collectors who collect in this category aren't used to maybe a rapid pace of new releases coming out.
So I'm gonna share those just so we're all we're all on the same page, which I loved on one of these releases.
Caitlin, you said, and I had the same reaction, which I'm not surprised by this all, but we'll get to it. But, anyways, we're gonna run through kinda some of the new releases that, have dropped and maybe are dropping.
So first, we have Leaf Metal Women of Sport, which is already out. And I will say, I am always, like, completely in the dark, and I should be paying more attention to what Leaf is doing.
Because I know, especially on the women's, sports side, there is a lot of cool, signers in LEAF, and there's a lot of stuff that collectors love to chase.
Caitlin, have you have you ever owned a LEAF, metal women of sport card before? I'm, like, rack racking my head. I I don't think so, Brett.
I think the closest I get to that is, like, Goodwin champions. That's, like, the closest I get. If you are collecting the leaf stuff, definitely share it. We'd love to see it. Then on the and by the way, none of these are set in stones.
We know how sewn you know how the release cycle works. Stuff moves all the time, but this is the dates that I was given. We have twenty twenty five impeccable WNBA hobby coming out right before the holidays, 12/19.
Caitlin, that seems like first time, that seems like it's going to be a very big release in terms of collectors getting their eyes and hands on brand new cards.
I would consider impeccable a, higher end product from the perspective of materials.
You've got kind of, autographs. I personally enjoy their inserts in the way reminds me how they, of, like, top's finest back in the day where they associate specific moments with, cards and highlight that, which I think is cool.
But are are you interested in impeccable?
So so interested. Why? Look, a very similar reason that'll echo that you just said, which are the moments. When I when I saw impeccable, and similar to one and one has that same kind of, like, feel going on.
But, like, I think of moments that I need on a card, and women's basketball cards, especially WNBA cards, really haven't had that treatment of, like, moment ties.
We've got, like, Panini instant, which which attempts to do that, but it's it's not pack pulled, so it gets kinda like dis sometimes. But that's why I'm excited about it.
And I've got a lot of moments that I got a list. If Panini is, still short of moments that they need to capture on cards, I can give them a a laundry list of links moments that I would love commemorated.
So that's why I'm excited about it. I I I couldn't agree more. Maybe not links more fever, but, you know, same same point.
We've got the prism drop allegedly right after New Year's. So it's, 01/02/2026, which way to start the year off with a bang. I'm sure right out of the gates, we're going to be seeing some crazy page sales.
But, I mean, listeners know what we think about Prism. Is there anything you'll be doing on the Prism front this year that is similar or different than how you've thought about Prism in the past?
Well, I need to start game planning. That's what this list is telling me is that there's a lot coming out, and I need a game plan.
The one thing I'll say is that at first, I was hesitant about the release schedule of Prism being, what do we have, January 2 written down here?
Then I was like, lot of people with Christmas money are going to be, indulging, and perhaps that would be a good excuse to indulge with some holiday money. So So that that's kind of my thought on game plan.
Yeah. Act maybe a strategic move by Panini to get more hobby boxes sold. I know if I'm given money, I'm more likely to spend it on something I wouldn't normally. You gotta treat yourself around the holidays.
Exactly. So we'll see. Okay. So then following up, these are kinda TBDs, but we talked about it last week, and I just love talking about the fact that, twenty twenty five prism retail blasters from DICK'S are already showing up.
Shout out, DICK'S, for, your blasters of WNBA Prism and the Black Finites that likely will come from it.
Here's your moment, from this list. We're getting a twenty twenty five Caitlin Clark Chronicles product, which you all know my feelings about Clark.
I, in fact, watched some highlights independent of anything being fed to me, but I I just wanted to see her hit the, break the record shot again when she was at Iowa.
And, I mean, it was just it never gets old. And so I I I I love Caitlin Clark. I'm mesmerized by Caitlin Clark. She's in my city, all this stuff. But I don't I don't think I need this product. What about you, Caitlin? Yeah.
I wrote right next to this because didn't we already get this? Like, I'm so I thought there was a Caitlin Clark set. I thought we had rookie royalty if you wanted an expensive version of that. Lower end rookie royalty is what this is.
Yeah. And now chronicles, which, you know, could be spun if done the right way into something that WNBA collectors could really enjoy, I think. And we're gonna just silo it to one player that already has had that treatment.
It's it's a bit strange. Hopefully, there's cool cards in there. That's always, like, the number one focus for me is maybe something cool is gonna come out of there.
But this is something that just kinda it was confusing. I hadn't heard about it. I don't know what it is, and I don't know when it's coming out. Sometime next year.
I guess we'll see. You also have 2025 Select, which I wasn't sure that it was gonna come out, but we have Select dropping. Select is kinda one of those products that I don't know how I feel with the uncertainty of the license.
Now we've obviously learned more about Panini extending it in some regard with a little bit of a knot in there of WMPA versus WMBA and the implications of that.
But Select stood out as one of those products that, if it goes without a lineage, why not just do it one year and then leave it?
Sort of like revolution. That was, like, my first thought. Because if we only get, like, two years of Select, I don't know. I don't know how it how it lives up, to the select and other lanes.
So I'm curious to see how this plays out both in the market with sales and with collectability from, hardcore WNBA collectors. I'm curious on when this product is gonna drop because I don't know.
I feel like this might be the product that when there's a little dry spell, they just drop on us. But only time will tell. This is what I'm excited about is 2025 Panini one and one WNBA, which will be a first.
I collect one in one on the NBA side, some of my favorite cards. The I would never go out and buy these hobby boxes because you wanna talk about a gamble. That's a gamble.
But on the secondary market, singles, they the it's that's where I like to play. These cards have some of my favorite photography in all of sports cards, so I'm excited to see them featured to fee to be to feature WNBA, stars.
It's going to be a lot of fun, and I will be collecting. Yeah. From what I've seen of the previews, I think we've posted them on the Instagram before.
Like, from Panini, they've put, like, Asia Wilson impeccable one or in Asia Wilson one in one, like, moments card, and I was like, holy shit. I like this a lot. This is what I'm most excited for, Brett.
I think I might be more excited for one in one than Prism simply because of, like, the newness and the novelty of it. But we'll see. I I wanna know when it's coming out so I can plan ahead. You and I are on the same page on this.
So we're going to use this new release theme to shift into our primary theme of today's episode, and that is kind of the question of how much should new releases how much should they influence someone's collecting process.
And before we get into the weeds on this, do you have any opening thoughts or just, like, what's what's swirling around in your mind as we open this up? I do have opening thoughts, Brett, and they'll lead to more thoughts.
But the headline here, that I had kinda thought about was this idea of balance. I think that is the answer. I think it is a very clear answer of, you know, new releases can be exciting, and they should be.
You should let yourself enjoy them and have that energy, around it, but you should not lose your collecting identity as part of new releases simply because of hype.
You should be asking yourself the important, but yet hard questions around whether or not a new product really fits into the PC vision that you're building, or the or the direction that you want it to go.
And I think that, you know, being honest about those drivers in collecting can be difficult, especially when there's this new shiny object like Panini one and one that's gonna come out or a Caitlin Clark Chronicles, and she's your favorite player, and it's exciting.
Like, you have to keep one foot planted in your long term goals of collecting, so you're collecting intentionally.
And I think that's my, like, headline of of how much influences new releases should should reasonably have on a collector.
I love it. I think new releases are fun. I like talking about them. They get us involved. They pull us in. It it always reminds me of, like, this example that's going to date me a little bit.
But just when I was little going into Blockbuster video, to to get a a VHS or a video game, it's like, I was just there's it's a whole store of media and content, and I would just go run to the new releases section, and that's where I cherry picked what I wanted to take home.
And I I that's there's so much that exists, but so much of our attention is attracted to kind of what is new. And I think the challenge is is how do we be patient? How do we allocate budget? How do we figure out a sense of direction?
And depending on kind of where you're at as a collector Yeah. New products can either fuel you, distract you, or push you to kinda reset focus. So I've got, like, a lot of questions that I want to explore in this episode.
And, Caitlin, I think this will be a lot of fun. But let's let's start here. Let's set the stage. So we've maybe more organized than we've ever been, which is cool. We've got a whole new full release cycle towards us.
When you start to see multiple products stacked stacked up, what are some emotions that kick in for you as a collector? And do you think most collectors feel a mix of excitement or and pressure the same way?
Oh, good question. I wrote down three main feelings that kinda, like, rise to the surface when there is a full release cycle just barreling down at us.
The first one is the most, I would say, positive, which is opportunistic, and probably not for the reasons that you would immediately think.
I think when a new release drops, a lot of collectors immediately shift their attention to this new shiny object like I was saying, or whatever the rookie du jour is.
And I secretly, like, really love this, because it means that my eBay save searches of older products or products that maybe had come out a little bit quieter, suddenly get way more affordable or less traffic, which means my competition is lower, and hopefully my prices on those singles are lower.
So I kinda get I kinda look at it from the lens of opportunity, to let everybody else kinda rip that new product, and I'll just quietly scoop up what I need in the meantime.
That being said, that's a hard emotion to just go with because, the second feeling creeps up behind it very, very quickly, which is FOMO.
And, even, you know, FOMO, like, can be so difficult to not only identify when you're experiencing in the hobby, but to grapple with because, you know, we we collect.
We wanna be in the know. We wanna have all the shiny new things. But but at the same time, I think I've I've come to the conclusion that with FOMO always comes some sort of relief threat.
So even if I wanted to rip, which I I almost never rip cards because of the the ROI. My brain just doesn't let me do it.
I'll just take my traditional methods of gambling and move on. But the ROI is usually so brutal that I actually exhale a little, and I feel a little less pressure to engage in that, And I get to I get to follow my own direction.
So that's that second feeling that I get. And then the third feeling is a real wave of excitement when I think, like, the products can be exciting, the release cycle can be exciting.
All these things can be exciting, but the thing that really gets me pumped is when a new product releases and there's a card in that product that actually, like, fills a gap in my personal collection that I either didn't know existed or it just seamlessly fits into this into a spot in my collection.
That click is what gets me excited about new releases. And so when I think about that, I think about, like, to make this more real and tangible, I think about my Nafissa Collier six pack.
Right? I've only identified five fee cards that I really want. Like, I I need them. I need them badly. But there I've always left this six spot blank for if a new product comes out or if something just calls my name.
When a new product fills that gap, it's it's truly unbelievable. I think that's the excitement that I get from from new new products coming out.
So I love it because I was gonna ask you next about just, deciding if you're gonna chase or sit sit something out, like, what you decide. But I wanna, like with that example, I wanna dig into the, feeling.
Because I think we don't talk enough about feelings, but it's just like this feeling in your stomach when you see something or know something's coming out that, like, drives your decision.
And I've always thought, like, it's not you don't overthink it, and you don't, like, force yourself, but it's just like, oh, wow.
Like, I've got this feeling. I need this. Like, is that something that you experience when in that, like, allows you to overcome all the, well, there's probably hyped up.
There's probably this stuff. Probably, like talk a little bit about that. I can think of one card in my head, and I'll just say it because I'm not I'm not scared of the competition here.
I'll I'll I'll bid up with all of you. On the topic of Panini one and one, which we were just talking about, when they previewed the Asia Wilson, moments set, my head immediately went to the Maya Moore finals game winning shot.
And I said to myself, well, that goes against my rules of what I'm trying to build with Maya Moore, which is playing day cards, which, you know, obviously, is not 2025 or '20 '26.
But that moment in time transcends the kind of guardrails that I had put up in place, and I'm not mad about it.
I'm excited about it. I'm like, I need that card. It should be on card auto. It should be great photo framed nicely. Hopefully, it's in there. I don't know if it is, but, like, I'm assuming it's gonna be in there.
It's like, it's one of the iconic moments of time. But to me, it's like that that kind of click is is what motivates it and that feeling of just being like, you know what?
That guardrail was nice, and it still exists. But this is collecting, and I can make the rules, and I'm gonna bend them a little bit right now.
I I like that feeling a lot. Okay. Let's we're gonna use this hypothetical, timeless moments, Maya Moore Moore card to talk about maybe the cost of something new.
So I wanna Caitlin, I want you to imagine that product being out for a couple weeks, and you've got your safe search set up. And that one of one pops up on eBay with a big buy it now number.
And it's got the on card auto, which the great thing about these cards is that it's usually like a a gold or a silver paint pen on this, like, canvas of this beautiful photo.
It's you can see, like, the crowd in the back. It's the way these cards are put together or it it they're a chef's kiss.
So this card is available, and I don't know the price. But let's just say, the price is a lot. Let it'll be this card would be, like, the top percent of your your, you know, highest end cards in your collection.
Like, how do you go through the process of deciding in that moment, like, the the cost of something new and what you would need to sacrifice? Is it, like, instant, I don't care, I want this, and I'll figure it out?
Or are you trying to process and maneuver knowing that the clock is ticking because there's a lot of other collectors who probably resonate with that moment as well?
Oh, so tough, especially when you apply it to an actual card, Brett. I thought this was just gonna be a hypothetical. No. We're we're it's this is we're we're we're playing jazz here.
Yeah. I'll say I'll say this. Typically, I like to come at it as logical as possible. And I use the same I'll make a little analogy to another part of my life, which is just, like, clothes. I'm not a huge clothes person.
I like them. Follow me here. But if I buy a new shirt, a new packer shirt, a new link shirt, and I already have, like, 10 of them, one of them's gotta go before I buy the new one. There's just no need to do that.
So when it's a card that to come at it from, like, the more hypothetical, less tangible angle, when it's a card that kind of, you know, is brand new and it's not replacing or adding on top of something I already have, I usually say, f it.
I'll figure it out later. Just let me buy it now, smash VIN Yeah. And call it good.
But if it's a card that, you know, is an addition to an already existing collection or it breaks one of those guardrails, like I was saying, so there's a little bit more tension, I try to come at it a little bit more rationally in terms of, okay.
If I if I bring something in, something's gotta go, either to make up the cost or to to justify its existence in its PC.
When you have card one, which is the card you want now, and then card two, which is the card that is already in your case, and you say card two, thank you for your time, but card one, you're coming with me.
I think that adds a lot of value to the card that you're getting, card one, because you have to sacrifice something that you thought you didn't didn't weren't going to.
I think that's powerful, and I think that's a good way to look at collecting. And I kinda come at it from two angles, but, ultimately, it it comes down to, like, the urgency of the sense of collecting it.
And, that Maya Moore one for to not cop out of your question, I don't have Maya Moore. So it needs to happen, and and I need one. And I'd like to make a move on it when it comes out without, overleveraging myself, if possible.
Good luck on that. Let's talk about the opposite of making moves on new releases, and that's just being content with what we currently have.
So many collectors just ignore what's coming out and what's new. They are locked into what they're collecting. Maybe talk about what contentment it looks like for you in collecting, and why is it harder than maybe it sounds.
This was my, like, favorite question when I was looking at the notes was the idea of content, and and I wrote down I I'm not familiar with that term because I'm a collector, but I'm I'm only joking a little bit.
But seriously, like, I when I think about the idea of content, I'm content with what I'm building. So what I mean by that is my PC right now is great. I love it. Obviously, I'm proud of it.
And I know that in the future, it's going to be better, and I will be even more proud of that. And that's the fun part about building a personal collection is that it's a living, breathing thing that reflects who you are and you change.
So your collection will change. And that building process of actually identifying and figuring out what you love to collect, refining your lanes, setting up those guardrails like I was talking about.
Learning your taste is almost as rewarding as getting a card in the mail itself, if not more.
I think we don't talk enough about the contentment that comes from simply knowing steadfast what you like and why you like it. We usually just talk about the other side, which is why you're buying something, which is very different.
And so for me, contentment comes from letting my collecting identity or philosophy or mission or vision of what I wanted to be shape my experience of collecting, instead of just staring at my case and being like, damn, there's a gap.
There's a gap. There's a gap.
Once you start looking and once I start looking at least at my collection as, oh, what's missing? Collecting gets a lot more stressful, and contentment feels, like, a lot more pressurized. And and I think that's way less fun.
But when you think about your collecting identity inwardly, the stuff that, like, genuinely brings you joy, and when you know what brings you joy, even if you don't have it, that excitement of building it can be more rewarding.
You can be more content with that.
I I love those thoughts. I'm constantly trying to battle those, that I I being present and being content with what's already in the collection, it's very, very hard, which leads me to the next topic, which we've already touched on.
But, like, how do you manage the FOMO of it all? And, like, what are your thoughts on FOMO as this is happening? Because we are being marketed to by these manufacturers.
And then on top of that, we are being marketed to indirectly by our community of collectors who are chasing these cards and posting their pickups, ripping packs, all that stuff. Like, how are you managing that?
Oh, it's so hard, Brett. Like, it's easy to talk. Like, that last answer that I gave, it's like, oh, that sounds so good in theory. She sounds so grounded. It's like she's got her identity perfectly understood. Absolutely not, folks.
I'll I'll give an example here, which is a buddy of mine, listener pod, actually sent me a link to a player break of Don Ross, like, the first week that it released. Guys, I've never done a break. I've never done a break like that.
I was like, he was like, here, fees only $250. I was like, hell to the no. Excuse me. Like, that is not happening, but thank you. And, you know, me thinking, oh, well, I'll just tune in and see what I woulda got.
First box, fee downtown. First box. You're kidding me. First box. And I was like, you've got to be shitting me right now. Like but that that feeling of FOMO, not only did I, like, put myself in the situation to see that, Yeah.
But, like, when I saw it, I was like, damn. That's like that's like the gambling talking, and I think that's we don't talk about that enough.
I I'll say this little inter like, interjection here is that I think I would Dave recently put out a good podcast about, like, the gambling side of the hobby, and that kinda inspired this, which is that, the gambling dopamine of FOMO is kind of what I get excited about.
And once I separate that from, like, oh, I didn't actually want that downtown.
Like, it's not I like it, but, like, I didn't need it. More clear. I'm not I'm not like in this hazy confusion state of, oh, I just missed out on a fee for $250, which at the time was going for like 600 and something.
I just lost $400 No, I saved $250 of not buying into that break so that I can allocate that money to something I've already identified as being a core card that I need of my favorite player.
And so that's the kind of the voice that keeps me grounded within, FOMO, that feeling of FOMO. If I were you, I would have just, like, gone down and, you know, grabbed a Juicy Lucy burger.
I invested in one of those just to, like, help make myself feel better. Yeah. I'll bring, like, a Donner's base fee to Juicy Lucy, and I'll be like, okay. Okay. So let's let's hit on just, like, identity and direction.
You've I think we you know, there's been discussion about knowing who you are as a collector. How does that identity and you kinda touched on in your last Yeah. Response, but navigate those moments where the hobby feels very loud.
Yeah. So the hobby feels loud all the time. There's a lot of noise, and some of it's really good to listen to. Like, I I truly, like, understand the the role of content.
We're putting out content. Like, it it can be very helpful from an inspiration perspective and, you know, maybe bring in some new ideas that you hadn't thought of yourself just because of your perspective.
But for me, when we talk about knowing who you are as a collector, collecting to me is completely tied to identity. And when I mean identity, I mean, I'm a person who loves watching sports.
I love the WNBA. I love the NFL. I like lots of other sports. I love competition. I'm a fan. I I I take a lot of pride in my teams, like the links and the packers and those types of things.
And even honestly as, like, a person. Like and when I'm grounded in the fact that my collection has a way of communicating those core values or principles that I see in myself.
When it when when a card can convey that story, that's rewarding. And that's kinda what keeps me, like, grounded when I try to navigate all the noise that pops up in the in the hobby.
Because if I'm buying a card and it doesn't kinda, like, ask or answer the question of why why why do I want this? Why do I want this player? Why do I want this insert?
Or why why does this card connect to a story? If there's not a answer that jumps out to me, what am I doing? Because I could be doing so much more. I could be working. I could be hanging out with my friends, with my family.
I could be not going to shows. I could be not making a podcast about it. But, like, to me, knowing who I am as a collector is why I do all those things so that, hopefully, I can build a collection that reflects who I am.
And having that kind of, like, sense of of what I'm doing, some sort of sense of direction and identity gives me that filter.
So I put on that filter, and suddenly I see the community or the hobby through a different lens. Instead of just being reactive to everything that's coming at me, I kinda have, like, a little shield set up.
So that's the role that kind of, like, collecting identity and how I look at things really, really plays into, like, the noise of it all. As we close this out, any advice you have for the listeners?
Yeah. I have like a real this is like a everybody's always like, oh, do this, do this, do this, and it's like, think. You know? Like, that's the advice that they have to is to to think.
I'll I'll give advice which is a little bit more physical and tangible because this is something that I've put into practice, in my collection that I think is really helpful to appreciating what you have instead of feeling the rush to to go buy the new thing, which is to take your cards, out of your case.
You know, like, right now I have, like, one Zion case and a couple binders. Take them all out.
Just do it. Just take them out, put them on your floor or the kitchen counter or, like, even your bed. I don't really care. And just treat it like a sandbox, and try to rank or group cards based on similarities or differences.
You know, go by player, go by set, go by color, go by whatever jumps out to you. And notice which ones are kind of, like, popping off the page more, which fit into multiple groups. Is there, like, a card that's a loner?
Right? There's just one card sitting out there in the sandbox by itself. When you look at it, does that make you feel content, or are you kind of disappointed that it doesn't fit into the broader picture?
Those types of questions, and exercises even like bringing it out into a different light, whether it be outside or under or under, like, a ring light.
It can it can really demonstrate to you these feelings of why do I just wanna sit here quietly and, like, look at this card?
Like, what does it make me feel? And I think that asking yourself why certain cards bring certain emotions to the surface, those are the instincts that you listen to when the noise gets loud.
That's what you get grounded in when you're trying to make a decision about the direction of your PC. And I think it's it's important, to add in here that, you know, listen to what other collectors say and then forget all of it.
Just forget all of it and put it behind you and go with your gut because that's what's gonna drive your collection.
That's what's gonna be there at the end of the day is you and your cards. So I think spending time with them is my biggest piece of advice. Lot of awesome thoughts there. I know I enjoyed them. Hopefully, you all did too.
We are going to move over to the one card that sold this week brought to you by our good friends at card ladder. We got the gear on. Alright. The card that we have this week, I think, Caitlin, you're going to be a fan favorite of.
And maybe you need to start, your Dominique Malonga PC if you haven't already because, you feel like she's you've you've mentioned her more times, than not. And so I'm doing the mentioning now, and it's because of this card.
But I can't wait to get your reaction. It is the twenty twenty five Don Russ rated rookie auto of Dominique Malonga, black gold out of five. This card, according to card ladder, sold via best offer for $1,800 on November 27.
There's been so much conversation, about Kiki, Sonya, Paige. And towards the end of the season, there is a lot of dialogue about, wow, Dominique Malonga does look good because she was getting minutes and she was producing.
And we're beginning to see collectors gravitate to her first releases and pay in a big way. I'm sure people listening see this, and they're like, man, like, what kind of world are we living in?
People are spending $1,800 on a rookie card, in the WNBA and not even a one of one, which is fun and exciting and highlights the expansion of the category, not just in Caitlin Clark or Paige Beckers, but outside of that.
So, Caitlin, what is your reaction to this sale? Well, that was my first reaction was, wow. What a strong sale, but also at the same time, could be a steal if, the hype lives up.
I think we kind of brushed over the fact as a WNBA fan community that Dominique Malanga made Asia Wilson's, series against the Seattle Storm living hell.
That was their most difficult playoff series, and it was because of this French young superstar.
And I think people may begin to remember that. I think that's hard to deny. But that being said, Brett, I I do like this card. I love the look of it. I'll start with that.
I think it looks good. I think the auto looks nice. The laser effect is awesome. But it has a lot of this is great, but to me, which means I think there's stronger sales to come is, like, the positive way to spin that.
But what I mean by that is this is black gold. I prefer gold as a collector. So that's, like, minus one. She's holding the jersey of draft night instead of it being a in game photo.
That's minus two. Like, there's just two knocks for me as a personal collector, for why I wouldn't purchase this card, but I think it's a strong indication of what's to come when you add up those two things.
If those two things are changed, like, does it double the price? Does it triple the price?
It's it's interesting to see, and I'm really happy with the strength of the sale. I think Dominique Malonga is yeah. Like you said, I'm surprised I don't have any cards of her. Maybe this is this is the sign I needed.
I love the point system. We all have our own systems, about attributes and cards, and I'm fascinated by the variety of attributes and how we make decisions as collectors. So shout out card ladder for making that visible.
Caitlin, I know you I we were you were getting ready to share a big pickup, but I'm not quite sure it's in place. So I don't have any pickups. What, what's going on with your pickup? My pickup is in the UPS truck on its way here today.
It's not here yet, Brett, and I'm sad to report that. I was really hoping to talk about it with you guys today. But, the next episode, god willing, the card will be here, and we can have a long discussion about it.
I can't wait for that. We've got our collector of the week. Yes. Who you got now? I'm excited about this. We're talking about at angie underscore sports underscore cards on Instagram.
This is a close friend of mine locally, in fact, and I could sing her praises personally. But today, we're focusing on her cards because she's our collector of the week spotlight, so we shall focus on cards.
As you scroll through this page, you'll see that Angie is a huge Michael Jordan collector and a women's basketball enthusiast, which is a super cool, kind of like kind of like tension, almost like Don't think I've seen one.
I don't think I've seen one, which is cool, seeing the world collide.
This is awesome. So scrolling your page is not only incredibly, like, visually appealing. Brett's doing it right now. Like, the photos are awesome. I'm just not stopping.
I'm just going. Yeah. But the intersection of great the greatness of shiny cards from the nineties through today is just cool to look at. And it's fun to see a page that's so diverse, yet has a common theme throughout.
So if you guys don't follow Angie, I couldn't recommend it enough. She's got a great account, and, yeah, yeah, it's a fun time to look through it, which she's hiding in her collection.
Oh, that is such a cool page. I was already following Angie definitely by the avatar. I'm like, yeah. Every time I see a card posted, these are are sick. So definitely give angies underscore sports underscore cards a follow.
I know we're not we're bringing back the mailbag next week. Right, Caitlin? Yes. Guys, next week, we're gonna do a mailbag, and we're gonna do a mailbag the week after that as well.
But this week, we gotta kinda speed run, our cohost's q and a today. So I'm gonna hit Brett with one hard hitting question, which I think is topical. So this is my question.
Spotify Wrapped just dropped or Apple Music Wrapped or whatever you use for your music. If your WNBA card collection had a soundtrack for 2025, what would it be, and how does that vibe kind of match your collecting identity? Oh, jeez.
This is a a doozy because music and sports cards are like my two worlds, and I get I'll just say this. You can and anyone who's watching can see or my backdrop is like a piece of my vinyl collection. My whole house is covered in vinyl.
I collect records. Although, I have tried to tone that back a little bit because cards are really expensive. But, yeah, that's tough. I get overwhelmed when people are like, what are you listening to? And I'm like, everything?
Like, it's just nonstop. But, I the what comes to my mind and it comes to my mind often is I one of my favorite bands who my wife and I, we've seen a lot, is the band Beach House. And we just they're from Baltimore, Maryland.
If you're not familiar, they're just, they're excellent. One of my favorite bands of all time. They have an album, called Bloom, and Teen Dream was kinda like the album that, like, really set them off.
But, like, Bloom to me was the album that, like, really crystallized them and and set them on this trajectory. And that album too was the my my wife and I were reconnecting again, and that album was very much a part of our relationship.
And so I think about that album in bloom and just the whole theme around that, and think about, like, my the the WNBA collecting side of me this year, and it feels like it's really bloomed.
And there's been we're in the moments now, which, I'm not I'm not sure. Like, getting a little symbolic, but, like, stuff is dying and, like, you know, you know, it's the winter or it's about to be the winter.
And I I feel like very much so, like, it's symbolic of, like, my WNBA collecting. It's like, I'm like, the pieces of the collecting that I have gone a year collection that I've gone a year with that I just know I don't need.
Like, I I'm I'm looking to refocus. That's kind of where I am right now. So, yeah, my mine would be, Beach House Bloom. That would be my album of choice, and I'll just final note on this.
I own the double LP, special edition glow in the dark. There's not very many copies, but you can turn off your lights in the house, put it on the turntable, and that album will glow in the dark.
So, adding, like, some symbolism, some collecting music and sports, and just sports cars, mashing them all together with that response.
I love that. I knew I was in for a treat when, I knew you had that background of all your vinyl, and music is definitely a passion of yours.
So that that was a good answer, Brett. That's What's yours? You gotta answer it. Okay. So mine, I went a little bit more mainstream, Brett.
I'm aware it's Cowboy Carter by Beyonce. And my reason that I did this is because everybody and their mother wants to be mad that it won album of the year blah blah blah because it's a country music album.
It's not country. It is country because I said it's country, and they said it's country. And since it's that opinion and I agree with it, it's right.
And that's how I feel about my collection. You guys can disagree with what I'm doing. People can look at it and be like, what is going on there? But to me, it makes sense. I'm excited about it.
It delivers to me what I'm looking for, and I give myself element of the year for my collection. So that's kinda why I picked Cowboy Carter is that, it's just reflective of, you know, trying your own thing, doing it, and succeeding.
And that's how I feel about my collecting journey right now is, like, this is a personal thing to me.
Collecting is so personal, and that that's kinda like the similarity that I have between Cowboy Carter. That's the similarity between me and Beyonce.
Thank you very much for that. The irony of Cowboy Carter being your response is that, Beyonce covers Dolly Parton's Jolene, and my sick daughter's name is Jolene, and she's meeting my attention now.
So we this is all coming full circle. So I but there were some starts and stops in this. Well, hopefully, we'll get this all put together so you hardly recognize, but it's a life of being a dad and a podcaster.
But I I think we did it, Caitlin. Thanks for your support in helping me and all of us get through this. This was fun. Absolutely, Brett. Thanks everybody for listening, and we'll see you next week.