Brothers' Duo! Episode 16: Collecting Legacy & Strategic Adjustments

I'm Al from Iconic Baseball. >> And I'm Brian the High Pop Professor. Welcome to Brothers Duo. >> All right, and welcome back everyone to one more episode of Brothers Duo. Once again, my name is Brian. I'm the High Pop Professor and joining me as always, my brother, iconic Al. How you doing today, Al? >> I'm doing well, Brian. Uh, not to rub it in, but I have my porch door open back there. It's about 65 degrees in Denver and I know it's about 8 degrees in Philadelphia. So, my condolences, sir. >> Yeah, I think the I think the wind chill put us into the negatives for a couple days straight and we have a more uh couple more days of that coming. So, uh >> mama >> Yeah, I I I hate you just a little bit. Um >> I deserve that. Deserve that. >> Yeah, thank you. Thank you for that. >> Um but anyway, yeah, how have you how have you been? How's the um you know since since Christmas? Hadn't really seen you much. How was your January? How is uh how is life doing for you? It's >> good. I haven't been too active in the hobby. Um you know, I just I've said it before. I'm kind of in a in an endstage position, I think, in my collecting. Not to sound morbid or anything, but you know, just aren't >> late stage. Late stage. >> Late stage. Yeah. >> A mature a mature collection. >> Yeah. There just aren't a ton of uh things that are, you know, crucial now to my collection. and and the ones that are crucial, they're not things that I can just run out and buy either because of the price point that those exist at or the rarity where, you know, good luck finding a 1915 Cracker Jack Max carry, you know, just I've been looking for years to to find one that's acceptable, you know, that would fit the bill for me and yeah, I just have might have to wait a couple more years. >> That's or both and the scarcity both. I mean, >> yeah. So, it's a combination of just, you know, being patient and I have other hobbies and interests, you know, to sink my time into. So, uh the my card collection slash autograph collection is just one of my many interests, you know. >> Now, I I I have to throw this out there. I I I know that uh that you stack silver >> and um this just seems like a relevant topic for this last month. I thought I would at least at least go there for just a little bit. Uh we very dramatic uh spike. Um, yeah, it's been crazy. I mean, it's been an amazing last year or so. I mean, I I've been stacking for 15 years. So, you know, the time I started buying silver, it was below $20 an ounce. I remember, you know, so when I started really loading up on silver, it was $167 an ounce. So, you know, yeah, we had like a big blowoff emotional topping thing recently, but yeah, you know, it's probably going to be volatile for for a while going forward. But, you know, I have more of a long-term outlook. I'm not doing anything rash. >> I was about to say, I mean, are you considering taking some of that? And >> I have I have rolled a lot of it into gold over the year, you know, when I, you know, get get an amount that I'm, you know, feeling good about and and I'll consolidate some of it into gold. And so that's that's something I do on the side. I play the gold to silver ratio. I think that's just kind of fun and it's a good alternative asset to hold, I think. um inflation protected >> and you know outside of the monetary system all that. So it's just something I do on the side. It's fun. >> Yeah. I wasn't sure if that was going to be become a a an easy way to to transition into a Babe Ruth or a Garag Ball or something like that, but >> it certainly could be someday. I mean, if if if I'm looking to pull funds from from one leg of my uh investing chair and and put it into another, then that's always something that I could do at some point. Um, but it is important for me to have a balanced chair, you know. >> Uh, I don't want to rob from from one leg to uh to to make the other one too tall and my chair topples over. So, >> it's important. Balance is very important to me. >> Very good. Very good. >> So, what have you been up to in in uh January? A lot of selling. >> Oh my gosh. Um, >> yeah. So, so like a week, two weeks ago, about a week and a half ago, I put out this video. I was driving around just thinking about selling, you know, a a significant chunk of my uh of my early 2000s Maddox refractors and Xfractors, things like that. And I and I guess what what had happened was I I I guess I I I may have expanded my focus a bit too quickly all at once. I think maybe what happened there and and you know, it's one of those things where you expand your focus kind of at your own peril, right? Because if you it's very easy to bite off a little too much than more than you can chew at once and and sometimes you you you know dive into the rabbit hole without really understanding how deep it goes. Um and and it was one of those things. I mean I I enjoy them. You know I I most of my nostalgia though still remains very firmly focused in the 90s. That's that's the heart of of really my collecting. And and of course it goes back to the 80s because most of those guys that were big stars in the 90s they had rookies in the 80s, right? that's just kind of the way it works. And so, >> and so, you know, we go back for those, too. Um, but by the time the early 2000s, really, it was it wasn't so much about, you know, Griffy and and Bonds and Maddox and Gwyn and those guys. It was it was more like it was it was time for Pooh Holes and Ichiro and it was sort of the next the next class. They they were the bigger deal. And and those other guys were kind of winding down their careers and and so, you know, I was only mostly focusing on Maddox as a Brave. So through the 2003, I guess 2004 for Tops Chrome. Um, but I was realizing as I was continuing those runs that the few cards I had left to get, there were a couple of of Bowman chrome gold refractors that I needed. There were a couple of tops chrome black refractors I needed from like O2. And these are pretty limited ones. These are ones that were numbered out of like 50, you know, or maybe even 199 or something like that. And I was I was realizing that with the prices the way they've increased in the last six months or so, if if I were to truly commit to following through and getting those cards, obtaining them, a that would be a lot of money because that's they're they've all gone up now in price, but also b that would take away money from some of the other cards that I really would want to retain. as sort of the core focus of what I would want to collect. I guess what what ended up happening was, you know, as I look through my collection, as I consider every piece that's there, it's kind of like it's kind of like the Konari method for tidying up, you know, the life-changing magic of tidying up where, you know, does it spark joy? >> And it's not that these cards don't spark joy. It's just that they don't hit like the '9s ones do. I'm sorry. >> You can quantify joy. Yeah. Like when I look at a card from 2003, generally it's it's not an image that I recognize. You know, if I'm looking at, you know, a Maddox card, let's say from 2004, it might be a beautiful shiny orange refractor and it might be beautiful, but I don't remember that card, you know, like that was I was in college, you know, I was not as actively engaged in modern collecting in 2004. I was buying vintage autographs still, but I was not buying or interacting with new product in 2004. So, there's like a little bit of a gap there. It just kind of like you're saying after the '9s ended where Yeah, I just don't have the same nostalgia for the things that came after about 2001, >> right? And and that kind of made me realize I sat back and realized, well, do I really want to pour this much more, you know, time, energy, resources into a specific branch or even just a part of a branch of my collecting bondside that I don't feel as strongly about. I'm not as passionate about it. And I started to realize, well, you know, the kind of money I would have to put in there, I could be picking up like, you know, Don Signature Century Marks. I could be picking up all kinds of other, you know, really what what I would consider very important pieces um that I would love to add to that collection. And and so and and I guess really what what what topped it off, I kind of realized, well, you know, because the market has been high, it would be a pretty good time to move some of those along if I decided to trim this bonsai branch a little bit. Maybe it just got a little overgrown. Maybe it grew in a shape that I I I thought was going to be aesthetically pleasing to me, but I realized that it just kind of looked kind of overgrown and maybe scruffy and maybe a little bit out of place for how I wanted it to be. And >> yeah, >> so it was time to prune it back a bit. >> Yeah. >> Maybe maybe that branch is taking too many of the nutrients away from the core of the bonsai. >> There you go. There you go. And and so Right. Right. Right. So, so I I think part of it was me dialing back a little bit and and and re reccalibrating my focus on what I really what what really just means the most to me as as a collector. And what's funny about this is that I had a there a bunch of other considerations in here too. It's like I almost felt weird, like really strange about it because I I I feel like I feel like if I'm known as kind of a big Maddox guy and here I'm seen selling all of these off, I almost feel weird about it because I I almost feel like part of my collecting identity >> is wrapped into being a collector of these rare Maddox cards. And now that I'm selling them off, it's like, oo, what what is, you know, how are people going to see that? Like, is is he even a serious collector anymore? Is he just trying to whatever? Like, I I promise I'm not a flipper. Like, that was not intent from the get-go. >> No, you're a pruner. You're you're pruning. >> A pruner. There you go. I'm a pruner. >> Sure. Sure. Fine. Uh, call it call it that. Uh, but but yes, and and and again, it's it's sort of I I I did Yes. So, so yeah, I sold a bunch of cards uh in January and I'm still I'm still in the process of selling off them. Um some of them, but I've I've put quite a dent. I I've I've stockpiled quite a bit of gunpowder, quite a bit of ammunition here. And and now comes the time where I'm really going to sort of test my patience and test my resolve because I've historically not been very good at seeing a healthy number in a hobby funds account and letting it sit there and being patient enough to wait for what I truly want. And so that's going to be the challenge for me is having that discipline and reserving enough of a of a weapon to throw at one of the biggies that I really want to save up for here. Um, and so >> what Yeah. And that's the hardest one of the hardest things to do as a hobbyist. I think >> a couple of the hardest things you just mentioned is being okay with shedding some, you know, idealistic identity of a mag collector that buys and doesn't sell Maddox, you know, and and that's great. Like if if you truly want to follow your hobby northstar, >> then you shouldn't be concerned about what anyone else thinks um about, oh, are they what are they going to think of me if I sell Maddox cards? Uh, you know, so that's great that you're you're staying true to yourself. You're following your Hob Hobby Northstar, not letting anyone else tell you, you know, what is appropriate for you to be doing with, you know, your money and your collection. It's it's yours. >> That that is exactly right. And and also finding other ways to trim. It's not just the Matic stuff. I'm I'm looking at over all of my my entirety of my collection and and kind of asking myself some of the same hard questions. Um, so you know, for example, you know, I um I I like to collect Diamond King autographs and as I was looking through, there are a couple guys I have duplicates for. Do I really need a 91 Raphael Pomero and a 95? >> Yeah, there are plenty of collectors that have no problem with redundancy. You know, that's, you know, inherent to their collection. Their collection is redundancy and that's fine. Or do you do you want to be the kind of collector that really doesn't have redundancy or not much? And and so that's that's one of those meters that we all have to kind of balance. >> So like I I can tell you that like I like so for me personally I I do want to have my my 90 Diamond King Griffy and my 93 Diamond King Griffy. I want both. >> You would argue that that is not redundancy because they're two different autographs uh two completely different autographs of Griffy, you know? >> Right. >> Yeah. Right. So I I would argue that that is not redundancy. >> Sure. Absolutely. And so like and and I'm I'm toying with with you I just posted this one on eBay um a little bit ago. Here's a second Eddie Murray. I have an 84 Diamond King Eddie Murray. Beautiful card. Beautiful bold 10 auto, but I have the 93. And >> which you like better? >> I love the 93 design. I just do. And I don't think I need two. I mean Eddie Murray is a great guy to have two of to be fair. You know, he's you know 500 club and 3,000. You know, not many. It's a very elite club that he's in. But if they were both on a table, I would pick the 93 >> now. And then some some collectors would say that's that's redundancy. But then other collectors would say, "Hey, well, those are two different cards." >> Yeah. >> And so that's not redundancy. So it just depends on how how you want to approach it, >> right? >> And you can, you know, you have the license to approach it however the hell you want. It's your collection. So >> what's what's funny is that like even though I'm selling them, like I still I still love these cards. like I'm having I'm having a hard disconnect because so often what happens is I put these big blanket searches in eBay, right? So I these blanket saved searches where I say like Diamond King autograph or signed Diamond King or Diamond King auto um or Diamond King pluralized, right? Because people list them all differently. Um and so you you cast these huge nets and most of the time most of the results aren't what you're looking for. Fine. But like when I >> you won't miss anything, >> right? I won't that's that's the goal. That's the goal is to not let something slip through the cracks. You want to catch everything if you can and not let something fly by you and you miss it. Um but but when I search for it and I see my own card, I'm like, "Oo, that's a nice one." I'm like, "Oh, that's my card." Oh, but it's just so funny. It's like I still love the card. And that's that's the weird that's the weird pull the p that's that's the um >> you know, just the weird battle I'm sort of having with with myself as I see these. Same same with this. Like here here's another example of a card. I I love this card. This is a 96 Nfuego. This is a Select Griffy insert NFuego insert from 96 Select. It's the DuFex card. Incredible insert. Great color, great contrast, color contrast. Beautiful card and I love everything about it. I love Griffy. I love DuFex. I love mid90s inserts. I love a swingman pose. Come on. What's What's not to love about this card? So, why am I why am I selling it? Why am I getting rid of it? Well, a I already have a beautiful DuFx team pinnacle that I submitted last year myself. I already have a Dux 95 Whitehot for Griffy, which is maybe the prettiest of his Duplex cards ever. So, this third DuFex copy, do I really need a third one? >> Yeah. I mean, I know you you have a complete more of a complete Maddox Dux run. Now, you're not looking to complete a Griffy Dux run. So the the two beautiful dofax scrippies you have already that does that suffice? You have to make that decision. >> And and for me I think it does. And part of what makes that decision all the easier for me, you know, I I know what I have into this card. I I know I bought it about two years ago for about 60 bucks. This is a PSA 8. >> There was a PSA 8 that just sold for $275. Now that was a that was a fluke because you they should be around 150. Um but uh because there was an eight there was an eighth that actually outsold the nine for some reason. Um >> still a nice chunk of change. I mean >> but still that's a heck of an appreciation for that card. And so it's like okay if I can triple my money >> we're gonna we're going to go ahead and do that. We're going to trim that that a little bit. And I'm not going to cut into all my dux. I'm not going to get rid of all of them. I'm keeping the other ones for sure. >> Yeah. But but it's a consideration and and so those are the kinds of things that I'm I'm trying to trying to look at my collection with with with a critical eye. I'm trying to really re reccalibrate, refocus, and I'm I'm just trying to see, you know, are there little adjustments we can make to tighten things up a little bit, free up some funds to to throw out a much much bigger card that that may come along, you know? >> Yeah. This is this is the essence of curation. You're identifying redundancies that you feel are redundancies. >> Yeah. >> That are no longer essential based on the universe of cards you've already collected. Like, okay, well, I'm a little heavy here. I have, you know, have three DUX Griffies. I don't need all three. I have two Eddie Murray Diamond Kings. Maybe I don't need both. And so, you're you're identifying somewhat maybe some excesses and some redundancies. And then you're refunding those resources into something that really does go toward more of the core mission and away from the redundancies and more toward the core tree trunk of the bonsai. The really the the a card or a couple cards that might really be core cards for you. And I think that's great. That's the essence of curation right there. So bravo. Bravo. >> Thank you. Thank you. And and I I was thinking too, I I've heard it said before and I'm curious to hear what you say what you have to say about this, but you know, I as I was collecting, you know, I have I have two of these sort of, you know, big slab um suitcases basically, you know, and they were both getting kind of full, right? Kind of heavy. Mhm. >> And and I was thinking, you know, I was I was struck by how much lighter they were when I took out some of these early 2000s refractors that I just didn't feel as strongly about and and how it was really freeing up some room and and how, you know, oftentimes quality can get lost in quantity. We've said we've we've said that before. >> Um, but I heard someone say this and I I'm trying to remember if it it was it was another content creator. I I want to say gosh I I think maybe it was Sean over at Reserved Investments if you ever watched his stuff but he said something about if all you do is collect and collect and acquire and you never sell then what you're doing is not necessarily collecting but hoarding. >> And I thought that was a fascinating take. I'm I'm not sure how I feel about that but but I I was >> hoarding might be extreme but maybe accumulating. You're you're accumulating not collecting or or curating. >> Right. Right. And but but that was running through my brain rentree. And um anyway, but but I think it makes sense to pair down to to keep the focus to keep the bulk of the collection on on the most meaningful cards to me that I that I can and and to get rid of the excess, get rid of the fluff. Um if it's not important to me, which isn't to say that they're all big cards. I'm still I'm still acquiring cards that aren't huge. I mean, I just got this really cool, you know, here's a gold press proof. >> Oh, heck yeah. >> From 97 studio, right? I mean, that's so cool. And, you know, so that was what, 20 bucks or whatever it was. 15. I don't even know what I forget. It was about 20 bucks, I think. >> But, so I'm still picking those, you know, one per box type inserts up when I can. They spark joy. >> They do. I love them. We're collecting baseball cards here, okay, people? Like, this is supposed to be fun. And if it if it sparks joy, then yeah, that's what we're after here, you know. We're just trying to curate our experience to give us the most joy possible in the the budgetary and spatial constraints that we have, you know. >> Yeah, that that that's correct. And and both are legitimate constraints. You know, no one has infinite money and nobody can store an infinite number of cards >> and time. We don't have infinite time to rifle through, you know, two million cards in a in a basement. And quite frankly, they're not accessible. You're not going to enjoy them if you have that many because you can't access them and can't look at them. You can't you don't even know where everything is. You don't even know what you own. So, I think with excessive accumulation, um, that takes away, like you said, it takes away from the experience. At least for me now, I can't talk to someone else that really legitimately actually enjoys um a huge collection. They can organize it and access them all. I mean, more power to them if that's the the experience they want to curate. That's that's every person's right to do that. >> Yeah. I I I don't For me personally anyway, I I I don't want a collection that someone would have to spend days going through >> to see it all, you know? I I I don't know. That that seems excessive to me. Um >> I I share your outlook. Yeah. So, so part of this too was was it it almost felt liberating and and freeing to open up those slots in my slab cases >> and and realize that, oh, well, I still have room for more growth. I still have room to to selectively reacquire cards to fit there that have a higher joy quotient or or that, you know, that spark the joy harder for me or whatever it might be. Um, >> and truly you didn't lose anything because you were eliminating redundancy. So they were areas that you were redundant anyway. So you truly didn't lose anything. You just gained some extra hobby funds to to add to more joy. >> Yeah. And this happens to be a great time to sell. I'm realizing too because I I I'm taking a look at what I paid for some of these cards and in almost every case I'm I'm making a pretty tidy profit on on, you know, when you consider what I have into these. Um, and you know, this also struck me too. So many of the cards that that I was moving along, many of those were ones that I graded myself. >> And so it's it's interesting. You know, I I make these grading videos where I do pre-grading analysis and grading reveals when they come back from PSA and I'm picking them up from GameStop and and it's tough. You know, sometimes I'll I'll I'll go over what the pop counts are and how many are in this grade and how many higher and and and what I'll I'll then try to do is sort of almost justify by saying, you know, what kind of a value gain, what kind of a value ad was this? >> And that's always a weird sort of sort of abstract idea because it's all abstract until you actually sell the damn thing, right? like it it's yes it's a it's a neat number to see and it's good to justify that oh that was a that was a worthwhile card to send in because you're gaining this value but until you actually sell the thing >> y >> you're not actually recouping anything. So it was it was kind of refreshing and it was uh it was fun to see that value made manifest in >> Yeah, that's a hard very hard game. It's a very hard game to play and I think you play it about as well as I've seen anybody play it where you really you have a very keen eye for for the condition. You're very meticulous with how you go over cards and whether you consider is that worth it. You know, is that going to be a a value ad or at least value neutral to grade this card or not? And if it's not, then you're brutally honest with yourself and with your cards. And that's a very hard thing to do is to remove emotion and just say, is this card worth grading or not? And more often than not, you make the right decision. And yeah, obviously PSA is PSA, so it's hard to, you know, sometimes you just get a surprise either way. But >> yeah, >> I think you generally do very well with your grading decisions. So, >> thank you. I'd like to I'd like to think I do. Um, but >> now you're reaping you're reaping some of the benefit of that now. >> I I am. I'm I'm seeing that, you know, if I put X into a card, I'm getting like 140% X back, 150% X back, and a lot of cases, and it's a case by case basis. Sometimes I'm getting back about the same I put in. Sometimes I'm getting double or even triple >> uh what I put back in there. So, I'm >> The difficult thing is that that's not transferable. Like, you can't recommend that someone does that uh unless you have that skill set, you know? So, it's very difficult. You know, most people wouldn't be able to do that. So, if you don't have appropriate domain knowledge of that particular market for those kinds of cards, if you don't have a really keen eye for grading and you've graded a lot of cards and you understand how the companies are going to view very specific flaws on very specific types of cards, then yes, that it's a tough game to play. And even sometimes when I'm, you know, sometimes I I miss my my mark, right? And so oftentimes I'm wrong and PSA surprises me. That happens. But but the the the goal there is to be close enough or or good enough most of the time that if you get surprised, it's in a good way. >> Yeah. And you win more than you lose. And when you add up all the wins and then subtract all the losses, you're still ahead. >> You're still ahead, right? Even after grading fees. And >> Yeah. >> So that's Yeah, that's that's exactly right. That's that's the game that I play. Um and so and so c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c certainly I I even now have another box of cards that I'm you know as I as I pick up you know these you know smaller whatever these cards as I pick them up if I look them over and determine that hey that's a candidate that's a that's a grading candidate it it goes into a box and then one of these days I'll make another pre-grading video analysis once I you know pick up enough of them once it makes financial sense to do so that's >> and take them off to GameStop >> take them off to GameStop That's right. That's right. Although I'm I'm a little bit distressed over my last submission was a pretty big one for me anyway. It was like 17 cards and uh dropped it off December 27th is when I dropped it off and it's um it arrived but they still haven't processed it. They they hasn't even entered the identification phase yet. >> So >> I always feel better though like once you get that confirmation that they received it. I mean that's the key for me. >> They said they've got it. It's on them and at least at least through GameStop they ensure every one of those cards I think up to $500 each. So that's on them if something happens, something shady happens, >> whatever. That's >> for me. That's the big one. The confirmation that they got it. >> And again, a lot of those cards, yes, I'll probably sell if they if they come back tens. You know, this is the first time I've ventured into the fora of like actually including some just complete junk base cards that I think can gem, >> right? >> Not not the game I usually play. And so I'm a little nervous about that because of I know how I know how hard they're grading. Now, >> that's an even tougher game to play. >> I know. And and and honestly, I'm I'm getting prepared already mentally, even though I'm not going to get these back till like June at this point. But um I'm I'm preparing myself mentally for for having a few nice uh coasters, you know, PS >> PSA 7 Griffy Coasters, >> PSA 8, whatever base Nolan Ryan 92 Fleer. Like, okay, this is this will hold my drink now. Yeah, I had a bunch of those back in like 2021 when, you know, everyone was just submitting whatever. >> Yeah. But but also you I was going to say it's a little different, too, because you were submitting at like 10 bucks a card. You were submitting at much >> $8 at one point. >> Okay. Eight bucks a card. Even better. And so and so right now, I mean, that that makes even the cheaper GameStop price submission price of whatever it is, $21.99, >> look look kind of insane that you're almost it's almost three times that. Um, and if you weren't doing GameStop, it'd be like 27 bucks per card and then plus to and from shipping. So, >> yeah, you really have to be selective these days. >> No kidding. No kidding. You said it. Um, well, anyway, uh, weaning down your, you know, your redundancies. I think it it ties in, it segus really well into um, the other topic I wanted to get into was, you know, I was taking a walk yesterday, a nice long walk, you know, because it was 65 in Denver. I still hate you a little bit, but go on. >> And uh I was thinking about like all right, remember the old Hall of Fame plaque postcards? >> Oh, yeah. >> Where you'd have like a player like Tai Cobb and they'd have a a run-on sentence basically is what it is. And they they encapsulate like what was Tai Cobb, you know, what were his main achievements. Um, and they would have like this run-on sentence that would be like, you know, one or two, you know, or maybe five or six lines um, about Tai Cobb and it encapsulated who he was as a player. And, uh, I was thinking, well, that would be cool if you know, you had like a hobby mission statement or if if your collection or you as a collector had a Hall of Fame plaque, what would be on your Hall of Fame plaque? What what would it read? How would your collection be best summarized in like a run-on sentence on a Hall of Fame plaque? >> Oh my god. >> And and then if you could if you could identify that and and make it concise, then that is essentially your hobby north star. I mean, that that is your guiding principle of anytime you feel like you're going down a rabbit hole or buying too much of stuff that maybe doesn't hit your your joy quotient as hard, then you go back to that statement and and you ask yourself, are am I staying true to this or am I going kind of off the reservation here with my purchases? But so, I I went ahead and like wrote my my hobby mission statement or my hall of fame plaque statement. And and I think that that would be a good exercise for any collector to do. And honestly, if anyone that's listening to this um feels inspired, I would love to hear in the comments like like put your hobby mission statement in the comments. That'd be kind of fun to read various uh members of the community's uh statements. >> Do do we have like a like a 200word limit here or >> it should be concise, I feel like, you know, like like a for me it was just like a run-on sentence, you know. >> Um but I I would be curious to hear what other people's mission statements are. And I think it's actually a helpful exercise too to go back to when you feel like what am I doing here? You know, >> you know, I I I was I was going to say as I was as I was um you know, reconsidering my way I approached the hobby, I was I I felt like I was probably straying a little bit far from my core focus of what I was attempting to do here with my collection. Um, it's funny when you say about Hall of Fame plaque because I'd probably I'd probably say the first, you know, I have uh this one, this Maddox Destiny basically has that written there anyway, >> although I know you can't see it all that well with >> like a pre- Hall of Fame plaque for Maddox. >> Pre Hall of Fame plaque. There you go. >> Um, >> because that came out in what, 2000? >> This was a 99 edition. Although they had 95 and they've had like Heading for the Hall inserts, you know, that were very similar like that in the early 90s and mid 90s too. But >> but yeah, I mean gosh, and I guess the question is, okay, is is our plaque for the collection or the collector? I guess that's my followup for you. >> For me, it was the co Well, it was the collection, you know, >> if Well, it's a little bit morbid, but if you could bury your collection in a grave. >> Oh gosh. Uh, what would the gravestone say? You know, that kind of thing, you know. >> Um, but it's a reflection of the collector. >> Yeah. >> It's it's in reference to the collection, but it's a reflection of the collector and what they care about. >> That that's a that's a really intelligent way of of saying it's true. It's it's almost a mirror. The collection mirrors the collector. >> Yep. >> Because there was there was reason, there was thought, there was intentionality put into this collection. And it wasn't necessarily obtained randomly. Well, maybe it was if you buy a lot of wax. I don't know. >> Sure. Sure. >> And and maybe >> collections are obtained randomly. Yeah. >> Yeah. I would say quite a few collections actually are obtained quite randomly. >> Yeah. >> But um >> I have a vinyl record collection right here to my right. >> Oh, there you go. >> You know that vinyl record collection is about, you know, 750 LPs and some of them were acquired very randomly. >> Uhhuh. But this collection as a whole is really a reflection of my music taste. Really a reflection of what I really enjoy as a listener, what I appreciate in music. And uh you know, if someone rifles through my records and looks through it, they have a pretty good idea what kind of music I'm into. So >> yeah, you know, definitely is a reflection of what I'm into. And there are random pickups along the way. I'll go to a show and love the band and then I'll want to support them >> and then I'll pick up the record at the show that's signed by the band. you know, so there's little random pickups along the way, but I have a story with just about every record in my collection. >> Yeah. And what's what's fascinating too about that particular collection and whether it's records or cards is that your collection means more to you than it would mean to anyone else because >> anybody else. Correct. >> Right. Because that story about you having seen that particular concert, you having actually like met the band members maybe, like nobody else has that story but you. >> Yeah. This is the this is the essence of collecting in general. We're getting we're getting even deeper here. You know, you ask any hardcore collector what gets their juices flowing and they will be able to dive deep into their collection and translate that to you, you know, very easily. you know, this is why this means this much to me and that collection of cards would would have nowhere near the meaning to anybody else than they do to that person who curated that collection. So, that's just a beautiful thing about collecting, I think, overall. >> Yeah. And I think that's that's one of the things that sort of, you know, differentiates the the the collector from the dealer sort of mindset, you know, whereas a dealer maybe only sees numbers or sees numbers first. Now, a lot of dealers are collectors, but it's also more transactional in in their, you know, in their space, >> right? They they have to be more concerned about comps and percentages and things like that. Um, but the collector I think will and of course this is this is a funny thing too and I think this is this is also one of those things where I I think whereas dealers have to be a bit cold calculating with the numbers to make them work. I think that collectors allow emotion to creep in way more frequently than we'd like to admit. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. >> Make irrational decisions. Overspend or overpay. I'm I'm smiling as I say this because I know that as much as I might pride myself in in thinking logically and rationally through things just today I may have spent significant chunk on a card that didn't have a very clean comp number right >> and I and again it was a little bit of a FOMO. I I didn't want it to get away. I wanted to make sure I had this card. And so I I did. I spent some money today on a card. And so I'm just gonna show you real quick what this is because I'm excited about it. And this is just a funny funny coincidence. But it's this card here. >> Oh yeah. The epics green. >> Yeah. >> This is a Emerald Moments. >> Nice. >> Epics from 98 Pinnacle. And this card is now in my collection. >> That's a tough tough tough card. you know, you you may never see another one as long as you hunt. >> The issue is, okay, so so there's a print run of 30 on those things just for the emerald moments and from, you know, late 90s. A print run of 30 is absurd. >> Um, but they're not serial numbered. And so they were they were kind of a sleeper kind of a sleeper card because they had a bunch of different varieties of them. They had the orange and the purples and they had the plays and then the games which were a little bit tougher and then they had seasons and all-star moments and regular moments and anyway. So there's all these all these different ways that these cards come. But but the the the issue the issue here is that like this particular one there are there are two other ones right now listed on eBay but the problem is like one of them they're asking like 900 and the other one they're asking like 1,500 and and the prices are just all over the place and so you know trying to trying to figure out what the most recent ones that sell for and you can't you can't find a recent Maddox sale and if you do it's going to be way out of date anyway and before the market made its big move. So, you know, you can look and see like there was a Frank Thomas that just sold the PSA 10, which is nuts that there's a PSA 10 because those are super condition sensitive. Just sold for $3,000. There was a there was a Chipper Jones ungraded one that sold for like 600. And I've always thought of Chipper as being pretty close in value to Maddox. Um I I used actually I used Chippers. Uh there was some guy who sold every single one of Chipper's 99 finest gold refractors. Um and they all sold for like 500 550 somewhere in that range, which is about where I price my Maddoxes. And I started to realize actually I think Chipper is a little bit higher on on the uh the power rankings, the 90s power rankings than Maddox, just just slightly. Um >> yeah, hitters hitters just tend to have an edge, you know. Yeah, I think you're right. I think you're right. Um and and so anyway, so it ended up coming down when I sold all of my 99 gold finest refractions, which I did. I I you know, for whatever reason, the 99 finest golds just don't hit me quite like the 96 or the 97s. And so >> I agree. I agree with you there. Mid 90s. >> Yeah. >> Mid to late. But by the time you get to late, it >> I don't know. It just the shine comes off. No pun intended, you know, a little bit for me. Well, the point was, you know, the the last one of those Maddoxes that sold probably I don't know, probably like I don't even know uh m maybe like 250 or something. And even that was way higher than the ones before that one would have been. And and so and so this was this was listed um as a as a buy it now uh on eBay from Burbank Sports Cards and it was like 400 or best offer. And so I had already been in negotiation with a different guy who had one of those also a PSA 6 which is what this one is going to pop three one one higher uh because they don't exist and you know I had I had thrown out an offer of 300 to the other guy and he seemed kind of not wanting he he he was thinking a higher number but didn't tell me what the number was and so I of course put the same offer in for Burbank. Then about an hour later I'm like you know what I don't want to let this go. I'm just gonna click the bin. And so I did. Yeah. You know, I had the I had the gunpowder ready to go. I had the weapon. >> And so I was like, you know what? >> And again, this is one of those cards that you cannot count on seeing again, you know, and and I made a similar similar buy. I got this 2001 SP Legendary Cuts uh Roberto Clemente bat card. >> And this was the very first year that Clemente had relic cards. So, this was the, you know, one of Clemente's very, very early relics and a set that I absolutely adore. Like, this this set is a thing of just magnificence. Uh, and so I have most of the key cards in this set in high grade. I have Ruth and Cobb and Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron and Jimmy Fox and Melt. And so, you know, I just didn't have the Clemente. And it was one of those ones that had eluded me in high grade for a couple decades because this this card is now a 25 year old card. >> Wow. >> Came out in 2001. And you know, it's one of those ghosts, you know, this thing is a pop seven with none higher. So to to find one, you know, at a somewhat reasonable maybe I overpaid a little bit, but you know, it's one of those like you you know, you don't know you're going to see that Maddox ever again. So you kind of just have to pay sometimes. Just get it. Well, you know, it's it's like, no, I I I see them and you can see it on eBay right now. There's two other ones listed, but you're going to have to pay 900, >> right? >> 1,500 or something crazy. And so, it's it's almost like, yeah, you can you can pay for it, but maybe I I almost feel like so there there are certain 90s inserts that have moved, right? And I kind of feel like we're at a weird point right now where a lot of the lesserk known but still very scarce ones they're like as we speak in the process of moving >> like like I think honestly I don't mean to interrupt you but I think it's a scary moment >> because I think the froth is moving now and that's usually what happens at the late stage of bull runs is uh you know the small caps you know the the frothy you the companies really aren't you know deserving of of the valuations that they have. >> Sure. Sure. Sure. >> Uh so they tend to move at the late stage of a bull market. Uh and so I think we're seeing the froth run and the PSA 10s run and like all this stuff run and this might be the you know some kind of a irrational exuberance blowoff phase here and then it's probably all going to wash out to some degree. But then, you know, after the wash out, then things will build a base and, you know, the the cream of the crop, the true the true great cards will come back to prominence and will gain value again over time. But I'm not so sure that the froth will regain where it is now. So, so yeah, >> I think part of part of why we're seeing such an extension is that so many people that got back into the hobby post pandemic have actually stayed. I think that just the sheer number of collectors that have re-entered the hobby or entered for the first time, I'm saying re-entered on my own behalf, but I but I know that so many people like me, I I am not a strange story. I am one of many who collected in their youth, collected in their young teens, and then sort of college hits or >> strange story being from Pittsburgh and collecting Gregmatics, but you know. Well, I was gonna say, well, hey, people people wanted to give me their Madx stuff because I mean, they were still angry about Sid Bream. Um, >> Right. Right. >> a lot of animosity there between the >> Barry Bond. So, what you know, what are you gonna do? But uh >> well, no, I I I I got into Greg Maddox because looking at the back of the cards during the 94 95 season, looking at his statistics, I was realizing after his 95 season where he had 19 wins and two losses, I was like, "Wait, this is like one of the greatest seasons anyone has ever pitched in the history of ever." Like a 1.56 erra. Like this is absurd. Like do people realize like he's obviously a first bout of famer? Like yeah, you connected in something in him you connected with just like I connected with something in Ripken. I just know just something in Ripken really struck a chord like going to work and doing your job every day. Just something great about that, you know. It's a true gamer, you know, >> and and not not just not just doing your job, but like being good enough to be a starting shortstop on a team. Like you realize how how much competition there is for anything involving athletics. Like there's always someone waiting to to replace you if and when you fall into an extended slump, if and when you get injured, if and when something happens and >> not miss a game for in today's day and age, you couldn't even fathom someone not missing a game for 16 years. I mean, it's ridiculous just on its face. >> It's it's one of those reasons why it's it's one of those many records that will never be broken. >> Maybe maybe the most like prominent people say like, "Oh yeah, no one's ever going to hit hit in as many straight games as Deaggio." No, no one's ever going to hit in 56 games. I don't know, maybe someone will. >> That doesn't seem, >> you know, that doesn't seem out of completely out of the realm. I mean, I think there's a much higher probability that someone hits in 57 straight games than plays in 16 straight years of baseball games. Like >> I don't know that that one's not as safe. No, I think I think Ripkins is >> conceivable that someone hits 400 again, you know. Um it would it's unlikely in today's game, but >> Right. It's It's not inconceivable. Um but for someone not to miss a game and you know 3,400 and some games like come on. >> Yeah. Yeah. No, there there are some records that just will not be broken and and that's one of them. Ricky Henderson stolen bases will not be broken. Barry Bonds's walks will not be broken. I mean just you can name them and you know what they are. You know any any pre-war pitcher >> Nolan Ryan strikeouts. >> Yeah. Nolan Ryan strikeouts. Yeah. No one's gonna even sniff at it like sorry not gonna happen. >> Yeah. 511 wins that will stand. >> Nope. Gonna be broken anytime. Anytime. Uh so yeah I that's that's right. That's right. >> Do you want to hear my mission statement? >> I do want to hear your mission statement. Yes. >> Okay. So my my collection is buried in a you know a shallow grave. And uh >> there's there's a headstone there. >> Yeah. And the headstone reads >> headstone read. And I read a thoughtful cur a thoughtful and aesthetic curation of baseball's 100 elite players across all major sets eras without with all okay across all major sets and eras without redundancy. And there's a little bit of an asterisk that I just take a lot of pride in. Never having exceeded $2500 spent on a single piece. Uh, I do take pride in that. I feel like, you know, having built a collection that I was able to build and never having spent more than $2,500 on a piece, that's something that I really like I take pride in. You know, some people brag about what they have and some people brag about the price they got it for. I'm more like the the latter. You know, I'm kind of like a thrifty collector and I try to try to grab value when I can. And I am very proud that I've grabbed a lot of value over the years. >> Look, I I'm a sucker for a good deal. Yeah. You know, I love going to a flea market. You kidding me? I mean, when we're in town, we go to Trader Jacks in Pittsburgh. Like, that's that's a blast. I love that. I mean, >> so I'm I'm I'm with you. You know, as I was, you know, part of part of what made, you know, brought me joy in selling off some of my cards was seeing what did I have into them for. It's like, wow, I got a really good deal on that. >> Yeah. It's just kind of a fun part of the the hustle. I guess we were we were raised on the hustle. You know, it was a it was a way for us as kids besides having our allowance and whatever we could earn shoveling driveways and mowing lawns and I had a paper route and like, you know, you could, you know, scrimp and save and hustle. Baseball cards are part of the hustle for our generation. >> You know what I I I'm going to tell our uh our audience about Steve at Big Save. >> Oh, yeah. So, we had Okay, so there was this card shop, a couple card shops that that, you know, were around in the 90s, but but by far the best one, the the absolute best one was called Big Save Sports Cards, and and it was run by a guy named Steve, you know, rather plain looking dude. >> Love that guy. >> Very down to earth, very sweet, very kind. And he was the kind of guy where he would have a showcase of cards and I would I would see a Greg Maddox insert that was in there um that maybe it had a book value of $20, maybe a low book of 10, high book of 20 and and and he would, you know, he would have like $12 marked on it or 15 somewhere in the middle, you know, $15 marked on it. And I would ask him like, "Hey, Steve, you know, would you would you sell me that card for $10?" and he'd be, you know, I can't I I I can't sell you that for $10, but but but but I could do eight. And like he would negotiate he would negotiate against himself. >> Yeah. He would he would one down you. He wouldn't one up you. He would uh >> he would one Yes. He would one down. And I just remember thinking, no matter what you no matter what I bought and whether I was buying packs or buying singles like that, every single time you left that shop, I had this like giddy feeling of like >> like, oh man, what an what an awesome what an awesome trip to the card store that was. And like that I I I wonder I just wonder in this day and age, is that an experience that is that that kids are still having when they visit their hobby shops? Is that is that you know a relic from an era long gone? >> I hope it is. I hope it is, but I don't know. Like I just feel like the modern hobby is so much different. >> I know. >> But I don't know. It's hopefully still fun for those that are participating in it, but I think there is a lot more of a gambling element in it. And >> totally. I mean, I I I will I will be the first to admit anytime I was buying packs, I knew what it was. I knew it was gambling. There's there's no other way. It was legalized gambling for kids. you know, when you're buying, you know, you're buying packs of, you know, select certified pinnacle certified, you're hoping to hit a mirror. I mean, like, you know, you're hoping to hit a big card and, you know, you don't expect to, but you're you're hoping for your golden ticket. You know, >> you were you were full-on junkie. >> Oh, yeah. I didn't have Yeah. I didn't have much of a much of a budget to spend on them, but I'd absolutely be buying packs and and do my best and and of course I'd be happy if I hit, you know, Frank Thomas base card, you know, >> sure, >> Juan Gonzalez base card. I put them in my pages, you know, you had binder pages, we'd have trading sessions, we'd do all the stuff, but um but yeah, I was always, you know, deep down hoping hoping for that big that big hit. That was that was the that was the rush. My favorite Steve story was uh when he told the story about some someone who brought in a a shoe box full of cards. >> Oh my gosh. >> And his his description as a storyteller of how he reacted to this box of cards being brought in. And do you remember uh verbatim the way he described that box being brought in? >> Yes. I I I could probably repeat the entire story. >> You probably remember it a little bit better than me, but yeah. >> You could probably do better justice than me. >> All right. I'm I'm I'm gonna go for it. This is this is hilarious. This is one of the funniest stories. Okay. So, same guy Steve at Big Safe told us this story. >> You got to be the voice, too. He's like, "Hey, so uh you know, guy brings in a box and >> yeah, do it. Do it Steve. Steve style." >> All right. All right. So, I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna channel my my inner Steve at Big Safe here. And uh I would just set it up by saying that he he someone was in the shop already. It was a It was a offduty police officer I think was was also in the shop at the time because it comes >> Yeah. And so and so yeah, this uh this woman comes in with a with a shoe box that she's cradling in her arm and and kind of just paces around the shop a little bit nervously uh you know for a few minutes and and doesn't really say much and I ask her if I can help her with anything. She kind of waves me off and and after a few minutes of you pacing back and forth, she drops the box on one of the display counters and runs out the door. And so me I I hit the deck. I don't know if there's a bomb in there or what. And and the the police officer too hits the deck. And after a few seconds, nothing happens, you know. I I I police officer takes his nightstick and and just pries the lid off the box. And I ask him, "Is it is there a bomb in there?" And the officer says, "Worse, a complete collection of Al Martin cards." Oh man, we were we were rolling on the floor laughing when he told that story. >> Unbelievable. Unbelievable. >> We were crying when he told this story. >> Close my eyes right now just thinking about it. >> Yeah. Because he he knew how to like draw it out, you know? He's like, "This lady comes in. It's just, you know, >> truly the the the art of storytelling was was strong strong with him. >> Definitely. >> For sure. >> Good times at Big Safe Sports Cards. >> Absolutely. Well, I I think you've given me some excellent homework. I'm gonna have to to create my own uh mission statement, my own epitap. >> I think it's it's a good exercise for for any collector to to almost put um put words to your north star because we always say that, oh, follow your hobby hobby north star. Follow follow your hobby north star. until you put words to that north star, until you give that north star a voice, >> then what the hell is it? You know, it's just a it's a theoretical star that you're following somewhere that you don't know. Um, but just to have an idea of what you're trying to do here, you know, what what your mission is as a collector and what you want to be known for, like what what makes your collection unique, what are you really trying to follow, uh, lean into versus, you know, if you're trying to stray, then reading that statement every so often is probably a really also a really exercise just to remind you of like, yes, this is my core statement. This is what I'm trying to do. >> And and like actually like actually write it down like ink it, don't think it like the smart goals because right here. I just I wrote it down. Yeah, >> because if you actually write it down, that that's now you've you've you've made it manifest in the real world. It's an actual thing. You can you can look at it. You can post it on the wall. You can point to it literally and and it's it's there as a reminder of of what your intended mission is. What are you trying >> I'll probably zip it into one of my slab binders, you know. >> There you go. Yeah. Just just tattoo it on your forehead, you know? Just >> Yeah. Maybe a lower back tattoo or something. >> There you go. Yeah. got a little stamp for you. >> Yeah, why not? >> Yeah, >> little hobby hobby tram stamp. >> There we go. And on that note, um so yeah, we're 53 minutes in. Um >> any uh any concluding uh nuggets or or thoughts that uh that you have any additional wisdom to share? >> Um no, I think that was a good um a good conversation. And I always have a good time doing these and I can't believe that we can really just kill an hour without much effort at all. >> I was going to say, yeah, that's that's the funny part is that like I I feel like the guys that are on uh you know, sports cards live, they go for, you know, two, three, four hours sometimes. Like >> Yeah. And they do a great job, you know. >> I see how they do it. Especially if you have if you have it's a live, you know, with a bunch of chat you can interact with, too. They absolutely could keep that thing going for, you know. >> Yeah. When you have people that are passionate about something, it it really isn't hard. You know, it shouldn't be. >> Just just riff off of them and and and that's it. That's it. I think the only thing I would like to just finish up with an ad was um you know, going back going back to a card like this, the emerald moments. I I feel like there are some of these cards that that are right now and I know you said it was a scary thing and a terrifying thing when uh when when they move >> and and I hear you and I understand that and I and I agree because that's a well it can be a big shift. I just know that like two years ago I I had an opportunity to buy one of those established, you know, MaddX cards for about, you know, $300 and I turned it down. And I'm and I'm not sorry I I I did because again, that card just doesn't have a ton of nostalgia for me. >> But also now it's like probably close to $1,000 card. It it it moved. And I feel like I feel like a lot of these 90s inserts that aren't the most notorious ones, they aren't the Crusade Reds, they aren't the PMGs, they aren't the Essential Credentials, they're starting to get attention. >> They're starting to move. >> The question is, is that move durable? You know, or >> that's the question. >> Yeah. >> And so, and so we're talking about we're talking about cards like like the Star Factor limited exposures. We're talking about, you know, these these Emerald Epics Moments cards. We're talking about those those kind of cards that are of a a caliber where there's a very small print run, maybe not serialn numbered, but very small print run. And >> and the counterpoint to that is that that's what we saw in pre-war too. You know, the >> even obscure pre-war sets um have been gaining popularity for the last five years, six, 10 years. And you know the yeah that's the counter argument to is it durable? Well if you look at these pre-war sets I don't I don't think crackerjack cards are I mean they're on fire and they they they may not correct. I mean they as such >> what I'm saying when you know that and and I think that's that's where I was heading when I was saying sort of we've had so many more people come back into the hobby after the pandemic. So many of them are here to stay. >> Yep. you know, and >> the difference is the Cracker Jackack is an institution, you know. >> Yes. I'm not sure if Pinnacle Epics. I I don't know. I don't know. We'll see. >> Fair. That's fair. That's a very fair point. You're right. I mean, the Cracker Jacks has over 100 years of of, you know, life and sales history and data. Uh whereas, you're right, you're right. 90s cards don't >> The story has yet to be written really. Um >> That's correct. That's correct. So time time will tell if uh if these these big moves are are are more permanent and now we've experienced a new normal for what these prices are. Um or who knows the next time that uh the market tanks and all the prices come down. Will they ever bounce back? We we don't know. I don't have a crystal ball. >> Prices usually reset in a step-wise formation. You know, that's what we saw in silver. You know, >> there you go. >> Reset the price and then it came off and then it'll build base. It'll reset again and then come off and then it tends to be stepwise appreciation during times like this. But >> yeah, >> well, it'll be fun to watch. >> Yeah, it certainly will. >> Y >> All right, and so I think on that note, thank you all for watching and uh we'll uh we'll see you in the next of our brothers duo videos. >> Peace out indeed.

In this video, real-life brothers Brian (HighPopProfessor) and Iconic Al (Iconic Baseball) discuss various facets of collecting, including tightening collecting focus, harvesting value, and coming up with a mission statement for your collection. Enjoy!