Dr. James Beckett: Sports Card Insights

790 - Interview: Kunal Chopra, new Beckett CEO, Part 2

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kunal and I had an extended conversation, with then and now considerations.  Looking forward to his imprint on my old company.  He is in the process...

789 - Interview: Kunal Chopra, new Beckett CEO

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I had the pleasure of hearing Kunal's exciting plans for my old company - truly an exciting time for him to come into this industry with his strong te...

788 - 1952 Topps Mantles, with Roger Neufeldt, Sports Memories

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Roger is one of the very few who can say he pulled Mantle(s) straight from the pack back in the day.  He wishes he still had them, yes multiples, don...

787 - Dueling Questions with Ray and Ryan Schulte, Schulte Sports Marketing

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I thought I had some interesting "what if" questions for the Schulte's - son Ryan was fearless and Ray was the voice of experience after so many years...

786 - Dueling Questions with Jordan and Bob Hagedorn, For the Hobby

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jordan and I have been on each other's shows, but I had never met Bob until now - glad I did - father/son dynamics are powerful - it was great to hear...

785 - Dueling Questions with Rex, Max, and Owen Gotcher, Moco Sports

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lots of great questions from and for the Gotcher family - mainly about card store retailing and how they run their successful card shop in New Buffalo...

784 - Dueling Questions with Steve and Jesse Bachman

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After several years of spending significant time at their National booth, I was sure they had some good questions, and they did - thanks!

783 - OG Conversation with Roger Neufeldt, Sports Memories

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Roger is an old friend and veteran vintage sports card dealer who has helped many a collector complete their sets - along with some great stories - th...

782 - Dueling Questions, with Joe and Josh Davis, Got Baseball Cards

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Around the horn with questions coming in age order - really enjoyed my time with Joe and his son Josh - and will see them in person at the upcoming Na...

781 - 2021 SP Authentic Golf

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I break down a box of 2021 SP Authentic Golf - literally and figuratively - got the best result in terms of autos that I have ever experienced - thank...

780 - Father/Son: Jordan and Bob Hagedorn, For the Hobby

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jordan "For the Hobby" is actually "For the Bobby" as his dad Bob is dealing with colorectal cancer - thanks Bob for sharing your story and how you ha...

779 - Father/Son: Ray and Ryan Schulte, Schulte Sports Marketing

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last year was Ryan first immersion experience at the National following in his father Ray's footsteps.  At 12, Ryan has a bright future under his fat...

778 - Father/Sons: Rex, Max, and Owen Gotcher, Moco Sports

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Gotcher's are faithful supporters of the hobby and Hobby Hotline - I thought it would be great to hear from them Father's Day week as to their fam...

777 - Father/Son: Steve/Jesse Bachman

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The first booth I shopped at the National for the past several years has been the Bachman's - great selection with fair prices and personable service....

776 - Father/Son: Joe/Josh Davis, Got Baseball Cards

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joe and Josh discuss their father-son hobby dynamic now separated by 2000 miles - but I expect to see them both together at the National this year - h...

775 - Recap: Podcast Episodes 749-773

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another four weeks of daily episodes for your review in case you missed some - your episode ideas please send to [email protected] and tha...

774 - Out-Takes on National Party Bus from Hobby Hotline 052822

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lots of ways to get to Atlantic City - but where to stay is the question - some "what if" creative approaches to lodging and transportation at the Nat...

773 - Out-Takes on Parallels Explosion from Hobby Hotline 052822

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John Newman (Sports Card Nation) and Corey Donovan (YamWax) were my co-hosts on Saturday morning's Hobby Hotline and this was our first major topic of...

772 - Content Convo 3: Epicenter of Hobby

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Veres suggested Southern California as the epicenter of the sports card hobby but he was shouted down and out-voted by the many Texans in the room...

771 - Junk Slabs, with Rich Klein

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Too many slabs are emerging of some high supply and low demand cards and players - how will the market handle this equilibrium with grading fees incre...

770 - Pre-BGS Hesitation, with Rich Klein

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rich asked me to take a second deeper look at the hesitation I had before starting BGS back in 1999 - yes, I wish we had jumped in faster in hindsight...

769 - Dueling Questions 3.0, with Grant Sandground

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Grant and I had an extended DQ session that spilled over because we both had some good sports card hobby questions - thanks Grant!

768 - Content Convo 3: Non-Physical Cards

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Non-physical cards conjured up many meanings - from NFT's to vaults to bank safe deposit boxes to fractionals - most collectors would probably rather ...

767 - Content Convo 3: Your Legacy

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Moynihan asked each of us what we wanted our sports card hobby legacy to be in terms of our content creation efforts - how we would be remembered...

766 - Content Convo 3: Code of Ethics

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This question was less controversial than I thought it would be - unfortunately the question submitter was not able to attend.

765 - Content Convo 3: Charitable Inclinations

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another dinner question that drew a wide range of responses from the content creators in attendance - thanks Kyle Robertson for securing a meeting roo...

764 - Worlds of Sport, Part 2, with John Canzano

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John has an impressive list of big corporate sponsors for this "cards plus much more" show in Portland, Oregon, over Father's Day weekend.

763 - Worlds of Sport, with John Canzano

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Go to worldsofsport.com for more info on John's inaugural event on Father's Day weekend in Portland - with cards and much more.

762 - Content Convo 3: Welcoming New Collectors

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our dinner panel discussed how to make the hobby more welcoming to women and other demographics and ethnicities through our podcasts and YouTube chann...

761 - Content Convo 3: Negativity and Accountability

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This was our first question as voted on by our content creator panelists that evening, even though the question was suggested by someone who unfortuna...

760 - Content Convo 3: In That Order

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I asked each of the 16 distinguished content creator attendees at the dinner to self-introduce and then declare their order of (content creator) colle...

759 - Dueling Questions 2.0, with Grant Sandground

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Grant and I go another round of sport card hobby and history questions - heavy on BGS this time - and some then and now stuff - thanks Grant!

758 - Eight Listener Questions 3.0

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another accumulation of eight interesting sports card questions from listeners and viewers - keep them coming to [email protected] and th...

757 - Baseball Card Hall of Fame 2022 Ballot, Part 3

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks Ray from Philly, Mike Steveline, and Victor Roman for your hard work on this worthy project that I enjoyed interacting with - every collector i...

756 - Baseball Card Hall of Fame 2022 Ballot, Part 2

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is excerpted from their hour-long YouTube show detailing and showing the ballot and my selections - thanks Ray from Philly, Mike Steveline, and V...

755 - Baseball Card Hall of Fame 2022 Ballot

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ray from Philly, Mike Steveline, and Victor Roman asked me to guest on their YouTube show, discussing this year's ballot of 40 excellent and iconic ca...

754 - 2021 Goodwin Champions, with Grant Sandground

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Grant has watched his conception grow and evolve into an extremely interesting and complicated product that has wide and eclectic interest - thanks Gr...

753 - Dennis Walker Unsolved Mystery, with Shwe Surendran

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Shwe is investigating the curious and tragic case of collector/investor Dennis Walker - his mysterious death and the whereabouts of the rest of his wo...

752 - Tribute: Frank Barning, with Rich Klein

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Frank (and his surviving wife Vivian) founded and ran Baseball Hobby News, a very influential publication, which Rich and I, and many others, greatly ...

751 - Winning Football Boxes from Huggins & Scott Auctions

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I describe my auction winnings, namely a group of seven not-so-new football hobby boxes - I am a card collector, not a box collector - so I opened all...

750 - Recap: Podcast Episodes 724-748

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The last four weeks of individual daily episodes summarized along with further commentary (in case something was missed ... by me).

749 - Interview: Shwetha (Shwe) Surendran

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Shwe is a journalism student and podcaster on assignment and we had a discussion about the exciting chase (that has always been) central to the sports...

748 - Out-Takes on Hobby vs. Retail Pulls from Hobby Hotline 043022

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to my co-hosts (John Newman and John Keating) and the live call-ins, another robust Saturday morning hobby discussion -listen to the whole hour...

747 - Discussing Re-Packs with Skepi

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Skepi (not his real name) has sent me many insightful questions about sports cards and this hobby - this episode is about the pros and cons of re-pack...

746 - Dueling Questions, with Ryan Nolan

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan and I traded sports card hobby questions and answers - I think I represent the past and Ryan represents the future - but Ryan is a vintage guy at...

745 - Interview: John Wie, Center Stage

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John is the co-founder of the mobile (free) card identification app, Center Stage, which is surprisingly fast, due to their clever approach - thanks J...

744 - Eight Listener Questions 2.0

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another eight different listener questions worth addressing - from eight different thoughtful listeners - send me your sports card questions about the...

743 - Out-Takes from Ryan Nolan’s show

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most of Ryan's show involved my "show and tell" of a few interesting cards - this is a brief segment more suited to our audio format as our conversati...

742 - 1981 Fleer Baseball, with Rich Klein

02 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rich and I talk about the re-birth of Fleer baseball (current player) cards back in 1981 (not a terrible start all things considered) and how Fleer ha...

741 - Interview: Grayson White, Cherry, Australia

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I met Grayson at the MINT Collective and heard about all the good things happening for the sports card hobby in Australia and his interesting business...

740 - Selling Small Sets, with Rich Klein

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is the best way to optimize or maximize the sale of a 30-card set that lists for $5?  Rich and I compare strategies and expectations and downsid...

739 - Eight Listener Questions

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Questions keep coming in - send yours to [email protected] - now trying to answer or comment on eight recent questions or comments in my 1...

738 - The Greatest Hobby, with Kirt BHS

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Brutally Honest Kirt challenged my assertion (or presumption) that sports card collecting is the greatest hobby in the world - how's that for hyperbol...

737 - Resealed Cases and Non-Grading, with Skepi

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A couple of topics we thoughtfully considered - both of which can have a huge impact on the high-end sports card hobby/industry - thanks Skepi!

736 - Kids Marketing Ideas, with Jeff Hoferer, Panini Hobby Marketing Director

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I threw out some ideas about kids and then we ran with it for a while - we both agree that more kids in the sports card hobby is better - kid's crate ...

735 - Torsten Bauer Questions

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Torsten regularly sends me his thoughts, and he has been my guest several times via Zoom from Germany - these are his latest sports card questions and...

734 - Out-Takes on Team USA from Hobby Hotline 031222

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Brad Bethune TXCardDude and Chris Harris StaleGum were my co-hosts for last month's live call-in Hobby Hotline show - the conversation about Team USA ...

733 - Brutally Honest Constructive Criticism, with Kirt BHS

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kirt had a list of specific constructive criticisms, which I did my best to address both from a current and historical perspective.  He's an excellen...

732 - Card Ladder Commentary, with Skepi

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Skepi and I discuss Card Ladder with a special focus on the future, of what it is now and what it could become.  The fact that it started out basketb...

731 - Interview: Jeff Hoferer, Panini Hobby Marketing Director

15 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Great opportunity for me and others to hear Jeff's story, as he is following after hobby stalwart Tracy Hackler (now road-showing!) - but Jeff has ple...

730 - Out-Takes on Product Delays from Hobby Hotline 031222

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Trying to make sense of production release schedules and delays has become the rule rather than an exception - this segment discusses the rippling fru...

729 - Interview: Kirt from Brutally Honest Sales

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kirt had many questions for me, but we started by unpacking his "brutally honest" trade name, after which we dug deep on some serious sports card hobb...

728 - Conversation with Joe Orlando, Collectable’s new President Sports

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joe and I sat down together at the MINT Collective for a one-on-one - which believe it or not we had never done back in the day when we were both CEO'...

727 - Conversation with Josh Luber, Fanatics, Part 2

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The final part of my wide-ranging conversation with Josh - special thanks to Ray Schulte for helping make it happen, Chris Corbellini of Collectable f...

726 - Conversation with Josh Luber, Fanatics

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Josh and I sat down in the Collectable Podcast studio (sorry, not fully sound-proofed) at the MINT Collective in Las Vegas and just talked about the s...

725 - Recap: Podcast Episodes 699-723

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The last twenty-five episodes filled with sports card insights in case you missed some (or I mis-spoke) - these recaps are another way for me to conti...

724 - Out-Takes on MINT Collective from Collectable Live, with Jeremy Lee

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Lee interviewed me for more than an hour about the MINT Collective and Collectable's interesting coming-soon IPO's - check out his whole YouT...

723 - Panini Basketball Box Battle

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Hoferer, Panini's Hobby Marketing Director, sent over three different boxes of this year's basketball product - in spite of a strong pull from th...

722 - Out-Takes from MojoBreak, with Doug Caskey and Cody Pasby

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doug, Cody, and I took a time-out at the MINT Collective and recorded this podcast directly from the show floor - thanks guys - keep up the great work...

721 - Faux Sponsor: Super Vision

01 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

First a word about the importance of excellent vision and pattern recognition in the sports card hobby and then an interesting application of a medica...

720 - Out-Takes from Today’s Collector, with Jeremy Lee, Part 2

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This Today's Collector interview (the full version) was released on YouTube leading up to the MINT Collective and was an effort to share different sty...

719 - Dueling Questions 2.0, with Jake Roy

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We kept the recorder going since I had a few additional basketball card questions for Jake and unsurprisingly he had a few extras for me as well - tha...

718 - MINT Collective Aftermath, with Joel Belfer, Mint Condition

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joel and I sat down near the end of the ground-breaking, first event of its kind, MINT Collective, in Las Vegas, and we share our perspective on the s...

717 - Out-Takes from Today’s Collector, with Jeremy Lee

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's Collector is found on the MINT Collective YouTube Channel - this is a small part of my interview that ran there in its entirety a few weeks ag...

716 - Topps/Bowman Inception Box Battle

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two similar but different baseball boxes - one slightly more expensive even with less autographs promised - both seven cards in the one pack which is ...

715 - Upper Deck Hockey Box Battle

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I compare Upper Deck Hockey Series One with O-Pee-Chee - both fine hockey products - I preferred O-Pee-Chee based on my collecting approach but UD Ser...

714 - Interview: Marty Appel, Part 2

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marty's interview went into overtime as we traded stories and reminiscences about the good old days of primarily baseball, and first and foremost for ...

713 - Dueling Questions, with Jake Roy

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As you would expect from Jake, mostly basketball questions from him, and I gave him my best historical recollections.  History does not always repeat...

712 - Mantle vs. Mays, with Rich Klein

21 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rich and I analyze the age-old battle between Mantle and Mays and the demand for their cards - what are the key factors determining why Mantle has bec...

711 - Spotting Fakes, with Ryan Nolan

18 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan's latest book is very helpful and recommended (and cheap insurance against getting burned) - it seems everyone eventually has an encounter with a...

710 - Interview: Marty Appel

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marty was the long-time PR Director for the New York Yankees and has lots of stories about Mantle and other Yankee stalwarts.  He also has written 24...

709 - Tom Brady Un-Retirement Effect?

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Brady has un-retired - celebration - confusion - certainly more upside than downside in the football card hobby, as Tom can add to his career stat...

708 - Origin: Jake Roy

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jake Roy shares his sports card (mostly basketball) origin story - I'd like to say Jake is typical for guys his age, but no, he's more passionate!

707 - Selling Out Your Table, with Rich Klein

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rich sold all his cards at the last show and shares his feelings after the fact - it was a premeditated sale and we will see how long it takes Rich to...

706 - Identity and Wall Maintenance, with John Keating, That Seventies Card Show

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Does the sports card hobby have identity issues - how healthy would we say it is?  Plus, what it takes to get kicked off my card wall, or at least qu...

705 - Hockey Card Shows, with Ken Capell

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Would you attend a single-sport card show - I certainly would - assuming I loved that particular sport - I appreciate shows that have a known establis...

704 - Origin: Ryan Nolan

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Young Ryan Nolan has a great story, being a (vintage!) collector from his earliest memories - however in spite of his youth he has published a book, S...

703 - My eBay Learning Experience

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I started selling some lots on eBay and, although bucking some conventional wisdom, am enjoying the experience, and it has converted a bunch of cards ...

702 - Ways to Collect, with Kevin O’Keefe

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin sent me eight thematic ways he collects and displays sports cards and I commented as to whether I did it that way or some other way as we had so...

701 - First BGS Slab and Roberto Clemente, with John Keating, That Seventies Card Show

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John had saved up some questions for me and I did my best to answer them - the problem with the past can be that it was a long time ago, and he stumpe...

700 - Recap: Podcast Episodes 674-698

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The last five weeks of daily podcasts in a very brief summary format in case you missed a few, plus additional insights that have come up in the inter...

699 - Seven Listener Questions 6.0

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Seven more sports card hobby questions from the email bag - thanks and send yours to [email protected] and thank you very much!

698 - Hockey Dueling Questions with Ken Capell

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ken and I swapped questions and answers all about hockey card collecting, including how, when, and why the Beckett Hockey monthly magazine got started...

697 - Marketing to Kids, with Kevin O’Keefe

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin is a third-grade teacher and we continued our robust discussion about how to get kids more involved in this great sports card hobby.

696 - Distribution and Mike Schechter, with John Keating, That Seventies Card Show

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John and I interviewed each other, commenting and following up on topics discussed on our mutual past podcast episodes, starting off with the plight o...

695 - Hobby Hotline Dynamics, with Brad Bethune and Rich Klein

24 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a hobby content event - especially a live twice-weekly call-in video show with rotating multiple, eclect...

694 - Interview: Jay Baker, Yankees Exhibition, Part 2

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jay Baker, former CEO of Kohl's, specialized 26 years ago on meaningful memorabilia from the five iconic players of his favorite team, the New York Ya...

693 - Seven Listener Questions 5.0

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Another seven - always different - always surprised - thanks for your sports card hobby questions and comments - keep them coming - and send to doctor...

692 - Out-Takes on eBay Authentication from Hobby Hotline 020522

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

John Newman and Jeff Dinson were my co-hosts on this recent Hobby Hotline, where we discussed, along with live commenters, the roll-out of this eBay A...

691 - NBA Trade Deadline Deals

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anything newsworthy can have an effect on card sales and prices - changing teams especially - hobby love is stronger with certain cities and franchise...