Last Updated On: April 17th, 2024 When most folks think of Michael Jordan sports cards, they likely conjure images of the GOAT’s 1986 Fleer rookie card or, perhaps, one of his epic ‘90s inserts. And while those cards are great (and we should know – we wrote about them!), they’re just a sliver of the Bulls legend’s offerings. This post aims for something a bit different. For a fleeting moment during his peak, Jordan did something that shocked the world: he stepped away from the game that had made him a global icon. He traded a basketball court for a baseball diamond and joined the Chicago Whit ..read more

Last Updated On: March 29th, 2024 Few entities benefitted from the pandemic-era sports card boom quite like PSA. The company rode its sleek slabs to the top of the grading food chain, processing nearly 30,000 cards daily at its 2021 peak.  PSA’s rise has closely coincided with another trend: BGS’s abrupt market share decline. In February 2024, for instance, BGS processed 66,000 grades compared to PSA’s 1.24 million. For those keeping track at home, PSA graded roughly 42,759 cards per day, or nearly two-thirds as many cards BGS processed over the entire month.  This data from Gem Rat ..read more

Last Updated On: March 20th, 2024 Depending on who you ask, this upcoming season will be either the 149th or 154th installment of Major League Baseball in the United States. Either way, March 28th — Opening Day — is the magical date when the boys in flatbills (and see-through pants?) will take the diamond and breathe life into America’s pastime.  With each new season comes new opportunities to purchase cards featuring a collector’s favorite players. And look no further than this 2024 baseball card investor guide to put together your buying (and selling!) strategy for some of the hottest ..read more

Last Updated On: March 6th, 2024 Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a platform that allowed one to monitor their collection’s value instantly? Or get an estimated, aggregated value on a card before pressing “Bid” on eBay? Or what about easily checking population reports across BGS, PSA, and SGC? Turns out, there is. Card Ladder is an online database that processes thousands of daily sports card transactions, aggregating them to provide real-time values for cards. But that only scratches the surface of what this innovative platform offers.  In this post, we will provide a comprehensive Card ..read more

Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2024 While the sports card boom during the early 2020s was a major boost for the hobby, the price surge on many cards priced many out. That meant collectors on a budget were often hard-capped at the sorts of wax products or cards they could acquire.  But there was an alternative to paying gobs of money: sports card breaking. By paying for the rights to cards belonging to an individual team, collectors could, in theory, pay a bit less for a chance at a huge reward. It’s equal parts collecting and chance! Breaking remains super popular today, with both onlin ..read more

Last Updated On: February 19th, 2024 Pokémon Level: Beginner, Intermediate Best for: Players When playing Pokémon matches, there are a wide variety of accessories and customizable options to choose from. You can alternate between different deck boxes and card sleeves, pick up custom dice with unique color themes, or even use printable Pokémon damage counters (the focus of this post). Match condition markers can be entirely customized as well. There are standard-issue versions that come from The Pokémon Company, of course, but there are several other interesting options as well. Here, w ..read more

Last Updated On: February 18th, 2024 Whether you’re just starting out with the Pokémon trading card game (TCG) or you’ve been playing for years, chances are you’ll come across a term during a match or trading session you’re unfamiliar with. I’m a collector and a player (on a casual basis) for a number of years now, but I still come across acronyms and terms I didn’t know, like BDIF, OHKO, or Lost Zone. To save you the trouble, I’ve defined 60+ essential terms in this Pokémon TCG glossary to help you cut through the jargon and get the most out of your next visit to the card store. Use the link ..read more

Last Updated On: February 12th, 2024 There’s something sacrilegious about digital sports cards. For starters, the whole thing sounds like an oxymoron: digital means intangible, while a sports card was specifically created as something to hold in one’s hand.  And let’s not get started on storage. After all, what would collectors do with all that attic space if their product could be stored in the cloud?  Regardless, digital sports cards are here. In fact, they’ve been around longer than we may realize and represent the hobby’s longstanding willingness to experiment with new designs ..read more

Last Updated On: February 10th, 2024 Pokémon Level: All Best for: All Diving into Pokémon card collecting can feel like stepping into a new world. You’re excited to start, but there’s a big question on your mind: where do I find the best sites to buy Pokémon cards and accessories? With so many choices out there, it’s easy to feel lost in a sea of options. To cut through the confusion, we’ve put together a guide of the best places to shop, organized by regions across the globe. We’ve even checked these spots against the official Pokémon resellers list to make sure they’re legit so that ..read more

Last Updated On: February 6th, 2024 When it comes to buying and selling sports cards, collectors have to keep their eyes peeled for steals and value upsides. At first blush, grading a card for $9.00 with World Class Grading (WCG) would seem to qualify as the greatest bargain of all, especially compared to how much more you could easily spend elsewhere.  But is it really a steal? Because so much more goes into the equation than just price. Value, sell-ability, and turnaround are also critical to this discussion. As we’ll see in this post, WCG grading might be a cheap option to grade, but ..read more