113. AI bot at Fanatics, and Chaos at COMC… What’s Going On?

120. From Bargain Bins to Grails: What Makes the NZ Card Collectors Show Special

The NZ Card Collectors Show is back and bigger than ever.In this episode, Will sits down with one of the show's organizers Keiran to discuss what makes this year's NZ Card Collectors Show one of the most anticipated events on the New Zealand collecting calendar. Run by the NZ Cartophilic Society as a not-for-profit event, the show brings together collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts from across the country for a unique celebration of the hobby.Keiran shares what attendees can expect, including hundreds of tables packed with trading cards, collectibles, and hard-to-find treasures from a wide range of collecting categories. The pair discuss why the show has earned a reputation for offering cards that simply can't be found anywhere else, from affordable bargains to ultra-rare grails.They also reveal details about this year's incredible promotional cards, including an exclusive autographed Christian Cullen card and the show's first-ever Pokémon promo card—two must-have collectibles for attendees.Whether you're a lifelong collector, a sports card enthusiast, a Pokémon fan, or simply curious about the hobby, this conversation offers an inside look at one of New Zealand's premier collecting events.🎟️ Learn what makes the NZ Card Collectors Show special.🃏 Discover the exclusive promo cards available this year.💎 Find out why collectors travel from around the country to attend.🤝 Hear how the show continues to bring the collecting community together.

119. Matt's Card Shop on Cards, Content & The Future of the Hobby

In this episode, Will sits down with Matt from @mattscardshop for a wide-ranging conversation covering sports cards, content creation, basketball, and the Australian hobby scene. Matt shares his journey from passionate collector to online card seller, show vendor, and one of the most recognizable card content creators in the hobby. We discuss the realities of building a brand in the card space, creating content consistently, and what it takes to stand out in a rapidly evolving market. As both of us are basketball stans, the conversation naturally shifts to Matt's favorite NBA team: the Houston Rockets. We break down the disaster of the second half of the year, the team's future, we deep dive the impact of Ime Udoka, and debate whether Alperen Şengün needs a European coach instead of tough love. We also take a deep dive into the Australian sports card market, how it differs from the United States, and why Australia continues to produce an incredible number of high-level NBA players despite its relatively small population. Whether you're a collector, basketball fan, content creator, or someone interested in the global hobby landscape, there's something here for you. Topics Covered: • Matt's journey from collector to content creator • Building a brand in the hobby • Houston Rockets future outlook • Ime Udoka's coaching impact • Alperen Şengün discussion • The Australian card market • Why Australia produces so much NBA talent • The future of sports card content Subscribe for more conversations with collectors, creators, dealers, and hobby leaders from around the world.

118. Are Tom Brady's New Grail Cards a Bubble Waiting to Burst?

In this episode, Will (@kartadami), John (@istanbulcards), and Ryan (@rookiemoonshots) get together for another hobby roundtable to discuss recent pickups, collecting philosophies, and one of the biggest questions facing the modern card market. We kick things off by sharing our latest additions. Will shows off a 2026 Donruss FIFA World Cup Costco Promo Box featuring a guaranteed Jumbo Kaboom, while John reveals that buying the same box for himself and his son helped reignite his passion for collecting. Ryan then shares a monster Barry Bonds chase card before John tells the story behind acquiring his first-ever Luka Dončić 1/1 and explains why the card means so much to him. From there, the conversation turns to serial-numbered cards and the true meaning of rarity. Is a 1/1 automatically special? Or can a card be technically unique yet still completely uninspiring? We discuss why the design and significance of a card may matter more than the 1 of 1 stamp. Finally, we tackle one of the hobby's most controversial but underdiscussed topics: post-playing-day cards. Why are newly created Tom Brady cards selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars? Should collectors be excited-or concerned? If manufacturers can continue producing new "grail" cards of retired legends indefinitely, where does the market eventually find its limit? Topics covered: • 2026 Donruss FIFA World Cup Promo Boxes • Jumbo Kaboom cards • Ryan's Barry Bonds pickup • John's first Luka Dončić 1/1 • The true value of 1/1 cards • Serialization and manufactured scarcity • The problem with post-career cards • Are modern Tom Brady grails sustainable? • When does the hobby reach saturation? Let us know what you think: What makes a card truly special-a 1/1 stamp, the design, the player, or the story behind it?

117. Turkey's Sports Card Market Has Almost No Education... So He's Building It Himself

What happens when two card collectors from opposite sides of the world discover they share the same roots?In this episode, Will sits down with Berk, better known as  @berktheripper  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCMKOt9DvT0KJmEQ9ZwL-Zaw], one of the emerging voices in Turkey's sports card community. What started as following his Turkish-language card education videos on Instagram quickly turned into a fascinating conversation about collecting, culture, and building a hobby from the ground up.Berk shares his journey from growing up in New Zealand after moving there from Turkey as a child, to becoming a passionate NBA card collector with Kevin Garnett and LeBron James as his primary PCs. We discuss how his Kiwi upbringing helped shape his perspective and how that unexpectedly connected us.The conversation dives deep into the realities of the Turkish sports card market, a hobby landscape that still feels like frontier territory. While English-speaking collectors have endless resources, podcasts, videos, and educational content available to them, Turkish sports card collectors have virtually nothing. Berk explains why he decided to start creating beginner-friendly content in Turkish, teaching everything from the absolute basics of collecting to understanding the hobby itself.The two also talk about the surprising questions both receive from newcomers, including the ever-present "How can I get rich from cards?" mentality, and why education is so important for the long-term health of any collecting community.From humble beginnings to rapidly growing an audience of hundreds of followers in just a few weeks, Berk is helping lay the foundations for a new generation of Turkish sports card collectors.Topics discussed:• Growing up between Turkey and New Zealand• How Berk discovered NBA card collecting• Collecting Kevin Garnett and LeBron James cards• The challenges facing the Turkish sports card market• Why hobby education matters• Creating Turkish-language collecting content• The "get rich quick" mindset in modern collecting• Building a community from scratchWhether you're a seasoned collector or simply curious about how hobbies grow around the world, this is a fascinating look at what happens when passion meets opportunity.

116. Rare Kiwi Card Grails, WWF Nostalgia & a Huge Hobby Idea

This week, Will sits down with longtime collector and hobby deep-diver Shannan for a conversation that starts with some classic New Zealand card nostalgia and evolves into a look at a platform that could genuinely change the way collectors connect. Will shares some awesome NZ basketball pickups featuring legends like Kirk Penney and Steven Adams, plus a stack of quirky early 90s World Wrestling Federation cards that bring back serious childhood memories. Shannan then takes us down his latest collecting rabbit hole — hunting rare RJ Hampton rookie Flawless patch cards featuring authentic NBL memorabilia, including some uniquely Kiwi Meadow Fresh branding that collectors in New Zealand will instantly recognise. But the heart of the episode is Hobby Tracker — a new platform/app Shannan has been building for collectors. Think of it as Last Sticker on steroids: a free hub where collectors can catalogue their inventory, track sets, log duplicates, chase missing cards, and eventually trade spares with other users in the community. More than just an app, Hobby Tracker is about bringing collectors together — helping people complete sets, discover chase cards, make hobby connections, and potentially even meet fellow collectors in real life. Whether you’re into sports cards, wrestling, TCGs, or anything in between, this episode is all about the community side of collecting and why the hobby is stronger when collectors help each other out.