State of the Sports Card Hobby: Greed, Corruption & Influence

I. THE DRAMA: “BravoTV for Card Nerds”

CardPorn’s Legal War: The former “watchdog” is now the “litigator.” We break down the multiple legal threats sent to Sports Card Radio. Is this a legitimate grievance or a desperate play for relevance?

LINK: Did CardPorn FAKE a Game Used Michael Jordan Jersey?

CardsHQ Under Siege: Police reports reveal a darker side of brick-and-mortar. From terroristic threat calls to Apple Pay scams—why the “glamour” of owning a super-store is a myth.

LINK: CardsHQ Hit by $20,000 Apple Pay Fraud Scam

In a totally different incident, here is a police report about a call in reference to terroristic threats being made at CardsHQ!!

Is running a card shop all that its cracked up to be?

The @sportscardyoda Allegations: Justin Escalona’s (Justin Gamble Gamble) explosive claims about The Sports Card Yoda and Mary Gamble Gamble. And the drama surrounding Justin and his gambling business.

LINK: Sports Card Yoda Faces Sexual Assault Allegations

But just a few days later on X, Justin faced his own stunning allegations. 

II. THE INDUSTRY: “Getting Leaky With It”

The Fanatics Data Dump: We discuss the internal “silos” at Fanatics and the lack of communication that makes a leak like this happen.

LINK: Top Breakers Revealed in Leaked Fanatics Documents

Reaction: The reaction from card dealers. Could it flip some leverage in their favor. 

The numbers aren’t all that surprising given that at Fanatics, the clothing business generates $7b, the cards business is $4b and the gambling business is around $2b.

I question if Mike Rubin might be “washed” because he thinks the gambling business will be the largest business. 

IMO its a seasonal business. A large percentage of your customers will stop betting for months after the Super Bowl.

The betting business just lost the second guy in charge (checks notes) today…

Have fun competing in that ultra competitive space. 

But… if you want to go down the conspiracy rabbit hole, you don’t have to look that far to find them about Rubin.

With Patriots owner Robert Kraft

With (at the time) his co-owner with the Philadelphia 76ers Josh Harris. 

Harris appeared various times in Friday’s release of Epstein files by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The “Small Fish” Reality Check: Did the data expose that CardsHQ (Geoff Wilson), Card Collector 2, Packman & even Tom Brady are small players in the card game?

Random Question: Would you rather invest in CardsHQ or CardVault?

AI Disruption: How to kill the “Market Movers” and “Card Ladders” of the world. The Colin Case Study: How he built his app with no developer or employees and how you can use AI tools to automate aspects of your card business.

III.BREAKING: “The Dark Side”

Packman’s “True Colors”: Analyzing the viral clip where the YouTube influencer’s “clean” persona slipped. What does this tell us about the pressure of the camera?

The Triple Logoman Nightmare: Kevin Parker (the $2.4M Triple Logoman winner) is now suing WhatNot.

When the biggest “success” story in the history of live-breaking turns into a federal fraud lawsuit, is the model officially broken?

IV. GRADING: “The PSA Monopoly”

Market Share War: Is the PSA dominance actually a monopoly, or is the competition just failing?

The Barrier to Entry: What would it actually take for a new company to steal 20% of the registry?

V. HOBBY ELECTIONS: “Taking Back Control”

The 2026 & 2028 Roadmap: How to structure a democratic hobby “government.”

Who gets a vote?

Who sits at the top of the power structure?

VI. COLLECTORS: “Being Patient – Reducing FOMO”

Some seem frustrated by price points and access to product.