Daily Reflections

The Speculation Spiral In his recent viral post on LinkedIn, Upper Deck President Jason Masherah addressed a topic few inside the industry have been willing

The Price Of Perspective The hobby has always been about joy, nostalgia, and personal meaning—not treating every card like a stock to be speculated on.

When Joy Outweighs Value Have you ever opened a box of cards—maybe just a blaster or mega box—chasing that one big hit for your PC?

Curiosity, Creativity, & Consistency In 2017, I had the opportunity to attend the ISRU Summer Camp in person on Governor’s Island and to purchase a

The Hobby At A Crossroad This past week marked the 45th National Sports Collectors Convention at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL—the

Unclenching The Fists There’s a moment—right before the explosion—when you can feel the temperature rising inside you. Your jaw tightens, your chest burns, and your

Who’s Protecting The Hobby? In the heat of the chase, boundaries dissolve. Adrenaline surges, limits blur, and suddenly the rip feels like it never ends.

Taking A Step Back Before Stumbling As collectors—whether it’s trading cards, stamps, coins, memorabilia, or even toys—there is one word that defines the hobby: passion. Passion drives

How To Work Through The All-Or-Nothing Mentality We’ve all been there. We start feeling really good about ourselves, thinking we can accomplish everything. We, understandably,

Reshaping The Hobby From The Inside Out In our Collectors MD support group chat this week, the conversation has been heavy—but necessary. We’ve been unpacking

The Negotiation Trap If you spend any time buying or selling in today’s hobby—especially on eBay— you’ve probably felt it: the slow, grinding frustration of

Harm Reduction: Intentional Collecting In addiction recovery, there’s a concept called harm reduction—an approach that doesn’t always demand total abstinence but instead focuses on reducing