The Future of SGC?? Hobby Quick Hits E215

0:01 Probby not Quick Hits, delivering that breaking hobby news direct your earloaders, you want to know those Josh Hard shop shop, You've got your cover up. Your host John new Name. Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Hobby Quick Hits. And on today's episode, we're going back to the well again to weigh in on STC. And I don't always like to go back to a topic as quick as I am on this one, but in this case, I think it's warranted some new stuff for those that don't know, I may folk suburb kind of want to weigh in what I'm seeing on that level. I just had Ryan Zazyinski of Gemory on Sports Cardination and he wighed in with some of his insights and opinions. So with all that being said, I wanted to kind of delve in on this again on this episode if you will revisit the topic of SGC. So that is what is on tap for today. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back with the release schedules to some of the hobby news and then we'll tackle what's

1:32 going on with SGC. Okay, now, a quick word from our great sponsor followed by the new product release schedule. Then we'll go around the hobby verse to tell you all the latest hobby happenings and news. Then we'll tackle today's topic of discussion. Hi, this is Pat Hughes, Cubs announcer, coming to you from the Sports Card Shop in beautiful New Buffalo, Michigan. The Golcher family has been an incredible place here for collectors to buy, sell, and trade cards and memorabilia. Be sure to stop buying let them show you around the Sportscardshop dot com, connecting sports athletes, the hobby and collectors around the world.

2:19 Hi, this is Alan Pinkett and I'm here to tell you the Gocher family has done it again. They've just opened up the Sport Card Shop in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana, and it is awesome. If you're a collector, you need to check this place out. Tell them Alan sent you, and get a free gift on your first visit. All right, guys, you got me for the new product release calendar for the next couple weeks. Let's start with November fifth, twenty twenty five. Leaf Vivid Hobby, Baseball, Rugglers and jumbos ain't on the same day, twenty twenty five ONYX Vintage Extended Series Baseball Megas twenty twenty five, Panini Certified Football twenty twenty five, Panini PFL Combat Anthology. Also on the fifth, twenty twenty four Pulse Luman Baseball heat Seekers. Addition, also on the fifth Big Big Day on the fifth here twenty twenty five, Slash twenty six uppert X Series one Hockey Blasters and Tens. Let's go to the sixth, twenty twenty five twenty six tops Basketball Megas. Also let's go to the seventh twenty twenty five ONYX Vintage Extended Series Baseball November seventh, Pokemon Mega Lucario ex Figure All

3:59 the seventh less I say Otherwise twenty twenty five, Beaumachrome University Football Megas twenty twenty five, Panini Mosaic Football twenty twenty four, Slash twenty five, Panini Noir Soccer twenty twenty five tops UFC Finest, And we go to the eleventh twenty twenty five Post Meridian Football Heat Seeker edition on the November twelve, twenty twenty five Panini Absolute Football Kaboom Countdown Calendar twenty twenty five Panini Phoenix Football staying on the twelve, twenty twenty five Tops Pro Debut, Baseball twenty twenty five Tops Update Series, Baseball, Hobby and Jumbos also on the twelve. Finishing out that day, Skybox Metal Universe, Batman from Upper Deck. Let's go to the thirteenth, twenty twenty five Pulse All Star Baseball moving to the fourteenth Pokemon Mega Charbizard x ex Ultra Premium collection. Also Pokemon Mega Evolution Fantasmal Flames all different variations. There also Pokemon twenty twenty five Trainer's tool Kit, Mega Battle Deck, Mega Ganguard Deonce Ex. Don't ask me what does mean. I

5:33 am just reading off a release sheet. With that being said, that's your next two weeks in hobby products. As I always say, choose your weapon. Happy ripping. Let's go round the hobby verse and catch up on this week's hobby news. And find out. All right. I want to start out with an item that's going to collect auction. It's actually started. It will end on November sixth. I'm surprised this store this item is not getting more buzz than it actually is. It's a nineteen fifty one Bowman uncut sheet four rolls of nine players each, so thirty six cards total. There are seventy two cards that make up the High Number series. This is half of them at thirty six and one of the cards on there is card you might have heard before, nineteen fifty one Bowman Mickey Mantel the Rookie car. It's on the edge panel but surprisingly in very good shape, good color, the backs are clean, got a small hairline crease in it, and just an iconic card, uncut form. Again. The bidding started at ten k it's obviously going to go more than that. It will end on November sixth, and just

7:07 to me an incredible piece and the only one. I believe it's the only one in existence, you know, if I'm not mistaken. So really cool there to check that out. Oh I don't believe it. All right. TOPS is back in the basketball game officially with the license scene going over to them, and they wasted no time creating the NBA Living set. We're all familiar with the baseball addition. It now exists in basketball one card a week, print to order. It's got the design of the nineteen fifty seven fifty eight TOPS original design and card number one Lebron James not my favorite player, but it is what it is, and we can't really be surprised that they're doing this. They're going to cash in on this license all they can. Speaking of cool items hitting the auction block, this auction will open eleven twenty one, November twenty first, and close between December twelfth and December fourteenth. What is it? It's the a ticket stub graded PSA one point five from the Yankees game on July fourth, nineteen thirty nine. What's the significance of that game? The luckiest man in the world speech given

8:41 by Lou Garrick when he was diagnosed with ALS. Only nine of these exist and only four are graded higher. So when it comes to ticket stubs, this is a pretty cool item if you ask me, whatnot getting paid? They just announced they have a new two and twenty five million dollar fund that was invested in them from various brokerage brokerages and since twenty nineteen. This marks the nine hundred and sixty eight million dollars that they have had invested in their company. You know, we hear a lot about these, you know, fund sources and brokerage places investing in some of these hobby juggernauts, if you will, I just wonder like, are they getting you know, bang for their buck or can there be some losses here which may prevent future funding or even seeing some of these entities, you know, going out of business potentially when money dries up. Don't know, just just throwing down my speculation hat there. Panini, who's CEO, longtime CEO although Celestro

10:14 passed away a few months back on Italian newspapers reporting that they probably will be on the market and that Top Slash Fanatics will be one of the first in line to try to make that purchase. The sale just not necessarily the tops, but Panini is expected to be sold and finalized by mid twenty twenty six, according to this an Italian newspaper. So if Top slash Fanatics was to acquire Panini, you know, again, just strength more of a stranglehold of the hobby that they would have. That's my thoughts there, all right. We don't often hear, you know, mann card manufacturers, presidents or ceo sort of way in on the state of the hobby, at least candidly as usually always you know, Roses and daisies when they talk about the hobby, but this time not so much, which I found a little refreshing. What am I talking about?

11:29 Upper Deck president Jason Mashera on his LinkedIn page put a little bit of a dissertation of the hobby, a statement out on the kind of the state of the union of the hobby. I'm paraphrasing some of his points. You can seek out his actual statement, but he pointed out that fifty percent of the transactions of the hobby come from only ten percent of the hobby, meaning it's controlled by the bigger whales. I don't think that's breaking news, but he really is concerned that, you know, if that money goes elsewhere, you know, it could affect the hobby in a negative sort of way, and that it's it's sort of the the power brokers kind of setting the tone again. Nothing I don't think we didn't really know, but you know, he just he's concerned about it. He's also concerned about the gambling aspect and gambling effect of the hobby and you know what that could mean long term and on the younger set. And he pointed also to the point of wax that's you know, most products now seem to be according to him, you know, four figures or more and people being priced out, not just in wax, but just in in general. And so, you know,

13:01 he cares about the hobby. He's concerned about it. It's refreshing to see a person of his stature sort of talk about the stuff that's not all that smells pretty and shiny, right and good. So I applaud him for that. I know he's taking some criticism because some people have pointed out that, you know, upper Deck has some very expensive products that price people out, so he's getting kind of labeled sort of a hypocrite, you know, but I don't think. I don't really, I don't see it exactly like that. I mean, we're all entitled to our opinion, right, and there are some great, more affordable upper Deck products, plenty of them, so I get it. You know, someone else commented that he's just bitter because he lost because upper Deck lost the other sport license, and he's just you know, sour grapes. I can't speak for Jason. Maybe that's what it is, Maybe it isn't, maybe that's his true feelings. So I'll just end on this. It was just nice to see, you know, someone really kind of weigh in someone from that position, right, kind of just weigh in again, most of the stuff is not breaking news.

14:24 Most of the stuff is stuff we realize or should realize. But it's nice to hear it come from that sort of level instead of always just you know, how awesome the hobby always is and there's nothing wrong whatsoever. So I'll close on that. In a June episode of this very podcast, Hobby Quick Hits, I weighed in and kind of where SGC was at, what maybe the future may hold, kind of stemming from a lot of people, a lot of content creators and influencers, you know, claiming that the end was near and that they would soon be killed off by collectors and you know at the time didn't see it that way and kind of wanted to sort of counterpoint counterpoint that. So I did a SGC stated the union sort of episode and I don't know, again, I don't often go back and sort of rehash stuff, at least this soon. Right. That was again in June, and here we are about the beginning of November and you know, five months later, but some things have changed, and wanted to sort of revisit it, update it if you will. Now if you're asking me today, do I think SGC is going to be closed by collectors. I'm still going to say no, but I will say this to be one hundred percent honest and transparent. I don't

15:56 feel as confident about that as I did in June. I don't expect it still. I'm not predicting that I wouldn't bet on it, but I feel less confident that it wouldn't happen today than I did in June. And again, you know, i'll rehash I love the brand, I love the company. They're a sponsor of Sports Carnation, but that has nothing to do with my feelings about them. I was a user of their product, you know, before they were even a sponsor. And I'm a bulk suburb currently, and I you know, even though they got rid of the bulk subbing rates, I continue to do the bulk subbing, just adjusting my prices. So let's let's look at it from that angle. So, you know, I expected a decrease in the amount of subs I got with the new pricing structure. Anytime you raise prices, right, you should probably expect lesser volume. Solda, I'm sure there are exceptions to that rule. And that was that's been exactly the case.

17:05 But I will say this, my projections for how much less I would get submitted to me as a SGC bolk suburb I overestimated. Yes, subs are down, but not by any stretch of imagination what I kind of forecasted. I'm still getting I got my I just recently got my fourth largest sub you know, even with the new price, even without the new pricing, but just across the board since I started bulk subbing over two years ago, so I'm still getting large submissions. I just posted on my YouTube channel a three twenty card SGC bulk sub submission.

17:52 That's the other thing, shameless plug. I'm going to start posting my bulk subs that are going to received on my YouTube channel Sports Cardination Network. So if you want to see what I'm sending to book a ratone that will be posted publicly before they will be posted as raw cards before I get them back. I am not going to post degraded cards, but I will post the raw one, so check that out on our YouTube channel. So numbers are still pleasantly good. I was, honestly, and I think I might have said that on the June episode.

18:35 I was concerned that the numbers would dwindle to a point that I'd have to stop, folks of me, not because I wanted to stop, but because the volume wouldn't be There would be a decision that I didn't make, but would be made for me. And again when I called people and email people telling them of what happened the new rates, I got just so many calls, text and emails of support, you know, saying, hey, I'm still subbing with you. The convenience is worth a buck or two more, you know, in in pricing. I'm not worried about it. You know. Also keep in mind with folk subbing, whatever the rate is right, anyone that subs on their own right. And this isn't just an SGC thing, but when you when you sub with a grading company, you know, especially the bigger ones, you need to really expect between a forty five dollars and sixty dollars shipping bill both ways combined, right, probably about twenty five going to that grading company at about thirty five forty that you're gonna have to pay for shipping, if not more coming back.

19:46 Add those together and you're looking at fifty to seventy five Bucks just in shipping charges before you even pay for your first graded card. So for many of these folks, you know, it's still cheaper to you whose my BOLK sub service, even with the adjusted pricing, And many of them pointed to that reason. And again, I'm handling all the packaging, shipping, insurance, dealing with it right, sorting it out, entering it in on the system. They don't have to do any of that. They literally just fill out a sheet of paper, a form SGC sub form that I created for what I do. They fill that out with what they're subbing their info, name, address in, phone number, and email, and then hand me the cards right, and I take care of the rest. Now. I do not ship the cards back to them unless they pay twenty dollars which is signature confirmation ensured shipping. They're generally picked up at my house, at a Dunkin Donut, Starbucks, or at the numerous card shows that we have in the area.

20:54 Most of the time they are picked up at the card shows itself. At the card shows, I'd say about seventy percent of my BOLK subs are given to me at the card show and then picked up and graded card form. When the gratings completed at a subsequent card show, and there's another thirty percent that may be dropped off locally, whether that be at Starbucks, dunkin Donuts, my house, and that sort of. So it's been surprisingly still good. You know that I wasn't confident that that was going to continue, but here we are, and for the record, we are. Our next sub will be sub number thirty nine, and they're generally one to two a month, So using that thirty nine number, you can tell sort of how long I've sort of been doing it. Recently, Ryan Staczynski of jem Ery was on Sports Carnation as a guest, actually the last couple. If you're listening to this on show release date, go check out his what he had to say.

22:01 You know, he does a great job with the generate reports and newsletter and emails, but those give you data, right, it doesn't give you sort of his opinion. So I love having him on the podcast to get his opinion of what's going on in the grading world, and he doesn't. You know, he's a pretty laid back sort of guy, but he also gives his honest opinion and honest assessment. I really appreciate that from him and on you know, on those two episodes, I asked him, you know what he thought when he first heard the news that Collectors was acquired STC and whether he thinks, you know, SGC is going to be phased out by collectors. And again I don't want to give out the whole episodes and photo check it out, but he doesn't believe that the SGC is going to be closed by collectors. He thinks he's there. They're going to do what they've read he's sort of done and made him a smaller company, right and kind of you know that boutique word that Ryan Hosch used when he said they weren't closing. And so Ryan, when I asked Ryan, you know, do you think that you know, Ryan from gem Rate, do you do you think that SGC is going away? He says he obviously doesn't know, he doesn't have any insider info, but in his opinion, he doesn't believe that's going to happen. He thinks they're going to be sort of that boutique, whether

23:31 it be heavy vintage or pre war that sort of thing. He thinks that there remain viable like what we're seeing sort of going on currently he think that was he's he believes that was the plan all along. What we're seeing now, you know. He pointed out to you know, what a cost to purchase this company, you know, kind of the closet wouldn't make a ton of sense. But he also said, you know that it wouldn't be the first time something like that happened either. Again, he doesn't have any working knowledge, he's not getting any info from the powers that be, you know. He also pointed out another thing that some of us know, right that one of the one of the reasons for the acquisition, right was to uh, you know, acquire some of that manpower.

24:22 Some of that SGC workforce, including graters, have went over to the PSA side, and that's what happens with acquisitions, and so now PSA has poached some of those probably top of the line SDC graders and that was probably part of the whole plan to begin with, and not just graters, but office staff and corporate people at the corporate level uh as well. Uh you know, so that was one of, you know, probably the reasons for the acquisitions. Let's talk about you know, people who point out to well, PSA is moving into existing SDC locations and setting up shop there. That signifies that the end is near, and they may be right again, I don't know, Ryan Sezinski doesn't know, But let let's take you know, there's two sides every coin. So for all those folks saying, well, that's the sign that they're going to phase SGC out, they're just going to their locations, they're going to phase SDC out, and then they're just going to be one hundred percent PSA locations rather than fifty to fifty sixty forty.

25:34 But there's again the other side of that coin, right, Well, they can just be you know, cutting out overhead. Right, if you have two companies but you're under one roof, paying one rent or one building costs to build, right, you're consolidating costs. That's just sort of smart business practice. So for me, I don't look at it as a red flag that the end is near. I look at it as they're just trying to you know, save some funds. If we're going to Florida, why don't we just share space with SGC who's already there, rather than just you know, pour a bunch of money into a new building or renting a new large facility, so I don't look at it like that. So, you know, kind of coming down the home stretch here to wrap sort of this episode up right, And I hope I'm right. I don't know I'm right, but I don't think SGC is going away, And from a selfish point of view, I hope they don't.

26:35 I love the brand. They're my favorite grading company, and I hope they're, you know, around, you know long after I'm I'm not, and I hope that's the case. You know, one one more thing I want to touch on real quick. You know, I get asked to this question as a folk suburb. You know, if SGC was to be phased out and didn't don't exist anymore, Hey, you know, hey John, what will my cards in SGC slabs? What would happen to them? Would they go decrease in value and go down in price? And here's my two cents, any kind of price d decrease to me would be very minimum here to me, here's why, right, Even if SGC was to go away, they built up so much providence in twenty plus years of providing great grading. Many of the record setting cards you're seeing on the auction block are in SGC holders. That's you know, providence, but people know who SGC is, right, this is not a fly by night company that lasted two years and went away, you know, the HGA. So will there be a little hit if that was to happen, Sure, a little bit, but not to what some some are claiming or predicting, and especially on the vintage side, I think that's even less minimal.

28:04 You know, I have a Jackie Robinson rookie and an SGC holder. If SGC went away, I'm not getting it taken out of that holder, and I don't expect the value to decrease at all if you know, or very much if it did so. Again, the card in the holders are still the cards and the holders. And when you have a brand with a reputation that SGC has, I think that any kind of hit would be of the minimal variety. But the only time will tell, and so we'll have to wait and see. What I wanted to kind of rehash, kind of tub you know, punch back in and kind of you know, revisit this topic.

28:46 Any questions or thoughts, you know, you want to tell me I'm wrong or nuts, reach out to me. My door is always open. Thanks, everyone, will see you soon all right. Thank you for listening to another episode of Hobby Quickets. Want to give out our social media, starting with our website which is www dot Sportscardinationpodcast dot com. Facebook. You can follow us at www dot Facebook dot com, forward slash Sportscardination Podcast, Forward slash Twitter. We are at sportscard nat t one so it's sportscard n at I one, Instagram at Sportscardination Podcast, or you can email the show Hobby Quick Hits at gmail dot com. Again, thanks for listening.

29:40 We'll see you next week