Speaker 1: Good morning, Hobby Verse. It is March seventh. Time is flying.
It's time for another edition of Hobby Hotline. I'm not
even sure I think we're three seventy seven. Sometimes I'm
sure there was a there was probably an error in
numbering in five years. So who knows for sure. But
one thing I do know for sure, I got two
great co hosts with me this morning. So without further ado,
to my top right, Lauren from Lauren goes here, good morning,
good morning, and only as I always say, only but
only lower than us on the screen because we can't
get three wide on the top of the format. Chris Carlin,
good morning.
Speaker 2: Good morning, great to be here, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Let's get to some good mornings from the chat room
and those out there as well. We've got Orlando, Good morning, Orlando,
Confluence Sports Cards, good morning as well. Uh. Orlando says
he's listening on his way to the Fort Lauderdale Card
Show Southern Cards twenty two four six, Good morning everyone,
Good morning, Sir mad City Brew as always, Good morning, Uh,
Peter B Hello everybody. Good morning. Larry Gitlin, Good morning,
Warren in Cleveland, Warren to Tota, Good morning, David, Chase. Uh,
he says, hello sports guards investors. All right, well, good
morning to David in any case, Uh, yank me card
Steve howdy on good morning. Yeah he's in two center. Yeah.
I don't think there's another two so on other than Arizona.
So our own rich Cline. Uh, savor geek says, good morning,
foul five ball who you know, Uh doesn't mince words.
I appreciate that. Good morning to you, sir Abel in Vegas,
Good morning, Uh clean cheap shots, good morning as well,
and the battery Uh, carly Rude, good afternoon there in Scotland.
So top of the morning, top of the morning to you,
or top of the afternoon, as you just said to you.
We got Scott. Uh, good morning Scott. So guys. The
first topic that I want to get to, uh is
I guess attended a tops rip night. It was my
second one I've ever attended. It was the first one
for my local card store that's literally like two point
three miles uh from my house. Cormarlo Anthony's Sun Kayan
was the guest of honor. Kayane is a freshman at
his dad's alma mater, Syracuse UH University, and it was
just a great night. I know for the owners to
get their first rip night and then to get a
guest like Cayenne, that uh means a lot to the
local community. They were stoked and it was packed. I
had pictures, but my pictures are not working. I apologize
for that. For those that do really want to see him.
I did post them on my social you can find
them there. At least that part's working. Who know anymore,
but it was just a great night. Two to three
hundred people came through the door. A lot of kids,
which I know to all three of us seems a lot,
especially you Chris, would would have in some young boys
that are active in the hobby, and giveaways and and
and just well done and like it's not a prerequisite,
but that the Fellas ordered food as well for everybody,
Like they put on a really great spread and it
was just a great night with with a lot of giveaways. Everyone.
Everyone got a free pack coming through the door, so
like everyone got something, and there were giveaways through the
course of the night, pack wars, a Q and a
with with Cayenne as well. Uh. You know, I like
these type of events where it's sort of like the
the hobby gives back if you will a little bit. Obviously,
let's be real, you know, it's it's a it's a
retail event designed to also have products sold. Uh. You know,
let's not be disingenuous about it. Uh. But uh, I
like them. I like them, especially if they're not overdone,
Like I don't want to see these now become like
an every month or three quarterly, you know. But I
think if they're spaced apart far enough, I think it's
a great way to celebrate the hobby. I love the
kids aspect and the giveaways and that sort of thing.
I don't know who wants to go first, but kind
of your thoughts at events like this for the have.
Speaker 3: Well go first. I think it's great. I think it
is good.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: I know it is basically a big, you know, marketing thing,
but I think it's great because it does get people
in the door who might not normally. I feel like,
you know, in the limited knowledge I have of how
they plan it, I feel like they put a lot
of thought into who goes. There's a card shop in
Saint Louis and I think on Instagram he's RBI Crew
and I went to his old shop. We passed through
Saint Louis last year and I went to his old shop.
He recently moved, so we have to go see his
new shop. But he is a big WW fan. Randy
Orton is from Saint Louis. That's who he collects and
that's who they sent to his store, which is great
because he's a or the community. He's significant to the region.
So I feel like that, you know, And apparently Randy
Orton was incredible. He was so kind. He only had
to be there for like twenty minutes, and he ended
up staying and signing a bunch of stuff, like anything
anybody wanted him to sign. So I think it's great,
you know. I think it's a relatively easy way to
do like a massive marketing that like personally connects to
a lot of people because they do it across the country,
they do it in all different regions. If they put
that thought in to like make sure that somebody like
you know, Cayenne being at Syracuse and his dad being
you know, a legend there, him going to that shop, like,
you know, geographically it makes sense because he goes to
school there, but like Randy Orton is traveling all over
the place, so like they put thought into that, and
I think that's great. I think that shows, you know,
that they really want to make sure that it has purpose,
that it's not just some kind of like marketing ploy
that's like a flash in the pan, Like they're making memories.
They're you know, building a relationship, you know, between you
know who you collect, the community and the card shop.
And I know, at the end of the day, you know,
it is it's a big company and it's you know,
to make more money. But I think, you know, for
kids who don't care about that stuff yet, or for
people who just like collecting and are like, you know,
I'll take the w I think it's great. I think
it's really cool. I think it's fun. I think they're
doing a good job. Like you said, you know, everybody
gets something, nobody leaves empty handed or unhappy. I think
so I like it. I think it's cool. I think
it's great.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Growing up at my local hobby shop on Sundays, there
was the raffle, the weekly raffle, and I would beg
my mom to get me there for this because they're
given stuff away and and I would always get frustrated
by the guy who would buy a whole bunch of
product in front of me and get extra tickets and
win everything. Every once in a while, I win.
Speaker 1: You got to track him down, Chris and I you're
older for me.
Speaker 2: I'm not vindictive of that now, I I it was
a great time. But then going up and working for
Upper Deck and seeing what it takes to run one
of these events, just getting one athlete to one shop,
it doesn't seem like a big deal. It's almost a
herculean achievement. I've had athletes take cars and go to
strip clubs. I've had all sorts of things happen and
had them be rude, disrespectful, awful. So these events, just
one of these events could be a powder cake type
of situation for the manufacturer where if something goes wrong,
you know, it looks really bad on the company and
the athlete on you know, the team. And we haven't
had that, and they're they're not doing one event, one athlete,
They're doing thirty forty sixty. It's it's the best thing
in my opinion, that has happened in the fanatics tops
world these days. And the athletes are bringing They're not
you know, chumps, it's you know, to be able to
open packs with Tom Brady like this is crazy. So
I I think it is one of the best executed
programs that TOPS Fanatics does right now. And in a
in a world where you have people calling out fanatics
like never before online and people going and meeting with
Michael Rubin and general customers in this this is is
something that looks really really good for TOPS Fanatics and
and I think it's it's a great, great thing making
core memories with these these folks that are going to
last a lifetime. It'll keep them coming back. They'll always
remember that time they met that athlete and it will
be that warm spot in their hearts that you know,
when they leave the hobby for a little bit, it'll
be that that thing that nags them to come back
and hoe back in the letter. So I think it's
a fantastic program. I can't believe they've been able to
pull it off so successfully for so long without you know,
some type of blow up or flare up. But they're
really their athlete relations team has doing a phenomenal job
coaching up these athletes about what exactly they're about to
walk into to make sure that it's a great event.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, doubt well, said Chris. Let's get through a
couple of car comments AVN Vegas talking about the frequency
of them one rip night per quarter per major sport.
May it be adequate? I don't even know if I
want that many, folks. I'm good with maybe two. I
know the first one. I like this one, as Rich
here says, coincides with the start of the baseball season
in the release of the flagship baseball product, which makes sense.
I mean, I get that that one hundred percent makes sense.
At the one here we had in Syracuse, a gentleman
pulled the Paul Skeins auto card number to twenty five.
That that's probably made his year as well. And the
one thing I would like, and you know you alluded
to it, Chris, how hard it is working with these
professional athletes right to get this all these ducks in
a row and get them there and what the Yeah.
Speaker 2: And it's not just athletes, they've entertainers too. It's it's
crazy the types of people that bring it in. And
this is the promise they made, which is great that
they're living up to us.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, and they did this not just here in
the States, but even in Europe in some of the
shops there. I believe it was over one hundred and
fifty different athletes slash celebrities that appeared as part of
the Rip Knight promotion. And the only thing I would
like to see listen, it's it's not false advertising like
in most of the advertising it says, this is not
like an autograph event, it's more of a meet and greek.
But when I look at the line, because I was inside,
they closed the store than anyone had to make their
final purchases. Four rip Nights started and then you had
to leave the store in line up, And when I
looked at the line outside the store, you know, people
had you know, basketballs in their hands and photos. Even
though Kayanne wasn't signing. Now I'm not gonna you know,
he might have snuck a few signatures in, but it
was mostly high fives to the kids. The Q and
a ripping packs with the kids and that sort of thing.
What I'd like to see, Like, I know, you know,
they're there generally an hour max. Between thirty minutes an hour,
and they can't sign for everybody. I fully get that
what I'd like to see maybe and it would take more.
Like you said, it's hard enough to get them there
in general, but maybe even where they could have signed
before the event, you know, fifty cards and those could
be given away. So because I know there were a
few kids here at the Syracuse Rep party, guys that
were disappointed that, you know, I saw a couple with
tears rolling down their face that they did not get
a Kayann autograph. And obviously it's not Kaya's fault, not
mad at him, but I think the kids didn't. You know,
the kids just assumed that he was going to be there.
I could meet him and get him get his autograph.
So maybe if they had like fifty or sixty cards
like pre sign in advance, where they were just either
given the kids only or you know, giveaways of some sort,
I'd like to see something along those lines. Tied end. Again,
Every rip night at every location is different. I'm sure
some of the athletes maybe even did sign even though
they really weren't supposed to. Just some of the thoughts,
and especially from you, Chris, You've dealt with a lot
of these logistics. I mean, that definitely ups the ante,
but it could it be pulled off?
Speaker 2: No, not at the skill that they're doing it. There's
too many different athletes. You can't just do one type
of release for all of them. They all have different
agreements with different companies for what they can sign, who
they can sign for. I know that sounds a little
Jerry McGuire ish, you know, in the beginning of Jerrem McGuire,
I only signed top shelf cards. But it's it's really
really tricky to execute on and they don't always know how.
I mean, now they're getting to realize how big these
events are. But what the bigger they get, the harder
it is to do personalized stuff. And that's why you see,
you know, it's it's not a great look. I don't
think to be throwing packs and in it people and
people trampling kids to get get out a pack. But
that's the type of frenzy this this event is. Uh,
these events have created and that's that's what they're you know,
the excitement of the hobby is really what they're banking
on and using for marketing purposes because it is It
is exciting, it is fun, it's close, it's cool to
be up to have the chance to get an autograph
and have this person walk into your small community that
quiet every day, and now there's a big light on it.
And I think that that is the one great thing
that TOPS has done for these small businesses is shine
a light on their shop and allow them to show
off what makes them so special. Every hobby shop is
different and that's what makes it so fun walking through
their doors. But that's what TOPS is doing is driving people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, Lauren, like, does that bother you that
a lot of these athletes, you know, maybe aren't there
to sign. It's just it's not possible. And you know,
they they're only allotted there to be there a certain
amount of time, and many of them have very busy schedules.
The fact that they're they're making fitness into their schedule.
You know, uh, I know every advertisement I've seen, I
don't want to say everybody, I think the majority of
them allude like, this is not a signing events to
meet and greet. We're gonna have some fun. There's gonna
be giveaways and pack wars and fun moments. You know,
it was it a parent that maybe didn't tell you know,
a little Johnny, like, hey, where we might get to
meet Kyenne? But you know, we're probably not going to
get an autograph, So like maybe the blame falls a
little bit on there and the expectations kind of walking
through the door, you know, kind of your thoughts on
you know that that side of the topic.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think, I mean, I think the expectation is
is pretty well said at least by card shops and
by tops, that you get the opportunity to see this
person live in your community, and that's the perk. Now,
Like I said with Brandy Orton, he stayed and he signed.
But he is a veteran, like he knows the capacity
he has for situations like this. Kayenne is a teenager,
he's a kid. This might be one of his first
may you know, Like so you know, the I think
setting the expectation low of like who will get to
see this person and that's a win, and then allowing
them to kind of choose how much want to do
or what they can handle because some you know, like
Diane as a kid, even though his dad is you know,
both his parents are mega famous, you know, for him
to do it personally, it's different. It might be overwhelming,
it might be overstimulating. He might not you know, have
that capacity yet. So I think setting the bar where
they do, whereas like you will see this person and
that's cool, and like take that win and then leaving
it up to the person to decide, like do I
want to go the extra mile? Do I want to
stay a little bit longer than I'm contractually obligated to
do I want to sign a couple of things for kids.
I mean, I think, you know, that can get sticky,
Like Chris said that, like you know the logistics of
you know, who gets what, and like how do we
disseminate that? You know, if you know the star is
leaving that up to chance and making that choice, then
I think like Brandy Orton, he's capable of doing that
because he's been doing this forever and he knows how
to handle, he knows how to be with people, he
knows what he can handle. So I know it could
get a little sticky, but I feel like overall, if
you set that bar like we'll see this person, they're
probably only going to be there for a minute. You
will probably not get a personal interaction. If you then
get that little extra bonus, that's awesome. That's a win
and that's really exciting. So I think as long as
you know, tops maintains that expectation of like you know,
this is the cool thing that they're showing up. If
they want to give a little bit more than like,
that's awesome, But TOPS doesn't have to promise that. That
can be up to the individual star or the shop
or like what the logistics can manage.
Speaker 2: So I appreciate the story on this. So we were
at we were having a VIP event at the National
for Upper Deck in Cleveland, and we brought in Shaquille O'Neill.
Now I it was a bowling event, you know, at
one of those cool bowling alleys, and we had our
own private lanes and things like that, and I had
the scheduled pretty easily. And when you deal with the agents,
you have to put together exactly basically a run of
show of what's going to happen and what what is
the athlete, what's expected of them, And we had it
pretty easily laid out. Photo op, sign an autograph for everyone,
give out some product, and then bowl with the fans,
you know, go from lane to land and just you know,
mix it in bowl and uh we do the first
part in Check. By the way, when you meet Check,
your whole hand is lost in his hand. So it's
so intimidating right off the bat, I'm trying to guide
him around and uh and people going crazy, you know,
check this is this is so awesome. So everyone gets
their photos, everyone gets their autographs. He starts throwing, tossing
out some product to people, and then it comes time
to bowl, and he goes, I'm not bowling, And I
was like, what do you? What do you? What do
you mean? Yeah, we're a we run a bowling out Shack,
Like it's in the deal that we did with you.
Speaker 1: What do you mean?
Speaker 2: It up on?
Speaker 1: He goes, check, Shack, don't bowl?
Speaker 2: Crap? What am I what I'm gonna do? I've got
two people expecting.
Speaker 1: To bowl with him. Uh.
Speaker 2: So I had a customer challenge him a hundred bucks
on a frame that that he could beat Shack. And
then when money was involved, he was a little more interested.
And he ended up betting people all night long one
hundred bucks a frame, and people kept doing it and
and he was winning initially, and then his arms started
getting tired. His collectors are winning hundreds of bucks from Shack,
and it's it's it's way past time for him to go,
and and uh, I go, check, you gotta go. I'm down.
I got to get my money back, so he stayed
a little bit longer, and uh, it was a little
frustrated that that he performed poorly in the end, but
that was one of the those where you know, it
ended up being an okay thing. But that's what I
mean is you just don't know what to expect that
that has been communicated over to the athlete before an
event like this and and could cause some issues. So
but you're also gotta be quick on your feet if
you're going to be in those situations to try to
try to say the day.
Speaker 1: I gotta think, well, you know, Michael Jordan has the
golf course for for a little you know, a little
side hustle, and I guess shack shack took it to
the bowling alley. Did they make up? Did they actually
have a ball that his fingers could fit into or
did he Yes?
Speaker 2: But it was it was funny, like he's just it's
it's a pebble in his hand, you know.
Speaker 1: So that was cool to see that, that's funny. A
couple of comments before we get to our next topic.
Foule five Ball says he's not impressed by athletes. No,
no big deal. Uh to him. Uh. And then we
got a few more good mornings, hoops, Hobby hanging out.
Good morning, sir Nick, who was setting up catching this
while he's setting up at a card show at Uh,
good morning, Nick, have a great show, hope well. Uh
Rich put out in an earlier post that they got
Robert Parrish, former Celtic great. Uh there as well, so
Hick loss of money at that event.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was. It was presidentive when he left.
Speaker 1: And Orlando grees right, we need to set expect like,
you know, my son's older now. But if I was
taking my son when he was younger to event, I
knew the parameter, I would definitely make sure he knew
as well. That way, we don't have whether it be disappointment,
a tantrum, tears, try to avoid that and even ask
him like, knowing that, do you still want to go
like this is how it's going to go? Are you
okay with that? Are we going? You know? And that
way you avoid like it. Really I felt terrible, uh
seeing seeing a couple of those kids crying, but you know,
like that was that was part. That was really what
like Chris pointed out, and Ritchiean pointed out what Chris
said right at nineteen nil, there might be some rules
right going on there, so, but it was at the
end of the day, right, it was a great event.
There was more more cheers than tears, and people walked
out of there with some free stuff, definitely some free food.
And I just my fear and I don't think this
will happen. I'm not predicting this. I just don't want it,
you know, like any good idea, then it gets beat
like it dead, like we see too many of them
in the bloom sort of comes off the rose. If
they can keep this where the bloom stays on that
sort of rose and people look forward to it, I
think it'll be great. If it gets to the point
where they're doing too many and it's like, oh, another
another top srip night. We just had one month, you know.
I like and I like that they do it the
same night across all the locations. I don't want to
see it like this week, it's here, next week, Yeah,
it's here, this week, it's it's here. Do it one night.
It's like New Year's Eve. We all know it's it's yeah,
you know, we're going to celebrate together potentially, So I
like that. I just hope it maintains that sort of Uh.
I don't want to say mystique with that sort of format. Uh.
Speaker 2: If you know, for manufacturers that are always trying different programs,
uh and and I like that, and some of them
end up being rinse and repeat, like Upper Deck. It
was National Hockey Card Day that that was just a
really successful program. Shops didn't want us to tweak anything,
so we kept it largely the same. But I've done
a myriad of different types of events, and you know,
they don't always hit, but you you've got to tryump.
You know, you have to try them to see what
the audience will respond to. And one of the trickiest
things in this industry is just how different every collector is.
Everyone has different habits, styles, likes, dislikes. We make fun
of our preferences. What do you mean to use Scott's
tape on a top letter? You see village? You know,
all these little things that make us so unique. So
for our marketer marketing to such a diverse customer base
that all has very, very passionate about how they collect,
it's hard.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Rich is right on it. Right. April eleventh, twenty
twenty six, National National Hockey Card day. So there, there
you go, and a lot of young listen, A lot
of young talent there always is, but it seems like
there's really a lot of great young talent in the
NHL right now. You're Celebrinis and Burgards and will Smith's
and I know I'm leaving someone up. So that's the
right now.
Speaker 2: Is named Matt Schaeffer for the Island.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, for the see, I'm a Ranger fan. I'm
not I'm not given him any kind.
Speaker 2: Of no, no, I know you, but it's funny. I
have an employee named Matthew Schaeffer and the only difference
is he has two f's in his last name instead
of one. And so we're gonna rip some uh some
uh Series two this week and try to get hit
his young Guns. But the funny thing is upper Deck
made an error on his young Guns rookie card where
in the text in the back, uh, it's Shafer is
spelled with two f's. So that's the card where we're
gonna try to pull for for my Matt Shaffer this week.
So that'll be fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that that is that is fun. Hey, listen, he
is he is probably one of the better young players
probably probably gonna win Rookie of the Year. I'm a
Ranger fan, so our draft picks, don't you know, Alexis
Lefrenier isn't panned out like we hoped he was. Still
there's still time, but uh, we're running out of a
little bit. He almost was traded here at the trade deadline.
So I'm a little jealous when when the Crosstown ride
as will hit on a number one pick, when when
we kind of I don't want to say swinging swung
him as but maybe didn't hit the home run that
day that they did so most no, I know, I
was a big watcher. I don't know about you, Lauren
or Chris, but I was watching a lot of the Olympics.
So that ended a few weeks ago.
Speaker 2: So much fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, both the US men's and women's
took home the gold, both in dramatic fashion, both in overtime,
with golden gold Jack Ques on the men's side, Megan
Keller on the women's side, And you know, the women
were the favorite, although they really had the rally late
to get it done. The men's were a contender, but
not were considered the favorite, and one in forty six years.
We all remember nineteen eighty and Al Michael's calls on
that upset and so, uh, you know, I just did
a show and I sold a little bit more Hackey.
I'll start with you, hear Chris, you know, coming from
the upper deck side, like do you do you anticipate like,
obviously Hackey is very strong in Canada. Will will two
gold medals for the US helped the Hackey a or
you know, bump up the Hackey hobby if you will,
hear stateside.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, yeah, yeah, I mean that was incredible. And again,
you know I talked earlier about core memories and how
this type of thing. You know, everyone's a lot of
people who especially people who are hockey I Ficinado's are
always going to remember this, unless you're in Canada and
you're like a Cosby's golden goal. So I think that
this will be a difference maker for the the industry,
for the sport and for collectibles, and you're already seeing it.
Deck Use's cards have gone haywire since this happened. So
I'm kicking myself because I sold some a couple of
years ago, and I should have stuck onto that, but
you just don't know. You don't know who's going to
be the star. And that's what makes it exciting. And
what a great what a great person you have to uh.
Someone asked in the chat here is there a list
of athletes to stay away from? And and yeah, there's
kind of a blacklist that's not spoken about or advertised.
But what I always find is hockey players are the
best athletes to work with out of everyone, and it's
not even close. And a lot of times they're they're
European what have you, But they don't see themselves as stars.
They're just dudes that love to play again on the
ice and throw hands every once in a while, and
it's it's a beautiful things. So I think from who
I would like to collect and who I would like
to have my sons interact with, it's it's hockey players.
They're they're fantastic. So but there's it's it's hard because
you know, there's there's aspects of other sports that are
so cool, and NBA in particular, when you have your
son meeting someone who's like seven foot it's the it's
the coolest thing in the world for that because there
it's like talking to a tree. But I think that
I think that, Yes, these these are tricky to pull off,
but they're a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah, a couple of comments here and then I'll get
to Lauren. One. Lauren's got a question. This is not
on topic, but I didn't want it to get lost
in the shovel. From from maybe Vegas. He's asking you, Chris,
when is National p S A card night?
Speaker 2: A great idea, and you know, we have been doing
some things, uh in partnership with top so on on
the Rip nights at Day at the Rip night last
week David Adams were giving away UH loops which are
really cool help help customers look at their cards and
make sure that they're worth setting in to be slabbed. So, yeah,
we we partner with the shops a lot on these types.
Speaker 1: Of question for Lauren from from fan in the Stay
in Sports. Uh. He says, Lauren, I sent you a message.
I need a nineteen ninety down Earth reverse negative one
Gonzalez yarn cards. There you go, you might have yep,
there you go. Kind of your your thoughts. I know
you're a basketball lady, Lauren, but you know when when
there's success in a sport right in the country, maybe
where it's not the original culture or not, you know,
European soccer. You know, if the US happened to ever
win a World Cup in soccer, I'm not betting on it,
but like, if it ever happens, I would expect like
the soccer market to be enhanced here. Like do you
do you expect that with the with the hockey side
and did you watch? Did you watch even though you're
because it's the Olympics and and even not being necessary
a hockey fan where you was was it something you
tuned into? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I I was lucky enough that my schedule kind of
lined up that I could tune in for both of
the games about like halfway through the you know, the
gold medal games, and they were awesome. So I you know,
the women's game was first, and that was incredible. It
was so exciting. I know you said they were favored,
but like you just never know, and.
Speaker 1: Like it was just they were down with they were
down one nothing with two minutes left. And the thing
that struck me is this was a team that was
beating people like five nothing, eight one, and here they
were getting shut out. Now Canada is obviously very good.
It's like, I'm not but the fact that they were
scoring all these goals and now we're like, I'm like,
they're gonna lose the gold medal game and not score
after score, Like maybe they scored too many of these
goals in all the games before the gold medal game.
And then Hillary Knight tied the game up in dramatic fashion,
and then they went to you know, overtime where Teller
won it, but go ahead.
Speaker 3: I wanted to throw Yeah, no, I mean the context
is important, because you're right. I was like, oh my gosh,
we're gonna lose, and like we didn't score, and yeah,
those last two minutes were amazing, and then Keller shot
was like when they played it back in slow motion,
it was so cool, Like if you haven't seen it,
go watch it because it's just really cool how they
like pulled it off. And I think for the entire
Olympics tournament, their USA only let uh two, I think
the goalie only let two goals scored on Team USA
the entire time. Incredible. So yeah, it's just I mean
it's really cool. And you know, the men's came second
and that was also really cool. But like the women's
was just very exciting. And I know it's the third
season of p WHL and so I've seen a lot
of excitement and hype around that, and I think that's
really cool. I think it's going to grow that league,
which is great, and it's a very accessible league and
watch the game on YouTube so you can get a notification,
you can watch it anywhere. I think that's great. I think,
you know, upper Deck having a pretty good lock on
hockey culture with the men's and the women's. I think
it's great. So I'm not big into hockey. I'm not
going to pretend like I'm like, you know, a know
it all a hockey band. But I really enjoyed it,
and I'm definitely watching more of like the Professional Women's
Hockey League and I'll watch the men's too, but like,
I don't know, I mean, it's cool, but I'm really
like the women were just really like they were really
locked in and they were really pumped, and like it
was just more exciting to me personally. But like I
know that, you know, the first win for the men
in like fifty years is crazy, that's so exciting. But
like the women, they've been consistently good, which I think
is also exciting, and you know, it doesn't take away
the fact that this is like, you know, they've never
not won to medal, but yeah, so, I mean it's
two very different ways to be excited about a sport,
and there's never a wrong way to be excited about
a sport. So I'm really happy that people are into
it and I'm into it more and I love that
it grows.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think there were also a lot of stars too.
You know, it wasn't one person going crazy like we
would expect it to be Connor McDavid. But you know,
for Connor Hellibook, you know, to be awarded a Presidential
Medal of Freedom a couple of days later, and you know,
you don't see that for a goalie very often. And
the Ka Chuck brothers and just how much they love
the sport and what have you, and quitting Jack Hughes.
Speaker 1: And bring it and bringing a little aggressiveness.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, Jack losing Like it's just there are so
many iconic moments from the tournament and you know, I
was I was watching the first WBC USA game last
night with my kids, and it's it's got the opportunity
to do this a couple of times in a row here,
but I think Japan and uh uh the Dominican Republic
will be really tough teams in that. So, but it's
it's fun that we get the Olympics the WBC, Like
it's one of those years where we're spoiled at sports fans.
Oh yeah, and then Mark, this is coming up right
after that in baseball start No big deal.
Speaker 1: Mark never heard of it. Chris, Uh oh no, I'm kidding. Yeah,
it's great and and and shout out to you, like
not that it's about one guy, but if you watch
that gold medal game, Connor Hellibuk was standing on his head.
Uh some of the saves he made just with like
the edge of the stick where the game would have
been over. If that gets by him, we we lose.
And we're talking about you know, a different story. And
just uh he played and the thing was, he played
up well the whole tournament, but it just was amplified
that that gold medal game against the Canadian team that
knows what they're doing with with plenty of all NHL firepower,
and he was just you know, they were out shot.
I mean, you know, I know, h know, Cooper John Cooper,
the Canadian coach, said, ah, all the better. You know,
we played, we out maybe outplayed them and they made
one more play and that might be the case. But
thank you, thanks to hell a book making some just
incredible saves on his back, uh you know, with a
stick as he's going in a different direction. And here
we are. And by the way, both of those game
winning pucks are headed to ironically, the the Hockey Hall
of Fame in Toronto, Canada. So I thought that was
a pretty funny thing I read a few days ago
as well. I want to get this comment a visit. Yeah, yeah,
I got's on my on my list to do. I've
been to Toronto, but I haven't got there yet. Carl
from Ouss, Good morning, Lauren, Chris John and all. It's
three thirty am here and I missed the start, but
I'm ready to go now. God bless you. Carl. At
three thirty am, I'm hopefully still sleeping or going down
my stairs, hopefully successfully to hit the restroom. But you're
watching Hobby Hotline. We do, I'm joking, but we do.
We do appreciate and Carl asks too, uh for for Lauren.
He asked Lauren like why why don't we see more?
Right here, let me put the comment up, why are
they not more women and girls in the hobby? Well,
we're I'll answer, we're seeing more. I can personally attest
we're seeing more here locally in my area Syricuse, in
the Syracuse areas a lot more dealers or considerable amount
more dealers. And when I you know, every year I
go to the National it seems like that's we're seeing more,
and even on the corporate side as well. Uh so
I think it's getting better. I'll let Lauren kind of
chime in here first. And I know we've Lauren's have
been on my program when we we've talked about but
for those that may not have, Dad, Laura, and I'll
let your way in here.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I agree that I think there are
more and more coming in, which is great.
Speaker 1: I think.
Speaker 3: On your show, John, I mentioned an anecdote when we
were at the Dallas card show in January. There was
a girl she was probably about like twelve, and she
was negotiating with my husband at our table, like she
worked out the deal, several deals actually, and she would
come over talk to him, run back to her table,
and I you know, I guess maybe talk to her
dad or get her money, or you know, for whatever reason.
She would come back and forth, back and forth, and
she The thing I liked about that is I won't
you know, like rehash it because I can go watch
the episode of Sports Cardination. But I liked that she
felt safe in that room and she felt comfortable talking
to grown men, you know, like she she was okay,
you know, navigating back and forth. She was able to
talk to my husband who's almost forty and like, you know,
get a deal done. And she wasn't like scared or intimidated.
She was open to you know, negotiating. And it was
a really impressive site because I know at twelve, I
couldn't do it. Like I'll just be honest. I at
her age, whether she was you know, twelve or I
mean even at like sixteen, I know I couldn't do it.
And I think I think again, like I said in
the show, So I hope people go watching on Sports Cardination.
There's been a foundation built for decades of women who
have been trying to make a solid foundation for girls
to feel comfortable in the space. And now people are
you know, able to stand on their shoulders and really
benefit from the effort and the time and the passion
that was put in to make the space, you know,
more comfortable for girls. And I know it's it's kind
of hard for you know, some boys and men to
understand that or you know, consider it, or they don't
want to and you know whatever. But I think there
are more and I think they're coming in, and I
think we all need to consider what are we doing
to make space more comfortable and inclusive, and what are
the assumptions that we're making when somebody walks in a room,
you know. I think also, you know, kind of goes
hand in hand with you know, race. I think that
some black collectors are also overlooked, and you know, kind
of assumptions are made about what they know and what they.
Speaker 1: Are there for.
Speaker 3: And so I think that everybody kind of just needs
to reflect on, like what is hindering you from like
experiencing the hobby with these people because they're there, you know,
girls are there, women are there, and you know, maybe
all don't collect the same thing, and that's okay, that's
the reason that you're not interacting. But if you collect
the same thing and you're passionate about the same thing.
Why are the only people you're speaking to, you know,
men of your same age or you know whatever, Like
look at your circle and understand why maybe you're not
seeing them because you're not looking for them. I yes,
to answer that question.
Speaker 1: I also think the hobby today, the hobby today is
more welcoming than it has been in the past, and
that's what really needs to happen. I think, you know,
I think the first thing is like, if you're a
woman in the hobby, I think there's that fear of
trepidation of being accepted or how you're going to be
perceived or looked at. And so if that, if that
sort of mail goes down and goes away, and that
sort of pre judging stuff, I mean, it's never going
to not exist. But if if, if the percentages go
down of that kind of behavior, I think, and I
think it has and it continues, and that's why we're
seeing more and I think we're seeing a lot of
women say hey, listen, I don't care what you think, right,
which is a great add Like I love the hobby.
I'm in it, and that's your problem if you've got
a problem with it, and that's you know, not every
maybe not every women woman and how he thinks like that,
maybe they're a little bit some are more shyer than others.
But I like the fact that you know, I was
set up. I've told the story the PI. I'll make
this story a lot shorter than it is. I was
set up with someone I knew and uh, this is
probably double digit years ago at a show, and a
young lady came up to him, and he was pretty
rude to her, to the point where you know, I
got I went right up to him and said, listen, man,
like that was terrible to me. I would like find
her and apologize. I'm very shocked by how you you treated,
you know. And he didn't even really realize it until
I sort of point like, which probably made it to me,
even made it worse that it took me to like say,
what are you doing? Like that's terrible and and you know,
I don't remember him doing that, but at least I
felt better like that, Hey, like, you can't treat Peter
just in general, but even more so. And I hope
he learned his his you know, I hope he learned
from that experience, and I hope he changed his attitude
with with that, but I think that's become more the exception, thankfully,
than than the rule, if you will. Uh, and those
folks that think like that, I think there's less of
that thinking.
Speaker 2: It just takes one to make the situation negative. But yeah,
and it's frustrating that that it happens. But I will
say kudos to the manufacturers for continuing to try to
make offerings that would appeal to to women. There's a
lot that people don't even realize. You know. We see
La Boo Boo right now. You know, obviously that's a
product that was you know, geared for both men and women.
But you know, I think about my time at Upper
Deck and how many different types of products we tried
that never really hit, you know, like Strawberry shortcake and uh,
Hello Kitty was when the company invested a lot of
money in and it never hit. But you have to
keep trying because the audience is there, uh there. They
collect a little differently sometimes and it but it's just
better I think if if everyone's involved, so could as
the manufacturers. We're still trying with different products.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and and we're we're seeing that and I
think that's the positive things We're gonna it's on all fronts.
It's corporate, it's collectors, if the card manufacturers themselves, and
there's still always gonna be room for improvement. But I
think we're we're going in the right direction rather than
than the wrong one. And you know, it's it's it's important.
Speaker 2: So I just got to set last night. John called
the nineteen seventy nine Supersisters and it was the first
ever set of trading cards made of women. Uh. And
it was done by a family, and it's a great
story on Hard Life. It's a segment related show, but
it's one of those things where you're like, I didn't
know that existed. That is super cool. I'm gonna go
out and buy that. So and that was, you know,
fifty years ago. We're trying to get more girls in
the hobby then, uh And and I think it's kind
of cool how far the companies have come again. Upper
decks signed athletes like Alexis Morgan and Misty Made trainer
Carrie Watsh Jennings. So you know, volleyball represented, Panini's got
w n B A Tops is doing stuff. Our upper
deck is pH WHL as well. You know, So there's
there's a lot of positives happening.
Speaker 1: A couple more comments, and then we'll get to our
last topic. Let's just Phill in Oklahoma. I know Phil
fairly well. He says, at the Oklahoma City Show top
notch shows, by the way, there were a minimum of
ten female dealers, and Oklahoma is usually behind. So I
am seeing even here in my Syracuse shows that I
set up, I'm seeing a lot more female dealers and
knowledgeable ones, not you know where where they're running the table.
Uh And it's good to see sports card Queen is
a good comment here. Many women in this hobby. I
wish more would go on YouTube and create content. That's
that's tough, a little bit different, right. It's one thing
to be in the hobby, but the turn the camera on,
you know, I'm I couldn't do the stuff I do now,
like maybe even twenty twenty five years ago or further back,
because I was really a shy in my younger days,
if you will. So that's not always easy to do,
is to do, you know, content, But but you know
what we're seeing, We're seeing more even there as well.
I venture guests that continue to see uh more. So
another comment here, Carl fromaz says the girl Findley. She
was behind me to get readies out of the National
and I thought that was great, and you know, the
comments continue. So we're moving in. We're moving in the
right direction, I think, I think, you know, it's trending
in the right direction. That's better than the alternative. And
there's always gonna be room for improvement. You know. I
try to do my part where if I see something
that's not right, I'm not shy anymore, so I will
go to Just like I told that story and I
wound up. You know, the young lady came to my
table later on in that show and I kind of
pulled her aside and I said, listen, don't let things
like that get you know, bodily like. That's just one person.
It's the wrong attitude. It was rude, and I apologize
on their behalf, And don't let that discourage you. As
a firetruck goes by, don't let that discourage you from
you know, being active in this hobby. It's the greatest
hobby in the world. I'm personally glad to see you participating.
Just you know, I know it's tough and tough to hear,
but as much as you can let it go in
one ear and out the other, and you win by
by being active and participating. So she was very thankful,
and uh so, uh, you know anytime I can if
I see something like that, Hopefully I don't, but I'm
a guy that will say something.
Speaker 2: So what do you think, Uh, what do you think
cured you of your shyness? Because that is an issue
in the hobby where people are afraid to go up
and talk to a dealer or talk to another collector
don't have the experience that they could have had.
Speaker 1: For me, it was just I think shyness comes because
you're you're worried about what someone's gonna think of you,
or I'm gonna like say the wrong thing, or I'm
gonna be talking and spin like you know, I used
to hate making speeches in like English class in high school.
And my English teachers say, John, you play football in
front of like two thousand people, You play bait like
you're an athlete. You can't get it up in front
of thirty kids you're friends with, or no, and like
talk for five minutes, And I'm like no to all eyes.
When I'm on a football field, I don't see the plane,
trying to do my job and not screw up. I
don't see the crowd when I'm in front of the class,
you know, it's like the hot lights are on me.
Like But his response was like, but you know him,
I'm like, that doesn't really I would try with friends.
But what it was for me, Chris, it's a great question.
And I know, like sometimes you don't know how you
got it. For me, I got to an age where
I was like, I don't care what someone thinks like
I do. I don't want to. I don't want to
make a sound like I do care what people think.
But like internally, I'm like, listen, I'm gonna be me.
I'm gonna, you know, I feel like I'm a nice guy.
I'm gonna I'm gonna be me. And if someone likes me, great,
and if someone doesn't, that's their issue to to wrangle with,
right and listen, Let's be real. Some people will look
at someone and already the verdict is in I like
that person I don't like before they even say a
word or write something, you know, and those are the
people you can't worry about them because they were already
like past judgment. So for me, that's an easy answer.
I just knew I got to a stage and an
age and stage in my life where it's like, it
is what it is, and hopefully more, you know, hopefully
I win more of the room than than than not.
And I think in general I feel like I have,
but you know you can. At the end of the day,
you can't control what other people and nor should you.
Uh So I just do. I try to do the
right thing and and be honest and let the chips fall.
But if you would have told the younger version of me,
Chris and Lauren, the things I'd be doing, I would
have thought you were not crazy and crazy so like
coaching varsity sports and having parent meetings. And I was
a kid like even in my like elementary school days,
I didn't even want to raise my hand to use
the restroom. I would hold it all day, sometimes go
home and then used to true story, true story.
Speaker 2: This has turned into psychology. Friends, that's incredible.
Speaker 1: To overtime. Yeah, well we're coming, We're coming down the
home stretch here, Chris. But I don't I don't want
to not talk about this. Right We're seeing these p
s a kiosks in store. I know Burbank HASM some
other stores have them. I think it's kind of cool,
Like what is the like, what is the logistics? How
does this work? Is there is the store as an employe?
Is that a PSA employed that's in the store.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so this is interesting. I've I've always worked really
closely with hobby shops. I believe that that's where the
magic happens. And you know, from the manufacturer side to
now on the p s A side, I just I've
always believed in it. And there are some there's a
trend happening right now that's really exciting where some trading
card shops are becoming almost like a superstore. And so
I was at a conference last January and I was
talking with Rob Verus of Burbank Sports Cards about what
he was doing, and it was just it. I had
never heard of someone doing this. He bought a Right Aid,
a Right Aid liquors or a grocery you know, grocery
liquor what have you, drug store and was converting it
into a sports card store. And I was like, are
you nuts? Like this is this is crazy? And I've
known Rob long enough to know that it was going
to work, and so I wanted to work with them
and say, you know, let's do something that's never been done.
Let's put an actual shop in a shop, a PSA
submission center in a shop. And the reason why I
believe in this is, you know, when I came over
from Upper Deck, we were doing some events, but now
we're doing hundreds of events a year. What we've found
is that when people can be face to face with
someone to talk through which to talk to, what type
of collector they are, where they're collecting, journey is taking them.
It's really good for that customer to have someone to
talk to and consult with with regard to how they
want to have their item graded, because there's a lot
of different ways that you can skin the cat there.
You could grade the card, you could grade the autograph.
You could grade the card and the autograph. You could
do authentic only, and that guidance is really important. So
what we saw from those events is that people want
us to come meet them on their own turf. They
want to speak to a human being, and that's why
it made sense for us to look at something more
we could do in a hobby shop. I talked earlier
about you got to try different things in this industry,
and this was one that definitely has gone gangbusters for us,
where people feel safe coming and dropping off their items.
I found that people have a lot of trepidation about
putting their valued item, their favorite collectible in the mail,
and to hand it right to a PSA employee feels
a lot better to them after getting the guidance they need.
So we started it with Burbank. It's gone very very well,
and we wanted to look at other shops that were
doing similar types of stuff and had a lot of
real estate, so cards HQ in Atlanta made a lot
of sense. We started that in December and it's gone
very well. Then we opened up David Adams Card World,
New York City. They're right by they're right by Times
Square and that's been sensational. And then the one that's
been just crazy is Mojo Breaks, which we just opened
around the Super Bowl and they're in Santa Clara up
in the Bay Bay area. But the area that they
had for us, it used to be a paint store,
so it's where they used to mix the paint. So
we have a big area on there and it's it's
been it's been wonderful for us. To be able to
engage with customers in that face to face type of environment.
So I think that we'll be doing more of these
in the future. I think that'll be a slower rollout
just given the fact that we're a little bit capacity constrained.
We don't need more units per se. But it does
make sense for people. If you've never graded an item
or have questions about the process, or you've graded something
in the past and weren't happy with the results, or
we're happy with the results, come talk to someone and
you can check that out. Where the tea is going
to be every weekend at PSA card dot com slash events.
But these other centers are kind of an always on
type of centers. So two PSA employees are staffed at
each location to really help guide people in the right collect.
Speaker 1: So if I heard this right and I didn't realize this, Chris,
I really this was your idea? Like, did I hear
that correctly?
Speaker 2: Yeah? So, But there's going to do it without an
amazing team that works on bringing these to life, especially
our marketing.
Speaker 1: Was there any liked once you came up with this
idea and you brought it to the powers that be?
Was did it go pretty smoothly.
Speaker 2: It was like talking about we looked at we looked
at what was happening at game Stop, and for me
to be able to have the manufacture experience, it felt
very much hobby in retail, right, So game Stop is
that retail market. Why can't we do something in a
hobby market? And you think about where some of the
biggest cards are pulled. They're pulled in some of these
big shops that have higher allocations, so it made sense
to partner with them. And then what the shops love
about it is there's a lot of people that as
big as Rob versus Burbank Sports Cards is, there's a
lot of people that don't know he's there, and uh,
we're able to drive a lot of traffic from our
website that says, hey, if you're in this location, why
don't you go down to Burbank Sports Cards and get
some get some help in person. Uh, And it works,
It works very well. It's a it's a very symbiotic
relationship where they see the value in us being there
and we see the value in being there and helping
to drive traffic to them.
Speaker 1: Do you anticipate more maybe car stores kind of reaching
out like hey, we want one.
Speaker 2: Here like.
Speaker 1: That.
Speaker 2: I get a lot of calls about.
Speaker 1: That, so the prerequisite like do you have to be vetted?
Like how does that?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I was. I was looking at shops
in the Seattle area. You know, we're looking at different markets,
so I was. I go and do a lot of
events myself as well to talk to the shops to
see if there's real estate that makes sense. But there's
a lot of different markets we're looking at. Having a
permanent home end and just helping make the journey easier
for customers. And I often say that I provide success
suggestions and you make the decisions. So that's how we
want to help guide customers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought it was. I found it very interesting.
And see, I'll be very blunt, like I would not
probably drop my cards off at game stop. That may
make me very And I've had people come up to
me at my shows that I'm set up when it's
like what are your thoughts on? And I'm like, you know,
they may be very knowledgeable. I just I don't know.
I just can't in my head, I can't get over
that hurdle. You know.
Speaker 2: I feel though, like game stop is when I think
of traditional retail, I think of Target, Walmart. So I
feel like game Stop is a bit more hobbyist. Like
the people that work there are you know, they're not
dealing with groceries and things like that lounge shares. But
the hobby shop is is obviously the Kreme dealt Creme
for knowledge experience.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt. I'd be more comfortable in that situation.
I also do mail them obviously, but you know, we
don't have any Kiosks at this point but here. Uh
but if when that ever happened, that would be pretty cool.
Lore And I don't know how much grating you do
or don't do. Kind of as we wind down here,
kind of your thoughts on seeing, you know, a grading
kiosk store. Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3: That's I think it's cool. I think, you know, I
think some people are adamantly against grading, and some people are, like,
they love it. They have to have it, that's how
they want their cards. I we we're selective with what
we agree, So I think it's cool. I mean having it,
like Chris said, it makes sense to have it in
the hobby shop. I mean, and like you said, John,
like there's a trust there over GameStop, you know, and
and just the progression of target to GameStop to your
local hobby shop that makes sense. I think that that
will translate to a lot of people. And I think
people who are maybe nervous about grading or don't fully
understand it or don't get the concept having somebody in
their local store to say, hey, like, this is the deal,
this is why we do this, this is you know,
like to kind of answer any questions or like, you know,
cure their apprehension. I think that's great. I think it's like,
you know, like ripnite, you know, having that extension into
the community. I think that that's a very important part
of the hobby and I think for PSA to focus
on that and to like continue that link and like
tether the two together, I think that's great.
Speaker 1: So here's the question, Chris, I love if you can
it says, uh, do these card shop owners get some
kind of discount on grading? I'm assuming he means the
ones that have the kiosk of the store.
Speaker 2: Now, okay, again, they see the value in having the
shop and a shop just because it's a level of expertise.
It's something not a lot of other people have. So Yeah,
like I said earlier, it's a really nice symbiotic relationship.
Speaker 1: Now, how about this, I got to answer this. So
let's say, and I'm just making arbitrary numbers up a
thousand cards get submitted that we get that card store
does does. Obviously the store benefits from people come in
in the store and maybe buying something else with these singles.
Speaker 2: They absolutely product.
Speaker 1: Do they get anything based on the number of submissions
the store brings in?
Speaker 2: No, not at this time. But again we see we
see a real strength of it's called attached rate where
people come in to do X, and then they also
do Y, So they come in to drop off, but
they're also buying a couple of boxes or a couple
of slabs, or they're selling some slabs. So for the
for the hobby shop owner, what really makes a hobby
shop work is traffic and having enough customers come through. Again,
every customer has different wants needs, so they just want
the the eyeballs, uh and and to give them a chance.
And again, a lot of the shops we've been partnering
with are very impressive shops that that people want to
go to anyway, So there's plenty of collectors that will
fly in from Japan or Europe just to go to
Burbank sports Cards. But there's also some that come just
for P S A. And and I had a customer
this week from Taiwan who flew out just to drop
off at Burbank sports Card. So again it's it's really
interesting the types of consumer behavior that this new this
new program is causing UH to come come to shops
like never before.
Speaker 1: I have one last question. So there's there's there's two
P s A employees in in the kiosks. Are they
are they there the whole store opening hours or they're
like peak hours they exact schedule or not necessarily? Do
we lose you? Chris? I think you froze. So all right,
let's get the A. A couple of final comments. Maybe
we'll get Chris back. Uh yank yank me card, Steve says,
just to shout out cards in Phoenix, A lot of
card shows, the Philly card show. UH is today Carl
from UH from US as every time I go to
LA his first stop is bank burd Bank. UH. And
so UH, there we go. I don't know if we're
gonna get uh, We're gonna get Chris back? Things happened. Listen,
I had graphics that didn't work, so he he just
texted me, Uh, he can't get back, but he did
answer the question for those one and they have they
have the same hours as the card shop, so that
the two p s A employees get there when the
card shop opens and they leave when the cards still closes.
So I was curious to do that. So let me
bring him back and and and there he is.
Speaker 2: Sorry about that, yet I didn't realize the show was
going to go so long. So yeah, I get her dead.
Speaker 1: So I just I told him what you had texted me,
Like the the p s A employees in there, uh
as along with the store employees for the show.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would recommend to checking with the shop, like
for David Adams right now. I think the weather it's
slowers for the most part. There to check with the shop.
Speaker 1: It's best, I know, I said the last one, last one.
This one's you know quick? Is that we're probably going
to see more of these or you think.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I do, uh, but I think it'll be a
very slow rollout again. P s A has some capacity
constraints right now that we're adding locations and greaters, so
we'll be launching this summer which will help a lot.
We're launching Submission Center in England, so there's a lot
of positives coming that will will help us grow. But
one thing I will say is I'd rather apologize for
the delays in getting things back to people then have
a situation where maybe p s A floods the grading
room with people who aren't ready to uh. To grade
at the level and consistency of a p s A grader,
it's about six months before someone's released of hard training
and uh and going through the grind every day. For
a junior grader uh to make it to the floor
and it there's a there's a real sense of awe
and uh and I've made it when when people do,
it's it's really cool to kind of junior graders become uh,
real graders. But at the same time it's uh, it's
it's I'm glad that they're not just throwing bodies at
all the demand, they're doing it the right way.
Speaker 1: Well, Carl wats one in Australia, So there you go.
Speaker 2: Carl, It's absolutely something we're looking at. So hang in.
Speaker 1: There, all right. There you go right from the sores
and I'm kid you, not for anyone listening, whether you're
you're watching live or or after the fact on audio death.
I did not know this was Chris's idea. I knew
about it, I didn't know this was his baby, so
to speak. So that worked out even better than I anticipated.
So there you go. Well everyone, we went a little overtime.
I appreciate it. I always say thank you to the
great chat room. Without you to show, it's not as
much fun, it's fun er. And even if you're not
in the chat room and you're listening to us after
the fact, right and still you're giving up your time
in that fashion, and we appreciate you just as much.
Just a reminder, we're live every Saturday eleven am eastern
eight am Pacific, generally with three new faces on the
screen and usually new topics as well. So we went
a little overtime. We appreciate it, and we'll see you
next week. Thank you, Chris, Lauren, thank you, thank you, thanks,
thank you for listening to this episode of Hobby Hotline.
I just want to remind everyone we are a live
show every Saturday morning, eleven am eastern eight am Pacific
on the four Collectors channel. On YouTube. That's the number
four the word Collector's channel on YouTube. We hope to
see many of you live on a future Saturday. We
have a great interactive chat room and we always provide
a link for anyone that wants to come on the
show and chop it up with us. So that's a reminder.
Every Saturday, eleven am Eastern eight am Pacific, only four
Collectors channel on YouTube. Hope to see you on the show.