Podcast Summary: Inside the Sports Card Market with Jason Koonce | Collecting, Grading & Card Shows

Podcast: Trading Cards & Collectibles Podcast
Host: Ryan Alford (The Radcast Network)
Guest: Jason Koonce, Founder & CEO of OTIA Sports
Date: September 19, 2025

Overview

This episode features a deep dive into the evolving landscape of sports card collecting, grading, and live selling with industry insider Jason Koonce. Host Ryan Alford leads a candid, wide-ranging conversation covering everything from the early days of card shop monopolies to the modern, tech-driven card market. Jason, recognized as an innovator in the space, shares personal stories, expert insights, and hard-won lessons about how the sports card industry has matured into a legitimate asset class, the nuances of grading, the rise of live selling platforms, and the importance of balancing business with the joy of collecting.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jason's Entry and Evolution in the Hobby

• Early Hustle: Jason began collecting and flipping cards as a kid, using his entrepreneurial instincts from mowing lawns and shoveling snow to buy packs at local shops. (02:01)
  • "Nine, ten years old, I'm going out shoveling snow seven, eight hours a day, building up a couple hundred bucks. So I had that part down in the making money. And then... I would end up at the card shop blowing all my money on packs." ― Jason Koonce [02:06]
• Transition to Card Shows: Card shows opened up the world of negotiation, bulk deals, and flipping—an environment Jason thrived in from a young age.
  • "What really caught my eye was when I discovered card shows... I started doing this really young, like 9, 10, you know, 11 years old." [02:24]

2. The Pre-Internet Card Shop Era and The Power Shift

• Local Monopoly: In the pre-internet era, card shop owners set prices unchallenged, knowing collectors had few alternatives (04:56).
  • "They had a monopoly. Like whatever prices they said is if you wanted it... no Internet. Early, early on for me, like AOL message boards in like 95, 96, I started to dabble on the Internet." ― Jason Koonce [04:56]
• Arrival of Beckett: Beckett magazine was once considered the "Bible" of card values (05:35), but today, technology and real-time apps have surpassed it.

3. Grading: From Niche to Mandatory

• Early Adopter of Grading: Jason recognized the importance of card grading before it was mainstream, becoming PSA’s top submitter in his teens.
  • "Grading is, like, just almost mandatory now... I started grading at like 15 years old, really young, and just eventually became one of PSA's... biggest submitter for several years." ― Jason Koonce [07:58]
• Massive Margins: In the 90s, grading could multiply a card’s value ten- to hundred-fold.
• Cracking and Resubmitting: Jason innovated by buying high-grade 9s, cracking them, and resubmitting in search of elusive 10s, leveraging the subjectivity of human graders.
• Today’s Challenge: Far more competition and higher grading fees have largely eliminated those outsized opportunities in grading vintage cards.

4. Changes in the Marketplace

• Information & Levelling the Playing Field: Modern collectors—kids included—walk card shows equipped with mobile app price histories, making negotiation more transparent and competitive.
  • "Even my 9 year old, you ain't getting nothing by my 9 year old. Like he's over here, they're all walking around informed they got their apps out." ― Ryan Alford [05:57]
• Covid’s Impact: During Covid, the card market surged, solidifying sports cards as a stable alternative asset class for many investors.
  • "When Covid hit... the confidence boost for me went from like 70 to 100%... this has been cemented as a real asset class." ― Jason Koonce [15:08]

5. The Content Explosion & Social Media Era

• YouTube & Influencers: Jason describes the shift from the “hiding in the shadows” early days to the present, where making card content is cool—and highly monetized.
  • "We didn't have cameras at shows… the thought of filming at a card show was... embarrassing to tell them you bought and sold sports cards." — Jason Koonce [16:39]
• Pros & Cons: Many content creators are newcomers, leading to a “blind leading the blind” effect, but overall, Jason views positive content as growing the hobby.

6. Repack Products and Liquidity

• Repacks vs. Packs: Repacks—purchasing guaranteed graded cards in known-value ranges—offer liquidity and less “lottery ticket” risk than sealed packs but lack the possibility of massive hits.
  • "Repacks are quicker. There's generally like a floor and a ceiling..." — Jason Koonce [21:26]

7. Live Shopping: The Next Big Wave

• Whatnot and Live Auctions: Jason missed out on early investment in Whatnot but is now one of its top sellers, affirming the power of live e-commerce.
  • "I was on the initial call with Grant, the guy who started Whatnot... but I didn't really process it... now obviously I'm one of their, I think their number two seller on the entire platform." — Jason Koonce [25:16]
• FOMO & Sales: The thrill of fast-moving live auctions taps into customer FOMO, blending entertainment with commerce.
• Live Streamers as Personalities: Jason predicts professional live streamers will be as influential as QVC hosts once were.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the evolution of the hobby:
  "Fast forward 20 years. Everybody's doing it now. It's cool. So to me, that's just such a shift to see it go from, like 0 to 100 as far as the cool factor goes." — Jason Koonce [17:02]
• On grading margins:
  "In an eight that's like a seven, eight thousand dollar card and a nine, that's twenty thousand and in a ten that's two hundred thousand. So the same multipliers, you know, took place in the late 90s." — Jason Koonce [08:47]
• On live selling platforms:
  "Live shopping, like to me live shopping is like the third or fourth biggest thing where people are going to get really wealthy in the next couple years... and it's still early." — Jason Koonce [26:42]
• On entrepreneurial drive:
  "I love, you know, playing the next three to six months out and then I email it to myself. And then six months later, you know, like, kind of seeing how far we made it, if we surpassed it... you're always moving the goal post. And for better or worse, it's a blessing and a curse..." — Jason Koonce [34:58]
• On collecting with family:
  "Three nights a week... I'm looking at it purely as time with my kids where they actually want to hang out with me." — Ryan Alford [23:31]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Jason’s Early Hobby Roots: 02:01 – 03:29
• Card Shop Power & Pricing: 04:56 – 05:57
• Rise of Grading: 07:01 – 09:31
• Changes in Grading Margins: 11:28 – 12:45
• Covid’s Effect & Cards as Assets: 13:38 – 16:05
• YouTube & Hobby Influencers: 16:39 – 19:11
• 86 Fleer Basketball Stories: 19:30 – 21:02
• Repacks vs. Packs Discussion: 21:02 – 23:31
• Live Shopping & Whatnot: 25:16 – 28:20
• Live Sell Personalities & FOMO: 28:20 – 31:04
• Entrepreneurial Reflections & The Journey: 33:00 – 36:42
• Where to Find Jason: 36:52 – 37:18

Conclusion

This episode offers both a nostalgic and strategic view of the modern sports card industry, blending market wisdom, entrepreneurial stories, and fatherly advice for the next generation of collectors. Jason Koonce stands as a testament to evolving with one's passion, weathering market changes, and adapting new technology—from grading and cracking to content creation and live commerce. The conversation concludes with practical advice to enjoy the hobby, learn before going big, and appreciate the “journey” in both business and collecting.

Where to follow Jason:

• Website: OTIA.com
• Social: @otiasports
• Whatnot: OtiaRips