Podcast Summary

Trading Cards & Collectibles Podcast

Episode: Josh Luber on Fanatics, Trading Cards & the Future of Collecting
Host: Ryan Alford (Radcast Network)
Guest: Josh Luber
Date: September 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the evolution and future of the trading card and collectibles industry, guided by Josh Luber—cofounder of StockX, Fanatics Collectibles, and Ghostwrite. Host Ryan Alford and Luber explore the business, economic, and cultural shifts that have shaped collectibles, with rich stories about entrepreneurship, market innovation, fandom, and the family ties that connect generations through collecting. Luber details lessons from founding StockX, launching Fanatics Collectibles, and his latest venture Ghostwrite, offering a candid perspective on what drives collectible markets now and into the future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Childhood Roots and Parenting Through Collecting

• Collecting as Early Business: Both host and guest reminisced about their first business passions rooted in buying, selling, and trading cards as kids.
• Passing on the Hobby: Luber describes teaching his son about grading, supply and demand, and funding collectables through sales—fostering both hobby joy and practical entrepreneurship.
  • "He has Pokemon cards he wants to get graded and I told him he has to fund it, so he has to figure out what card he's gonna sell to pay for his grade." (Josh Luber, 03:20)

2. The StockX Origin Story

• Entrepreneurial Path: Luber recounts early ventures unrelated to sneakers or collectibles before finally following his passion, initially with his sneaker data site Campless.
  • “All the companies I started before [StockX], none of them had anything to do with sneakers or collectibles or trading cards or any of my personal passion. And almost intentionally…I tried to avoid creating a business related to sneakers so that it wasn’t just an excuse to play with sneakers.” (Josh Luber, 07:20)
• Key Partnership: Meeting Dan Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers owner), who was independently working on a similar stock market style sneaker marketplace, led to merging ideas and teams.
• Turning Point: September 2016’s Jordan 1 "Bred" Nike drop marked the first massive scale event—jumping sales from around 60 to 301 pairs a day.
  • "From February 2016…we were grinding out two trades a day, four trades a day…That day we sold 301 pairs. And…that was the moment that said, oh, this is going to work." (Josh Luber, 11:19)

3. The StockX Marketplace Model vs. eBay

• Product-Based Marketplace: Unlike eBay’s multiple listings, StockX standardized each asset’s page, showing all bids and asks for that standardized item.
  • “A Jordan 1 bread is an asset…We create one page…and every bid, every ask, and everything is all one page. That creates efficiency and transparency…” (Josh Luber, 17:14)
• Standardization & Authentication: Only brand-new, authentic items are listed, with physical authentication centers guaranteeing legitimacy.
• Bid/Ask Model: "All we did is copy parts of the stock market and areas of finance and apply it to areas of commerce." (Josh Luber, 21:10)

4. Why StockX’s Card Vertical Has Limits

• Raw Cards vs. Sneakers: Unlike sneakers, cards have variability in condition. “StockX cannot sell raw cards because raw cards can be whatever condition they can be.” (Josh Luber, 23:02)
• Graded Cards & Liquidity: Graded cards have small supply per grade—limiting the liquidity needed for bid/ask marketplaces to thrive.
• Best Model Fit: Unopened boxes (“wax”) work best on StockX—standardized, sealed, and with larger quantities.

5. The Fanatics Collectibles Rocketship

• Industry Shift: Luber saw trading cards poised for massive growth and industry incumbents as outmoded. Left StockX in 2019 to pioneer a new era—acquiring league licenses for Fanatics.
• Transformational Partnerships: Major leagues and player associations became equity partners—a shift Luber claims “should have been that way for decades…as a collector, you want the NBA to care about NBA cards.” (Josh Luber, 25:42)
• Execution as King: “Ideas are worthless, right? Execution is the only thing that matters.” (Josh Luber, 26:40)

6. Launching Ghostwrite: The Next Chapter

• New Playing Field: Ghostwrite enters the collectible toy space—with “blank canvas” figures (ghosts) that can represent any IP, person, or theme, with a focus on flexibility and cultural collaboration.
  • "It's big enough to work with all the most important brands and artists…not so big that you have these monoliths...At the core, the economics of it are the same." (Josh Luber, 29:10)
• Product and Branding: The ghost figure is intentionally non-character, adaptable, and serves as a storytelling canvas.
  • “The ghost itself is not a character. It’s a blank canvas. It can be an NBA player, a pencil…That’s what trading cards are.” (Josh Luber, 32:20)
• Releases & Scarcity: Limited runs, parallels (e.g., “gold” versions), and blind box openings recreate pack-ripping excitement for the toy format.

7. Inside the Hobby: Market Dynamics & Cultural Impact

• Long-Term Value Focus: “What matters more than anything is the long-term value…the continued collectability…who’s buying the third year?” (Josh Luber, 46:44)
• Market Trends: Bull markets are now focused on true scarcity, not base cards. Parallels to card booms and corrections highlight the evolution of collector behavior.
  • “Only the really true scarce…stuff’s not moving…That’s a much, much, much different scenario than what happened in 21, where the whole market…went up.” (Josh Luber, 52:20)
• Collecting as Culture: Luber references Gary Vaynerchuk’s take that collecting may someday be a new cultural pillar akin to sport, music, art, or fashion.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Teaching His Kids

• "He has Pokemon cards he wants to get graded and I told him he has to fund it, so he has to figure out what card he's gonna sell to pay for his grade."
  — Josh Luber, 03:20

The StockX Leap

• "I ended up selling Campless to Dan [Gilbert]…moving to Detroit to work with him and his team to turn that into StockX."
  — Josh Luber, 08:57

Breakthrough Moment

• "That day we sold 301 pairs…that was the moment that we knew the model was the right model and…it was going to work."
  — Josh Luber, 11:19

On Marketplace Innovation

• "All we did is copy parts of the stock market and areas of finance and apply it to areas of commerce."
  — Josh Luber, 21:10

On Fanatics' Industry Transformation

• “Just having the leagues as equity partners in their own product, that should have been that way for decades…you want the NBA to care about NBA cards.”
  — Josh Luber, 25:42

Ghostwrite's Naming and Philosophy

• "The ghost itself is not a character. It’s a blank canvas…this idea that as a blank canvas, we're telling the stories of other people."
  — Josh Luber, 32:20

On Collecting’s Psychology

• "If I could answer that, I don't know, I'd be the world's richest psychologist or something."
  — Josh Luber, 50:31

Gary Vee’s Cultural Prediction

• “He thinks collectors are going to be a new pillar of culture next to music, art, fashion, sport. That is a big statement…”
  — Josh Luber, 50:37

Reference to Market Correction

• "The last run saw a lot of base cards with huge populations go crazy…now what we're seeing is only the really true scarce…stuff's not moving…"
  — Josh Luber, 52:20

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Key Topic | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 01:31 | Josh Luber Introduced, Childhood Collecting | | 03:01 | Teaching Economics and Entrepreneurship to Kids | | 07:10 | The Origin Story of StockX | | 11:19 | StockX's Breakthrough "Jordan 1 Bred" Drop | | 16:59 | Difference: eBay Listing vs. StockX Bid/Ask Models | | 21:14 | Importance of Standardization and Product Page | | 23:06 | Why StockX Model Struggles with Raw Trading Cards | | 25:29 | Fanatics Collectibles - Industry Disruption | | 31:15 | Ghostwrite: Naming, Brand, and Blank Canvas Concept | | 34:54 | Uniqueness of Collectible Toys Market | | 38:58 | Blind Box Openings and Parallels in Ghostwrite | | 44:33 | Ghostwrite Business, Product Lines & Future Plans | | 46:44 | Scalability, Long-Term Collectability | | 50:12 | Collecting Psychology, Gary Vaynerchuk's "Culture" Pillar | | 52:20 | Trading Card Market Update and Future Outlook | | 54:32 | Who Do You Collect—Personal Collecting Habits | | 56:05 | Experience at The National & Collector Communities | | 57:25 | How to Buy Ghostwrite Products, Dutch Auctions |

Where to Buy and Learn More

• Ghostwrite Products:
  • Sold direct at ghostwrite.com via blind Dutch auctions.
  • Regular releases, with products also available through leading hobby breakers (Blaz, DACardworld, Cherry, PacMan, etc.)
• Upcoming Releases:
  • NBA set launches September 16, 2025.

Final Thoughts

Josh Luber’s journey encapsulates how passion, serendipity, and execution can transform the seemingly niche world of collecting into a major economic and cultural force. From StockX’s data-driven disruption to Fanatics’ industry-overhaul and now Ghostwrite’s “blank canvas” approach, Luber repeatedly shows how market models, community, and storytelling drive the hobby forward. Listeners are left with a sense that the future of collecting will be dynamic, culturally relevant, and ever more accessible—for families, investors, and hobbyists alike.

For more info, episode links, and updates, visit: Collectibles.Show
Follow Josh Luber & Ghostwrite: See episode show notes for social handles and release information.