Junk Wax 2.0? Breaking Down Overproduction, Parallels & Pricing in Today’s Hobby

Summary

Collector Nation Podcast Summary

Episode: Junk Wax 2.0? Breaking Down Overproduction, Parallels & Pricing in Today’s Hobby
Date: April 10, 2026
Host: Ryan Alford
Co-host: Brian Lutt (Ludex CEO)
Special Guest: Leonard (On It Athletes)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the hot-button topic of overproduction in today’s trading card hobby—is the industry veering into a new “junk wax era,” or is something new happening with parallels and product releases? Ryan, Brian, and guest Leonard dissect the trends in card manufacturing, parallel oversaturation, pricing pressures, and what these dynamics mean for collectors and the business side of the hobby. The crew also touches on the NCAA tournament wrap-up, upcoming sports season crossovers, the quirks of golf collectibles, and the global expansion of the hobby.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Are We in a Junk Wax 2.0 Era?

Timestamps: 01:00, 27:32, 29:07

• Brian Lutt poses the foundational question: "Do both of you think that we’re headed towards junk wax 2.0 era with how much product is coming out right now?" (01:00, 27:32)
• Ryan Alford:
  • "I feel like we’re teetering on it, that’s for sure. They’re printing so much. You’ve got these parallels that are one shade of a color different with the exact same picture and somehow you slap a 101 on it and it’s worth more." (01:08, 27:49)
  • Reminisces about collectors constantly bringing in “old cards” from the '90s that have little value.
• Leonard:
  • "I don’t call it necessarily junk wax era, but I do think we’re in a junk parallel era. There’s way too many parallels...parallels 250 into 499 non-auto’d. Why does that need to exist?" (01:19, 29:07)
  • Suggests parallels above /25 don’t add value and dilute collectibility.

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2. Parallels, Overproduction, and Hobby Impact

Timestamps: 29:07–32:00

• Overabundance of parallels is diluting meaningful scarcity; high-numbered, non-auto parallels often fetch only a few dollars.
• Ryan illustrates the absurdity with:
  • “I got a pretty cool white-looking...parallel numbered...799 of these made and I was 728 and I felt pretty special. I was like, come on. If you’re asking a girl to go out with you and there were 728 ahead of you...that’s not rare.” (30:37)
• The line between “valuable” and “mass-produced” is now razor thin, prompting worries about long-term hobby health.

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3. Topps’ Licensed Football Launch & Pricing

Timestamps: 01:30, 24:49–26:46

• Ryan: Notes Topps is releasing licensed football cards for the first time, taking over from Panini.

  • “I see prices are already going up. ...Used to be universally, what, like 25, 30 bucks a blaster? 40 to 55, 60 for a mega box. Now, ‘value box’ is $50, 120 for a mega or something.” (01:30, 24:49)
  • Points out the rebranding of blasters as “value boxes”… “As a marketer, I kind of like that, but as a collector, I see what you’re doing there.” (25:53)

• Leonard: Observes scarcity may not match price hikes—“How many places are you going to find it for MSRP, right?” (25:58)

• Brian: Highlights the business side—"That license must be expensive." (25:53)

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4. NCAA Hoops Tournament Recap & NIL Impact

Timestamps: 02:17–09:32

• Leonard shares the success of On It Athletes and the players/teams featured in the NCAA tournaments.
• Women’s & Men’s Recap:
  • Shoutouts to standout players: “Terracere Jr., UConn, Elliot Cadeau as MVP, Gabriella Hawkez from UCLA…” (05:00)
• The rise of NIL deals provides college stars real choices and financial incentive to extend their college careers—a modern evolution in athlete collectibility and card markets.
• Ryan: Notes, “They're doing everything that pro athletes are, but they're also still in college getting education...a win-win.” (07:46)

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5. Crossover Sports Season, Baseball, and Collector Culture

Timestamps: 11:14–14:59

• Discussion turns to the “crossover” nature of April—NFL Draft, MLB, NBA/NHL playoffs, and The Masters create trade card opportunities across sports.
• Playful banter about the Yankees, live MLB games, and the social experience of collecting sports memories.

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6. Golf Cards & Masters Collectibles: Missed Opportunities

Timestamps: 14:59–22:20

• Brian: Questions why golf cards haven’t broken through: “The card market for golf...is largely minimal compared to other markets. I feel like the Masters could capitalize it more than they currently are.” (14:59)
• Leonard:
  • “Even Tiger...really old Tiger cards, they just have never sold particularly well...Nobody has memories of opening golf cards, so there’s no nostalgia factor.” (16:33, 18:40)
• Ryan:
  • Argues that lack of year-round TV exposure and generational nostalgia hampers golf’s hobby status. “You always are going to have Mike Trout on television...Chris Smith, who might win a tournament, may or may not be on TV for six months.” (17:30)
• Masters Gnomes Segment:
  • Brian shares, “In the shop at the Masters, they sell these gnomes...retail for $50, but secondary market is already at a thousand dollars. The whole set, $39,000.” (20:33)
  • Leads to humorous “yard sale” and “pickle-ornament” tangents.

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7. Global Growth: London Card Show and International Expansions

Timestamps: 34:12–36:14

• Brian: “London card show coming up...expecting 20,000 attendees. The hobby is worldwide.” (34:12)
• Leonard: Notes strong demand for college sports and F1 cards internationally, especially in Europe. Breakers are importing On It cards for fans abroad.
• Ryan: Proposes a “joint activation” with On It and Collector Nation at a future London show.

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8. The Oddities of Globalizing American Football

Timestamps: 36:26–38:20

• Light but pointed rant about the “ludicrous” trend of college football games being played in Europe.
  • Leonard: “No other sporting thing does this. Rugby doesn’t send people...soccer doesn’t play international league matches in the United States. ...But here in the US we’re just like, so, like, 'oh, football, we got to get it to the Europeans.'” (37:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Brian Lutt [01:00]: “Do both of you think that we’re headed towards junk wax 2.0 era with how much product is coming out right now?”
• Ryan Alford [01:08]: “We’re teetering on it, that’s for sure...they’re printing so much.”
• Leonard [29:07]: “I don’t call it necessarily junk wax era, but I do think we’re in a junk parallel era. There’s way too many parallels.”
• Ryan Alford [30:37]: “If you’re asking a girl to go out with you and there were 728 ahead of you...that’s not rare.”
• Leonard [18:40]: “Nobody has memories of opening golf cards, so there’s no nostalgia factor.”
• Brian Lutt [20:33]: “Masters gnomes...retail for $50, secondary market is already at a thousand dollars. If you want the whole set, $39,000.”
• Leonard [37:36]: “No other sporting thing does this...but here in the US we’re just like...‘oh, football, we got to get it to the Europeans.’”

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Segment Timestamps

• 01:00 – Discussion kicks off: Are we in a junk wax 2.0 era?
• 02:17–09:32 – NCAA tourney recap, NIL, and On It’s athlete success
• 14:59–22:20 – Golf collectibles, Masters gnomes, and nostalgia factor
• 24:49–27:32 – Topps’ football launch, licensing costs, pricing trends
• 29:07–32:00 – Junk parallel era, overproduction, parallels overload
• 34:12–36:14 – International expansion, London Card Show, F1 cards
• 36:26–38:20 – Rant on college football games abroad

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Tone & Style

Conversational, lighthearted, and occasionally irreverent (plenty of banter and jokes). The banter between Ryan, Brian, and Leonard is easy-going but data-driven when tackling hobby trends, with healthy skepticism about market directions and genuine enthusiasm for what makes collecting great.

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Conclusion

This episode’s core theme is the delicate balancing act between card production, authentic rarity, and collector value in a surging hobby that’s grown more global and more commercialized. The hosts agree: today’s hobby is flirting with a repeat of the “junk wax” mistakes of the past—only this time, it’s more about “junk parallels” and inflated pricing than pure overprinting. Nostalgia, economic realities, and authentic passion for the chase still set the real value in the modern collecting world.

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For more:

• Shop On It cards: onitathlete.com
• Connect with the podcast: collectornation.com
• Follow the hosts on social for more hobby insights.

Transcript

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[Brian Lutt]

Do both of you think that we're headed towards Junk Wax 2.0 era? With how much product is coming out right now?

[Ryan Alford]

I feel like we're teetering on it, that's for sure. They're printing so much. You've got these parallels that are one shade of a color different with the exact same picture and somehow you slap a 101 on it and it's worth more.

[Leonard]

I don't call it necessarily Junk Wax era, but I do think we're in a junk parallel era. There's way too many parallels. Like parallels 250 into 499 non auto'd. Why does that need to ex Topps

[Ryan Alford]

releasing football for the first time with licensing, I see the prices are already going up. Kind of like the basketball did 120 for mega or something.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah, it's crazy, man.

[Ryan Alford]

That license must be expensive. Welcome to the Collector Nation podcast here on the Collector Nation Network. Whether you're chasing grails or calling bluffs, we take you inside the hobby. Here are your hosts, Ryan Alford and Brian Lutt. All right, guys, our on it segment of the week, Leonard's hey, you guys know who Leonard is? At this point, I'm not going to talk about how much of a badass he is in YouTube and licensing and product and all that. What's up, Leonard?

[Leonard]

How you doing, Ryan? Good to see you.

[Ryan Alford]

Hey man, congrats. Hooray. Let's get the. Like, the confetti should drop for on it. You guys did it. You picked all the right teams.

[Leonard]

We did. And I called it, too. I said. I said I thought UCLA could win the women's championship. When we had what, go back four weeks ago and watch that episode, I

[Ryan Alford]

said that you were right and you were spot on. We'll play that back. We'll get the team to add that to this episode.

[Brian Lutt]

I should have listened to you more because my 8% bracket was looking a little rough.

[Leonard]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

Winners. When it was all said and done, but I did not have the champion.

[Leonard]

No. Yeah, I think it was. I mean, I think on the men's side, obviously, it was a lot better than last year because we had more surprises and more parity. You know, Florida going out early. Illinois, UConn's buzzer beater over Duke. Like, it wasn't just the 41 seeds like last year. Oh, the women's side. I think we got exactly what we expected. Outside of South Carolina upsetting UConn. I think that threw a lot of people that through me. Obviously, I said UCLA Yukon was going

[Ryan Alford]

to be the guy might have had. On the record, us. South Carolina is gonna. Is a. Is an. As a live dog to not sleep on them. I don't know that I picked. I did not. I wasn't commented they would win the title, per se, but I thought they'd be a pretty live dog. And they were.

[Leonard]

Yeah, they. I mean, I think there was a lot going for them, you know, to avenge last year's loss in the championship game, of course. And then just if there was anybody who was going to put a stop to UConn having a perfect season, it was going to be South Carolina. Right? Like, just the rivalry there. And I mean, you saw Don and Gino get after it, after the game about the whole handshake thing.

[Ryan Alford]

So that wasn't a great look for Gino, I didn't think. But, you know, I also understand, if you understand athletics at the highest level, how much tension's already there. You know, if anything is good for women's sports, because it does what's already happening, which is sort of legitimizing how, like, intense and good these rivalries and battles are. So in that sense, hey, you don't want to see bickering. But I thought, hey, I'm all for some juice in the women's side.

[Brian Lutt]

Hey, it made me tune in. I was out at dinner and I, like, paused and. And watched and was like, I wish I was a lip reader.

[Ryan Alford]

I was like, don, get him. Get him, Don. And. But look too hot. Two intense national championship competitors going, hey, in a tense moment. It happens. But I mean, amazing. I think South Carolina ran out of gas and UCLA was. Was the best team, no matter, you know, at the end of the day, no matter what.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah.

[Leonard]

Yeah.

[Brian Lutt]

Nine on it players making all region on the women's side and men's side is crazy.

[Leonard]

Yeah, yeah. We got a ton of. We had a ton of people show up throughout the tournament. I mean, Terracere Jr. 2 for UConn. I know they didn't win the championship. Obviously he played a monster tournament. I thought UConn had a chance against Michigan there. Elliot Cadeau actually ended up being, of course, the MVP of the whole tournament. I thought if Yax. Yaxel Ledenberg didn't get injured, I thought it was probably going to go to him. But Cadou played awesome. I mean, pretty much everybody for an on it team showed up in some way for their team in a big way. So I mean, we even had Price Sanford. Nebraska got eliminated obviously by Iowa. He made the Southall region team. So just a ton of different names. And Gabriella Hawkez too for ucla. I. I really like her as a player. I did not think she was going to go off the way she did in the championship game. But I mean, it just kind of goes to show you that when you have teams that are this elite, it's just like pick your poison really. Of all of them could go off in any given moment.

[Ryan Alford]

There's a lot of buys here on the card side. Let's just say that both for WNBA and NBA a lot. Linda Borg, I think is. Can't miss guy. Just can do it all. I mean, he's one of those guys they make so much now and you know, thanks to companies like on it, they're taking care of them on the NL side and other places with, you know, name, image, likeness. You know, they actually have a decision to make compared to like years ago because there is some money and upside to stick around. But I mean, he's. He's a. He's a total beast. I think he's gonna. I think I'd be. It kind of made me think I was like Michigan boxes over there. I was thinking while I was talking, I need to. I need to. I need to store back some of those. He. I think he's got a big upside.

[Leonard]

Yeah, for sure. And one of like, it's interesting that you bring that up because one of the guys that I've loved watching all year. And I think a lot of people have is Darius Acuff Jr. At Arkansas and they're, they're one of our timeless schools. I was listening to Calipari, Calipari talk before the championship game and he made it sound like Auff is coming back to school. And I was like, that would blow my mind.

[Ryan Alford]

He's like, top five, isn't he?

[Leonard]

I said this in my YouTube recap that I put out, but really that one sequence where Terry street got the steal and then he was falling out of bounds, he tried to throw it back and they missed the layup and then Michigan comes down and McKinney hits that basically dagger three. Yeah, that was, that was a five point swing right there in a four point loss. You know, like to me, that was the whole game on just that one sequence. I know I mentioned it last week too, but we now have the national championship commemorative boxes because they both won. So celebrating, you know, Gabriela Haquez, player of the game. Yaxel Lenborg, Marez, Johnson Jr. All the, basically all the players that got these teams to where they are and just like recapping the whole season.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, look, a lot of future stars, current stars. You know, it's funny, I even hear myself saying that now they're all stars now with Nil. And they're doing everything that pro athletes are, but they're also still in college getting education and they've got great companies like on it that are paying them for their name, image and likeness and you know, putting them on fair grounds for them and creating, you know, a future for them and savings for them because look, they're blessed with the talent, they work hard and they're using their image, you know, in support of other brands. So it's a win, win and certainly a winning tournament for. On it.

[Leonard]

Yeah, we had, we had a lot of success with the players that showed up, the teams that won, obviously. And I think a lot of people projected that Michigan would at least be in the Final Four, if not the championship. Getting UConn really shocked me. I thought, I thought they were potentially going to lose to Izzo in Michigan State.

[Brian Lutt]

You're supposed to say that they were going to lose to Furman. No, I went to Furman.

[Leonard]

No, they were never going to lose to Furman. But I mean, yeah, just the run that UConn went on. We had a lot of good teams, a lot of success this year. I'd be shocked if we don't have even more success, you know, next year, especially with the talent that was on these rosters this year that potentially could come back the way college basketball is trending.

[Ryan Alford]

National championship commemorative boxes, Michigan, UCLA. Shop now at onitathlete.com use code collector nation. You'll get 15% off your first order that's on itathlete.com love it, Leonard. Always appreciate it. Can't wait. To future segments. Clemson, baseball's got to heat up. We need them. We got. We got to get in it. We'll talk some more baseball, other sports. But hey, hell of a season here for on it in the NCAA tournament.

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[Leonard]

Appreciate it. Thank you, Ryan.

[Ryan Alford]

What's up, guys? Welcome to Collector Nation. It's our Friday episode here. In the end, was it middle? It was already middle. I can't believe. Am I saying that? Is it the 13th or 15th of April? My days are messed up, but Bella will get me straight here in a second.

[Brian Lutt]

The tenth. Well, it will be the tenth when this releases.

[Ryan Alford]

The tenth when it releases.

[Brian Lutt]

Yep.

[Ryan Alford]

Okay, so it's not as fast as I thought. So it what it is. We also got Leonard with us, our good friend. He is a sports card guy. He's with on it and just knowledgeable around. We're like, hey, join us. Brian's out of town. He's at some conference. Like Leonard's like, I'm in. We appreciate it, brother, for being here.

[Leonard]

Yeah, thank you for having me. I've got got plenty of thoughts.

[Ryan Alford]

I know what's what says you here in April. We've been talking a lot about the basketball tournament, which is behind us now. We got the NFL draft coming up. We got MLB Are we a big draft follower or a big major league baseball guy?

[Leonard]

Yeah, I mean, both, for sure.

[Ryan Alford]

The Yankees in Seattle, you know.

[Leonard]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

They twisted a little bit.

[Leonard]

Yeah, it's. It's an interesting combo, but it's like crossover season, you know, kind of. We got the draft coming up, and baseball's in full swing, so. And this is one of the fanatics. Fest tops hats, the Jeter one.

[Ryan Alford]

So I was like, nice.

[Brian Lutt]

Might as well as a Yankees fan. I appreciate it.

[Leonard]

Yes. Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

Hometown up there. Yeah. We'll just call it the universe of, I don't know, New York City. Like, it includes Connecticut and parts of New Jersey. Manhattan. Like, it's kind of all the one, if you think about it, because, like, I lived in. I lived in Manhattan. People come in from Connecticut, they come in from Jersey. You got a whole. I don't know.

[Brian Lutt]

We're Yankees, after all.

[Ryan Alford]

Exactly. You damn Yankees. So we say down here in the south, you know, I don't care. I love all my Yankee fans.

[Brian Lutt]

Hey, I get to meet Aaron Judge. So I will always hold the Yankees close to my heart.

[Ryan Alford]

I adopted the Yankees while I was up there a little bit. I mean, it was fun. I love going to Yankees games. So if you don't enjoy going to a baseball game, like a live MLB game, you got other problems. Yeah, seriously. You got 99 problems, but that game ain't it, because it's fun. You have your hot dog, a beer, some nachos, a stomach ache from the hot dog. Absolutely not. If you. If you're bougie, you can go sit in the. Whatever. You know, I get invited in those luxury boxes. I'm like, nah, I want to be out here where I have the sights, the sounds, and the smells.

[Brian Lutt]

Chance to get hit by a foul ball.

[Ryan Alford]

Not gonna catch one, baby.

[Leonard]

Yeah, and a nice little sunburn while you're trying to use nine. The nine by nine by nine challenge.

[Ryan Alford]

Yes.

[Brian Lutt]

Speaking of mlb, did y' all see the big fight on the Brave Braves Angels game?

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. Powder. Yeah, it's usually it looked kind of. I did not see it live.

[Brian Lutt]

I mean, it was like a tackle. Like, it.

[Ryan Alford]

It's always like, a little. Like, these guys are flailing a little, and I don't know how I'd react either. And I feel like I could. I can hold my. My own. But in that moment, the charging in the mound, you're kind of like, yeah, all eyes on you. It's like, okay, what do I do? All right, I throw my glove. Am I gonna judo chop or give him The Crane kick. I'm not sure.

[Brian Lutt]

Well, the pitcher still had the ball in his hand. I was just waiting for him to.

[Ryan Alford]

One day that's gonna happen. The pitcher's gonna chunk that ball like, and hit him right with it.

[Leonard]

Yeah, hit him right in the face with the ball in his hand. I was like.

[Ryan Alford]

I didn't see

[Leonard]

somebody else got like speared. So, yeah, it was just. It was quite the fight.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. You know, it, it's. It's a sad sort of time period for me and of the year because we're so. Still so far from football and that's my favorite sport. But it's a really great time. Like April May, because you have the NFL draft, you have the basketball tournament, which we've been talking about, which is incredible. You have Masters week, which this is, and mlb. And so it's like. And the NBA playoffs starting to come in. It's like a slow ride to that thing. We'll come back to that. But.

[Leonard]

But the NHL playoffs, at least NHL, that's right.

[Ryan Alford]

They started too. It's a good. It's a good time.

[Brian Lutt]

I actually kind of had questions about the. The Masters and maybe more from a brand perspective because I feel like the card market for golf while it's there, you know, it's largely minimal compared to other markets. And I feel like the Masters, they could capitalize it more than they currently are because it's like, I don't really follow golf that much, but I still watch the Masters and I know a lot of other people do, and it's kind of become like, trendy. So I'm curious if they're going to capitalize on it more this year than they have.

[Ryan Alford]

That's a good question. I mean, you've got live golf that's been, I think, with tops the last few years. I think that's right. Maybe. Maybe Panini, I don't even remember. Who knows?

[Leonard]

I think. I think they were with Panini for a while.

[Ryan Alford]

Panini. Was it Panini? Maybe it's still Panini. Who knows? But I don't know why PJ Tour hasn't had more of a presence. And then it's a good point about the Masters. I know we're going to talk about a certain collectible that's off the market here shortly. But before we get to that, it is like the perfect thing that they could have had, like Masters cards done well by someone high end. That would have been a nice. It's probably.

[Brian Lutt]

I mean, they could have done like. Because I'm pretty sure they're partnered with Rolex, too. Yeah, incorrect. But I think they could have done such a classy collaboration between. Yeah. Like some sort of card with roll. Like, I don't know. I. I think there's something there. And if next year I see it, I want Leonard.

[Ryan Alford]

I mean, you're in the market here. I mean, you're on, you know, you're in, you know, all this. I mean, what's the deal with golf carts?

[Leonard]

Yeah, I don't. I. I've never, like, they. Some people really love them, obviously, but they've just never been mainstream for whatever reason. Like, even Tiger, you know, like, really old Tiger cards, they just have never sold particularly well for.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Leonard]

What reason? Like, I would. An awesome card to see would be, like, Tiger Sunday Red, you know, from, like, one of the years he won the Masters. Like a patch, like the Nike red patch.

[Ryan Alford]

A green emerald Masters Tiger card.

[Leonard]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

Like in the green jacket.

[Leonard]

Yeah. With a patch auto of, you know, the Sunday Red that he won in. And then, like, he.

[Ryan Alford]

You know, I think we're starting a company here. Are we starting a company here? It's expensive licensing.

[Brian Lutt]

Like, golf is such an affluent sport that it's, like, why, like, you have the prime market for cards.

[Ryan Alford]

I think it's because the pl. You know, you have. You have a certain number of players, and it's the same. Even though there's a lot of names that float because golf is so hard, the good guys only stay good for so long. It's sort of like 10 to 15 guys that. That have name recognition, you know, and it usually was Tiger, Phil and everybody else. And I think the problem. It's both the problem and the. Maybe the solution was to have a card that made them more interesting or made them more follow. Maybe the. The cards could have driven more following. But, you know, you always are going to have Mike Trout on television, whether he's batting.210 or.340 that season. So you're always going to see him if you want. If you follow the Angels, Chris Smith, who might win a tournament, may or may not be on TV for six months if he gets a little cold. And I think it has something to do with presence in media. You know, the cards can only carry it so much if you don't have a name. And I've come to that hypothesis just while sitting here. So it made sense while I was saying it, but I think. Yeah, yeah.

[Leonard]

I was gonna say, I think part of it, too, is, like, when you think of being a collector and, like, the memories that Cards evoke. Nobody has, like, memories of opening golf cards, you know, so, like, there's no nostalgia factor.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Leonard]

Opening a pack of golf. Or, like, it's also very hard sport to attend outside of, like, the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, you know, and everybody parties it up on the 16th or 17th, whatever hole it is. Like, you know, when you think about opening a pack of really cheap baseball cards that are, like, 99 cents, God knows you can't get a pack for 99 cents anymore, but. And taking them to a game and trying to get them signed at batting practice. Right. Like, for baseball cards, like, I feel like that's a very core memory for parents, kids, and, like, golf just does not allow you the same opportunities. So I feel like that also could be part of the disconnect of where there's not really, like, a tradition or a lineage of families collecting golf and then passing it on down.

[Ryan Alford]

Yep. And I think. I think that's where maybe you're tying back to where you started, tying it into the Masters, tying it into classic tournaments that maybe have, you know, historical. Like, all the Masters winners of the last 40 years have a card set with those that might could get some steam, because, again, you're tying it to the biggest tournament that has bass appeal outside of even golf.

[Brian Lutt]

See, we need to stop saying our good ideas on the podcast.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. We need to be able to. We gotta pack, swipe, and sell them, you know, but I think someone's probably introduced that. It's. It's so masters of them. Probably not to want to do it, but. Yeah, you know. Oh, the prestige. We're not gonna have cardboard with the green jacket pictured on it.

[Brian Lutt]

Well, you know what they do have?

[Ryan Alford]

We just want to have egg salad sandwiches and our little two and keep them $2.

[Brian Lutt]

What they do have, though, is in the. The shop at the Masters, they sell these gnomes that look like little garden gnomes. Sometimes they're Christmas themed, sometimes they're golf themed. You know, like, they change it up every year, and they retail for $50. But it's speculated that this year is the last year they're doing them. So the secondary market for them is already at a thousand dollars. And if you want the whole set, $39,000.

[Ryan Alford]

I'm gonna go yard selling this spring, and I'm. I'm on the. We live in South Carolina, not far from Augusta. I'm gonna go yard selling down in Aiken, see if I can find me some gnomes.

[Brian Lutt]

I'm sure you can.

[Ryan Alford]

Yes.

[Brian Lutt]

And I looked.

[Ryan Alford]

I mean, that's a big upside. You probably know in a yard sale for $5, I bet. And that's thousand bucks. Come on.

[Brian Lutt]

And, like, they're pretty cute. I will say, as gnomes go. Yeah, but it's a garden gnome. Yeah, I. Yeah, and apparently they sell out like. Like, if you're not first in line, like, you're not getting one.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, So.

[Leonard]

I never knew these were so popular.

[Ryan Alford]

Well, if I had one, you'd get gnome. Dad. Joke. Sorry.

[Brian Lutt]

Steal it from you. You'd have to display it in our store.

[Ryan Alford]

Yes, I would. That's what I'm saying. I wouldn't sell it. I. I bolted down, though, so nobody stole it. That's just true, Leonard. This is true. I'm gonna put it up high somewhere, bolt it down nickel time over that big drink machine over there. Mike, could be the Spotify. That could be like an Easter egg or something. You know, like in the store, the hidden gnome that we find. I go yard selling and I don't tell anybody, and I just start storing. Obviously, you'll know, but it's like when

[Brian Lutt]

you, like during Christmas, when you hide the pickle in the tree, we hide the gnome in the store.

[Ryan Alford]

I have not heard of this pickle tree thing.

[Brian Lutt]

Have you not? Leonard, do you know what I'm talking about?

[Ryan Alford]

No, absolutely not.

[Brian Lutt]

The lucky pickle.

[Leonard]

Not at all.

[Ryan Alford]

What in the world? You said that, like, as if it was, like, you know, the Easter Bunny coming.

[Brian Lutt]

Like, okay, you take, like, a little pickle ornament, and I, I hope.

[Ryan Alford]

Listen, this is a strange Yankee New York thing.

[Brian Lutt]

I, You. You take the pickle ornament and somebody hides it, and then you try to find it. And then if you find it, you have to hide it.

[Ryan Alford]

Again, this is a family show. Hiding the pickle is not, you know, like,

[Leonard]

family show. They probably should be hidden.

[Brian Lutt]

Okay, all right. I hope the audience knows we need

[Ryan Alford]

to get some votes on this. Is anyone aware that's listening? DME, hit us up on the YouTube comments. Hide the vehicle on the Christmas tree.

[Leonard]

I want to put an elf on the shelf.

[Ryan Alford]

Elf on the shelf, absolutely.

[Brian Lutt]

Okay, well, now I'm just embarrassed. It definitely is a thing.

[Ryan Alford]

Okay, back to your regular schedule programming this gnome. It's a masters. I can't wait to see him at the yard sale. I'm looking for that thing now. I need a picture of it, though. You know, I gotta know what I'm searching for. There's. In South Carolina, there's a yard sale on every, like, every corner every weekend.

[Leonard]

I believe that.

[Ryan Alford]

And that gnome, I haven't seen him yet, but strikes me is probably a prime item. Hey. That someone bought 10 or 15 years ago at a masters and never put it out. They thought it would be cool to have. And then they're going, I'm just gonna throw it in the yard sales because they aren't following the secondary market.

[Brian Lutt]

And yeah, they'd be losing out on 2000%.

[Ryan Alford]

Follow along the journey of the gnomes, the masters gnomes. Can Ryan find any in yard sales of South Carolina? We will be on the lookout. And if you have one in your listings and you want to send it to me, we'll give you those details privately.

[Brian Lutt]

Well, because we just told them how much it can go for on the secondary.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it has to be graded, right. And I'll. I'm the one that graze them.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Okay.

[Ryan Alford]

You gotta send it to me to make sure it's okay.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

I wonder. They made a pottery. Are they like easily breakable?

[Brian Lutt]

You know, I've never seen one of them, so I can't tell you.

[Ryan Alford]

Okay.

[Leonard]

They gotta be on ebay.

[Ryan Alford]

You got it. Exactly. We'll look that up. Yeah, we'll look that up. So we got a little bit of a switch over here this week. Topps release in football for the first time for with licensing. Taking that over from Panini. That releases I think on the 15th or 13th. My dates are obviously not correct by the start of the show. I'm trying to put us in the middle 15th. So. Coming up. Coming up. Yes. It's gonna be interesting. I don't know how limited release it's gonna be. I see the prices are already going up. Kind of like the basketball did. It's like cool. Used to be kind of universally, what, like 25, 30 bucks a blaster? 40 to 55, 60 for a mega box. The basketball. Nah, those value value boxes. We've also changed the name. We're no longer blasters, we're value boxes. I like as a marketer, I kind of like that, you know, but you know, as a collector, I'm like, I see what you're doing there. Value box, $50. 120 for a mega or something.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah, it's crazy.

[Ryan Alford]

And that license must be expensive.

[Leonard]

Yeah, seriously. And I mean, how many places are you going to find it for MSRP, right, so.

[Ryan Alford]

Oh, exactly. So it's like 6120. Probably like day one if you're lucky. Or Blasters and mega boxes.

[Leonard]

It's going to be almost the same price. As Donrus Optic.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, probably more. Yeah. I mean, and donors Optic. Well, and you can find for 80. 80 or 90. I mean, if you know when it came out. But.

[Leonard]

And I'm sure you saw the, the first day issue as well from Tops. Their, their idea of first off the line. They're doing the same thing. They've literally just took, they took Panini's playbook. I mean, they got first day issue. They're Dutch auctioning it. Like, I mean, like we're gonna do

[Ryan Alford]

the exact same copy them or, or just buy all the licenses and look, I don't have your dog of the fight. I mean, good. I, I know Reuben. Mike. Good job, Mike. He's a killer. Like what? You know, like, he's a beast of a businessman. I got, I don't care. I mean, I'll be selling and ripping and doing all that. I got no dog in the fight. But dang, it's like, it's expensive and it'll. But you know what? I don't think it's going to change the demand. I think that people are going to want it. And I think there's so many people in the hobby right now, they're going to buy it, myself included, you know, as a store owner. So, I mean, it is what it is, but I, I, I don't know what the end. Like, when does it become too much? I don't know.

[Brian Lutt]

Do you both of you think that we're headed towards junk wax 2.0 era with how much product is coming out right now, or do you think that they're across brands keeping, like, purposely scarce?

[Ryan Alford]

I feel like we're teetering on it, that's for sure. If we're not in it or teetering on it, like. Right. I mean, it's just they printing so much. You got these parallels that are one shade of a color different with the exact same picture, and somehow you slap a 101 on it and it's worth more. I get they only made one of that one shade, but they're getting a little lazy with the differences from these 101s to the neck, you know, one to the other. So that screams to me, combined with the print numbers or anything else that it could be. You know, I don't know if it'll be quite. I hope it's not as bad as 1989, 90. You know, Don, Russ and Tops. I saw we got people that bring those in the card store every day. I got some old cards I want to show you, and I'm like, please don't be hitting on tops. Please don't be. 1990 Don Russ. And three out of four, 1991 Don Russ. 1989 tops. Oh, wow, look at these. To be a bear of bad news. They're worth less than what, Whatever. Your grandfather, your father. Right, grandfather. Because I was that sage. That's what I collected. But hopefully not your grandfather. Your father's collection's worth less than what he paid for it probably, but I don't know. I think we're close, man. I mean there's a lot of being printed, there's a lot of options and it's slicing the bony pretty thin with some of the variations.

[Leonard]

Yeah, I. I don't call it necessarily junk wax era, but I do think we're in a junk parallel era because there's way too many parallels, like you said. And the fact that you have like parallels to, you know, 250into499 non auto, like why does that need to exist? Why do there need to be 500 variations of a guy and then you have 250 other variations and then you have 1 to 150 to 100 to 75 to 50. Like parallels to me should not go higher than 25. Make them rare. Make them really rare. Make them have value. Because if they don't have an auto on them to 4.99, it's like $5 card. Depending on who it is. Some of them are like $2 cards. You couldn't even get COMC to sell them for you online.

[Ryan Alford]

Like, so I literally opened the box last night. I'm not going to name any names, Panini or the brand or the specific one, Football Select 2025 and opened it and I got a really. A pretty cool white looking. I thought at first it was a zebra because they look so close to the same, but it wasn't a zebra. It was just a white parallel numbered. It was pretty rare. Pretty rare. There's only 799 of these made and I was 728 and I felt pretty special. I was like, come on, Oily. Exactly to your point, Leonard. Exactly.

[Leonard]

Comp that card and it's maybe five bucks. Like it's not even worth the cost of grading. And it's numbered. So like, what's the point? Might as well be a base.

[Ryan Alford]

My new favorite number is 728. Now though, I will say that like 728.

[Leonard]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brian Lutt]

Is it at least a good player?

[Ryan Alford]

I mean, your hesitation means it wasn't good enough. Let's just say that. Let's just say he played for the Jets. Is there a single active player on the Jets? That's. That's good enough. Like, I mean, I'm not saying you don't have some. A few diamonds in the rough, but there ain't a whole lot there.

[Leonard]

Yeah, none of that. None of the hobby. I mean, Breeze and Garrett are both. Breeze hall and Garrett Wilson are both really good, but they just don't get any love because they play.

[Ryan Alford]

It wasn't either one of them. So I knew who he was. Most people would know it. Most fans would know who he was, but it wasn't great. And I was just like, man, think about, so how rare this is. It's kind of like, so how rare do you think of. Okay, in some ways you can go, Well, I made 800 of them, you know, 799. So. Okay. Then I'm like, if you're asking a girl to go out with you and there were 728 ahead of you, you know, out of seven, nine. That's not a rare. You're not very rare if you're like number 7 28. Like, you know, that's a crazy way to think of it. No, it was kind of like, I don't think I want to be number 728. You know, like, that's not rare. Rare is 20, 25.

[Leonard]

Okay.

[Ryan Alford]

You know, just about. In any. Anything to Leonard's point, out of 25.

[Leonard]

Okay.

[Ryan Alford]

There's a lot of numbers in the world, but not 7.99.

[Brian Lutt]

Hey, you could have been number 799.

[Ryan Alford]

That's true. You know, I'm. That. I'm probably that and a lot of other things, but, you know, like how good I am at, you know, backgammon and other ran. I mean, I'm good at yard sports, I'll say that.

[Grainger Announcer]

Don't.

[Ryan Alford]

Don't come at me. And bocce ball, frisbee, you know, crochet, croquet. Like, I'll kick your ass in it. I mean, yard game wizard. Ping pong.

[Brian Lutt]

Okay, well, yeah, I was gonna say we're gonna have to do a cornhole tournament.

[Ryan Alford]

Oh, dude. I'm just saying. Wife. I'm terrible at so many things, but yard games, some games that pay no money, that give you no prestige. I am really good at.

[Brian Lutt]

Hey, I mean, they have.

[Ryan Alford]

They're worthless.

[Brian Lutt]

They have tournaments of cornhole on tv.

[Leonard]

I don't get that on the O show.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Brian Lutt]

You know what I saw the other day was virtual golf tournament.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. I was flabbergasted it's called Isn't that called golden Tea? Hey, I'm in. Think about getting one here for the station. Let me tell you, I'm not kidding either.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah, I was baffled.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, trying to get productivity absolute zero. We're close. We're close, Leonard. We're not far from it.

[Brian Lutt]

Hey, we're productive here.

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[Ryan Alford]

Anything else on our topics of the Dzur? I mean, look, get out there.

[Brian Lutt]

The only thing else is that London card show coming up here is expecting 20,000 attendees.

[Ryan Alford]

Hey, the hobby is worldwide.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

You guys see demand globally for on it Leonard?

[Leonard]

Yeah, actually, that's kind of funny you mentioned that. I actually know two people who are going to the London card show. Completely unrelated, but. Well, we have a guy actually who I met at my last company who's a huge college football fan who lives in the uk. He's a huge Oregon Ducks fan, big Denver Broncos fan, but he likes college more. He's like been really big on actually getting a bunch of on it football over there and running breaks for other guys who can't get, you know, the cards internationally because he comes back to the US quite often. So yeah, there's definitely a demand for college football and obviously I'm kind of tuned in. F1 is my favorite sport. So I'm really tuned into the F1 card community. There will be a ton of people I know at selling F1 cards there. So in soccer too, I feel like all the stuff that we don't really kind of accept over here in the US like, yeah, you see a ton of that stuff at these international car. We, we just like in the United States, we're just like so focused on like basketball, football, baseball, and like, we kind of just forget that, you know, soccer and Formula one are these global sports that, I mean, if you look year by year, they rack up way more money in sales than anything we do here in the States.

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah, and I think it's, you know, because, you know, NCAA is trying to expand football more globally by having games in different countries and stuff. So I'm sure that there's definitely a lot of college football fans that would be interested in. On it. Cards at the London card show.

[Ryan Alford]

I got an idea. I think on it and Collector Nation needs to do a joint activation next year at the London card show. There we go. Well, I'm in.

[Brian Lutt]

Hey, also London.

[Leonard]

Bella, to your point, is that not the worst thing ever?

[Brian Lutt]

Yeah.

[Leonard]

Having college athletics being played in Ireland and Spain. I'm sorry, that is the most ludicrous thing. When they announced that, like, who is it? Kansas and Kansas State are going to, like, Spain in the middle of November. Are we joking?

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Leonard]

In the middle of the season, a Big 12 Conference football game is being played in Ridiculous. I. That I've nothing.

[Ryan Alford]

Are we wanting transfers? Are we wanting transfers from there? Are we wanting to pull in, like, admissions from the foreign country? I get to try to spread football, but it's stupid.

[Brian Lutt]

I love when the games start at 8am Like, I actually don't mind that

[Ryan Alford]

on a Sunday, just because then, hey, I mean, breakfast, making an omelette and like, hey, Jacksonville's. Oh, Jacksonville's always playing on those Sunday games. I don't know why. I mean, it probably doesn't say anything good about them, but they, hey, they're better this year. They're gonna be better next year. So maybe they won't make the. The London special, but I hate it so much.

[Brian Lutt]

I don't think I've ever seen you so passionate about it.

[Leonard]

Like, it's just. No other sporting thing does this. Like, rugby doesn't send people, like, soccer doesn't play international league matches in the United States. Why? Because they think it's ridiculous. Like, the Champions League tried to do it and there was a massive pushback because they're like, this is a European tournament. We are playing it in Europe. We are not coming to Miami. And all the clubs, like, the club presidents got involved and like, look, we're not doing this. Like, I don't care if it makes money. This is a European tournament. But here in the US we're just like, so, like, oh, football. We got to get it to the Europeans. And it's just like, God, guys, this is American football. If they want to come watch American football, they can come to America.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, well, we want to force it down one way or the other. So crazy. I guess that's how it is, but that's it. That's all we got. Leonard, really appreciate you for joining in and providing perspective and as always, go check out on it athlete.com for more with what they're up to. And Leonard, want to drop any social deets or anything like that?

[Leonard]

Yeah, you can if you're interested in on it. College football cards or just college sports in general on an athlete on socials if you want to follow me if you enjoy my passionate takes about why American sports should be played in America. Leonard on it is my handle on Instagram. You can follow me there. I just actually inherited a bunch of vintage cards so I've been showing those off recently. So if you're interested in vintage cards, you can come check those out. So.

[Ryan Alford]

And I appreciate we're always buying.

[Leonard]

Oh you should. We should talk after this. Then you'd be interested.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. Oh sweet. Let's talk for sure. Bella, appreciate you.

[Brian Lutt]

I always love being on here.

[Ryan Alford]

Hey guys, you want to find us collect your nation, the collector nation.com and the collector station.com if you want to check out our live inventory. We ship nationwide here in the United States and of course we carry on it. That's what you got to get. Support those college athletes and support yourself because there's some high value cards coming out of these college tournaments. Let me tell you. We appreciate Leonard, we appreciate on it. We appreciate all our partners. We really appreciate you for making us a top show on Apple Top 10 in sports again this week. Number four, I think was the high. We appreciate it. Continue to like follow, listen, tell us what you want to learn here. We'll keep bringing it to you here on Collection. See you next time. Thanks for tuning in to the show. Be sure to follow us on your go to podcast platform and catch the full video episode over on YouTube. Visit [e-mail] and follow Ryan on Instagram at Ryan Alford. Now get out there and collect your yours.

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