Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Trading Cards & Collectibles Podcast
Host: The Radcast Network
Episode: Unexpected Card Price Surges Shake Up The Hobby This Week
Date: December 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of the Trading Cards & Collectibles Podcast, hosted by Ryan Alford (with co-host Brian), dives into this week’s dramatic price surges in the trading card hobby. From nostalgic discussions about rookie cards, tales of 5-million-card storage units, notable trends in card scans, to the ongoing evolution of grading companies and market transparency, Ryan and Brian break down how news, rarity, and authenticity are impacting prices and collector behavior. The conversation balances hobby passion, insider data, market skepticism, and fun storytelling—all in their unfiltered, banter-filled style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Card Price Surges and Market Trends

• Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck Rookie Card Rebounds
  • Noted for wild pandemic fluctuation: went from $6K, dropped to $2.5K, and is “back up to like five, six grand again” ([00:16], [04:21]).
  • Nostalgia is a major reason many collectors hold instead of selling, even with high market prices ([04:46]).
• Inside the Storage Unit: Hidden Gems
  • Brian shares stories of unearthing valuable cards during visits to his storage units. Finds included ‘90s inserts like Jordan Beam Team and Chipper Jones out of ’98, each worth several hundred dollars ([03:38]), and a binder with multiple Ken Griffey Jr. rookies ([04:39]).

2. Ludex Data: What’s Hot This Week

• Market Sentiment via Ludex Card Scans

  • Ludex has recorded their millionth VeeFriends card scan: “We actually just scanned our millionth VeeFriends card” ([00:00], [09:02]).
  • Baseball still leads with 45% of all scans, but football and basketball fluctuate; Pokémon sometimes surges to 10–15% ([07:39]).

• This Week’s Notable Risers — And a Faller

  • Shedeur Sanders’s “downtown PSA 10” jumps from $1200 (late November) to $2000, a 34% increase in scans ([11:42]).
  • Philip Rivers sees a 41% uptick in scan rate after a news bump, with his 2004 Topps PSA 10 rising from $160 to $210 ([13:17]).
  • Matthew Stafford also highlighted as a surprise riser ([13:46]).
  • On the flip side, Daniel Jones’s cards tank following his injury: “His stuff’s almost down 50%...from a 2019 Panini Silver Prizm PSA 10, $250 to $132” ([14:58]).

3. The Hobby’s Ongoing Challenges: Grading, Trust & Scandals

• Skepticism and Resilience

  • The hosts discuss ongoing “clouds” of skepticism in the industry about grading transparency and market leaders. Hobbyists are aware of, but frequently forgive, questionable practices ([15:41]).

• On Grading Companies & AI’s Role

  • AI-powered grading is discussed as an answer to human inconsistency and favoritism, but even “better grades” may struggle for secondary market acceptance ([18:28]).
  • “The business model is really rough...You run out of money, your tech company, you will run out of money” ([19:24]).

• Market Dominance and Lack of Accountability

  • PSA’s dominance discussed: “PSA has been the most...dodging. Like it’s...a top 10 sports show in the US...But this is what it is. It’s a little dodgy dodging, you know...” ([21:11]).
  • Comparison to financial giants: “Goldman Sachs just played by different rules...The credibility, they don’t care because they’re so big and they’re not going to get hit.” ([20:41]).

4. Collector Stories & Market Nuggets

• Ultra-Modern Card Records & Pack Pull Stories
  • Otani one-of-one Logoman card already bids over $1 million, aiming to set a record for ultra-modern cards ([22:24]).
  • Brian’s story: pulls a “$5,000 Josh Allen downtown gold /5” from a last-minute purchase in an Asheville card shop—with lots of light-hearted banter ([22:50]–[25:48]).

5. Theft, Insurance & Inventory Management in Card Shops

• Recent Card Shop Burglaries
  • $100K in Pokémon and sports cards stolen from a California shop; a trend of increased thefts noted ([26:54]).
  • Discussion about difficulties of insuring card inventory and the need for digital receipts/inventory for verification ([27:36]).
  • The hosts advocate using technology (like Ludex scans) to streamline insurance and inventory processes.

6. Innovations: Ludex Lightbox Pre-Sale

• Lightbox Hardware Announced
  • Ludex Lightbox promises “perfect pictures” for cards in various packaging, improving digital tracking and sales photos; preorders open, Jan 15th delivery ([30:21]).

7. Closing Banter and Upcoming Projects

• Store events, proximity to police departments for security, and community discounts ([29:33]).
• Teaser about upcoming collectibles media initiatives ([31:47]).
• Sports fandom wrap-up (Jaguars, Bears, and handling cold-weather games!) ([33:03]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nostalgia and Selling Rare Cards

  • “Would you sell them, though, the 10?”
    — “I wouldn’t. Because of nostalgia, probably.”
    (Brian & Ryan, [04:46])

• On Hobby Sentiment & Ludex Data

  • “Ludex is absolutely the sentiment meter of the hobby because it is 100% reflective of the hottest news.”
    (Brian, [12:07])

• On Grading Pain Points & Industry Scandals

  • “I mean, it’s just like what, what do we do? This industry has had a sort of a cloud a bit... not, look, it’s not hurting sales, but just a little slimy, right?”
    (Brian, [15:41])

• On Grading Company Dominance

  • “PSA has been the most...what do you call it? Dodge dodging. Like it’s...a top 10 sports show in the US... But this is what it is. It’s a little dodgy dodging, you know...”
    (Brian, [21:11])

• On Pulling a Surprise Hit Card

  • “Sometimes you go to Asheville... buy five packs... you start going through the second pack in your boxers, your wife’s snoring and the fourth, fifth, sixth card is gold and it’s Josh Allen out of five.”
    (Brian, [22:50])

• On Digital Inventory for Insurance

  • “You can have a digital receipt... so when you go into these shops or these collectors, you can have your value.”
    (Ryan, [27:36])

• On the Fun of the Hobby

  • “It makes it super fast, dude... and there’s something like, I don’t know, it’s kind of fun, like sliding the cards in.”
    (Brian, on the Ludex Lightbox, [31:25])

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [00:16] Ken Griffey Jr. rookie and market fluctuations
• [03:38] Storage unit finds, ‘90s inserts and rookies
• [07:39] Ludex scans—baseball’s continued dominance in scans
• [09:02] 1 millionth VeeFriends card scanned, community shout-out
• [11:42] Weekly risers/fallers: Shedeur Sanders, Philip Rivers, Stafford, and Daniel Jones
• [14:58] Daniel Jones value drop and “buy low” conversation
• [15:41] Hobby skepticism and grading “clouds”
• [18:28] AI grading discussion and struggles of new grading businesses
• [20:41] PSA/Goldman Sachs analogy and market power
• [22:24] Otani 1/1 Logoman: record-setting auction talk
• [22:50]–[25:48] Brian’s Asheville “gold downtown Josh Allen /5” story
• [26:54] Recent thefts at card shops, difficulty of insurance
• [30:21] Ludex Lightbox hardware pre-sale and demo impressions
• [31:47] Collectibles media business tease and wrap-up banter

Tone & Style

Maintaining Ryan and Brian’s authentic, conversational, and occasionally tongue-in-cheek tone, the episode mixes collector wisdom and hobby stats with market skepticism and personal stories. They move fluidly between insightful observation, humor, and hobby encouragement, capturing both the investment seriousness and the fun of trading cards.

For anyone invested (or just curious) in the trading card market, this episode delivers a real-time snapshot of hobby excitement, the pulse of price surges, and both the thrills and complications of being a collector in 2025.