Ben Burrows

Must-read story here from Larry on the growing comparisons for breaks to gambling. “It was sold as a hobby. But underneath all of it was a simple engine: you put money in, an outcome you cannot control comes out.”

ICYMI: The 2025 Topps Chrome Josh Allen Honors MVP Gold Shield Auto 1/1 sold for $1.35M in Fanatics Collect's May Premier Auction. Result is a public record for any Allen card, according to @CardLadder. Sale is also the first football card to top $1M publicly since June 2023.

2025 Topps Chrome LeBron James Superfractor 1/1 sold for $1.26M in Fanatics Collect's May Premier Auction. Card is James' first Superfractor Auto to use a Topps Chrome Base design. Is also one of the earliest cards to use James' new "crown" signature.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks talks about the current trading card and collectibles market with @BrianSozzi and @YahooFinance: "I think we're in a golden age of collectibles, whether it's trading cards, mini figures, collectibles as art or high end animatronic dolls like we have with the Ultimate Grogu, there's just never been more choice." On trading cards: "If you look at the Big 3, which are likely Magic, Pokémon and Fanatics, the trading card category either this year or next year will be the biggest single toy and game category eclipsing building blocks."

@hoopscollectors @putnamcards some of those chronicles subsets are sneaky good but get lumped in with the junk (shouts out Vanguard)

Underrated Jalen Brunson rookie card 👀

Who is asking for this? The SEO chase helped start the slopification of online media. Then AI started (poorly) stealing work from real journalists to give people little incentive to read more. Now it plans to eat itself. Where will it get answers when the sources are all gone?

Victor Wembanyama is already the sixth-most graded player of all time, according to @gemrate. 1. M. Jordan: 2.7M 2. S. Ohtani: 1.32M 3. K. Griffey Jr: 1.17M 4. L. James: 1.09M 5. K. Bryant: 1.02M 6. V. Wembanyama: 696k More than 610k by PSA alone:

@NEOCards_Comics Why do you hate TAG

I've been making content for 6 years on YouTube, gathering AMA style questions for a video fire away.

@JunkWaxHero79 @CardsMax They mentioned Jumbo Kaboom cards on this morning’s influencer conference call

@CardsMax Probably cards

i wonder what topic Big Card will want us to discuss today

Easy to forget just how much PSA's grading output has increased recently. Current pace will easily top 20 million cards for 2026, which would double output from 2022. Totals by year, according to @gemrate: 2022: 11.2M 2023: 13.5M 2024: 15.34M 2025: 19.26M 2026 (so far): 8.15M

I asked Collectors president Ryan Hoge how the company approaches significant expansion into PSA without knowing when trading card demand could slow down. “We do not view the current demand as a temporary surge." PSA's output from January through April is up 39% YOY.

PSA is updating turnaround estimates to real-time ranges to "reflect the ebb and flow of market demand and our operational capacity." New ranges:

JUST IN: Collectors is investing $200 million into PSA to build additional infrastructure. Money will be used to double PSA's footprint, improve technology — including AI — and hire for 1,000 open and planned jobs. Details on @TheAthletic: nytimes.com/athletic/72794…

@JunkWaxHero79 world series champion trot nixon

I HATE IT when I miss out on a card I really wanted. I bid HARD on this one, but someone outlasted me. It stings. If anyone knows who won it, lmk so I can make a trade offer.

I still consider laying out the "Scoreboard" agate page for the next day's newspaper critical professional experience.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen on eBay following the rejected takeover offer: “I love the asset. It’s run by a bunch of losers. “And it’s something that can be a lot more successful if it was run by an owner that’s an entrepreneur that has, not just a much larger vision, but knows how to run a business and make a lot of money. And cares because I have my own money on the line.”

@Will__Stern Be the first coward

Jalen Brunson has never had a card sell for more than $100k. Here is a list of other players who have cleared the six-figure mark: Amen Thompson Chet Holmgren Zion Williamson Trae Young LaMelo Ball Ja Morant Make it make sense.

Auctions for the 36 items listed by GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen on eBay to pay for eBay ended earlier today with a combined total of ~$168,422. Top result is the $15,100 bid for a statue of Master Chief from Halo 2. So far, 26 of the 36 auctions have been paid for. Notable items still awaiting payment: • Master Chief statue: $15,100 • South Park Mysterion & The Coon Statues: $13,400 • GameStop Mario NASCAR Hood: $6,200 • 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. PSA 10: $11,277

Sports card singles sales on eBay totaled $227 million in April, according to new data from @gemrate. Total is slightly down from $233 million in March. Shohei Ohtani was the most popular athlete in April with more than $16.5 million in sales.