Justin, aka @740SmithCards, PC's Michael Jordan, but the rest of his PC is made up almost entirely of non-Hall of Famers—players who hold a special place in his history as a fan of Ohio sports. In this episode, we hear how Justin marries his passion for collecting childhood heroes with his fondness for some of the era's most unique and memorable sets of sports cards. We also learn that Justin doesn't consider himself an influencer, except when it comes to passing along knowledge of the hobby to his kids.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz, @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards on IG.

Josh is a sports-card collector of many interests: vintage, modern, Yankees, superstars from across MLB. In this episode, learn from a collector who remembers that sports cards are supposed to be a hobby, fun, and most of all, an escape from everyday life. Find Josh on IG at @InspiredSportscards.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

The latest edition of The Shallow End: Total Content. Featuring …

Cardboard Chronicles; Cards to the Moon; Stacking Slabs; The Collector's Gene; Sports Card Madness; Sports Cards Nonsense; Lemme Get That Podagraph; Wax Pack Hero.

Contact Dave Schwartz on IG @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Collector Kevin M. Cormier once called it the "paralysis of indecision." It's those moments when you have too many cards that you want, the funds to get some, and the decision and contemplation becomes so much that you end up doing nothing. On this episode, we consider it from a slightly different perspective—from the unhelpful point of view of "What If …"

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz ⁠@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards⁠

Read the Kevin Cormier interview from June 6, 2023, ⁠here⁠.

Sports-card influencers have power not because of some cosmic or mystic force. They have power because we give them power. Who are the most powerful influencers in the sports-card hobby? That's an easy answer: Look in the mirror.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Referenced in this episode: "Hodinkee Radio episode 21: Matt Jacobson" (aired Nov 26, 2018)

Clark, curator of @fivecardguys and host of the Cards to the Moon podcast, recently committed to attending his first National. Then he changed his mind and will instead go to the first Fanatics Fest a month later in New York. Here's why. Plus, we talked about Cards to the Moon recently celebrating its third anniversary, how he keeps it fresh, and we close by playing some sports-card related games.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Welcome to an experiment. A new monthly series, "The Shallow End: Total Content," works to shine a light on some of the best, most interesting, and notable recent episodes in sports-card podcasting. If you'd like to leave feedback, host Dave Schwartz can be reached on Instagram at @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards.

When you spend a good chunk of your week sitting inside unmoving airplanes at one of the world's largest airports, the mind wanders. Mine wandered to sports cards. Please enjoy this abbreviated, hopefully entertaining, O'Hare-inspired episode.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

The sports-card hobby is an ecosystem. It has apex predators, parasites and everything in between. If you're among the 99 percent of collectors who fall somewhere between the two ends of the hobby spectrum, how do you survive it?

A funny thing happened on the road to The National 2023: previously absent or scarce cards suddenly became available in droves. With the 2024 National about two months out, Austin Carlson (@carlson_cards) visits to talk about how last year's trend is informing this year's collecting.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)

In this episode, it's three stories in 15 minutes.

1. A card negotiation in the shallow end of the collecting pool

2. Dave once again gets tripped up by his hobby nemesis

3. A new, surprising experience that could have ended badly, but didn't

- The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)

The biggest U.S. sports figure over the last year has been basketball player Caitlin Clark. Now, armed with a fresh Panini contract as her WNBA career is set to begin with the Indiana Fever, the former University of Iowa star is beginning a new chapter in her remarkable run. To commemorate the moment, Dave welcomes three guests into The Shallow End:

• Keith Murphy, WHO-TV Des Moines broadcaster who has covered Clark since her freshman year of high school (4:32)

• Brett McGrath, the Stacking Slabs Podcast host and Indiana native who's now directly in the path of the Caitlin Clark Experience (33:20)

• Carter aka @MCBasketballPC, a WNBA fan and card collector with unique insights into how Clark's soon-to-be-released Panini cards might affect the hobby (57:13)

- The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_SportsCards

There's a term in the British art world used to describe someone who doesn't think for themselves, who only collects based on what others are doing, and what they think is "right." In this episode, we talk about that insult and how it applies to sports cards.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Dave saved up to buy a card that long had been on his watchlist. But when he finally had the funds, something happened: he didn't buy it. This is the story of what made him stop.

Host: Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Joe (@Henry_Rowengartner_Cards) has one of those Instagram pages you can't stop looking at. His collection of late 1990s Cubs baseball cards is something of a marvel. In this episode we learn how – and why – he chose to build it.

Host: Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards).

In this episode of The Shallow End, we celebrate the quirkier sides of our PC's. We honor the lanes of our collections that nobody but us truly appreciates.

In this episode, @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards talks with Adam (@SplendidSports) about his ambitious collecting goals and how he reaches them. This is a story of discipline, patience, and sticking to the plan.

About. a year ago, two card collectors, @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards and @Paper_and_Chrome, started chatting over Instagram about their collections. Their real names concealed, it would be months before one of them realized the truth about the history of their relationship: close friends growing up who had lost touch after high school. This is the story of how cards helped Greg and Dave reunite after 30 years.

Sometimes a mistake is the best thing that can happen to us.

After greed, it's the sports-card hobby's greatest affliction: FOMO. The fear of missing out. Recent research has sought how to combat FOMO, with much of that research focusing on an antidote: JOMO — the joy of missing out. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a start. Let's dig in.

We all want to feel like we're in control of our own destiny, but a little more than two years ago, a moment of luck and an act of kindness sent me down a new path in the sports-card hobby. This is that story.

Until two days ago, Mark Sanchez (@mjs_sportscards on IG) had never lived his hobby life as a dealer. Now, with his first card show behind him, Mark reflects on the experience. How did he prepare? How did it go? And what inspired him to do it in the first place?

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)

Kevin (@Colorado.Collector on Instagram) started back in the hobby by trying to collect his favorite Colorado Rockies. Several years later, he's built a PC that is both deeply personal and full of the types of cards that many collectors can only dream of. The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz. Follow him on IG at @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards.

In the third installment of The Shallow End: Total Content, we catch up with some of the most interesting hobby content from the last month.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)

You watch them on the field. You track their cards across eBay and MySlabs. And you daydream about adding them to your collection – for better or worse. They're the players who cause FOMO: the fear of missing out.

Some of us in the sports-card hobby spend more time on eBay than we do with our families. But it's important to remember that eBay doesn't exist to give us a place to hang out. It exists to separate us from our money.

Lots of us have done it. We don't want a card, but we buy it. Why? To get our card fix? For the rush? To keep our PC's from getting stale? Whatever the reason, it's a crucial issue within the sports-card hobby: the decision to buy when we shouldn't be buying. In this episode, Mike (@thegolfcardcollector) and Dave (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards) put themselves under the microscope to begin exploration of this important hobby question.

Dave (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards on IG) sent cards off to grade. Now his card funds are tied up for the next 40-60 business days. Which means that for the next couple of months the collecting part of his collection is kind of … stuck. In this episode, we talk about what it means to be standing still in the sports-card space.

This is an episode by baseball nerds, for baseball nerds. David Brown, Iowa Dave's friend and former colleague, recently cast his first-ever ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. They talk player-by-player through David's ballot, his research process, and how much personal views played into his decision making. At the end, they play a sports-cards trivia game to help bring David up to speed within the modern sports-card hobby.

Bob Hosta (@bobhostacollection on IG) wasn't satisfied with his collection, so he created a system to help him upgrade into a PC that he today describes as being so much better that he sometimes forgets they're his cards. This is the story of a collector who created a new ecosystem for himself because the old one wasn't as rewarding as it should have been. Thanks for listening.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards on IG).

Would you trade 24 cards for one? Most of us in the hobby would – and have. In this episode, Dave talks about some recent moves he needed to make in order to pick up a new card.

Like any year, 2023 has seen highs and lows. Successes, failures, triumphs, challenges -- all can be used as lessons to make 2024 an even better year in the hobby.

This is an episode about process, about asking ourselves questions that will keep us focused. In this episode, Dave shares the six questions he tries to ask himself before each card acquisition.

Somewhere between prospecting and trying to get in on a Hall of Famer before they retire lies "The Lull." It's the forgettable part of a player's career, and if you're collecting on a budget, it might the opportunity we need to get the cards we want.

Soccer-collector Mark (@SJSoccerCards) joined the hobby just two years ago. Like all of us, he's making mistakes, learning lessons, and discovering which cards stoke his interests. In this episode, meet a collector who appreciates cards as much for their artistic value as for their personal connections.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)

Derek, aka @RayLankfordCollection on IG, has been around the hobby for decades and has access to some of the best cards of legendary players. Yet his greatest satisfaction comes in supercollecting Ray Lankford, a very good but from far from iconic figure in MLB history. Derek is proof that when it comes to collecting, true value comes from emotional connection, not monetary value.

Where Dave lives, a card show is a special occasion. They don't happen all that often, but that doesn't mean they're not plagued with the same issues as card shows across the country. At least the dollar boxes were good.

(Originally aired 11.17.2023) Bad habits never die. They come, they go, but they're never truly gone. In this episode, Dave covers a recent misstep in the hobby.

(Originally aired 11.10.2023) As sports fans we are witnesses to the beginning of an incredible journey: the start of Victor Wembanyama's career. This might be one of the few times when collecting cards makes the situation less fun, not more. In this episode, Dave wonders whether Wembanyama is better enjoyed on our screens than in our collections.

(Originally aired 11.3.2023) Paul Hickey has a simple question: Why? The person behind @sportscardstrategy and NoOffSeason.com visits with Dave to discuss why it's important to investigate the personal motives behind our collecting. Paul is a proud sports-card investing strategist who's built his business on transparency. What you see is what you get. No tricks, no misdirection, just straight-forward talk about sports cards and money.

(Originally aired 10.27.2023) It's an accepted fact since the dawn of time that 1980s baseball cards are the most fun baseball cards—even if they're clearly not the most financially valuable. Dan and Dave talk '80s cards, '80s baseball, and share five of their favorites.

(Originally aired 10.20.2023) Collecting cards can mean so much more than their financial worth or how pretty they look when displayed. They can connect us with past generations. In this episode, Dave and Rob Girard explore the deeper potential of sports cards.

(Originally aired 10.13.2023) We're trained over time in the sports-card hobby who we should and should not trust. But this week, Dave had an experience that could have gone horribly wrong instead turn out perfect. Let's celebrate.

(Originally aired 10.6.2023) Dave has one grail card: the 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson. But it's so far out of reach that the only way to get close would be to sell or trade everything he owns. Should he do it?

(Originally aired 9.29.2023) Last month, Dave listened to nearly 60 sports-card podcasts in one week. After that, he needed a break. In this episode, he talks about what he learned about the hobby, content producers, and his own place in the collecting space.

I pressed the reset button. I eliminated 90 percent of my collection to acquire one card. In this episode, I discuss how I got the deal done, the emotions surrounding it, and whether "The Shallow End" is still an appropriate name for this podcast.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

(Originally aired 9.15.2023) There comes a point in everyone's PC when the status quo just isn't good enough. We want more. We want different. We need something new. In this episode, Brandon talks about his transformation.

(Originally aired 9.8.2023) It all started with a question on "The Crossover" posed by @packnicholson, and it ended with a new phrase coined by Josh (aka @cardboard_chronicles): Megabid. As we near the one-year anniversary of Pack's question, we learn more about this common hobby practice from @kevin.m.cormier, @signed1933goudey, @drakes_pc, and @jlee_sportscardslive).

(Originally aired 9.1.2023) Steve (aka @domer_cards on IG) visits to discuss his growing Notre Dame PC — a collection rooted in his rich history with the Fighting Irish.

(Originally aired 8.25.2023) Dave finally makes a major pickup that he'd had his eye on for some time. Unfortunately, it came at a significant price to his collection.