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Host Russell Gibson sits down with Connor—co-owner of Boop Collectibles and the Oz National, and grading manager —for an in-depth conversation covering his origin in card collecting, live-streaming platform rivalries, card show logistics, and personal grading philosophies.
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Origin & Early Days: Connor details starting out with Pokémon and AFL footy cards, discovering baseball cards via a free Upper Deck 2009 pack at a Melbourne Aces game, developing a love for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his current hyper-focus on collecting Dune Topps Chrome.
- Cleveland Cavaliers Roster Changes: Discussion around the Cavs' offseason, losing Max Strus to the Clippers, acquiring Peyton Watson, trading away Darius Garland, and Garland’s dramatic market price drop from ~$47k to ~$12k on key rookie grails.
- Whatnot vs. eBay Live: Comparing live-streaming platforms as a seller. Connor outlines why Boop Collectibles shifted back to Whatnot due to user-unfriendliness, inconsistent viewer traffic, and lower conversion on eBay Live despite eBay's brand size.
- Oz National Card Show Expansion: Behind-the-scenes look at scaling the Oz National show at Marvel Stadium to two floors (dedicated sports floor vs. dedicated TCG floor), balancing vendor dynamics, addressing collector complaints regarding Pokémon dominance, and overall show operations.
- Card Show Advice & First-Timer Tips: Connor's masterclass for attendees: do an initial lap to get your bearings, prepare a targeted goal list, master the ability to walk away from deals, and attend with a friend to manage the sensory overload.
- Event Safety, Security & Anti-Fraud: Implementing dedicated security personnel across both floors overnight, raising public awareness around counterfeit currency, educating collectors on identifying fake cards, and maintaining a strict zero-tolerance ejection policy for bad-actor vendors.
- State of the Card Grading Market: Analyzing the massive PSA backlog (10.9 million cards), recent price hikes across SGC and BGS, and paused submission tiers forcing collectors to be more selective.
