Around the Horn Sportscards

06/11/2026

Hidee Ho Sports card freaks!
I just posted an my first event in over a month for this weekend at Principal Park. General free admission starts at 10:30, but for an extra $10 you can get in an hour extra and get first pick at everyone’s tables. We are also supposed to have Chuck Knoblach signing there that day, I don’t know what time he is supposed to arrive though. Hoping for a good day as I get ready for the National in July.
Though I certainly encourage you to attend this weekend, if you haven’t been to a National, put that on your bucket list. I don’t think there is a way for you to be disappointed, no matter what your jam is. Want breakers? Got em! Want autos? Plenty of superstar signors will be there! Want vintage? Last year we saw 13 Goudey Ruths and only walked half the floor! Wax? Name the top 5 online companies and they will all be there, plus a dozen more! Graders! YUP! Drop off your orders or complain about their turnaround times! TCG! Way too much! Memorabilia? A few of the auction houses put up very nice displays of many of their high end items! Low end boxes? There are many dealers who do nothing but monster boxes of them for you to sort through, they even provide some chairs! It would be easy to spend 3 or 4 days there to see everything you want.
Speaking of complaining about turn around times, I am sure you all have heard about PSA no longer taking submissions of their lower tier orders. Just within the last 24 hours they announced that they currently have a 14 million card backlog and won’t open it up until they get it under 5 million, which they are saying will likely be 5 or 6 months. Get this, they said they got slammed after they announced they would be closing submissions. Imagine that, the announcement getting exactly the response they expected. Personally, I haven’t sent anything in recently, I was going to, but will probably not until the National if even then.
Though I haven’t had a show in over a month, I haven’t been sitting on my laurels. I have been pumping a lot of cards through Marketplace. Honestly, it’s kicking the crap out of ebay. On ebay it isn’t unusual for me to average about 5 views or less on items in a month, but I listed a Brian Urlacher lot for $4 and within 48 hours I was up to 91 views. In fact, I have picked up 8-10 followers in the last month, and I attribute that to Marketplace. I think in the last 30 days also I have had 3 orders of $75 or more. I try to limit myself to 150 items there at a time which I think is my limit on what I can manage for there, but I have room right now to list about 15 more items, so hopefully can get a bunch done Sunday.
I mentioned a month ago, I didn’t know who to buy for young rookies this year…plenty of them out there now including Braden Montgomery of the White Sox who had his debut last night and finished the game with a walk off homer. I couldn’t help but feel a little sad with the thought that he might have already experienced they best night of his career. Hope that isn’t the case because the joy and surprise that was on his face as he was rounding the base reminded me that this is a kids game grown ups get to play….and we live vicariously through their cards.
Another nice investment right now might be Judge cards. You can’t say that very often, but with his prolonged injury, now might be the time to buy some. Years ago there were a lot of people who were declaring Trout to be a hall of famer after five years, I never bought into that because 5 years doesn’t make a career, and since then he hasn’t been the same player. But Judge is 7 years in, and although injured, he seems to rebound quicker than Trout ever did.
I did pick up a nice 1955 Bowman Willie Mays SGC the other day that I will have at the show. It has an Elite tag to it from 4 Sharp Corners which is their version of an MBA sticker, unfortunately the Ebay authentication sticker covered that up, but I will agree, it looks nicer than a 3. When I compared it to my Nolan 1971 SGC 5, I thought the Mays looked nicer.
Some other things that I have enroute is a small Fanatics order with Clementes and Aarons, some raw Jordans coming from COMC, and some cheap Mahomes inserts from 2025 Topps Chrome from ebay. I couldn’t believe I saw Megas going for $100 for this product, but was equally shocked at how reasonable I could get these singles on ebay. It’s not surprising to hear rumblings on box prices growing, but looks like the boxes have settled around $80.
Just a reminder, I will also be doing a pop up on Saturday June 27th. If you haven’t been to one of mine before, this is held out of my garage and I set up 5 or 6 tables to stuff that often doesn’t make it to shows…boxes of low end singles..hundreds of players packs, dozens of sets, some bats, plenty of odd-ball stuff, plus you can pick up all of stuff from my EBAY and Marketplace listings. If you are one who likes those player lots from Marketplace, there will be probably 8 to 10 times the options of those. Hope to see you there and I hope to see you this weekend at Principal Park!!

05/27/2026

For my non sports card fans, and there are a few of you around! I picked up a little lot this weekend that had some Marvel, Digimon, x-files, Shrek, Spiderman, Titanic, Family Matters, Saved by the Bell, Star Wars, and others. And the jewel of the lot was this Padme foil card. Let me know if there is anything you are interested in!

05/26/2026

Welcome back sport fans! Baseball season is well under way and several rookies are making their presence known! McConigle, Murakami, Basallo, and of course Konnor Grifin as well as many others. I am leaning towards Griffin, at just 20 years old and carrying a .266 batting average, but he is a long ways from Griffey like numbers
The basketball playoffs are under way....Lakers got punked out. Spurs, Thunder, Cavaliers and Knicks are left. Who are the stars? I honestly don't know.
My online sales have been moving pretty well, Marketplace has been the surprise for me. It has been outperforming ebay and by ALOT! Take for example recently I posted a 1985 Fleer baseball starter set of 450 cards. In a week, I had 1600 clicks! That is crazy! Some might think if I had that many clicks and didn't sell it, I might be too high, but I thought $20 was a very good price considering the condition of the cards. Sometimes people don't buy because they think it is too good to be true, maybe that was the issue. Luckily, it did sell after a week and I have had several other items get a ton of clicks before selling. I have built up a nice little following there and recognize some buyers I am shipping to consistently and meet some others semi-regularly. I need to keep growing this outlet, but it gets difficult to manage the inventory of roughly 150 items. I need to find an inventory process.
Summer time is usually pretty slow for me as far as doing shows, but with the National in about 60 days, I need to participate in a few, so here is my upcoming summer schedule..

June 13th - Principal Park Card Show put on by Jamie Zabel
June 27th - My annual pop-up in my garage. Watch for more details to come!
July 5th - Norwalk Card Show put on by Casey Bright
July 19th- Regional Card Show hosted by Tim Payne

This keeps me pretty busy for the next few months, but I have some other plans and opportunities as well. Hope to have some results to share with you soon! I have tried not to buy too much lately, but the struggle is real. When you see something you like...you just gotta go for it. So, let me ask....what do you do when you want to buy something but you also think you shouldn't be buying?

05/13/2026

Hey all! Wanted to check in and let you know that Spring Cleaning has been going strong here at Around the Horn Sportscards! It has surprised me that most of my sales have been coming from Marketplace over Ebay and COMC. In fact, check out the picture down below to check out one of my orders! And that is PACKED, not like if you order a light bulb from Amazon! Ebay has been kind of disappointing considered I ran a very solid sale and sold a lot of little things, but really wasn’t worth the time. COMC, again another sale and that one has done fairly well with me already with my 4th largest month in the last 17 months, and we still have 60% of the month to go! But with the Marketplace sales…gotta keep plugging and listing more stuff!
And I have bought a little bit of stuff. More pics below…nothing huge (the Joe Carter card a customer actually found in my boxes without a price) but I really like those 1970 Kelloggs cards and the 1971 Brock is pretty nice. I actually had bought some 1972 Kellogg’s baseball cards too, but those sold within 15 minutes. Bought them at a show and brought them back to my booth and a customer there had them eye balled before I even sat them down. I also picked up some Brett, Mantle, and Clemente inserts out of peoples 25 cent boxes. Hard to imagine they are there, but they are!
I have been thinking about autograph cards lately and thought when I bought some hall of famers and major stars that they wouldn’t last long…but that isn’t the case. Granted some of them are Panini non-licensed stuff, but I thought they would be better sellers then they have been..in fact, they get very little heat.
If you are looking for some vintage to invest in, check out the attached article. It is hard to imagine that Mays would offer a lot of room for growth, but this article makes a pretty good case for it. Very comparable players, but there is a big gap between the two.
We are getting close enough to mid month to ask….what gems have you picked up lately??

Baseball legends Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays both had Hall of Fame careers in the 1950s and ’60s, yet Mantle cards are much more valuable. Hobby insiders explore why.

05/06/2026

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I didn't have any rookies that I was chasing...I should have read this. Guess I need to catch up on Griffin and McGonigle and Roman Anthony!

Chasing MLB prospects and new rookie cards is like prospecting for gold. Rookie cards of this year's hottest prospects were a gold mine at a recent card show.

04/28/2026

Spring cleaning is under way with Around the Horn Sportscards! Tonight we are launching a sale on Ebay and COMC and i have marked down alot of prices on my Marketplace! Be sure to check them out. They are for a limited time! Just 1 week so don't put it off!!

45 years in sports cards gives me the experience needed to ensure a knowledgeable and fair analysis of cards. Always buying more cards makes sure there is always something new!

04/24/2026

Hey sports card freaks! Time for another Random Ramblings!
I just set up an event for Sunday at the Courtyard Marriott in Ankeny for Sunday. I visited this show in January and was blown away by how many people were there. It was nuts, so I am expecting a solid show. I only got one table, so I am going to have 3 table top cases with my best cards. No team boxes or low dollar cards.
Last weekend we were at the Luana Bank in Norwalk and gotta say, was impressed with the traffic there as well. It’s a smaller town and first show so my expectations were tepid, but instead I was blown away. Heavy traffic and people were buying! There were limited vintage dealers, which I always like, but raw vintage was king! I am going to have to start scouring for that!
The next weekend, I will also have the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday, so it has been busy for me lately.
I haven’t been doing a lot of buying though lately…my biggest add lately was a Schmidt rookie that walked in at the last show. I had been wanting one for a while, so I grabbed it. I was reluctant because it was a MC, but ultimately, the desire to had one won out. Feel free to share your recent pickups as well!
I had the rare opportunity to watch a Royals game the other day, and boy I was irritated. In a 7 game losing streak the Orioles did a lot to help the Royals break it, but they just didn’t seem to want to. So many opportunities. I guess I was really irritated because this might be one of the teams that I thought had the most opportunity in a while. Around the horn, I just like the team and their pitching staff is solid. I like Carter Jensen who is spelling Salvy A LOT and shows a lot of potential. I had also been down at KC the week before watching them against the White Sox…lost that game too. Ultimately though, you’re not going to be too successful when a majority of your starters are hitting around .200. At one point, Witt had been on base 28 times and had scored once! The Orioles and Mets are both under performing as well, and the A’s are leading their division!?!?!?
Speaking of baseball…what happens after this year. Apparently, the owners are locking in on a possible lockout. Apparently the bargaining agreement is expiring in December and owners want some changes to control the crazy contracts. I don’t blame them, the Dodgers really seem to be abusing the system, but a lockout is never good for the hobby.
Shohei still is in clear control of the collectibles market as well. Per Yahoo Finance, In March 2026, Ohtani generated $17.48 million in eBay sales, up 57% from February — more than Judge, Mantle, Griffey Jr., and Skenes combined. I don’t know where this ends, but he already has over 24000 different cards available. Good luck you Ohtani super collectors! I did dig into some of the boxes I have bought in the last few years and was happy to find a few inserts, but I think I will be holding those. Maybe the lockout will cool things off if it happens.
I will likely be doing an SGC submission soon. If you are interested in including cards, let me know. I am not in a huge hurry as June through August I won’t have any fairgrounds shows, but I would like then back before I start up again.
Watch for my annual pop up too! That will likely be occurring in June!
I better wrap it up before I lose too many of you, but feel free to share some of your recent pickups!

03/30/2026

Well, it isnt cards, but I did go out and purchase a Facebook lot today. Its not quite what I expected, but there is a lot of variety here! They aren't the magnets versions but are the screwdown versions, but nearly all are recessed, but the key here is the variety! T206 holders, 1948-50 bowman, pre 57, 1951-52 Bowman, topps and bowman mini, gameday, 1952-56 Topps, snap tite cases, 50-180 pt holders, hockey puck and ball cubes. And on top of that there are even some used items, but nearly all are still in package. If you are looking for special cases, please let me know. I may not have a ton, but when you are looking for them, they can be tough to find!

03/29/2026

Hello sports card freaks! Oh wait…that isn’t the right opening. Hi! My name is Brian and I have an addiction to buying sports cards. It’s been one week since I last bought a sports card.
I wonder how many of you feel that way? It’s real and I don’t mean my addiction genuinely, but someone might feel that it’s true. I do like buying cards and improving my collection, and on days that I don’t add to it, I often find myself flipping through some of my own. It usually doesn’t fill the itch, but it helps a little bit when I look through them and consider what I do already have and lament on how that doesn’t fill the itch by itself.
I haven’t purchased anything major though..not yet. My last decent purchase was the fleer basketball from my last post. Those were purchased at AZ Sports Cards in Phoenix. I always stop in there and grab a few things when I am in town for spring break. I think I am sending them all in to SGC when I do my next grading batch.
Baseball season is here and I am excited! I don’t have a particular rookie I am planning on loading up on but I will post a link for the top 20 to watch this year. I have a tough time finding reasoning to invest in a pitcher. For veterans, I am still in search of Freddie Freeman and Justin Verlander. Verlander has 266 wins and seems to want to get to 300, but the Giants only helped him get 4 last year, but 5 this year would move him to 33rd all time. Scherzer is 40+ wins behind and has only racked up 7 over the last 2 years. 42 hits separate Freeman and Altuve as they chase 3000, both could realistically reach it as they need roughly 600 to make it and both locked up 155+ hits last year. Machado has a great chance of reaching that plateau too, I may need to start loading up on hi rookies. But, it is Ohtani that gets all the focus, Skenes needs some offensive help this year and they tried to accomplish that this year adding several solid players, but with Skenes first start this year seeing him pounded, isn’t a good start.
So…your turn! Introduce yourself and let us know how long it’s been since you bought a card!

Baseball America ranks the first-year talent for 2026, taking both talent and opportunity into account for MLB rookies.

02/16/2026

Hey sports card freaks! It’s the 15th of the month and it’s been a while since a Random Ramblings, so it’s time for a double feature!
Let’s start with recent news. 2026 Topps baseball is out. I picked up a hanger and a blaster each. I didn’t feel I got beaten too bad on them. I’m not a big fan of the design, and early reports indicate that blasters were up $5 with other increases across the board, but I haven’t found those to be true. A blaster at Target ran $24.99. To drive sales and celebrate the 75th anniversary, Topps is putting a very special redemption in one pack. They don’t have to wait for an autograph to get fulfilled or anything like that, but it seems they had some concerns with putting a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle into a pack. The good news? I didn’t pull it, so as far as I know, it’s still out there.
Cooper Flagg is off to a solid start for his NBA career leading the rookies and already starting to set records I bought a few packs hoping to pull one but haven’t been lucky there yet. I don’t know how hard I will chase it though. You can have all the talent in the world but if injuries take you off the field on a regular basis, you will be challenged to fill the hype. Currently he has an ankle issue and isn’t participating in the first All-Star opportunity of his career and is currently in a boot.
If you have been living under a rock, this may be news and maybe even a surprise…but PSA is raising prices and delivery times…AGAIN! That’s right, after announcing the same move a few months ago, they announced another new round and several influencers are not having it. Now, without a membership (which some influencers are announcing is no longer worth having) it will run you $32.99 with a 75 business day turnaround (read as 15+ weeks). Holy s**t! Forget about trying to time the market or take advantage of being the first to market! If you want to spend $300 or more per card, they can return it within 7 business days, and assuming their propensity of meeting their timeframes, I would expect 2 weeks at minimum, especially since I am assuming they take their time in checking in packages.
On the flip side with SGC…well…they also made an announcement. Gone are the 15-20 business day turnaround times. Though they didn’t raise their rates, they did turn their turnaround time to 40-50 business days. Again, read as 10 weeks, and for my package if took them a full week in possession before they started my clock. My current package that I sent in November, remains uncompleted and sits at 75 days on a 15-20 day time submission. I was patient, but my patience is running very thin and honestly, I have no interest in submitting cards any time soon to anyone. I mentioned last time PSA announced their increases that it was a pretty clear indication to the colleting community that they just don’t want our business, and I am okay with fulfilling their desire. I guess when I look to submit again, I will look towards one of the other emerging grading companies.
I am a bit surprised that the other T202 Shoeless Joe cards that hit the market a few weeks ago remain available. I would have loved to get the 6, but it was out of my price range, though the 1 and 2 I thought were priced fairly.
In 2025, the hobby was valued at $13B, with some projecting the growth in the next 9 years to double. That is exciting news, and I don’t doubt the potential, but people often read that as national growth. Though I expect the national growth of the hobby will indeed grow, I think a substantial part of this will be in international growth. Soccer reported growth of 91% last year, and I can see this continue to grow. I think a lot of it will be expanding the product lines. Note that “hobby” isn’t limited to sports cards, and I have noticed a growth in historical and entertainment based card products. Just imagine if there was a Taylor Swift 200 card set produced, that perhaps included concert worn clothing and memorabilia. Do you think it would sell?? I think it would be blow up! Especially if you put in a few autos…maybe dual autos with her and Kelce. Pokemon by the way was up 116% last year.
I could continue to ramble, maybe talk about rookies for baseball this year, discuss recent HOF additions including roger Craig, upcoming releases, but I think I will finish with a couple of pics of cards that I have added recently. Both are going into my private collection. I have written in the past that I think hall of famer game used cards have a lot of potential for growth in the coming years. Guys from the 80s and before didn’t have a different jersey for every game or half, but often a jersey was used until it was worn out, making them much more rare than today’s players. I have also tried identifying some case hits. The Awesome Powers AI errantly told me they were case hits, but in reality they are box hits, but still I thought they were really cool
Share some pickups you have had in the last 30 days!