Key card-grading decision leads to new hobby friend, relationship
Sometimes our hobby relationships are formed by circumstance and that was the case with collector Brandon Edwards of Bobbles & Ballcards.
We both knew of each other but it was a phone call we both received on the same day from the same exact company that led our paths to cross and grow closer.
The day was Tuesday, June 10 and the company was SGC. The call from the card-grading company informed both Brandon and I that the bulk rates we were getting as official bulk submitters for the company were being eliminated within the next month. Brandon reached out to me to see if I got the call and we exchanged some thoughts and ideas via text, and eventually via phone conversation. I asked him to come on the podcast and he agreed.
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Brandon started out collecting sports cards but pivoted to “Magic the Gathering” because the majority of his school friends were doing so, but he returned to sports cards in the early 2000s with Topps Finest basketball in a quest for great rookie cards in the LeBron James class. Since then he has made pivots and adjustments along his hobby journey. Some other items in his collection include Legos, VHS tapes, sneakers, and bobbleheads, of course.
In 2017 he started collecting Washington Nationals cards and he's a supercollector of veteran OF Michael Taylor. Brandon collects whatever he loves and that also includes vintage cards and memorabilia as well.
He shared stories of some of his Jackie Robinson collection during our conversation, including a Robinson autograph I envied immediately upon seeing it. He filmed his SGC intakes and also the reveals on the returns from the company as well, and his channel grew.
After the phone call from SGC, Brandon decided he couldn't pass the higher rates on to his Bobble & Ballcards customers. I fully understand that. It was the same decision I wrestled with in my own mind. Ultimately a few phone calls from my customers convinced me to forge ahead after adjusting my prices. I’d take credit for that, but it's more that my customer base wanted me to continue doing it, so that decision was based on their feedback. The intake is not what it was, but it's still better than I anticipated and expected.
Check out Bobbles & Ballcards and Brandon’s story and hobby journey on Episodes 345 and 346 of the Sports Card Nation podcast.
— John Newman is a collector, dealer and the host of the Sports Card Nation podcast. Catch his Hobby Quick Hits on Monday and his guest interviews on Friday on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach him at sportscardnationpc@gmail.com or on Twitter at @sportscardnati1
John Newman is the host of the Sports Card Nation podcast