Collector Nation - Is Topps Taking Over the Hobby? FIFA, WNBA, and What’s Next

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

In this episode of Collector Nation, Ryan Alford, Brian Ludden, and Bella Shafer discuss the latest trends and developments in the trading card and collectibles market. Brian shares insights from the Toronto card show and how the hobby continues to expand across sports and non-sports categories. They also explore major industry developments, including Fanatics’ continued expansion, PSA grading growth, and evolving retail dynamics. The conversation provides a practical look at what’s working in the hobby today and what collectors and store owners should be paying attention to. 🔑 Topics Covered Card show insights and hobby expansion PSA grading trends and volume growth Industry consolidation and major players Retail and store-level challenges Product trends and collector behavior 🤝 Connect Ryan Alford 👉 https://www.ryanisright.com 👉 https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford Brian Ludden 👉 https://www.ludex.com 👉 https://www.instagram.com/ludexapp Bella Shafer 👉 https://www.instagram.com/isabellashafer 👉www.thecollectorstation.com Collector Station 👉https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/a-drive-thru-window-a-railway-line-and-a-pack-bar-make-collector-station-a-unique-experience-for-hobbyists Shop now at onitathlete.com and use code COLLECTORNATION at checkout to receive 15% off your first order!

I'm curious if Tops would like, if they bought Panini, if they would keep the Panini brand alive or if they would just rebrand all of like that's imprisonment. I think the only way it happens is it just dies probably. Topps Chrome football. The first football fully licensed by Tops at a while. Their jumbo boxers selling for 2K on the secondary market, 4X, what they came out at. So yeah, all good. Game stopped trying to buy eBay. When I first heard that, I thought it was like a joke.

Are they in position to buy eBay? It could be card stop by GameStop. I would not be surprised if they rebranded. Maybe. That would be hilarious. I'm going to call it Hard Stop. Welcome to the Collector Nation podcast here on the Collector Nation Network. Whether you're chasing grails or calling bluffs, you take you inside the hobby.

Here are your hosts, Ryan Alford and Brian Lut. What's up guys? Welcome to Collector Nation. Ryan, Brian and Bella, right here, we got the RBB, BRRB. It's a BRB. BRB back in town. Brian's in Dallas getting the hell out of there, headed back to Shytown. I hope he's been on the road a lot. So, you know, if he sounds like he's traveling, it's because he is.

The man's a busy CEO. and we're just glad to have them. What's up, brother? Not much, my man. Thank you so much for having me on the show again every week. I'm waiting for that call. I think you're in now. Your logo and your face and your likeness is on our art.

You're stuck with me. I have an end for sure. You brighten up our week. Thank you. And the same to you guys. Yeah. You know, I was in Canada at the Toronto National. That was really cool.

Yeah, we did a... Let me just start with a recap of that. What's the hobby like up there? I mean, I know it's hockey, but what was it really like? It was, dude, I'm telling you, it was like so less hockey than I thought. I mean, it was predominantly hockey. But, I mean, that collector nation... up there is freaking insane.

Like, there's a lot of football, a lot of basketball, a lot of non-sport. Like, Steve Menzies does an unbelievable job, and I was able and lucky enough to walk the floor with him on the first day of the show. And I think there was probably, you know, probably spent two hours with him. But, man, I was so happy that it was, like,

more broad than I thought it would be. That's great. So it almost felt like the same kind of energy almost like as a show here. It was very similar, except if you take vintage baseball and make it hockey, vintage hockey, that was it. But there was like, trade out Mickey Mantle for Brett Hull or something. One's a little older than the other, but you know what I'm saying. You know, Bobby Hull. Yeah, dude, it was cool, man.

Bobby Hull, Brent Hull, whoever's name is, B-Hull. B-Hulls, the B-Halls. B-Hull. Yeah, I mean, I think if you have a chance to go up there, I would do it. It's fun. There's only hour of flight. How many tables were there? It's a little bit like segmented.

I would say probably like 500. Okay. Nice size. Maybe 400. Yeah. The biggest footprint was upper deck. Yep. I got to spend some time with Jason.

Um, Masaro. Yeah. See off of Up for deck. Yeah. He was super, he was super nice. Um, eBay Live is big up there. Dude, whatnot. You know the national whatnot?

Yeah. They blow everything up. Yeah. They had like eight feet of a table with whatnot behind. That's interesting. Yeah. I mean, no one's up there right now. And, and, uh, Steve went from, I don't know.

where I started, but maybe like 200,000 square feet or 100,000 square feet added 25, added 50, added 70. And so it's getting big, man, but it's not the best place to have a show because

it is segmented. Yeah. And each time you walk into a different area has to feel about it, but he has 10 shows right now, I think, in Canada. But It's super cool. I mean, and the deals are freaking amazing.

Right. They freaking price these things in Canadian dollars. Ah, so you get the price advantage there. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, they're a little higher. Yeah. But not exactly the tradeoff of whatever the dollar currency is.

Yeah, the exchange rate is probably 30%. And they're probably doing 15. That's awesome. You guys know I'm deep in the collectibles world, so I'm always paying attention to where people are actually buying, selling, and building community. And whatnot is one of those platforms I've spent real time on. I've watched live shows. I've seen sellers walk through products in real time. And as a buyer, there's something different about being able to ask questions.

See what's actually in front of you and make a decision right there with the other people who are just as into it as you are. That's the thing about whatnot. It's not just scrolling through listings and hoping you find something. good, it's live shopping. Whether you're into collectibles, beauty, electronics, luxury, fashion, even cookies, there are sellers building real businesses and buyers finding great products without paying full price. If you sell online, have a storefront, or you're trying to turn a side hustle into something bigger, whatnot gives you a way to show your products, connect with people, and create real, repeat buyers. Across What Not, the number of sellers making over $1 million a year has

doubled, doubled. People are building something real there. Download the What-N-A-A-N-O-T-O-T. Just search What-N-O-T. W-H-A-T-W-N-O-T What-N-O-T in the App Store and start scoring amazing deals.

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