Right About Now with Ryan Alford - From Trading Cards to Connections: The Heart of the Industry with Matty Rich

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

Right About Now with Ryan AlfordJoin media personality and marketing expert Ryan Alford as he dives into dynamic conversations with top entrepreneurs, marketers, and influencers. "Right About Now" brings you actionable insights on business, marketing, and personal branding, helping you stay ahead in today's fast-paced digital world. Whether it's exploring how character and charisma can make millions or unveiling the strategies behind viral success, Ryan delivers a fresh perspective with every episode. Perfect for anyone looking to elevate their business game and unlock their full potential.Resources:Right About Now NewsletterFree Podcast Monetization CourseJoin The NetworkFollow Us On InstagramSubscribe To Our Youtube ChannelVibe Science Media SUMMARYIn this episode of "Right About Now," host Ryan Alford talks with Matty Rich, owner of Bryan’s Sports Cards and More in Greenville, SC. They explore the trading card industry’s recent boom, the challenges of running a card shop, and the rise of live “breaking” events. Maddie highlights the importance of community, customer service, and creating a welcoming space for collectors of all ages. He shares insights on market trends, the impact of COVID-19, and why collecting is about more than just money—it’s about connection, nostalgia, and the joy of the hobby.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The guy you think's going to come in and spend a dollar spends 500, and the guy you think's going to come in and spend 500 spends a dollar. You never know, man. And that's why it goes back to that. You have to treat everybody the same. Take care of everybody, treat everybody right. This is Right About Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month. Taking the BS out of business for over six years and over 400 episodes.

You ready to start snapping necks and cash in checks? Well, it starts right about now. What's up guys? Welcome to right about now and our special series on trading cards. Look, when you have a number one show, you get to have guilty pleasures and talk about what you want. But when it's one of the hottest industries in America,

that might be, I don't know that it's undercover anymore. I think the cat's out of the bag. Tom Brady brought it out alone last week, if nothing else. But nonetheless, we're continuing our series on talking the trading card business, bringing you, hey, we take the BS out of business, baby. It wasn't really the intent, but it's working out that we're gonna have like all three levels

of the business from producer to distributor to retailer. And you know what? I live in the wonderful state of South Carolina and got a number one show. That's why I like to go to number one. The number one retailer and shop in South Carolina. We got Maddie Rich in studio. Number one's got to stay together, my brother.

I know. Let's go. Loved having you here, man. It's been great getting to know you, Maddie and his family. Wonderful family. Like I love the business and I'd probably like Maddie anyway, because my kids are into cards and we go in there. But since the moment I walked in,

I was like, this is where I want to do business. And the best shop in the best city in South Carolina, Brian's Trading Cards and More. Brian's Sports Cards and More. Alright, we got it, I'm throwing it off. And that was one of the things when I started, I didn't want to create a store, I wanted to create an experience.

You know, I was doing the breaking, I was setting up the shows for years before that, and I just got tired of being in the house and being in the office and being around nobody. Talking to everybody through the phone and the camera all night. So that's why I had to give Greenville this experience. When you grow up, like when I grew up, you know,

I'm living through my kid's eyes now and my own eyes. Right. Yeah. Rekindled in it, you know, rekindled my flame in my wallet. But nonetheless, you know, the idea that you'd own a trading card store growing up. Yeah. I don't know if you collect, did you collect when you were a kid? I did my whole life.

Yeah. Okay. Isn't that the dream come true? Yeah. Oh, it's work. It's work. Let's not get it confused. It is work.

It isn't bubble gum and cracker checks. No, no, no, no, no. Still work, but there's a lot worse things to do. Oh, there's a lot worse things to do for sure. I mean, but this is a 24 hour 365 job. I mean, every holiday, every night, it doesn't matter. My phone is going off. It was always some kind of a business that we can be working on. It is.

It is fascinating because I'll text Maddie about so I'll have an idea or just be like, Hey man, you gotta eat those new, whatever. You know, so I can only imagine times a thousand or who knows how many people Maddie knows everybody. Cause everybody's got a silent, you know, so I can only imagine times a thousand or who knows how many people Maddie knows everybody because everybody's got a silent, you know, it's for some trading cards and always probably trying to get you into some deal or like, Hey, they find a car or do they find something? I mean, well, that's why I had to get another phone line just for people to send in pictures of

what they wanted to sell. Yeah. Because my phone was going crazy. My Instagram was going crazy. My Facebook was going crazy. I said, okay, we're going to confine this to one phone, one line and get this thing under control. And I check it two or three or one time a week, but I check it.

Yeah. It's being checked. Yeah. That's all that matters. I've said this on a couple of times, the local stores do a good job of this, but I grew up in the dealers these were assholes, man. They were jerks.

Oh, they were the worst. I remember feeling when, and I sit there, the first time I came in, Maggie and I hit it off, and I remember the way you talked to my son, and I was just sitting there going, this is the way it should be. I never felt the way my son felt in that moment when I grew up.

I felt talked down to. I was annoying him. You know why? Because we weren't spending big bucks. We were coming in with a couple dollars and we wanted a couple packs. So that's why we got treated like that. And that's one of the reasons why,

I don't care how much you come in and spend. I love every single kid that comes in there, man. Come in and spend a quarter, and I'm going to treat you the same way as the guy that comes in and spends $1,000. And you know what? Before I even knew Matty, I was a, they call it mystery shopper.

Matty and I didn't know each other, because I was there for 15 minutes, for 20 minutes, because you're busy, like something's going on. And I'm just shopping, looking around, rekindling is like first month back into the thing with the kids. And I watched Matty. I watched him.

I wasn't the only thing I was doing, but very observant. And he's no different now that he knows me and that I am a customer and a friend. But what I saw for 20 minutes for how you dealt with a busy store with a kid that's wanting to trade a Pokemon in the middle of non-trade time and how you handled it, that's what sets you apart. It's different.

That's the result of a few things. One of the things you said it was a dream job. One of the reasons it's a dream job is because of the way me and you were both treated. When we went into those old grumpy men shops when we were kids, it was a mess. There's stuff everywhere, no organization, but he knew where everything was, but we couldn't find anything, right? grumpy men's shops when we were kids. It was a mess, there's stuff everywhere, no organization, but he knew where everything was, but we couldn't find anything.

We got treated horribly because we were kids spending a couple bucks. So it's a result of dealing with that, knowing the future of the hobby and the business is the kids taking interest as kids, so they're being treated the right way. And then I had 20 years of customer service before I got back into, you know, before I made sports cards a business again. Yeah, how many years are you into it? I'm five years back in, but in and out my whole life though.

Yeah. So you're into collecting. Oh yeah, yeah, forever. Shoes, everything else, I mean. Anything you can think of. Matt, are you like the guy that just knows how to get stuff? I think I... can think of matter you like the guy that just knows how to get stuff I think I kind of yeah yeah yeah yeah especially the stuff that's in that nostalgia collectibles and you know yeah I think

that's it I can I can find kind of whatever you need I remember that it is a unique experience that come into the store. I'm always blown away by this stock. Every shelf is always full. It's like in a world that especially as competitive as gotten I walk into some of these shops and it's just like, what desert did I walk in? Like it's barren because it's, you know, have a hard time getting stuff. But obviously you're moving stuff, but you always got stock. Open to people, like, you know, the newest thing, you know, like, you encourage people, and they do, they're opening the cards there.

It almost feels like everybody in there feels like they're at home. That's what we want, yeah. We want everyone to feel at home. We want this to be an escape from the real world. So when we're in there, we don't really get into, you know, politics, religion, some of the subjects that can be a little touchy.

I kind of ask the guys to leave that outside. That way we can just focus on sports and make it a happy place. You know, when you make it a happy place, it's an escape from the real world. It is. And I sit at that table, I mean, me myself, I can sit at that table.

I might have a million things going through my mind, but when I sit down, open a box and open a few packs and pull a few Benz and OZ, You know, if you're into sports cards at all, especially football cards, you'll get that joke. It's an inside joke. The hottest card in retail this year has been Jane Daniels, the rookie phenom and rookie of the year for the Washington commanders. When you're opening packs, you'll do the whole, okay, look at the logo for the Washington commanders. When you're opening packs,

you'll do the whole, okay, look at the logo, the team. Cause you're kind of sweating it. Yeah. You're sweating it. You're like, all right. All right. So you see that rookie sign and you see the Washington commander's logo or the name, the slow roll and it's either jubilation or something not jubilation when it becomes Bensonite. You know, it isn't an escape when you're open packs and you know, you've got the tables set up, you got cards, you got couch, you got TV. I can't tell you how many people I've seen come in as strangers and become friends. Yeah. Guys sit in there. someone told me the other day, they looked my spot up on Google, and Google says the average person spends an hour and a half there.

That's unbelievable. Having spent about a time last night there. We wouldn't do that if we weren't creating a community. Oh yeah. People are coming and hanging out and getting to know other people. You're meeting other people that partake in the same hobby who you can buy, sell and trade with. I mean, that's what it's all about.

Yeah. And I literally sat there. I've sat there a couple of times and you usually buy stuff, but a couple of them, I didn't buy anything, but watching other people buy and the energy is fun. It's a good time. It's like you can charge admission. Like literally, I probably paid $5 to get in just to watch this kid. The sure elation of, you know, popping some Pokemon that's $10 or whatever, you know, and it's just joy. And that's what it's all about for me. The interactions, meeting people, the face to face.

I missed that when I was breaking, I was stuck in a room 12 hours a day. Answer me this. You know, being at the retail level, five plus, I mean your whole life in the business, but as a collector, but now, you know, five on retail at the number one shop in South Carolina. Thank you. I accept that. Yeah. What surprised you the most about this industry that maybe you didn't see coming? The amount of people, the variety of people, it doesn't matter your age, sex, gender, orientation, it doesn't matter who you are, what you have going on. You can't look at someone until they're a collector.

No, you can't. You can do it with a lot of things, but not collecting. And I'll tell you what else, you can't look at someone and tell what lot of things but not collecting and I'll tell you what else you can't look at someone And tell what they're gonna come in your store and spend The guy you think is gonna come in and spend a dollar Spends five hundred and the guy you think is gonna come in and spend five hundred spends a dollar You never know man, and that's why it goes back to that you have to treat everybody the same Yeah, take care of everybody.

Treat everybody right. Pokemon. Well, we could have a, we can talk the whole episode on Pokemon. Like it's a, it's a thing. I mean, it's all a thing. Yeah. But Pokemon is, and it's Pokemon is the one, come on, blow you away. Who's collecting. Oh, I've been at Walmart looking at the shelf. Got blown over by grandma. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Like, you never know who's going to push you out of the way at Walmart for Pokemon.

What is the Pokemon culture? What is that? Is it, I mean, is it just from the game and then now it's just become a pop culture? You know what? I'd say 90% of the people that come to my shop to buy Pokemon are not playing the game. They're just collectors. They don't even know how to play the game. Yeah, I don't. But they Pokemon are not playing the game. They're just collectors.

They don't even know how to play the game. But they like the art on the cards. Yeah. You know, they look put sets together or they like a certain type or a certain energy. There are so many different ways to collect certain value. Yes. A lot of people like certain values. I do. I have grown to like the artwork.

Yeah, it's a weird thing. I mean, and look, it's human beings. Art is a big part of our society culture. And when you look at like, I'm looking at these guys and they've done a good job with football and all. But when you look at a Pokemon card, it is like staring at a piece of art. It really is. I mean, it's it's there's so much detail and uniqueness.

It really is. And the variations of color. And then art cards are even huge right now You have different artists putting out art cards art cards selling for tens of thousands of dollars Have you it's incredible thought to like is different as everyone is and I think you probably talked about it as much Escape as anything. Mm-hmm But is there a variable that hangs it all together in this whole space of collectibles that you see?

I mean, beyond the adult roller coaster, they're getting to ride and the escapism. I mean, is there anything else like in the whole, like collecting in the whole? I don't know. We're just naturally collectors. I feel that just about everybody is collecting something. If you're not collecting nothing, you're collecting dust, baby. That's true.

Yeah. The final opportunity to collect and recording. Right, right. But it's a past time. We need things to do to keep us busy. You could be spending money on a lot worse things than a pack of cards. And for me and for a lot of guys that come into the shop,

they always go back to the same thing. Opening a pack of cards brings you right back to your childhood. And that's why I want to make it fun for the kids so they have those good memories. It feels good opening that pack and looking to see if, it's almost kind of like a treasure hunt in some ways.

Whether you're collecting all your team or a certain player or a numbered card or autograph card or just cards of value. It's almost like a treasure hunt every time you open a pack. It's true. And transitioning back to the business side of it. Even if you spent five and it's worth two, it has value. So it's not just a scratch off card that is either worth 20 or nothing.

You know, like it has value. It can increase. And I want to add on to that. When you get a scratch off that's worth nothing, you can throw it away. When you open a pack of cards and nothing in there seems valuable to you, you can just throw them in a box,

forget about them for two years, and when you go back through that box in two years, you're going to find something in there and say, man, he him for two years, and when you go back through that box in two years, you're going to find something in there and say, man, he was nobody two years ago. So it's like, yeah, you might not have the value that you want right here and now when you open that box, but two years from now, who's to tell

what's going to be what and who's going to be who? Yeah, the thrill of the chase. Exactly. But the potential. The thrill of the chase. Exactly. And, and, but the potential, the potential, you know, cause that's what's there. Talked with Maddie rich. He is the owner of Brian sports cards and more here in Greenville, the number one shop in South Carolina. Thank you, sir. Top dealer soon to be, I mean, he might as well be everybody dealer.

I know you're an official tops dealer But and that they don't hand those out No easily I don't stand those don't just come like you don't just buy those at Walmart. They're true hard work Networking and having the right setup and the right kind of service. Yeah, because tops Tops represents excellence. They're not gonna just put their name on any kind of shop. You know, if you're not treating people right, if your store is not clean and organized, that's not what they're looking for. Yeah. The name of the game is getting stock.

I mean, that's in it. I mean, what is popular stuff is. And so you've got to do things the right way and make the relationships. I mean, talk about that side of the business. That's very true. The hardest part of the business is sourcing product. And I dealt with that since I was a breaker. I'd go to the big shows across the country and network,

meet people, introduce myself to people, take business cards, follow up with those business cards, and really just shake hands and create relationships. Hey, listen, I'm here for you if I can help you with anything and you never know who's going to be able to help me at the same time. Yeah. You started in breaking. On the business side. Yeah. Fascinating industry. It really is.

Like it's sub segment of the whole thing. Oh, wow. Describe for our audience that's learning about the business. So basically breaking is a online show You know you would have an audience of potential customers and you would have a box Let's say this box is a thousand dollar box now, yeah one person can buy that thousand dollar box and open it up for themself,

or you can do a group break. You can sell teams, you can sell spots, you can sell divisions. What I liked to do was sell 10 spots, and each of those 10 spots would get three random teams. Once we have it full, we'll run a randomizer and give each spot the three random teams, and we'll open up the box, giving each person

every card from the three teams that they own. So if I got the Packers, the Panthers, and the Bears. Exactly. As my teams, you're opening up every pack in that box. Live on camera. Live on camera. Live on camera. Yes, sir. So everybody's seeing it.

There's transparency. Exactly. They know what you're getting. Full transparency. And as one of those team players comes up, whoever it is, they get every card associated with that team. Exactly. So it allows the person buying it,

the fun and excitement of that experience in a live platform. Right. Combined with what they didn't have to spend a thousand dollars. That's the key. It makes it affordable for them to have the thrill of the chase of stock that probably isn't just readily available. Right. And that kind of what it is all about. And in that situation, they can get into 10 different breaks instead of buying that $1,000 box. Increase in their odds of case hits. On the flip side of that, you might not be the guy

that gets the big card, but you are still a part of that box. It's just a great experience. We did that for four years. I did it 365. I was in the office. How were you sourcing product? Any which way I could. Yeah.

I was buying from stores across the country. Yeah. My retail was locked down. You couldn't get from Walmart back then because I was getting everything. Really? Yeah, I had the guy's number. This was one of the ways I really got started

by meeting the guy who stocked three different Walmarts. And he would meet me in the toy section to give me all the sports cards. And they never even hit the shelf. I mean, you have to do what you have to do. I'd go to the register, I'd pay for all my stuff, and I'd be able to go home and break it. But I was, you know, and of course I was paying him

for taking care of me. But still it was a lot cheaper than finding it from one of the major retailer distributors online. Yeah. So everything gets marked up. It's so hard to find. Yeah. And imagine during COVID when everyone was stuck in the house, it was even harder to find. And prices with the distributors would change by the minute.

You'd have to call them, find out the pricing and put in your order right then. Because if you say, let me think about it, I'll call you back in an hour. Prices went up in that hour. It was volatile. It was like a stock. That's the truth. That's how it is still now. It kind of is.

Yeah. I may not be as volatile, but it's definitely the stuff that gets hot. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Like blasters that are $30. If you can find them on the shelf, reselling for a hundred dollars. That's what's happening right now. That's what's happening right now. They literally go in this optic. If you can find it, it's 35 at Walmart or Target, but reselling for 80 to 120 and the Megas are 65 retail going for 1.3150. I mean, it's like double. That's just an example of going through the ranks

and working your way up. Anything in life you do and you work hard for, it's gonna pay off. Yeah. And I just continue to network and I'm not satisfied with where I'm at right now. I'm still growing. I have one shop right now. I'm still growing. I have one shop right now

I'd like more shops. I think people need to understand how much you didn't say how much you were making break Yeah, but break is a whole different animal. I know you know some big numbers, but like it's a lot of money there There's so much breaking if you got product. I have a friend right now that makes over a million dollars a month breaking. I have how many rooms does he have going to a million a year is that take home profit or like revenue sales total sales total. Okay. Yeah. So I would be doing 10 12 million in sales. I imagine that he's making at least what 23rd a couple million himself. Yeah. Has to right. Right. I knew a guy during COVID that was making two million a month. He was the absolute biggest breaker during COVID. This is before what not fanatics live and all the other platforms started. All we were doing is going live on Instagram or YouTube. Yeah. Well,

that's the interesting, the platforms have evolved and this is the live shopping component that I've been talking about for 10 years that would eventually hit here. I didn't know that it would come through this channel necessarily as one of the proliferators of it. Yeah. Because it's been a little bit of slow like compared to like Asians with other countries where live shopping has been huge. Really? The U.S. has been a little slow, like overall as a category, but trading cards are ushering in a whole different thing. I do think it's a dual part of it. It's the retail, the access, but it's the experience.

It is. The surprise and the surprise and delight and the camaraderie and like, there's a lot of components going on that is beyond just a transaction. Well, no, the breaker has to have a personality. You have to understand the breaker is performing. The breaker is putting on a show. He's there talking about stuff

that people want to hear about. He's a salesman. He's getting this stuff going. He's rallying it up. Some of these guys sound like auctioneers. I mean, it's crazy. You tap in on all those different channels. You're going to get something different. Yeah, but the guys that are really excelling in it, they have great personalities, obviously have great product. Yep. And, uh, are, are, are working their butts off. And you've got what not is now growing.

What not has grown from just cards to sneakers, vintage clothing, handbags, commodities like gold and silver. Yeah. You get in there and you've got not only the breaks like what Maddie did, and we've done this with the boys, like selling singles, whatever. You can do that too. They do, they've got like little timers so you get people live auction.

Right, that's exactly what it is. And some people will take like graded cards and make repacks and sell repacks. There's just so many ways that you can sell things on what not, on Fanatics Live. They have spinning wheels that will randomly select your teams for you. I mean, they make it fun.

And it's very easy to just swipe and buy that team. And then when you check at the end of the night, that money comes right out of your bank. It's like too easy. Once like in there, it's like, yeah, if you think Amazon's quick, it's like a one swipe, one swipe, baby. So we transit. What made you go from breaks to retail? You know, when I was breaking, I was, I was happy. I had no overhead and I was doing really good financially.

I'm a people person, Ryan. Yeah. I was breaking, I was happy, I had no overhead, and I was doing really good financially. I'm a people person, Ryan. I got tired of sitting in the house by myself, running back and forth from this room to that room. I wanted to be around people again. The only time I was around people was when I went to a show, which was once every month or two. I really like the element of the face-to-face interactions,

getting to know people, bonding with people, learning people. Like you said, you know my family, you have a great family as well. And it's been an honor and a pleasure for me to meet your family and become a part of you. I'm an extended part of the family. Like I love it. So just having me stuck in that room wasting away, I felt like I was just wasting away. I wanted to get back into the public and I wanted to get back around people.

It's what I do. I just like, I like people. Yeah. Yeah. It's not for everyone. Yeah. Cause retail is not easy. I mean, not easy. It's not, I mean, even a moving industry and you've got, you know, but sales right now are good, you know, but still running a retail shop, a business, you know, like you said, man, when you come in retail shop. Still a business. You know, still a business. Like you said, man, when you come in, my shelves are stocked. I might have a really good day where,

the end of the day, my shelves are empty. Now I have to get stuff sent to me for the next day. So when I open that next morning, my shelves are stocked again. So it's always a fight. It's a tug of war. You know, they're buying, I need to replace. They're buying, I need to replace because I don't want any empty shelves. That's the last thing you

want to see. I'm sure you do toil like, okay, is this going to stay hot? Is it going to sit a little bit? Or is it not? You get to think about that. Experience. Experience tells you what to order, what not to order. There's no blueprint, there's no guide. It's all trial and error. It really is. Yeah. Is the expansion just more stores? I mean, is that? Yeah. More stores. Yeah. But then it gets into like, you know, we've talked about it, you know, the market. So do you have to leave the market? Do you have to, you know, or is it just South Carolina? Like, how do you go about thinking about that?

It's so hard, man. I really think about it a lot. I think a lot of our store's success is within our store's personality, which consists of me and my family. It's a family-run business, family-owned, family-run business. So it'd be really hard.

I mean, I've been offered to put a spot in Nashville, to put a spot in Charlotte. Yeah. It's hard to duplicate that, right? It's really hard to duplicate, because now you just have a store. You might not have that same experience. Yeah, like I'm here with you right now, but my daughter's running the shop.

Yeah, and I know she's doing a great job because this is who she is. Yeah, you've dealt with her before. Exactly right. Yeah, great. I'm not going to send her to one of them cities. You know, to go national event. She might she might but you know, just the family element man. So I don't know who God knows. I didn't know, just the family element, man. So, I don't know.

God knows. I didn't know I was gonna open a store. Yeah. You know, I didn't have any of that planned. I didn't even know I was gonna leave my career and take on breaking full-time. This is all God's plan. He works in mysterious ways.

He sure does, brother. Where is the industry headed? Like the, and use your crystal ball, like Tom Brady's in it with Card Vault. You've got the grading side, you've got all the brands, you've got Panini and Topps always battling back and forth with rights and all this stuff. Like it's a broad ranging question,

but I'm just curious, do you even pay attention to that? I do. Yeah, because you gotta have to a little bit. I do. Yeah. And you know, I wish I prepared with some statistics for this interview because there was a statistic I read not too long ago, maybe three or four months ago that said right now it's worth this many billions. And within the next five years, they're expecting it to maybe 5X. Yeah, oh yeah.

So. Friends are looking good. Right. Yeah. And you know, Topps has taken on more IPs. They got Disney this year, so everything under Disney. This year actually, Topps will take on NBA licensing and then next year they're going to have the NFL licensing. So it's as long as Tops is in the driver's seat, I feel really really comfortable. Yeah, I just love what they're doing for the hobby.

The innovative things they're doing like as far as like the MLB debut patches that the player wears for their very first game. The signatures just all the fun stuff that Tops is doing right now and Fanatics is doing. I think they're doing a great job with it. There's something that's so raw and real about the physical part of collecting, especially sports cards. But you do have this younger group that the NFT space, the digital space, like I don't think it's an or, I think it's an and. Yeah, I know it's like it's a replacement, but it's an interesting thing.

I mean, they really tried it during COVID and it had like it had a day and that about it. I had a day. I mean, even me, I felt victim. I was in tops heavily invested in top shot, which is NBA moments. It's like, yeah, I remember that. Yeah. Remember top shot? Yeah. It was NBA. It's and, yeah, I remember that. Remember Top Shot?

It was NBA, and it's still going on. They still have it. I just don't know where the interest is right now. A lot of guys that I speak to, I can't speak for everyone, but a lot of guys that I speak to, they want to hold that physical asset in their hands as opposed to pushing play in a computer and watching LeBron make a layup

and saying, I own that. Yeah. Yeah. It's touchy. I know. Well, I never thought that a generation would put as much value in a digital skin or costume. Right. My kids, what they spent on Fortnite costumes. Like it means like that avatar is part of their identity for sure. So that's the only thing that makes me and again not because I think it's going to replace the physical car. Yeah but it's an and because if they do place that in that gives that digital or value to them I'm going to call it digital value but to them it's just value. It means something.

And they're willing to pay for it. So if the 10 year olds of today are willing to pay for that skin or that thing, cause that's their digital persona. I can't help but think that there's gonna be a digital collection of something. I'm cool with the ant. There's a video game out, I believe it's MLB the show,

where you can unlock Topps baseball cards. And I spoke to many people that come into the shop that have told me they got back into collecting physical baseball cards because of the video game. So the and, I can see that and working. Yeah, I think it will be something as a component of collecting. Whether or not it's five percent or one percent or

Fifty percent. Yeah, a hundred years now. I mean yes, but uh think about our trade nights like the trade nights We do here. Yeah, they're amazing full of people full of collectors full of smiles. I Don't know how that would work with the digital stuff. Yeah, it's like are you gonna put it put it up on the projection screen? Hey, who wants to buy this? I don't know how that would work with the digital stuff. Yeah, it's like, oh, you're going to put it up on the projection screen. Hey, who wants to buy this Honus Wagner 101? I'm going to take a picture with my camera phone and make another copy of it. But when you walk from table to table,

and who's running most of these table? Kids? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Kids will easily have $20,000, $30,000. I think I got sm I got that whole night. I'm like, uh, I don't know if I won or lost, but I had a blast doing it. Exactly. Yeah. You know,

and that's what I always remind people is that man, this is a hobby. Some people make it all about the money, but this is a hobby. It's meant to be enjoyed. It's meant to be fun. I always try to keep it there. Yeah. Well, and that's part of your tagline, isn't it? Yeah, for sure. What's the tagline?

The hobby lives here. The hobby lives here. The hobby lives here. I love the hobby. I love everything that it represents. I always say it's so much deeper than the cards. Yeah. You know, you're teaching children the value of a tangible asset. I see parents use bringing their kid to the card store to buy a pack of cards as

a reward for doing good in school or doing their chores. I see not only kids buying, selling, trading with each other, but I see kids buying, selling, trading with adults. Learning how to interact. Interaction and social skills. That takes a lot for a 12 year old to walk up to a man like you and say, excuse me, sir, would you like to buy this card for me? Yeah.

It's so much. I had no fewer than 50 that night. But I was like impressed. Exactly. It's so much bigger than cards that night. You know, like do that. You know, but I was like impressed. Exactly. It's so much bigger than cards, man. I love every aspect of the hobby. Really do. And we're going to keep growing, man.

I know. But I think the industry is lucky to have guys like you. Thank you. I mean, it's been refreshing. I really respect the way you do it. I appreciate that, man. That was kind of my thing when I was breaking. It's so easy to do the right thing when everyone's watching,

but what are you doing when no one's watching? And I always operated with morals, integrity, and the right ethics. And people recognize that. Yeah. You know, people recognize my hard work and my honesty. It really paid off in the long run. It's called playing the long game.

Playing the long game. Playing the long game. Branding, yes sir. And too many people take the shortcut or take the whatever and it just doesn't work out because then you don't reap the long term benefit. No, you know I always tell people a story when I was breaking.

I had a good friend of mine who was a really popular breaker and at any given time he'd have 300 people in his life. And I was a small fry in the beginning. You know I might have five people in there but. And I was a small fry in the beginning, you know, I might have five people in there, but I was so thankful for those five people. And comparison is the thief of joy. So I never compared myself to them, but I was so thankful for the five people.

And every time I leveled up, I was super appreciative. And it really paid off. Like you said, playing the long game, the guy that used to have 300 people in his lives, I mean, he had the world in the palm of his hands. He's not even in the space anymore. And you know, I just kept leveling up at a respectable pace and we have a shop now and growth is inevitable. The number one shop, the number one shop. I love it. Listen, every time you say it, I accept that. Tell everybody where they can find you the shop, social handles, all that stuff.

All right. On Instagram, we are Brian sports cards. It's Brian bryan underscore sports underscore cards. On Facebook, it's Brian sports cards. And if you're in Greenville, South Carolina, we are at 500 Congaree Road, unit 8102 in the District Midtown community. And you can find us at all the big shows. We'll be at the National, we'll be at Fanatics Fest. We move, we travel.

Yeah. We'll be at the Atlanta. You'll be at the Social House. We'll be at the Social House. Oh, you know it. We will be at the Social House. Oh yes, yes. Hey, go by and give them a shout out Look always amazing stock. I mean you come into a town if you're a collector, you know, you're always kind of like, okay

Where's the local guy right and you know, cuz I've been to a couple towns lately Gone in the local shop and I'm like, hmm my home my colleague I got more packs at home than they do in here like I like come on, man Nobody wants these leaf Cards anyway, but no go get them a shout Maddie and his family are wonderful shops amazing so much so much variety and More than anything good people to do business with really appreciate you for coming on, brother I appreciate you and everything you do and you have an amazing podcast number one. Yeah, I appreciate you brother

Thank you so much. Hey guys, you know to find us Ryan is right comm you'll find the whole series on trading cards there We go from all the way all levels. We're covering it from every angle just just like we always do. At Ryan Alford on Instagram, thank you for making us number one. We'll see you next time on Right About Now. This has been Right About Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. Visit Ryanisright.com for full audio and video versions of the show,

or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.