What PSA Hiring 1,000 Graders and Expansion Will Mean For the Hobby
5/22/202641 min
Ryan Alford and Brian Ludden are back to break down what is really happening beneath the surface of the hobby right now. This episode covers PSA’s reported hiring push, the challenge of maintaining grading quality at scale, the growing speed of new product releases, and how companies like Ludex are trying to keep up with collector demand in real time. Ryan brings the card-shop and operator perspective, Brian brings the product and data perspective, and together they connect the dots between infrastructure, hype, and what collectors are actually dealing with day to day. They also touch on major sales, market signals, and why so much of the hobby is now building toward one thing: The National. It is a good episode for collectors who want more than product hype and are paying attention to how the business side of the hobby is evolving. Topics Covered PSA growth and grading backlog pressure Whether more graders means better or worse outcomes Ludex’s approach to product launches and scan demand The market meaning behind major card sales Why release cadence is getting harder to track How Ryan and Brian think about hobby infrastructure The road to The National and why it matters Links Collector Nation YouTube: youtube.com/@TheCollectorNation Right About Now / Ryan’s main podcast hub: ryanisright.com Collector Station: thecollectorstation.com Collector Station Instagram: instagram.com/thecollectorstation Ludex: ludex.com or Download the LUDEX app
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsBella Shafer· Host0:00
Well, I'm curious as to how much it will decrease grader reliability. You could send it to them five times, and you're probably gonna get five different grades.
Brian Ludden· Host0:07
They will hire and train 1,000 people, which will take two or three months, and they're gonna be fine because they're doubling capacity. We have the eye on the prize, it's the National.
Bella Shafer· Host0:17
Yeah, I think that's everyone's racing towards the National.
Ryan Alford· Host0:19
Racing. Around that corner he comes. Here it is. There's the National in sight. It's coming around the last bend. It's collection management pulling ahead. [laughs] We've got so many products coming out right now, it's hard to keep up. Baseball, Bowman, Topps Chrome. Now Pokemon Chaos Rising launches today. The chaos... I, I keep going back to this voice. I was like, "Chaos is rising, coming for you at Collector Station." Welcome to the Collector Nation podcast, here on the Collector Nation Network. Whether you're chasing grails or calling bluffs, we take you inside the hobby. Here are your hosts, Ryan Alford and Brian Lutz. What's up, guys? Welcome to Collector Nation here on the Collector Nation Network. You got Ryan behind the desk here. We are behind a desk today, Brian. What's up, brother?
Brian Ludden· Host1:14
What is up, my man? That looks... You look so professional.
Ryan Alford· Host1:18
I know. [laughs] Like, I'm like, we had this in my old studio, and we're kinda pulling it out, and we're gonna see how it looks. Um, I feel like I need, like, um, packs