Welcome back to another episode of the Wicked Good Pulls podcast! In Episode 7, the brotherly banter takes a hilarious turn as we dive into the wild world of local card shops, unhinged haggling, and a brand-new strategy for flipping the GOAT.
The Great $6 Meltdown
Matt recently decided to take his 13-year-old son, Ry, out for a day of card hunting to celebrate the end of his basketball season. The plan was to hit four different card shops. While the first two stops with younger owners were a great experience, the final stop ended in pure rage.
Walking into a shop run by an elderly husband and wife, Matt found the overall inventory to be terrible. Feeling guilty about leaving empty-handed, he had Ry pick out two random $3 autographs and tried to politely haggle them down to $2 each.
Instead of making a deal, the woman looked at Matt and said, “You’re not going to get them cheaper than that kid”. Matt completely lost it over being called a “kid” but still begrudgingly handed over the $6. It got so bad that Matt vented the entire car ride home, aggressively wishing the shop would go out of business, leaving 13-year-old Ry to act as the mature adult to calm him down and remind him that the owners are still people. Joe naturally spent the segment roasting Matt for turning into a complete “Karen” over six bucks.
Mike’s Graded Jordan Strategy
Once everyone calmed down, the guys actually talked about cards. Mike revealed his newest investment experiment: hunting for base-level Michael Jordan cards graded 8 or 9 for under $20. Because most collectors only want to grade 10s or high-end inserts, you can often scoop up graded junk-wax era Jordans for an absolute steal.
Mike picked up a batch of six graded Jordans to test the waters. Here are a few highlights from his haul:
’93 Upper Deck Hang Time (Grade 8): Bought for $12, and Mike is hoping to start the bidding at $20.
’93-’94 Fleer League Leaders (Grade 9): Purchased in the low $20s, and he is hoping to flip it for around $34.
’91 Skybox (Grade 9): Mike’s absolute favorite pickup, featuring Jordan dunking a flaming basketball with the rim (meant to say backboard) completely removed from the graphic.
Matt’s Die-Cut Flip
Not to be outdone, Matt shared his own recent Jordan pickup. He scored an ungraded ’96 SPx die-cut Jordan in a $40 bundle (alongside some Kobe cards). With recent eBay sales hitting around $65, he’s hoping to quickly flip it for $60 and double his money.
Listen to the full episode below to hear the rest of Matt’s rant, and let us know in the comments if you have ever had a brutal experience at a local card shop!