Collecting Sports Cards to Keep Balanced with Kevin Marshall, President Marshall Advertising

Transcript

Dave (00:00):
Welcome to another episode of the agency balance podcast. Today, I am joined with Kevin Marshall, president of Marshall advertising and headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Kevin, tell our listeners a little bit of background and say hello.

Kevin (00:16):
Hi everybody, Dave. It’s a pleasure to be on the show. Thank you so much for having me. Um, I, as you said, based in, uh, Tampa, I’m from Pittsburgh originally, so huge pirates, Steelers penguins, anything Pittsburgh, but I’ve been in Tampa for about 30 years outside of, uh, 10 years in Los Angeles, kind of grew up in advertising. My father was, uh, in the advertising business and, um, I followed suit after college, uh, starting off in broadcast television sales, both locally and nationally in Tampa and in, in Atlanta. And, um, about, um, 1994, my wife started doing some freelance media buying while I was still trying to climb the corporate ladder. And, um, in the year 2000 we had, uh, lunch out and one on the way, and I was traveling all over the country and I wanted to be home with my kids. And, um, we decided to give her little freelance thing, a, uh, full shot of going, going big. And, um, we started Marshall advertising formally and, uh, we’ve been at it for 22 years. My wife and I together, Jennifer.

Dave (01:30):
Well, that’s, that’s really cool that you guys are, are working together. And I, I obviously know there’s, there’s gotta be dynamics, right? Cause I, I am the same boat here. My, my wife works with me in the business and, uh, it’s tough, especially when you’re, when you’re remote now. Right. Because you’re both well, you’re partial. Right. You know, talk a little bit about maybe that for, for a moment, you know, the, the dynamics of, of being remote versus virtual, how’s that been for you guys?

Kevin (01:56):
Well, it, it’s interesting what you said just a second ago, about the dynamics of being in a business with your wife. It was funny when we started the business, um, my wife’s friend said that is so sweet that you guys are starting your business together. My friends said, are you crazy? um, but it’s been a, it’s been a great match. Um, you know, the remote thing has been interesting. Um, we are basically at this point working three days a week in the office, um, two days remote, but I’ve kind of started setting up, um, remote more than Jennifer Jennifer’s in the office dealing with the day to day stuff more so. And I’m, uh, doing more of the bigger picture stuff and just being home, which I’ve grown to love, um, allows me to do some big picture things and, um, just, you know, really be able to focus on things without the distractions of being in an office. So it’s really working out well.

Dave (02:55):
That’s great. I mean, it is different it’s I, I, I, the way describe it’s like it’s different. I think there’s definitely pros and cons there’s days. I, I miss the, the vibes of, of energy and people and water cooler talk and all of that. So you have to, you really have to be purposeful of communication using communication through, through zoom and, and chat and all of that, but, um, well, that’s great. I’m glad you guys are. I, I, I think, you know, maybe staying on the agency world and, and for those who are watching, you know, the visual here today, Kevin and I both are huge sports collector and memorabilia fanatics. So we’re gonna talk about that and, and how that, how we met and all that in, in a moment here. But I guess, you know, over the last, staying with the agency, living in the agency world, like over the last two years, like what, how’s that been different from the first previous, you know, 20 plus, like, so talk about, you know, some of the, the things that you just had to adapt and change.

Kevin (03:57):
Well, it’s, you know, as we just talked about, the dynamic of in office out of office has completely changed. The relying on technology has changed. It’s funny because for years I wanted to do video chat and it seemed like such a, you know, far out concept of doing video chat and I just could not get it set up. Well, COVID hit, we were all home. We had video chat set up within 24 hours go figure. Um, so, you know, um, all the remote type things, um, such as teams and, um, zoom and all those different things, uh, play a much bigger part in what we’re doing. Um, I think it’s actually as crazy as the sound made our team closer, um, because we’re having to communicate that way. And I think sometimes in the office, um, I think people get into their small little worlds or small little groups, and now there’s just more of a, of a team feel.

Kevin (04:58):
I mean, um, as far as, uh, the work goes, you know, we just need to make sure that we’re all communicating and that we have systems and different systems. And I think it’s forced us to be a little bit more structural as far as procedures go. Um, because we’re not all sitting together as far as owning a business, I think the dynamics have totally changed. And it’s something that for us old schoolers or OGs out there, um, you know, just being comfortable with, um, not having everybody in the office at eight 30 and everybody has their half hour or hour for lunch and out the door at five 30 and just, you know, there’s a lot more trust involved and there’s a lot more, um, letting people work the way that they feel more comfortable working. So, um, it’s been an adjustment, but I think a wonderful adjustment.

Dave (05:50):
Yeah, I do too. And we’re, we’re seeing this the same things, right. I think the thet word trust is, is super important. Uh, you know, I trust, I trust my people. I I’ve, I, I always say that my, my, my saying that I always like share is like, you don’t like Steve jobs, you don’t, you don’t hire smart people and then tell ’em what to do. Right. You just, you gotta just trust them at some point. It’s like, we can’t, we can’t, you know, micromanage and, and, and do all those things. But, um, yeah, like the whole, like nine to five is gone Monday through Friday’s gone. Like there’s no, and I think that’s the tricky part for those who are listening, that aren’t in the agency world and thinking about coming in the agency world, I think that’s the biggest thing that you have to, you talk about flexibility.

Dave (06:34):
And I talked about this in my previous episode where it was like, when you’re finding unbalance, like typically what happens is if you’re doing more work than personal stuff, you’re tipping that scale. And then, then you start to feel like I don’t wanna do this anymore. And that’s when you start looking for a new gig. Um, so it’s really important that you, you go into it with the expectations of like an agency and working virtual, it’s not 95. Right. But just know you have that flexibility at two o’clock. If you want to go outside and walk your dog or get your haircut, like, it’s totally cool.

Kevin (07:07):
Yeah. That’s, you know, the thing about it is, um, there, there is a, um, there is another side to the flexibility and you kind of touched upon it and it’s having, um, work and personal life balance. I think with the flexibility, we’ve always kind of encouraged us even before COVID, you know, again, we started our business because of our family. So we want everybody to be able to go to, you know, little Sally’s, uh, music recital at two o’clock in the afternoon. And if you have a doctor’s appointment by all means go, I mean, we, we know you’re gonna get the work done. Um, but with this flexibility, I think people are having a tougher time, um, separating from the work and taking the personal time. And we’ve had to really work hard to get people, to take vacations, believe it or not. Yeah. Um, so, you know, that’s, that’s a dynamic that’s somewhat new. Um, and going back to what you said a second ago about trust, I think it’s made the hiring process even more important because now you have to really find the right person because you’re not gonna be sitting there watching what they do, uh, you know, five days a week, eight hours a day. Um, so, you know, making sure that you have the right people and the people that can handle the, the flexibility and the, uh, and be personal account personally accountable is, uh, is, is more important than ever.

Dave (08:33):
Yeah. Good stuff. Yeah, absolutely. So we met, like, I, I guess it was two years ago, right? Like during the pandemic, that’s how I think when we, we both got connected, we, we joined, I don’t know who was first or it was simultaneously, but we joined a, a CEO group yep. Where we had zoom calls that we could kind of talk through the things, the, the navigating, the waters of, of COVID and being remote. And we were, everyone was figuring this stuff out on their own, but, uh, yeah, we met on a zoom call and I, I think, I think I remember your reaction. I was in a different room at the time and, and you saw my background and it was like either like right away in the chat, I can’t remember. Or like right after call, you’re like, um, Dave, what’s going on behind you. Right.

Kevin (09:21):
We need to talk is what I said after this call, we need to talk. And so I remember it distinctly, um, and my wife still wants to talk to you about this, but we were doing, somebody was kind enough to get a bunch of agency CEOs around the country on some coffee talks of virtually via zoom. Um, and we had had several of them and you, and I kind of clicked, we had the same personality, but one day you were in this room that had all this sports memorabilia. And I said, where are you? And you said, I’m in my Raiders room. And I was like, that’s amazing. And I was just like, falling off my chair, cuz sports memorabilia, I just loved. And then you said something, you, you had this card sitting there and you said, oh, here’s my, um, uh, I just got this, uh, Jordan rookie card, which I’ll use Franco as a, uh, as a substitute.

Kevin (10:18):
And I said, we need to talk after this call. And after the call, I think we spent about an hour and a half. And you started telling me about baseball cards and, and sports cards and how you got back into it over COVID and how you grew up working in your dad’s, um, sports card shop. And I was immediately obsessed because I had collected cards when I was a kid, um, had been gone from it for decades. Um, and, um, I just got hooked immediately. And um, so you and I have spent a lot of time become very close. You’ve helped me out immeasurably because as we’ve discussed, it’s a whole different world collecting cards, especially than it was the last time I went to the store and bought a pack of top baseball cards with a stick of gum.

Dave (11:05):
Yeah. That’s you, you nailed it. That is exactly how that, that story went down. Um, but yeah, the, the, the sports cards world, you know, I, so I, I started collecting when I was six, started collecting garbage bell kids first before baseball cards. And then my dad said, garbage bell kids are not gonna be worth anything, which they actually are right now, which will come back to that maybe. But, uh, and I started recollecting garbage pill kits. Um, first editions, like Adam bomb, the famous with the head explosion yeah, they’re gross. They, they, I don’t know if they, they still make ’em today, but I don’t know if they can get away with some of the things that they did on some of those cards. But, so I started collecting baseball cards and then continued all the way through high school. And like you said, um, and then working in, working in my parents’ shop, which I thought was awesome. Like I think if I look back at all, all, all my like outside agency jobs, like when I was growing up, it was always in sales. I worked at a hardware store store. I was doing sales, worked in a card shop. I was selling there. So like, I think it paved the way even trading and hustling. swapping cards on, on the, on the school ground, like paved the way for, for me being in sales.

Kevin (12:17):
Absolutely. You know, it’s funny. I go to card shows now. Um, and I see these kids negotiating with people my age and I love it. And I tell the parents, I’m like, you are teaching your, you may think this is crazy. What’s going on right now. And your son’s spending this money or whatever that maybe you’re happy about or not happy about. But what you’re teaching him are allowing him to learn is a life lesson that just cannot be taught in a classroom. And I see these kids negotiating deals and these guys just like, ah, and in, in a 12 year old or an eight year old kid getting this card that he wants for the money that he has down to the quarters and dimes that he has in his pocket is just fantastic. And, and you’re right. It, it does. And, um, you know, that’s something that I’ve tried to teach my kids, you know, is, is if you want something, ask for it.

Kevin (13:10):
And, and if, if you want a deal on it, ask for it. And so I think that the sports cards and the younger kids like you experience is, is a great, um, is just a great life lesson in, um, you know, uh, negotiating and seeing values, rise and fall. I mean, think about the economics, um, of, of what we’re looking at with cards and the price of cards going up and down based on, on a current player’s, uh, you know, the week that they just had versus, uh, somebody going on the, uh, injured reserve list and all of a sudden the price of their card goes down. So, uh, kids are getting to learn all those lessons outside of the classroom, which if those would’ve been around when I was a kid, I think I might have done a little bit better in school.

Dave (13:57):
yeah, that’s right. I, I had no problem memorizing a price guide from front to back, but I couldn’t memorize the textbook go figure. Um, alright, so let’s, let’s get into some specifics and then I’m gonna, I’m gonna come back around to like tie a bow on this, between the balance of, of collecting. And I, I see so much for those who are, are watching, uh, on YouTube, or if you’re listening to this hop order, the YouTube channel, cuz you probably wanna see some of this stuff. You, you know, anything that I, so I see a helmet, I see a guitar. I see, I think that’s the Stanley cup ring mounted behind you talk about some of these, what, what do you collect?

Kevin (14:33):
So, you know, once I, you know, stopped buying baseball cards at the local card shop, I still bought, um, memorabilia. And probably the first major investment I made, um, in memorabilia was about 20 years ago, I bought Roberto Clemente’s, um, first pro contract. It was with the, um, the crabbers in the Puerto Rican league and he wasn’t even 18 at the time. So, um, he had to, um, have his dad sign it, he signed it on three pages, his brother signed it. His thumbprint is on it, that contract right now, uh, which was on loan to the Clemente museum, uh, in Pittsburgh, which is a phenomenal, um, museum for any of those baseball fans that happen to make their way through Pittsburgh. But it’s actually been, uh, it’s now on loan to the, um, Smithsonian in, um, Washington DC that has a Latin American baseball exhibit.

Kevin (15:32):
So that’s very exciting. I mean, to think that I have something that’s being displayed in the Smithsonian is pretty cool. Um, that kind of kicked things off. Um, the weekend before COVID hit, I bought this bad boy. Um, and this is, um, actually James Harrison’s of the Steelers helmet that he wore in super bowl, 43. And, um, for those that, uh, don’t remember, 43 specifically, um, this was the helmet he wore when he intercepted Kurt Warner’s pass right before halftime and ran the ball 105 yards and was tackled just past the goal line, which took quite a, uh, long time to review as to whether he got into the end zone before, um, being tackled, which was the difference between seven points or zero points cuz the clock ran out. So the funny thing is after I bought that helmet, um, that Monday COVID shut down and I thought, oh my gosh, I just spent all this money and we’re, we’re going into one of the craziest times ever, but I’m glad I did.

Kevin (16:41):
And since then the NFL has named it, I believe the seventh greatest play in NFL history. So when I have people to the house and I wanna show them the helmet, I show them the, uh, the play on, um, on TV first. And then as you can see behind me, that is, um, a ring from 2004, the Stanley cup, uh, champions for the, uh, Tampa bay lightning. We actually handled the advertising account for the lightning at the time. So it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. And so they were kind enough to give me a ring, um, in a display like that. Um, I collect autograph guitars for bands that I like Pearl jam, Nirvana, Weezer, YouTube. Um, I have a whole big collection of autograph guitars and constantly look to add to that. Um, and then, um, I have, you know, Roberto, Clemente’s my main, uh, personal collection.

Kevin (17:38):
I was seven years old when he passed in Pittsburgh and I was a fanatical, um, pirate span even at a very young age and was just devastated when, uh, we lost him. Um, you know, during that humanitarian effort that he was, uh, trying to take supplies to Nicaragua. Um, and then, you know, since, uh, my talk with you that day in the Raiders room, I’ve been collecting, uh, cards at a fanatical post, uh, pace. And um, so a lot of Pittsburgh stuff, I’ve got my, um, Clemente cards and you know, one of the things that I had to learn quickly is that it’s a new world and baseball card and football and all the different sports with grading and the different grading companies and stuff like that. And, um, I didn’t know any of that going in. So, you know, I’ve been buying the higher graded cards and you helped me, you know, learn all about that. So I appreciate that.

Dave (18:34):
Yeah, I think it’s, I think it’s neat that I, there’s probably a couple things that come to mind when you try to reconnect to your childhood and absolutely sports cards are, are one of ’em I think of like automobile collecting, like it’s, it’s like a thing where it’s like, I remember that car as a kid and now I’m by have income that I can afford to get it. That’s another, that’s another, um, you know, avenue, but the sports card is I, I think it’s so fascinating. One, um, like the hunt, like for me, that’s like the number one thing, like hunting for this stuff, um, because it’s supply and demand, right? Just like that. That’s what drives this world. It’s supply and demand. So if there’s a demand for something, then there’s, there’s usually a lack of supply or if there’s, if it’s overproduced, which happened in, in the nineties, which that’s what, what happened to my parents, why they, their shop folded was there’s just too much production of stuff. And it’s interesting to see what’s gonna happen in that world now with fanatics coming in and gobbling up everybody and seeing what, what could happen there. And it’s, it’s definitely business, but I like, I like it that I like that the ring story, because you’re able to be in an agency setting and doing advertising, but still have, uh, it, it crosses over into your hobby and your passion. That’s really, that’s gotta be so fun.

Kevin (19:52):
Well, one of the things that we specialize with our business is sports marketing because of my love of, of sports. And one of the other cooler things that that I’ve gotten to do is, um, we have a client named Emily motor oil. So I personally negotiated the naming rights deal to the Tampa bay lightning hockey arena, which is now known as Emily arena. And so that just being able to merge two things that I love in a career was just unbelievable little did I know that we would go to three cups and win two and you know, we’re in Eastern conference finals right now trying to uh Threepeat but, um, that’s just been unbelievable getting to do that as well. And, um, you know, we have other deals that we’ve done with some of the pro sports teams on behalf of, of other clients. And, you know, we look to get into more of that as we move along. So yeah, that’s been a lot of fun.

Dave (20:48):
Yeah. I, so the other thing that I love so much about collecting is it’s analog. It’s, it’s something you can touch and feel and it’s condition sensitive and it’s, you know, about quality. And for me, I have an art background. There’s, there’s, there’s definitely an art angle to all of this. Um, it, it, it just slices on so many different levels. And when I’ve tried to find things for keeping me balanced, if anybody that’s staring at a screen for eight plus hours a day, the last thing you wanna do in the evening is look at another screen, probably. So I love sorting and opening up packs of cards still, which is a horrible investment for those that are just getting into this. Don’t open up packs. If you’re trying to do this for an investment, because it’s very expensive and the return is, is tough.

Kevin (21:39):
Well, it’s ironic that you say that because my birthday’s actually tomorrow. And, um, I bought a bunch of, um, boxes of cards and packs to open knowing full well, I won’t get anything that, that I’m looking for and going, you know, the advice is don’t open the packs, buy the cards that you want. And, but there’s just something about it that takes me back to my childhood. And I have ordered some nice cards too, um, through eBay and, and some auction sites that I’ve set aside to open on my birthday. So I’ve gotten to the point where I kind of buy my own birthday presence and just set them aside and tell my wife, I’m gonna open these on my birthday and, and enjoy them. Um, I also just wanted to share some, some of the cooler cards that I have. Um, this is a 1972 Roberto Clement, and it’s a PSA 10. Um, I don’t know if you can see that with the reflection.

Dave (22:32):
Here we go.

Kevin (22:33):
Yeah. Um, it’s, uh, you know, perfect condition. I mean, you can talk more about what a, what a GEM MINT 10 means.

Dave (22:41):
Yeah. I mean, so PSA is, is kind of the, the king of, of grading. Um, there’s, there’s kind of the big three PSA, SGC and Beckett. Um, they basically look at the quality of the card and the condition and they encapsulate it in this kind of airtight, watertight condition prove UV protected case, if you will. Um, so it’s, it’s in there and they look at centering, they look at, uh, surface, which is front and back, um, for, for all of these they’re front and back, they look at edges and corners, so, and then they give it an overall score of one to, uh, 10. Also you can grade something to be authentic, which is not even a grading scale. It’s just say that it’s real because there’s a lot of fakes out there. So some things you like when it’s an autograph card, for example, you may, that’s very in crappy condition.

Dave (23:28):
You just wanna maybe authenticate it. Um, but yeah, 10 is the best. So, you know, think about, I use the other, I’ll use the example of cars again, like there’s a poor, there’s a good, there’s an excellent, and there’s our, you know, so like a Concor, which is like the greatest condition. So when you go to sell your car, they’re gonna grade it on condition. They’re gonna give you more, more in addition to, to mileage and all of that, but they’re gonna look at the quality of the card. It’s the same thing with a sports card. Um, and that really drives the value today. Um, and that’s pretty much what the chase is these days is, is there’s still a huge, um, arena for, for what they call raw cards, ungraded cards, but you know, most people in the, in the hobby that are serious in the hobby get sucked into the whole grading, which, you know, I have, I probably have over 500 cards graded

Kevin (24:19):
Yeah, I I’ve, I’ve definitely, you know, in fact, I’ve gotten several friends back into the hobby and, you know, they call me a great at SN cuz I wanna buy nines and tens. I just showed you a, a 1973, beautiful top vertical many, uh, Jim min 10, which I think there’s seven of them in the world. Um, I have this Johnny unit rookie card. Um, this is only a six, but, um, this is kind of a personal, um, chase for me because my uncle, uh, who we lost a couple years ago was actually Johnny United’s tight end in high school. And they remained friends until Johnny passed. So this is kind of an homage to my, uh, uncle. And then, you know, like you, I have some personal things mm-hmm that aren’t worth a ton of money, but they’re just kind of special to me, Ken Brett, uh, who was a pirate that I met, um, you know, in the dugout one time when he was playing for the pirates and he was so nice to me.

Kevin (25:13):
So I’m collecting all of his PSA tens and, um, and then Ben Rothberg, who was with my beloved Steelers, but he also played at Miami university, my Alma mater. So that kind of makes it special for me too. So I love those Rothberg in Miami, uh, uniform cards out there that aren’t worth a ton, but there’s still fun to have for me. So, you know, there’s the, there’s the investment cards that I like to get that I know will be worth something to pass on to my kids. And then there’s just some fun cards I think you and I just bought a, um, what was the card we both just bought? I, I bought it and showed it to you. And you were like, oh my gosh, I gotta get that myself. It was a platform.

Dave (25:52):
Oh yeah, it was a custom made card. So I, I, behind me is 86 FLIR. And those who are listening that know anything about, it’s a very iconics edge, Jordan’s rookie amongst other rookies, but there’s, there’s individuals out there who make custom cards. And this comes into the art world. I love it. So they took the 86 iconic FLIR design. And for the movie fle with Chevy chase back, what was it? Late eight mid eighties. Yeah, it’s got, or maybe 90. I can’t remember the year they put his on it and you showed me you, you got it auto. It was an autograph of, of, of Chevy chase. And I was like, that’s so cool. I mean, I love him as an actor. I mean, come on national lampoons and right. All of the animal. No, not animal house. Uh, the, um, the golf one,

Kevin (26:38):
Um, oh, Caddyshack

Dave (26:40):
Caddyshack, of course. Yeah. So there was just so many cool, uh, movies he was in and you showed it to me and you’re like, I think there’s more out there. So I immediately had to go buy

Kevin (26:47):
It. I think you had your secured in like 30 minutes you sent me like the bot thing on your, on your phone.

Dave (26:54):
Yeah. Yeah. It’s cool. Because like, back back in the day, we had to just hustle being with that local card shows and, you know, with the internet now and with, with auction houses, like Goldens and mile high and you know, all of the heritages of the world for the high end stuff. And then of course eBay is a huge still platform to, to acquire and sell, but then there’s, there’s whole other world like within Facebook and Instagram, um, where you can go and trade and sell. And so when, when something like that pops up, I immediately like start searching all these to find does something else like that exists? It’s it’s pretty

Kevin (27:35):
Neat. Yeah. I I’m now in, I think because of you 15 or 20 Facebook, uh, collecting groups, different, um, you know, different interests, I’m in a Roberto Clemente, I’m in Pittsburgh pirates. And to explain to anybody that knows me, why I’m wearing a red angels Jersey, it’s actually a, uh, Otani Jersey who I think is one of the most exciting, uh, athletes to hit pro sports in, in a long time. And so I was in New York city recently at the, uh, MLB store and had to pick up a, an Otani Jersey. Um, but yeah, I think that, um, the, I, I find myself using Facebook more for those sports groups. Um, I’m in an, an Otani group in a wander Franco group and, uh, there’s, uh, pre 1975, uh, baseball card group and even specialties to 1972 top baseball card groups. So I just sit there at night instead of going to bed, just flipping through these, um, different groups.

Kevin (28:35):
And, you know, you have to be very careful on those groups, um, because there’s a lot of scam artists and, you know, that’s something probably a whole other discussion about, you know, being secure in, in purchasing cards, outside of a platform, such as, um, eBay, cuz one, there’s a lot of fakes. There’s a lot of scammers who you pay and don’t send you cards or so like that. So, but there’s a lot of things to learn and, you know, take your time learning and, you know, find somebody like a Dave Snyder that can help you, uh, with questions when you don’t know what you’re doing. Yeah.

Dave (29:05):
Yeah. If you have a, if you’re in this world, um, he, the best way to get in touch with me for my cards is my Instagram. Dave knows cards at Dave knows cards, um, shameless self plug for me there. But yeah, so the, the, the two biggest tips I can give somebody if you’re gonna, not just for sports card, if you’re gonna buy something online personally, to, to basically mitigate some risk, number one, if you’re gonna pay through like a PayPal pay through goods in service. Yeah. Like it’s gonna take a cut on the other person’s end, make sure that they’re comfortable with that, but that’s, it’s basically, they’re, they’re getting protection. And then the other thing is pay it through PayPal, but using your credit card, not like your funds in there or your bank account, because you can dispute it with your, your credit card company, if you never received that. So there’s two, that’s two quick things you can do, um, to really protect yourself out there.

Kevin (29:58):
Yeah. I, I got burned early on with the, uh, you know, can you just pay me with friends and family, right? You have no recourse. As soon as that, that payment goes through, you have no recourse whatsoever. It’s like paying cash. So even if the person, uh, box at, uh, goods and services, for me, I’d even pay whatever their fee is to use goods and services, just to have the peace of mind, especially if it’s a higher end, um, you know, product like that.

Dave (30:24):
Yeah. Yeah. I just, I think, I think collecting in general and finding something like this to do, I don’t know for me it, if fi it gives me balance, it’s one of those things that give me balance that I, I, I, I always say, like, try to do the things that you love every single day. So like, I try to touch sports cards every single day, whether if it’s like flipping through them, um, you become, if you get addicted into this, which you will, um, you become really good friends with your male PERT, your male people. Yes. Mail per you’re mail people. Yes. Yes. So like your FedEx, your ups, your especially your, your United States postal service, I think between Amazon and sports cards coming through the mail, like we’re saving them. , that’s absolutely the, the, you, you like watch out for ’em that you get to know ’em by name and end up buying them, you know, gift cards at Christmas, because they they’re giving you cards in the mail

Kevin (31:18):
And because they bring them to your door, cuz they’re like, I didn’t want this card sitting in your mailbox. I thought I’d knock on the door. And uh, yeah. Yeah. So they get to know you, you know, it’s funny when there’s not a card in the mail, my wife gets the mail. She’s like, something must be wrong today with the mail. And I, and I fall forward every time. And why is that honey? Well, there’s no baseball cards in the mail today. and, and I smile and laugh, but secretly I’m disappointed that there weren’t any baseball cards in the mail that day.

Dave (31:45):
Yeah. It’s quite, it’s quite the addicting habit, but, um, you know, it’s, it’s like anything it’s, it’s a form of, of investing. Like we said, you know, it’s the stock, market’s tough right now, it’s down. And with inflation, I, I think the card market is overall, still really strong. I think what I’ve seen right now over the last few weeks, and maybe even call it even months, it’s definitely been on decline for a couple reasons. I think inflation of itself, the ones who had just a little bit into the hobby that really were just looking to make a buck have gotten out. Uh, I think this, the other thing is not having extra for extra income to go towards something like this. They’re they’re shifting those funds elsewhere. I think you always have kind of a, a switch of seasons. Like, so the NBA right now just, just stopped and we’re waiting for football.

Dave (32:38):
Um, baseball’s there and happening, but baseball stalled out in the beginning. So like maybe some of the casual fans didn’t get right back into it. So there’s a lot of different factors going into it. It’s not just, Hey, get, get a pack of cards and see what you get. It’s there’s like you said, there’s a lot of, in of research that you have to put into something like this. I think one of the safest bets, like what you’re doing with your ES me with, you know, Jordan for example, is invest in the greats. Yeah. I always say like, if you’re looking to, to do an investment into sports world, stick to the stick to the one, if, if you say one name, could you recognize who that person is? So you say like, Wayne Gretsky, you say, Michael, well, maybe you’ll have a couple, but Jordan, even, you know, or Roberto, like, you can just stop there.

Dave (33:29):
You, so you just let mute. Exactly. So if you, if you focus on the big ones, those are safer investments than the volatile ones where it’s like, you know, watching the finals right now, like Jason Tatum. Now he’s a couple years in, he’s starting to stabilize himself, but like Jordan pool, that kid came out of he’s very, really young yet, but he kind of came out of nowhere into the, you know, kind of second season. So like his stuff went whoa, way up and then like, so I I’m out of Philly, like Tyree maxi had amazing second year, so his stuff was exploding, but it’s volatile. Right. So do you want you, what happens if he tears an ACL in the following season? Like even

Kevin (34:10):
The main stocks

Dave (34:12):
Yeah. In a way and NFTs, like there’s a whole digital version of collecting as well. I personally haven’t gotten into digital or NFTs, have you?

Kevin (34:21):
Uh, yes, I have. I’ve gotten in a little bit, but I, I look for the unique and higher end things. Um, major league baseball, um, did something about a year and a half ago where they sold, um, NFTs of each baseball stadium by a specific artist. And, um, for each one they had a one of one. So I bought the, um, Pittsburgh pirates one, uh, PNC park. And, um, with, with it came, uh, some pretty cool things that I get to do this summer. I get to throw out the first pitch at a, uh, baseball game, uh, pirates game, um, watch, um, batting practice on the field and some other things. But, um, I’m, you know, the NFT thing is as a, just kind of like everybody buying a thousand versions of the same thing. Um, I’m a little bit leery about that, but there’s been some unique things that I’ve gone after.

Kevin (35:15):
Um, Julian Lennon actually had the original lyrics to, Hey Jude that Paul McCartney had given him. Uh, there was a, one of one Ft NFT of that, that I went after, um, and actually went for, um, less than I thought, but more than I wanted to spend at the time. Um, there was one that I was, I was, um, going after Lou Garrick’s famous farewell speech. And, um, I saw that somebody kept upping my bid in, in the name I realized was winklevos. Uh, so it turned out to be one of the winklevos twins from the, you know, the famous Facebook movie and, and now Bitcoin. So I knew I wasn’t gonna win that one and I, I bowed out graciously. So, um, but you know, it’s, it’s something that I’m interested in, something that’s, um, interesting. I’ve gotten into cryptocurrency kind of another, uh, passion of mine is, is investing. And so, um, you know, it would be interesting to see what happens with the NFTs and if, if it’s a way to, to, to get some of the younger kids that are so into the digital world involved in what you and I grew up loving and, and still love to this day.

Dave (36:23):
Yeah. I mean, we are, we are seeing that shift and I, I do, I, I do see it right. I, I don’t know when it is, but like, like credit cards versus, um, cash, right? Mm-hmm most places want you to pay digitally now and then they’re, you know, switching to just tapping and, you know, it’s the same thing with, with anything that you have something physical you’re, you’re going to, to digital. So that’s, that’s really interesting. Has there anything that you, that comes to mind that you were going after to acquire a piece that you missed out on that you could share?

Kevin (36:58):
Well, I think you, I think you’re setting me up on that one, cause , there was just, uh, I’m also a big collector of music memorabilia, um, and I’ve bought some pretty cool things I’ve bought, um, right after Eddie van Haen passed, I bought a, um, one of his, uh, stage played and autographed, um, guitars I’ve bought. I bought a, uh, Paul McCartney stage played at a, um, at a fundraising event, acoustic guitar, which he actually doodled cuz he was an artist first and foremost and autographed guitar. But, uh, yes, there was just a, um, Kurt Cobain guitar that was up, that was actually in the smells like teen spirit, iconic video was just up for auction. And um, I, uh, I, I was, I was, you know, looking behind the sea cushions for nickels and quarters and um, trying to figure out a way through some different, um, uh, music museums of how I could acquire this guitar.

Kevin (37:58):
But ultimately I did not get it. Jim Mersay owner of the, uh, uh, of the, uh, Indianapolis Colts bought that. And again, I was never gonna win that guitar, but, uh, yeah, that, that one was just in my blood. And uh, I think as you and I talked, I’m gonna have to find a different Kurt Cobain owned guitar to get, that’s not quite as iconic, but we’ll still be iconic, but yeah, that was probably the, the one that, uh, that really stung when I realized I wasn’t gonna be able to get my hands on. How about for you? Yeah.

Dave (38:30):
Oh geez. There, there’s probably, I, I, what immediately comes to mind is more of the things that I, I sold that, that I missed out on. I think there’s definitely cards that, um, that I probably passed on that that have just exploded in value. Um, but there’s collecting like in the nineties. So like I had countless 1993 SP foiled Derek Jeter cards that I pulled out of packs. I probably had like three or four of them and like in a PSA 10 that’s like a half a million dollars. So I had pulled, those were very expensive cards back then. Um, for the time I wanna say they were maybe 10 bucks or 20 bucks a pack, which was a lot of money, you know, back back then for, for cards. So I, I had those that I, that I missed out on. Um, those, those are the ones that, that immediately cuz they I’ve been seeing them like resurface.

Dave (39:27):
And it’s one of those things where I try to recollect my childhood. So like I recollect Bo Jackson stuff, um, Michael Jordan stuff. Um, I, I shared a story online, which I know you saw about when I, when I was, um, working in the card shop and I was in high school in the nineties, we used to get the, the magazines, the, the card card magazines where you could get addresses of the players and like you’d normally do courtesy up to the stadium. So my brother and I, we would write out all these handwritten letters and put a card in it and put it in an envelope with a self address back so they could send it to you and see if we would get any autographs. And it was probably like one out of every four came back. Um, but we, we wrote to some big players, you know, and, and I just shared the story that in 93 I wrote the same year I was that, that Jeter.

Dave (40:21):
Um, I wrote Tim brown who, you know, played for Notre Dame and the Raiders for many years. And then he wrote, my brother wrote to Joe Montana when he got traded to the chiefs, um, because he was a Niners fan. And then when Montana got traded, he, he like, he followed his career and uh, we both got him back and uh, you know, my brother recently passed away and uh, he found the hard times and he sold off his collection. So he sold off that Mount Tana, rookie, but I found another one same card, same like autograph placement. It was already authenticated. It wasn’t the same card, but, and it’s, it’s over my shoulder here in that case. It’s like, I stare at that and it it’s, I got ’em both back together and they’re both side by side and it just brings back a memory. Yeah. So there’s a lot of that. Like for me, it’s like, I’ve gotten rid of like garbage pale kids. My, my dad said series one, wouldn’t be worth anything it’s worth a lot. So I recently just bought a perfect Adam bomb. It’s like a perfect Adam bomb is like five grand. Those were 25 cent packs. so it’s like, it’s the silliest thing. But, um, I think that’s what it is. It’s like trying to like recollect, you know, the, the things that you, you missed out on in your childhood.

Kevin (41:38):
Yeah. Connecting to those, those, uh, those days that, you know, just bring back such great memories. I agree. You know, one of the things that, that you were talking about is the value of cards and, and I know you get this a lot and, um, I’ve started getting it as I’ve gotten back into this is, you know, Hey, I have this, uh, rookie Ricky Henderson card, that’s worth $200,000. And, um, you know, it’s, it’s funny because people look at what is on sale at eBay. Um, and certainly anybody can put anything for sale at any price. Doesn’t mean it’s worth it, or anybody’s gonna pay that. But, you know, I know that you quickly put me on the right track to looking at most recent items sold, and there’s a way to select that on eBay. And I think that’s probably something important for people getting into it to, to so that they’re not buying something at a, at a much higher price than what they need to

Dave (42:35):
Yeah. There. So, I mean, eBay is the largest kind of place where you can acquire collectibles. I, I still think, um, and it probably will be for a long time. So yeah. What is something worth? Well, it’s worth anything that somebody will pay for it mm-hmm, , that’s generally the way it works. However, doing your research is extremely important in any type of investing. Um, so in, when you’re doing research in, in card collecting or sports memorabilia collecting, you can look at past sales. So on eBay, on the left hand side, you scroll all the way down when the listing you can do sold and completed right there, but sometimes they don’t show you it’s just crossed out. They don’t show you the other, uh, way to look it up. So there’s like these websites that crawl recent sales, like, uh, it’s 130 point.com, one 30 point spelled out.com and you can go in there and you can type in, uh, like the card.

Dave (43:29):
So if it’s like 1986, number 57, Michael Jordan, that’s his rookie and you can say PSA, and then it’ll give you all PSA, you know, sold listings. Um, and it’ll give you what they recently sold for that gives you kind of a baseline to see what they’re selling for right now. Um, a lot of people follow that, um, in the industry of like, that’s what the, what they call comps, what it’s, what it’s, you know, comping at. Um, but there’s other auction houses that you have to be aware of for high end stuff. So you, you know, P WCC, um, golden, um, you know, heritage RMA mile high, you can look at their past sales as well for higher end stuff and get an idea of what some of those things are. So when I say high end, it’s like, it’s like five, 10,000 plus items.

Dave (44:19):
Um, so that, that’s a really good way to, to check that as well. Um, and I, I think it’s just smart. Like you just have to be. And I think that, what’s my point right now with, with investing in general is you just have to be smart where you’re putting your money, because like a lot of people who exited that didn’t have a lot of cash into the collecting hobby, um, those who still are in the hobby and that are, are lifers like you and I, we even us, we’re still trying to be smart with our investing. We don’t wanna buy something and then it be worth nothing. Right. Uh, you know, so, uh, that’s, that’s kind of one of the whole point and I, I, I like, I like the fact that this hobby can, you can personally collect items, things that you like, but it also can be an investment and it can kind of fund fund the, the, the, the hobby. It can fund itself, um, to an ex to an extent, and then you’re gonna get yelled at, by the misses.

Kevin (45:15):
Like another or misses, which I’ve actually started an eBay store after listening to you and have had a lot of fun with that. And as you and I have kind of talked about, you know, plans down the road, you know, retirement, what are we gonna do? And like, it, it’s just something to look forward to that I know that I’m not gonna just be sitting around watching old reruns of, you know, Seinfeld or, or whatever that I’ve got this hobby. And I’ve got my eBay store that I touch every day. You know, the kids call it a side hustle and, and, you know, I love doing it. And I tell you what, since, since that day of, uh, talking to you and immediately getting reengaged into this, it’s just changed, like how I see work and the stress of work. And, and it’s just something else that I can get into.

Kevin (45:59):
And, and I like to watch, um, you know, baseball games. I’m one of those guys that still enjoys watching baseball, um, on television. And I’ll just sit there with some cards and flip through, or, or a collecting magazine. And I don’t know, it’s just a, it’s just a good way to, um, to put into perspective what we do during the day for work and, and for income. And, um, just gives me something else to look forward to, and not put all of my, um, efforts and energy into work. And it’s helped create that balance that I know that, uh, and I, and I’ve enjoyed your previous episodes of this podcast is finding that balance. You know, you said something, and I think your first one that, you know, um, every day do something that you love and, you know, I’ve always wanted to play guitar and I, I can play some basic chords and stuff like that. And I thought it’s ridiculous. In 24 hours, I have five minutes to play my guitar. So you see the guitar sitting there with the pick in it. And, uh, you know, I’ve started picking up the guitar and just strumming throughout the day. So, you know, again, it’s, it’s, it’s, this is just one aspect of finding that balance.

Dave (47:10):
Yeah. It’s extremely important, Kevin, and for any of those that are listening you the mind, the, the mental state, the, the changes that we went through over the last couple years, what, how we consume media, um, and what’s influencing us for what’s happening in the world is it has a lot of negativity. So it’s really important to do the things that you love to, to keep you happy, um, to, to, to create that, that dopamine effect and, and, and really, and do those things. So, yeah, it’s, it’s, I’m glad you, I’m glad you kind of talked about that. Um, it is, it is something that, that I think is when you, when you’re, so you’re starting to talk about does, like some of the, the folks who work with you, do they, do they know that you’re in this world of collecting, or this, this they’re gonna see this, and they’re gonna be like, oh my gosh, I had no idea that Kevin Marshall was this crazy with all this stuff, because a lot of the, a lot of the people that I work, they know that I’m crazy with this stuff. well,

Kevin (48:06):
I mean, how can they not, when they see this or, or, or when you’re doing a zoom call from the Raiders room for trying out loud, I almost fell off my chair. I was so, so excited, but, you know, it’s, it’s funny. Um, I, you know, I don’t know, perhaps Jennifer tells them, you know, I am, or, oh, I brought another thing of baseball cards in, or what did you do over the weekend? Well, Kevin took me to a baseball card, uh, show, and I spent four hours hours there. Um, but, um, you know, so I, I, I don’t know, but, um, you know, the, the other thing we were talking about is, you know, just finding, um, you know, being able to separate from work and, you know, for all of us, for our employees, for us, but as business owners, it’s 24 7. You’re never away from it.

Kevin (48:53):
But something like this that you can find a real passion in really creates a barrier and helps you separate yourself from work. Because I had a lot of more free time back then, and I didn’t have this passion that I have. And, you know, I had had a desk at home even when I was in the office all the time. And I was like, oh, maybe I’ll go check some emails or go through some paperwork, or, you know, you get magazines or trade journals that you don’t find time to go through. But now it’s like, now I’m gonna go look through some baseball cards or I’m gonna get on eBay and just see what’s out there. Or, you know, there’s a, there’s a card show this weekend. Um, in Tampa, I’m gonna go to the card show for a few hours. So, um, it it’s, it, I don’t know, it’s just added a whole new dimension in, in, in, I see the value to it in, in what I do with work.

Dave (49:39):
Absolutely. Yeah, it is really, and it, it is something whether if this continues to be a side hustle, like down the line, as, as, you know, if, as we’re furthering in our career and leadership and starting to think about what’s next, or if it’s just continues to be a great hobby, I think either way, it’s really important hope for our listeners grab that, you know, find a hobby that’s out there, find something where you can be in a different community. You know, the sports world is a, has very passionate people in the community. Um, it, it touches on all those things that we talked about in the, you know, previous, but it really does help, um, you know, with, with balance. So find something out there that you can do, uh, books, movies, like there, there’s so many different things in the entertainment, sports, entertainment, space, uh, music like you like that, that can really hit on all the senses.

Dave (50:27):
I found a REPA for collecting vinyl. Um, you know, just because of the sound and just, it’s just neat to have an album again and again, we’re talking about analog versus like it’s digital it’s, mm-hmm, occasionally I find it to be a pain in the butt when the, the, it gets to the end of the LP and it’s click click, and I have to go flip it. I have to run to the other side of the room. Right. Um, but it’s still pretty cool. Um, so do find something like that, right. Just find something out there. Um, if any of our listeners, Kevin want to, uh, reach out to you, how can they find you?

Kevin (51:00):
Well, emails, probably the best. kevin@marshalladvertising.com. It’s probably one of the longest URLs out there, but Kevin Marshall, advertising.com. Um, I think my eBay store may be K daddy, 21. Um, I use K daddy, 21 quite a bit. Uh, that’s kind of a takeoff on, uh, puff daddy, P P Diddy. Um, and then 21, obviously for Roberto Clemente, but, um, you can find me, uh, using that in a lot of different places, but email I I’m on all the time.

Dave (51:32):
Well, Kevin, I appreciate you so much for coming on today, but not only that just you’ve helped me out over the years as well, you know, just talking and being, being a reciprocate on the other side of just enjoying in the passion. So I really appreciate your time today and thank you so much.

Kevin (51:50):
Thanks again for having me on, you know, we, you know, this could be four hours. We have to, you know, force ourselves to stop talking about this stuff, whether it’s the advertising agency business, or, you know, our card collecting or memorabilia or sports in general. So thanks. Uh, again for having me on I’ve really enjoyed.