What Makes Something Collectible? Inside the Stories, Scarcity & Culture That Create Value

It tells a story. When you're able to make a resmash to something, a jersey that was worn on July 12, 1985, when this guy hit the game winning shot, and it really created the story. That's what I'm trying to bring. It's like the same nostalgia that some of these items bring to to mean memories, and we want to preserve for others, and that's what we're here for. We constant try to, on every signature, try to create the most unique way of presenting it, not just banging out a commodity that just gets sold out. If you're listening to hip hop, you're actually listening to samples from, like, funk, soul, disco, time capsule into the past, trying to perfect for collecting. Memories are a big deal. Yeah, we have some sort of capture that energy, which is currently going missing. It's a special capability. I just don't mess that better. Welcome to the Collector Nation podcast, here on the Collector Nation Network. Whether you're chasing rails or calling bluffs, you take you inside the hobby. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. What's up, Collector Nation? We appreciate you for listening and being with us today, wherever, whenever that day is. We know you got options. Thanks for choosing us. Collecting us, because we love to collect. What is it about collecting? That's what this whole show has been about. Collector Nation, as Americans, as human beings worldwide, we all like to click something. But what makes something collectible, holding two of my favorite players in my hand, as I'm talking, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, beautiful cards. Is it scarcity? Is it nostalgia? Is it cultural relevance? Or is it the story behind them? But here's the thing. Not everything valuable started valuable and not everything rare becomes meaningful. From this episode, we've pulled together conversations from across Collector Nation that explore that exact concept. However, day moments, cultural artifacts, and even digital experiences turn into things, people care about. They chase and ultimately preserve. We'll hear from DJ Ski who breaks down how something is overlooked as confetti from the game of a championship becomes a physical piece of history. Dan Jameson with icons.com walks us through why jerseys aren't just a peril, their identity, legacy, and emotional connection. Alex Brew from wax poetics takes us outside traditional sports and into hip hop memorabilia. John Robinson, CEO of resolution photo matching explains why knowing the story behind an item can completely change its worth. And finally, Tariq, CEO of trace, give us a look into the future with digital collectibles. What ties all these conversations together is one truth. Collectibles aren't just objects, their moments, their memory, their culture. So whether you're a lifelong collector or just starting to pay attention, this episode is about understanding the deeper layers behind why we collect. And what makes something truly worth holding on to. Let's get at it. You know, we can't all go and be at these events and these things like either unattainable, monetarily logistics, whatever it might be. But you know, physically, but like putting them in the bottle, like stopping time in a way and making these collectibles and then knowing the authenticity is there and the trust is there. That's what collecting is about though. It's kind of like, look, attention is fleeting. Moments are fleeting. We're pulled in so many of our ways. But having these things that bring back nostalgia, bring back reminders and being a moment that is sort of captured in time is really cool. You know that. I mean, like, look, I'll show you what's behind me. I have a 91 twins world series trophy paired with a picture of me and my mom at the, you know, during the 91 world series. They're passed away. But like, so for me, like, yes, as a Minnesota sports fan, the last men's championship we won. There's the obvious on field. That's the smallest part. For me, that tugs on my memories as a kid, my memories of my mother, my memories of my father, right? Like, everything else. And that's what this trophy when I see represents that moment in time. And yes, like, to me, it's priceless, right? Like, value in it. It's a gold trophy, but it's being there. And that's what I try to be. That's what I hope this represents. Like, it's confetti. It's a novelty product. Let's keep it real, right? Like, confetti, we put a lot of effort into collecting it, which is why, you know, it's still like a $60 product because we literally are on the field at the Super Bowl collecting it. We literally seal it up protective tape with trackers on it. It can't be opened up unless one of our representatives of the factory. We want to make sure that even the factory, they're not trying to get cute and add in more confetti or taking either things like we want people to know what they're getting is real, right? And from the source, because it represents so much more again to a lot of people, like yes, on paper, Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl on February 9th in New Orleans. There's going to be some kid that is this is going to be sitting on his desk 20 years from now, because he represents what he remembers watching it with his family. And that's far more important than the outcome of the game. This is just what encapsulates that. And that's what I'm trying to bring is like the same nostalgia that some of these items bring to it to me in memories. We want to preserve for others. And it just hasn't been just hasn't been available and hasn't been a trusted source. Like that's what we're here for. And that's where I say we really storytelling through these. And it's more than just the value of items. How many jerseys of Nessies has icons sold over time? I ain't ever roughly. Roughly I'd say, let's try working out. Probably around. I got 50,000 in total over two decades. Yeah. But I had an interesting shadow. Not a lot. You know, it's so that it's there's scarcity there. Because I mean, there's having billion people on the planet like. And you know, you've done it for 20 years and only 50,000 out there. I mean, that's just scared. It's a rare thing. It really brought it home when unfortunately, Pele died. And I'm speaking to people who have Pele contracts and I'm like, can I get some and so. And I'm like, yeah, okay, maybe we swap some for Leo. And I'm like, I think the ratio is probably about eight to one in terms of value. Now, like, how can it be? Pele is the greatest player that ever lived one, three, world cups and so on. And I'm like, because you made him signed two million shirts, that's the difference you worked him for so long for so much that actually there's no, there is scarcity, but there's not that much scarcity in the world of it. He signed so many things for decades and decades and decades. And I'm like, well, Leo, Leo signs a contracted small amount every year and supply and demand means the price goes up. But I prefer it that way. I'd rather kind of keep it controlled than mass. And also, you can't make more money by just by doing more of it. It's like, we see Leo three or four times a year. I can't see him 16 times a year and it is handed fall off. It just doesn't work like that. So we concentrate on every signature trying to create the most unique or special or interesting way of presenting it, not just banging out commodity that just gets sold every time. That's an interesting point for our listeners and the strategies that go under that because that's what creates value and makes something collectible. It's kind of like this is fine line of memorabilia with collectibility because something could be a memorabilia piece but not necessarily be scarce. But I think it's an interesting point. We always try to learn from the best and it's up a deck of God Michael Jordan and up a deck double the price. And they, and I'm saying that's a bit hard to say. Well, we sold the same amount. I'm like, that's like it's like there's, I did economics at university so I always I was trot this out. Have you ever heard of anything called a VEDLAN? I have, I don't remember why, but I've been the memory books from something. It's basically, it's a, it's got an inverse demand curve. More expensive it gets, the more demand goes up, the more you want it. If you've got a cut price Ferrari next to a super Ferrari, you're going to distrust the cut price Ferrari. You're going to want to buy the thing that is super expensive and it works with super high end goods. So like Gucci handbags for 500 pounds, you'd be suspicious of Gucci handbags for 5,000. You're like, okay, and that feels right. And you've got to create that value with sort of scarcity marketing and the skill of what we do. Let's just set the table for the audience, Alex. I mean, what you're up to, wax, politics, past, present, future. Sure. I'll give you the the medium length story I suppose. So yes, Alex, I'm CEO and co-founder of wax, wax, politics. Right now, we are a music collectible's marketplace where we run auctions of incredible music memorabilia that comes direct from verified artists, producers, DJs and collectors. But what we really do is we kind of layer in this storytelling around everything. So right now, we sit at the intersection of the traditional media model with this marketplace model kind of layered into it and we're kind of aiming for that sweet sport right in the middle, which is something that I think we think has been kind of underserved and missing in a lot of the collectible space and particularly in the music collecting space. Yeah, and you'll point, you know, you raised quite rightly while we are a year and a half into this new part of this project, wax, politics has actually been around for almost 25 years, it's our 25th birthday next year. Yeah, so we started in 2001, not by me, by the original founding team. And the reason why it started was born in New York, everyone listening to hip-hop at the time, no one really kind of reporting on it credibly. And the guys were saying, hey, you know, this is a real art form, you know, and it deserves to be kind of reported on, you know, with the kind of respect that it deserves. So really, it's talking about hip-hop and you've got this like incredible line from, if you're listening to hip-hop, you're actually listening to Sam Porsche, I'm like, funk, soul, disco, jazz and it's already this like time capsule into the past, right? Kind of perfect for collecting. And it became super influential across artists, DJs, producers, collectors and branched out from hip-hop to all genres. And yeah, fast forward to about four, five years ago, just four COVID hit myself and Dave, my co-founder, we took it over, we were both fans of the magazine and both big record collectors. And we're like, look, there is, there's something really important here, you know, it's a beautiful brand, it's got a great community around it of collectors that we think, you know, have kind of been maybe like underserved in the space historically. And yeah, we took it over, we didn't know exactly what we're going to do with it at the time, if I'm being completely honest, but there's something, there's something really important to do here in the music space. And yeah, and then how we kind of got to this point, kind of two things quite serendipitously happening at the same time, you know, we were looking at, we have a journal that people collect, we have an audience of collectors who are now in their, you know, in a phase of their life where they are actually investing more in their collecting. And, you know, we're actually like, hey, we're actually not in the publishing space, we're in the collecting space. And then at that same time, Sotheby's were doing their hip-hop auction, and they reached out to us and they were like, hey, we'd like to be part of it and have for the full run of wax critics, isn't there? We're like, amazing, like a huge, huge honour for us to be part of that. But it kind of made us step back and we're like, you know, no shared on Sotheby's, love Sotheby's, but like, why Sotheby's doing hip-hop auctions? And what Sotheby's know about hip-hop and what Sotheby's know about music? And that's where we come from. We know this stuff, and you know, we've been part of that culture for about point twenty-two years or twenty-three years, and it's like, let's go and do this. And you know, there's something really important to be done here, connecting that you said at the start, very correctly, culture, commerce, collecting, and kind of joining all those dots. So yeah, so we've been running out that for the past year and a half. We've done items, artists with everyone from Mariah Carey, which is how we originally got in contact, and rolling stones, Beastie Boys, Bootsie Collins, Louis Vega, Arthur Baker, and yes, been a really, really exciting part of the journey. As a society, we collect things, and you know, when it's, it's just something that's in the foundation of our culture. And we put, obviously, the celebrity and anyone's name and its likeness that's famous for whatever reason, good better, and different, or entertainment, or sports, or whatever it might be, we put value in that, and this kind of validation and service gives it that much more credibility in the collectibles, in the collectors, you know, mine and in someone buying it. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's where the hobby is at its best. It's like at its core of just like finding cool stuff and then coming up with an idea for like, okay, I want to collect, you know, this team from this year, because that was, you know, the year that I was, you know, a kid, and I, you know, was on that ride with them. And, you know, any different thing you can think of to put a collection together, I think, you know, that's what the hobby is all about. And, you know, unfortunately, there's times where, you know, there's things that go on in the hobby that aren't what you want to see in terms of people, you know, putting the money first and putting the ethics second, which drives us nuts. But like you say, at its core, it's, it's that, that's what's great about the hobby. And, you know, finding those fun, unique collections and just going down a rabbit hole. But yeah, absolutely, you know, we want to do everything we can to add to that. So that's what I love about that. I think your search is becoming more and more timely. It's like just because of reality of AI and all these are the things of what's real, what's not. And when you have something physical that, you know, has this sentimental and real value, these services, I feel like become more and more valuable. Yeah, I want to just, it tells a story, you know, when you're able to make a res match to something, it can go from a bat that was used in 2010 or a jersey that was worn in 1985 to a jersey that was worn on July 12, 1985, when this guy hit a home run or this guy hit the game winning shot. And it really creates that much more of a story to tell, you know, you learn the story of the piece. So yeah, it adds another level to the to the collectible. Yeah, and that's why I love to, you know, start to sort of widen down where we started a bit like with the imagery or video or like something that kind of goes along with it to tell that story for how you display it. And, you know, bringing to life not only the piece, but the entire game or framing it in a lot of, I mean, it can help you kind of build out that whole story of what happened during game mourn, right? Yeah, exactly. You know, it tells the story. And then, you know, on the investment side, it adds a huge amount of value. You know, we're oftentimes seeing pieces go for, you know, four times what they sold for without a res match when we're able to make that res match. But the reason it adds so much value financially is because it does tell that story and makes the piece that much cooler. So, yeah, it's a lot of fun. Friction removal. So 100%. I don't make it easy. I think, I mean, not that 10 fans for whatever sport, 10 is cricket basketball football. I think hearing our conversation and hearing the theory, not just theory, but the practice of what you're doing. It's like, sign me up. That sounds cool. But how easy can you make it? And how, you know, can you do a retina eye scan? And I'm in. You know what? I mean, I don't know. We're not going there yet. But you know what I'm saying? I think that's what it is. It's like, how do you, I flip on the game? How do I not fumble around with a log in and my password that I can't find and an app that doesn't want to load and I'm trying to do this. But I don't know. I just want to watch the game. I'm like, it's, how do you move friction or keep like that's, that's the key. Probably something like this. Yeah. Well, I mean, certainly it is. And, you know, there is a, there is a, the biggest friction is confusion, by the way, right? So like, even if, even if it's like, you know, you know, biometric log in and, you know, it's super easy from a sort of an app perspective, which people are used to do, like, used to have a like three, four apps, open jury as sporting event and whatever. It's still a new behavior, right? To be like, yeah, collect a match and like so that the most important thing is to, is to think about like, you know, just through this journey, the basics of user experience design and what messages matter more at what moments. Some of them, you're more like, like digital savvy audience will probably also be asking, like, is this NFTs? Do I need to connect to wallet? Do I need to do all of that? And I'm like, no, you don't, right? Like, this is, yes, they're provably scarce assets. And we are, you know, your, your fan identity is something that we do have on a blockchain, because it's got to be verifiable for any time down the line that you want to share that identity with somebody and remaining control of your data. But we don't have, this is not a crypto thing. It's not like a, you know, that the friction in those experiences is really high. This is not a financialized behavior. This isn't the idea isn't like, turn up at this event, collect these things and then flip them, right? This is, this is about primarily proof that I give a fuck about this thing, right? So like, if I give a fuck, I just keep doing it, because we want to know who those people are that actually do give a fuck. That's the whole, that's the whole point. The 800 punches that happen in a boxy match, sure, make those tradable. Like, make that like, as an engaged fan, I get, I get sort of some privileged access to things that may have more culture meaning or more value. And like, of course, I want the marketplace for those things. But that marketplace is there for those people who are like bona fide fans, right? And the reason we do that is because that's the signal that we are trying to celebrate and create. It's that that obsession that the sports team wants to know about, right? Like, who are these, who are the people that actually really, we owe our cultural capital to? And how do I, not just by giving a little, also get a lot more back from that fan, but that's also who sponsors want to know as well. Like, who am I really in front of, right? Who's it by association with this sports team or this sports league, you know, which, which fans and what can I learn about them and can I even acquire them into my own ecosystem as a brand? You know, who, who are they? And that's where the identity signal of like I genuinely give a shit about this thing is, is, is the base, the basic, the basic premise of it. Derek, it's really interesting. And I think I love this topic and the innovation and the, the fidgetal, digital, digital, I didn't make a word out of them that I had to make that up. Someone's probably said that before, you know, nature of this. It's, it's really cool. And, and I think, I think you've got all the opportunity in the world. You just got to connect all the dots, baby. You know, you're there though. I mean, I like it. We definitely are. And, you know, there's, there's a special source in here about like, you know, as you say, just like memories a big deal, you know, being able to sort of capture that energy, which is currently going missing. It's a special capability. And you can use that in a variety of ways. But you've got to stay true to the obsession. That's, that's how we, that's how we roll with it. You know, just don't mess that bit up, right? Authentic to the sport, authentic to the fan experience of everything works out from there. Thanks for tuning into the show. Be sure to follow us on your go-to podcast platform and catch the full video episode over on YouTube. Visit us at collectornation.com and follow Ryan on Instagram at Ryanalford. Now get out there and collect yours.