Episode 242: Alvaro O’Hehir, Topps Release & Macao Card Show

In Episode 242 of You Can’t Comp This, Russell and Adam are joined by Alvie O’Hehir, from Fast Break Trading Cards, for an insider’s take on one of the biggest hobby weeks of the year.

They dive into the Macao Card Show, the highly anticipated Topps Chrome NBA release, and how Asia’s growing collector scene is shaping the global market. Alvie shares behind-the-scenes insights into product strategy, design direction, and what’s next for Topps in 2025.

The guys also chat about the collector experience at Macao, the differences between Western and Asian hobby culture, and how Topps is planning to build even more bridges between regions.

🎧 Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/show/70w10XxmGviovd5T0LUFFc

Transcript

00:02.02
Adz
Come on, come on.

00:02.38
Alvie
If I do that, you guys can still see me, can't you? Can you still see me there?

00:05.67
Russell Gibson
Definitely.

00:06.74
Adz
Yep.

00:06.89
Russell Gibson
Definitely.

00:13.41
Adz
Oh my good, we're live.

00:26.19
Adz
Welcome, everybody, to episode 242 of the You Can't Comp This NBA Trading Card Podcast. We host Adam, Amy, and Russell Gibson.

00:36.99
Adz
We're joined by Alvy from Fast Break Trading Cards.

00:36.91
Russell Gibson
Hey, hey. Yeah.

00:42.62
Adz
Thank you for rejoining us. but It's been about a month, hasn't it, since we since we last caught up?

00:47.07
Alvie
and Yeah, yeah.

00:48.81
Adz
and go You've been on some adventures, I believe.

00:50.00
Alvie
that seems We have been. Actually, we spoke before the AusNational, so there's been the AusNational, there's been Macau, and obviously release weekend for the first half the NBA.

00:57.28
Russell Gibson
yeah

01:02.17
Adz
The big release, the the the official launch, the the the flagship product, I guess, is...

01:11.12
Alvie
The flagship, that's exactly right. Yeah, the flagship.

01:14.25
Adz
God.

01:14.81
Alvie
So, yeah, what a weekend.

01:17.39
Adz
top Topps is here.

01:18.39
Alvie
It's...

01:18.75
Adz
they they They're back.

01:21.86
Alvie
Yeah, it's they're definitely back. It was... um and but dog might as well start off with that how we went at this.

01:29.19
Russell Gibson
Just start at the bottom man and just work your way through it.

01:31.03
Alvie
Yeah, let's go through it.

01:31.42
Russell Gibson
Yeah. You can have all the time you want. Yeah.

01:33.75
Alvie
Let's go through it.

01:33.91
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

01:34.31
Alvie
So, yeah, Friday was release and um it was huge. It was absolutely massive. um we It was consistent all the way through. We stayed open until 8. Hodge and I ended up staying until about 9.30 at night.

01:49.11
Alvie
ah But it was just consistent the whole way through. um I've actually never seen anything like it, in all honesty. um

01:55.52
Russell Gibson
So is that your busiest day at the shop so far?

01:59.91
Alvie
Busiest for NBA.

02:01.69
Adz
Yep.

02:02.40
Alvie
So you get busy when you get kids coming in and they go through their Pokemon and, and but busiest, it was was busier than our opening, the shop opening by far.

02:11.44
Adz
Wow.

02:11.28
Russell Gibson
and what Okay, so my comparison in my head was, Stuart, the hobby day that you held, was it as busy as that or or more people?

02:12.79
Alvie
Probably three times No, not not as many people in the store, but just consistent the whole way through.

02:22.62
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

02:23.37
Alvie
um Whereas that was more centered, you had trading and all that kind of stuff. This is literally people coming to the shop to buy a certain product.

02:27.62
Adz
Yeah.

02:27.46
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

02:29.75
Adz
Yep.

02:32.37
Adz
Yep.

02:32.58
Alvie
um And it was, yeah, it was, it was, no, not at all.

02:33.97
Russell Gibson
so i think the picture I've got in my head at the moment is like the people queuing around the street in New York.

02:38.88
Alvie
No, no, no, it wasn't like that.

02:39.03
Russell Gibson
Yep. So is it people queuing down Cheltenham Road, you know?

02:40.30
Alvie
It wasn't like that at all. yeah um um I'm actually glad it wasn't because it was, ah it was a comfortable environment and it wasn't people waiting outside, but it was literally just consistent.

02:45.07
Russell Gibson
Yeah. Yeah.

02:49.25
Alvie
Like, you know, you had people at the table pretty much the whole, the whole day.

02:49.75
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

02:52.48
Russell Gibson
That's great, man.

02:52.83
Alvie
um

02:53.44
Adz
Yep.

02:54.16
Alvie
And then, ah yeah, but it was it was the volume, to be honest. ah we've I think we've sold out nearly everything in the first weekend, which is which is crazy.

02:58.53
Adz
Yep.

03:02.27
Adz
Yeah.

03:03.51
Alvie
Yeah, which is crazy.

03:03.65
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

03:04.73
Alvie
i think we've yeah I think we might have ah a case of values and a case of hobby left, a couple of jumbos. um Mega boxes arrive in two weeks' time, so it's a staggered release.

03:14.41
Adz
yep

03:16.14
Alvie
um but yeah that's that's look it's a first for us because we've never we've you know we we we weren't panini partners so we've never experienced something like that um any panini product in the past we've you know we've got from distributors in in the states where we could and it's arrived two weeks later so um

03:25.15
Adz
yeah

03:31.89
Adz
So you watched you've watched the release happen and then you've got it in a delay, yeah.

03:35.99
Alvie
of ah of yeah we've watched the release happen but not like this like ah you know break is breaking and you know but

03:41.14
Adz
Yeah.

03:43.71
Alvie
Like you said, you know down at New new new York, there's people lining the streets and and you know we received a box of posters from Topps out of nowhere to give to kids and and to promote to promote the the you know the product and break mats.

03:55.13
Adz
Yeah.

03:59.68
Alvie
And they actually thought about, let's say, you know let's let's make this a bit of an event. So I think we're going to do this in the future.

04:05.75
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

04:07.10
Alvie
ah

04:07.72
Adz
it's awesome That's awesome.

04:08.05
Alvie
we didn't have a We didn't really have a big event planned for for this release, but...

04:08.31
Adz
Yeah. Yeah.

04:12.74
Alvie
um

04:13.83
Russell Gibson
Organize like a real nice release night party.

04:14.20
Alvie
I think yeah what

04:16.65
Adz
Yep.

04:18.30
Alvie
Topps Chrome comes out pretty soon and I think we'll do something for that because that's going to be, you know, that's going to be exciting.

04:18.49
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

04:22.44
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

04:23.44
Adz
ye

04:25.36
Alvie
um

04:25.48
Russell Gibson
That actually makes sense, man. Yeah. Sort of have it like a bit of a celebration. and And just to go back to that point of what you were saying about how you've never had that experience before, I think that is becoming a real phenomenon with cards at the moment that they're super hot when it first comes out.

04:30.18
Alvie
Definitely.

04:38.87
Russell Gibson
And then even two weeks later, people already moved on to the next thing. like that i I see that momentum with with breaks and cards coming out.

04:43.84
Alvie
Yeah.

04:47.43
Russell Gibson
And even eBay sales, if you sort of track the sales that are coming through, a lot of it's like, Mosaic super hot for a couple of weeks and then it's Obsidian super hot for a couple of weeks and then it's NT for, you know what I mean?

04:58.68
Russell Gibson
Like it's that sort of cycle almost.

05:00.22
Alvie
Yeah. yeah Yeah.

05:01.28
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

05:04.06
Alvie
So, but it's actually nice to have it at the start of the year too, isn't it?

05:07.54
Adz
To actually have it at launch of the season.

05:07.52
Alvie
Current year, first, first, first, first week, you know,

05:09.75
Russell Gibson
Yeah. Yeah.

05:11.68
Alvie
and

05:11.71
Russell Gibson
That's very well timed, isn't it?

05:13.88
Alvie
You know, we we had it we had a meet.

05:14.26
Adz
That's very intentional too.

05:15.75
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

05:16.91
Alvie
Yeah, well, it's the way it should be, not a year after, you know, and then chasing back, you know.

05:19.69
Adz
great

05:19.49
Russell Gibson
Yeah. Hoops should come out the first week.

05:21.23
Alvie
it's

05:22.18
Russell Gibson
And I'm assuming this is like a, from what I've seen, this looks like a Donruss equivalent. Is that how you describe the product?

05:28.81
Alvie
You're spot on. I saw a couple of people talking about hoops.

05:30.00
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

05:32.39
Alvie
It's not. youll There will be a similar style hoops product down the road.

05:33.76
Adz
What's on us? Hmm.

05:36.76
Alvie
you know dan Down the track later in the year, or sorry, next year, which we'll discuss when when the time comes, but this is equivalent Donruss. However, if you go through and have a look at the inserts that you can get, it it's it's yeah it's it's on a different stratosphere to Donruss.

05:54.46
Alvie
The base card's are very similar.

05:54.51
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

05:56.29
Alvie
um And I actually posted today on on our social media about some of the hits because people, you know, we had someone in store open up... um open up ah a jumbo box and pull out a class of 2025 Cooper flag.

06:10.86
Alvie
And he had no idea what it was. And I looked at first and I'm like, oh, nice card. But let's, let's you know, I wouldn't know the value. You know, I know how rare it is.

06:18.03
Russell Gibson
yeah

06:18.62
Adz
yeah

06:19.40
Alvie
And I jumped on jumped on and checked the checklist. It's one in every 3,400, 3,500 packets. It's a massive card.

06:26.00
Russell Gibson
Yeah, right.

06:27.35
Alvie
and he sold it for sixteen hundred

06:27.51
Adz
So we should have what's that?

06:28.94
Alvie
and next day

06:29.11
Adz
What's that? What's that equivalent? What is what is that equivalent 3000 odd packs? How many cases or boxes? ah That's like, that's better than a case here.

06:35.32
Alvie
i believe i have I haven't done that.

06:37.82
Adz
Yeah.

06:38.72
Alvie
Oh, that's five, six, seven times.

06:40.05
Adz
Multiple cases. Yeah.

06:41.81
Alvie
Yeah, yeah, that's massive.

06:42.15
Adz
Yeah. That's crazy.

06:44.03
Alvie
And it's one in every 900 jumbo box or jumbo packets. So it's it's a massive card.

06:51.79
Adz
Yeah.

06:51.97
Alvie
um Yeah, so you've got – there's so many inserts. So – so It's, yeah, it's it's it's actually a fantastic product. I think the more we, the more, you know, when people first open it and they see the base cards, they're like, oh, you know, it's pretty basic. That's what it's supposed to be. it's ah it's ah It's an entry-level product.

07:10.05
Russell Gibson
It's a base card.

07:11.05
Alvie
But have a look at some of the, um ah have a look at some of the inserts that are coming out and have a look at the prices they're going for and they will go for in the future.

07:10.94
Russell Gibson
Yep.

07:18.95
Alvie
and

07:18.99
Adz
yeah

07:19.97
Alvie
Big release. Not to mention the autos. um

07:22.52
Adz
Yep.

07:23.95
Alvie
You know, you've got the Rookie Photo Shoots, which is very similar to the Next Day Autos, which i was a big fan off you know, on us and that's where you've got the comparison pretty spot on to be honest 100% so I've noticed there is some some um some autos are on card and then other ones are sticker okay um but the on card ones they're the you know they they look fantastic man as as you'd did as you'd expect but yeah it's it's it's it's a crack and release it's um we were quite we were pleasantly surprised by it and

07:30.00
Russell Gibson
Yep.

07:30.45
Adz
Yeah.

07:31.11
Russell Gibson
They were amazing cards out of a like a pretty low end product. Yep.

07:36.73
Russell Gibson
Yep.

07:44.88
Adz
like okay

07:50.55
Russell Gibson
So.

07:51.41
Adz
yeah

07:59.44
Alvie
I think the more people that came but came into the shop, ah they were they yeah they were quite quite taken back by it, to be honest.

08:07.25
Adz
Yeah. Yeah. One question I've got, ah because obviously last year we had the, the unlicensed tops release of NBA and i don't know.

08:18.09
Adz
Well, I was pretty critical of the the designs. I did say, wait until the flagship product releases. Let's see what they're capable of with, with licensing.

08:24.80
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

08:25.76
Alvie
Yep.

08:28.62
Adz
ah

08:29.05
Alvie
yeah

08:29.81
Adz
Obviously the jerseys in our field and we've got sponsors, we've got, we can actually see basketball courts. We can see things in the cards. the quality of the artwork, the the the graphics much better than the the unlicensed release.

08:43.29
Alvie
Photos are fantastic. If you have a look at some of the early the early breaks where people are talking about the product, the one thing they do outline is the actual the photos that they're using.

08:44.87
Adz
Yep.

08:54.81
Adz
Yep.

08:55.06
Alvie
you know And theyre and they're you know they're basing it off the one box that they opened.

08:58.95
Adz
Of course.

08:58.94
Alvie
But now that we're getting, ah you know, we we see more of the product come out, now we're looking at the little things like, There's a card that they release is literally the first print and it's called the first print. It's the base card and it's a one of one.

09:12.51
Alvie
It's the first card that was made of that base card. That's a one of one. Now you've got to look for you. You've got to make sure you don't go past it because it is a base card, but there's a little logo down the bottom.

09:18.13
Adz
Yeah.

09:21.87
Alvie
That's awesome. like That's completely different. that's um That's something that's an extra chase.

09:24.03
Adz
So yeah.

09:26.81
Alvie
There's a gold mirror card, which is a, it's a, it's a variation of the base card. The tops, the top symbols in gold and the backs gold foil that,

09:31.96
Adz
Nice.

09:35.38
Adz
Okay.

09:36.09
Alvie
Very easy to miss, but that's a super short print card as well. So there's these little, there's these little fines that, you know, that you don't get with, you know, that we're not used to.

09:39.13
Adz
Yeah.

09:45.86
Alvie
the The guys from baseball are used to it, but, um,

09:47.99
Adz
Of course. Well, that was looking for their release schedule. And i see Topps has got a ah bucket load of baseball releases coming out. We've only got the Topps at the moment. they have it they've They've been very, very cagey on what's being released, when it's being released, which, look, I think is a very smart play, the impact that this one's had.

10:06.29
Alvie
hundred percent 100%. And you'll be pleasantly surprised. we've We've seen it.

10:11.02
Adz
I'm glad.

10:11.73
Alvie
We've had a meeting and it's it's that's going to blow you guys away.

10:12.91
Adz
Nice.

10:15.19
Alvie
well there will There'll be a lot of content moving forward to talk about when when we're able to talk about it.

10:19.11
Adz
yeah Yeah, of course.

10:20.81
Alvie
Yeah.

10:20.94
Russell Gibson
So have you signed like an NDA or are you just not allowed to talk about it or can you talk about like, what's the go with this?

10:21.31
Alvie
So.

10:26.64
Russell Gibson
Cause I always feel like you're, you're holding a little bit on the chamber, like from us, Alvy.

10:27.09
Alvie
No, we can't talk. now we cant Yeah, we, we, we, no, we can't talk about it, man, but we've, it's, it's more so it's an overview.

10:33.87
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

10:36.32
Alvie
It's not specific.

10:36.82
Adz
Yeah.

10:36.64
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

10:37.94
Alvie
um but yeah, it's something that, um, obviously it, it, it gives us an idea of what's coming up and, um, and it is, it's exciting.

10:45.36
Adz
Yeah.

10:48.21
Alvie
There's, but we have to have an idea of what's going up because we have to, we have to plan for certain things, you know, um, they never give you anything specific because, you know, things might change and, and, and and things have to get printed and,

10:52.64
Adz
Of course, of course.

10:52.62
Russell Gibson
yeah

11:00.59
Alvie
as you know, especially in the past with Panini, things don't always go according to plan.

11:03.34
Adz
Yep.

11:04.93
Russell Gibson
No, definitely not.

11:05.39
Alvie
um

11:05.59
Adz
No.

11:06.32
Alvie
But yeah, no, it's, it's, it's, you know, it's.

11:07.78
Adz
well Well, to start off in october at the end of October, we've got the start of the NBA season and to have a licensed basketball product that available Part of this season is a great start for Topps.

11:21.34
Adz
And ah the vibe has been, obviously we've said at the beginning that this isn't Topps' fanatics.

11:22.19
Alvie
hundred and yeah definitely.

11:27.63
Adz
It's not their first rodeo. Topps have been in the industry previously. And for me, when I said they're back, all I could think of was when Michael Jordan came out of retirement.

11:39.26
Adz
It's like Topps is back. So really excited.

11:42.54
Alvie
but Well, they're back for NBA, but they've been doing...

11:44.63
Adz
Yep.

11:45.12
Alvie
like we've We've been across the baseball releases we've been across.

11:48.44
Adz
course, of course.

11:49.76
Alvie
And to be honest, it's not hard to see what's going to be releasing when you focus... When when you you know you've been around the baseball stuff and the soccer stuff, they're not and they they're not goingnna you know they're not going to change anything drastically.

12:00.54
Alvie
They're going to stick to...

12:00.92
Adz
three

12:02.17
Alvie
what they've been doing and they've been doing it so well.

12:03.49
Adz
What's been working.

12:04.29
Alvie
Like the baseball, the baseball stuff's awesome.

12:04.75
Adz
Yeah.

12:06.81
Alvie
You know, I wasn't until we opened the shop, we weren't selling baseball.

12:07.01
Adz
Yeah.

12:10.26
Alvie
We weren't big on the baseball. Hodgie's, Hodgie's, you know, Hodgie loves his baseball and that he knows his products in and out.

12:16.36
Adz
yeah

12:16.81
Alvie
And now, know, being around it last year and a half, now I'm, mate, their baseball product's fantastic. We saw a little bit of it with the unlicensed release, Cosmic Chrome, Midnight, um Inception, that kind of stuff.

12:26.69
Adz
Yep.

12:29.98
Alvie
You know, you can, you can,

12:30.67
Adz
Yep.

12:32.69
Alvie
you know, you can easily say that if they're going to follow the same line, that's what you're going to be getting in the future.

12:35.97
Adz
Yep.

12:37.41
Alvie
And having that as a licensed product, like even, like, I think we spoke of about Inception last time.

12:37.55
Adz
That's awesome.

12:37.34
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

12:42.59
Alvie
it's um

12:42.79
Adz
Yep.

12:43.61
Alvie
It's very similar to Korking's kind of style product.

12:46.55
Adz
Yeah.

12:46.55
Alvie
um

12:46.85
Adz
Yeah.

12:48.13
Alvie
it's a pretty It's a really cool product. Really cool product, so.

12:51.38
Adz
Yeah. Nah, it's...

12:52.03
Alvie
um But yeah, as soon as as

12:53.09
Adz
Ironic that baseball is the one that we're familiar with, going back to the Jordan parallel, given Michael Jordan retired from basketball, disappeared, and then he came back into basketball after his stint in baseball.

13:04.65
Adz
Top's really following that line.

13:06.18
Alvie
he goes

13:06.71
Adz
Hmm. Yep.

13:07.30
Alvie
and There you go, man. Yeah, it is. Yeah, yeah. But no, they're well thought out. So every meeting, like every every presentation, and you know, I've been part of the last two years,

13:20.75
Adz
ye

13:21.63
Alvie
the these guys, the guys that design the cards, the guys that make the cards, the guys that work for Tops are collectors themselves. And that's the biggest, you know, that's what I take from it.

13:29.52
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

13:30.72
Adz
That's the big part.

13:32.32
Alvie
And that's what, you know, everyone has to have, ah you have to be heartened by the fact that these guys are actually collectors. So what you want to see is is what they want to see as well and they're putting into products. And the and amazing thing is, you know, we you know we have we have when we have meetings with them, they actually listen to us as store owners hey, guys, let's get a feel for what's going on in the street.

13:54.97
Alvie
Well, this is what's happening in the shop, you know, and they take it on board. and That's fantastic.

14:01.57
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

14:01.88
Alvie
You know, that's that's a direct line of communication between,

14:02.66
Adz
yeah

14:05.07
Alvie
let's say youtube you have you know we're having a discussion, you got you guys can provide an opinion.

14:08.60
Russell Gibson
Or consumers in your shop.

14:09.43
Adz
yeah yeah but at least communication the the the line the line of communication is open

14:09.72
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

14:10.52
Alvie
I can actually go back and say, hey, guys, this is what this is what's happening, boots on the ground.

14:10.72
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

14:12.97
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

14:15.67
Alvie
you know They may take it on board, they might not, but the the opportunity and the discussion is there.

14:24.76
Alvie
Definitely. And I wasn't part of you know um Panini, so i don't know if they if the yeah if the if the Panini partners had that, but I can only talk that.

14:33.25
Adz
Well, I know the pursuit that the consumer's got a roll of the dice with the redemption program. That's all i'm going to say. ah

14:40.83
Alvie
Yeah. Yeah.

14:41.08
Russell Gibson
i

14:41.50
Adz
Yeah.

14:41.89
Alvie
But like I said, yeah. But like I said, these guys, these guys are,

14:43.38
Russell Gibson
i actually I don't know the answer to that question, but I can't believe that anyone had communication with Panini Fullstop.

14:49.82
Alvie
yeah.

14:49.87
Adz
yeah It'll be limited.

14:50.78
Alvie
Yeah. Like I said, I can't, I can't, can't discuss that because i I was never part of it, but yeah.

14:51.04
Adz
Of course.

14:54.70
Alvie
Well, like, like I said, these guys are just, they're just fantastic to talk to, man.

14:54.75
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

14:59.06
Alvie
You know, the the and they, and they, and they actually like, even McHale, you know, they were, they were there, you know, and they, theyre you know, we had a chat with them they're,

14:59.00
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

15:04.25
Adz
Yeah.

15:09.83
Alvie
You know, they want to be they want to do more in Australia, which is fantastic. It's fantastic that they're recognising that we're ah we're a market to to be a part of, um which is which is awesome.

15:17.30
Adz
yeah

15:20.41
Alvie
so

15:21.20
Russell Gibson
Before we move on to Mikhail, I've just got two quick questions for you. How many autographs per box and did a home court card get pulled in your shop on release weekend?

15:31.35
Alvie
A home court got pulled, not in the shop, ah but while by one of our customers.

15:36.78
Adz
Yep. yep

15:37.08
Alvie
The, funnily enough, that same customer pulled an acetate to 10.

15:36.93
Russell Gibson
Great.

15:40.35
Alvie
I had no idea there acetate cards in this product. That's what I mean. Like things are literally popping up that I had no idea were in it.

15:45.51
Russell Gibson
Yep.

15:47.06
Alvie
um So there's a lot to learn on the product. The, we were talking, was discussing with Kobe, one of the fellows that takes care of, you know, the shop and we're not there. I didn't see ah box of hobby.

16:00.42
Alvie
So the hobby boxes are either relic or an auto. I didn't see any hobby box that didn't have an auto.

16:04.83
Russell Gibson
but Okay.

16:07.21
Alvie
He said there was one out of cases that were that were sold. um But by all means, I don't know what happened at home, but from the ones that we saw in the shop, ah general consensus was there was an auto box.

16:20.99
Russell Gibson
Mostly it's one autograph per box. Yeah.

16:23.20
Adz
Yeah.

16:24.70
Alvie
In the jumbo boxes, there's a guaranteed auto and relic. I saw jumbo boxes that had two autos and a relic in the boxes.

16:31.00
Russell Gibson
Yeah. Right.

16:32.01
Alvie
So, and we've we've seen this across Topps products, you know, look, there might be a, there might be a, there might be a box, you know, might not have an auto and it, you know, but it's, yeah, i saw that with the NBL.

16:45.49
Alvie
Um, it had no auto or relic. I think it was, that was one box. And then there's other boxes that have got two autos, you know what I mean? So more, most of the time they over deliver.

16:58.46
Alvie
So,

16:58.38
Russell Gibson
Interesting.

16:59.73
Alvie
and But, yeah, it was – each box also has – so the Hobby Box has also got an extra packet inside with about four or five cards, which is the 45th anniversary.

17:07.05
Adz
Yep.

17:08.77
Alvie
And then the Jumbo Box has got two of those. those There's also numbered cards in those packets and also autographs as well.

17:13.79
Adz
Yep.

17:16.10
Alvie
So um um don't know if you guys have seen the All Kings insert cards. It's not King of Hearts, but the black black border.

17:25.49
Adz
Oh, yeah, yeah, the Blackboard stuff.

17:25.94
Russell Gibson
Oh, yep.

17:26.67
Adz
They look hot.

17:26.41
Russell Gibson
Sorry.

17:27.00
Alvie
Yeah, yeah.

17:27.59
Adz
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

17:28.10
Russell Gibson
Yep.

17:28.61
Alvie
They're wicked. they We haven't seen any of those pulled out, but they are amazing.

17:30.01
Adz
Yep.

17:32.52
Alvie
Um, and then Hodgie opened up his box. I think it was a comic court. i think it was called. And I think they're one in 700 packets. It's a, it's, um, it's an insert card and they look fantastic. They look like net marbles.

17:46.08
Russell Gibson
Okay.

17:46.58
Alvie
Really, really cool card.

17:46.63
Adz
Okay. Yeah.

17:48.25
Alvie
Yeah. We, we looked at Hodgie's like, Oh, what's this? So that's not bad. Let's have a look at, you know, see what, see if it's any good. And Hey, yeah, it's 700 and something packets. So it's, um,

17:57.62
Russell Gibson
Yeah, right.

17:58.64
Alvie
Yeah. I think a VJ.

17:59.79
Russell Gibson
That's definitely got that net marvels feel about it for sure. Yep.

18:03.30
Alvie
Yeah, definitely.

18:04.47
Adz
crazy.

18:04.51
Alvie
Definitely.

18:04.68
Russell Gibson
Yep.

18:05.25
Alvie
ah Yeah. So there's some, yeah, there's some, there's some, there's some absolute fire in there. It's good.

18:12.01
Russell Gibson
Why don't we get your final thoughts on this? We'll go to an ad break and then we'll come back and we'll talk about Macau. How does that sound?

18:18.78
Alvie
Definitely.

18:18.84
Adz
McHale International, yeah.

18:20.27
Russell Gibson
Yep. So final thoughts on this, man.

18:22.14
Alvie
um

18:23.22
Russell Gibson
What do you got for us?

18:24.79
Alvie
Final thoughts. I'm, Thoroughly impressed. you know And I'm not just saying that because I'm a Topps partner.

18:27.55
Russell Gibson
OK.

18:29.62
Alvie
I'm thoroughly impressed with with the release, the way they handled it, the timing of it, um just everything about it. um Like said to you guys, sending out posters and break mats and really making it making an effort.

18:43.67
Alvie
ah Look, you can understand why it's the first time they've released an NBA product for yeah for a very long time. But um the fact that we've pretty much almost sold out. And a lot of guys, if you if you go through a lot of the websites and and everything, i think the cards now, the jumbo boxes are almost, what, 500 and something bucks and a box.

19:03.45
Alvie
You know, we had them at US.

19:03.69
Adz
Wow. Yeah.

19:03.71
Russell Gibson
Aussie or US?

19:06.31
Alvie
we had them we We still got them at 600. So they've just increased in price because of the demand. um

19:11.26
Russell Gibson
Yup.

19:12.91
Alvie
So it's, um yeah, it's just, it's a hot release. And there's a lot in it. So, you know,

19:21.51
Adz
yeah

19:22.24
Alvie
Hobby Box is at $350, and you're still, you know, um i think so certain people were, you know, I think were complaining about the price. and To be honest, it's, you know, there's a lot in them.

19:35.08
Alvie
So, um yeah, well, to be honest, I'm um um'm pretty impressed.

19:38.67
Russell Gibson
hope

19:40.15
Alvie
I'm looking forward to, like I said, Top Scrooge should be coming soon. um And that's an interesting one.

19:44.83
Russell Gibson
The pricing thing is tricky, man, across the board, honestly, though. like Even at $350, I understand how people can complain because $350 is a lot of money, but we're coming off the back end where hobby boxes have been $1,000.

19:47.94
Adz
It's very tough.

19:49.00
Alvie
Yeah.

19:53.11
Alvie
lot of money, definitely.

19:58.85
Russell Gibson
I almost feel like $1,000 is almost like an average in some sort of planes, yeah?

20:03.99
Adz
but But hobby boxes of hoops were $1,000 hobby boxes of Donruss when $1,000 that's I guess that's the the parallel we're drawing though in covert.

20:10.12
Russell Gibson
At some points they were.

20:11.57
Alvie
but Yeah, Donruss 1920 was $1,000, man.

20:11.92
Russell Gibson
And.

20:13.21
Alvie
Yeah, yeah.

20:13.34
Adz
Yeah.

20:13.63
Alvie
Yeah. Yeah. some box man yeah

20:14.46
Adz
Yeah, yeah, yeah, true, COVID, yep.

20:15.38
Alvie
yeah

20:15.31
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

20:16.70
Alvie
yeah

20:17.73
Russell Gibson
and

20:18.01
Adz
i yeah I try and block that period of my life out when we're all in lockdown and people just bought everything.

20:22.60
Alvie
yeah Yeah, but they're pretty consistent. Like even, you know, some, you know, they they were, right they were um

20:26.36
Adz
Yeah.

20:30.41
Adz
Oh, the 1920 product was ah was pretty good for for players as well.

20:33.25
Alvie
they ranged from $250 to $350, to be honest, the hobby boxes.

20:36.10
Adz
Mm.

20:36.25
Alvie
They didn't start off at $350.

20:36.80
Adz
Yep.

20:37.85
Alvie
Pre-order prices were $250 to $300.

20:40.40
Adz
Yep.

20:40.26
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

20:40.74
Alvie
um So,

20:42.99
Russell Gibson
Hopefully it stays around that price, man. That would be lovely.

20:45.83
Adz
Yeah, for sure.

20:46.11
Alvie
i can't see why I can't say why not.

20:46.55
Adz
For sure.

20:47.87
Alvie
Look, there's there's there's going to be other products that are going to be, you know, Topps Chrome would be interesting to see what the price point of that is.

20:55.57
Adz
Yep.

20:56.06
Alvie
um So, you know, but there's, there's, you know, you've got, um you've got hobby, you've got hobby jumbo, you've got breakers delight, you've got ah values and you've got mega.

21:06.72
Alvie
So you've got a large variation of, you know, but we don't know the configuration, what it's going to be, whether it's going to be one, if it's, you know, I, I just go back to the baseball stuff, you know, and some of the, but like some of the, ah some of the hobby boxes are generally one, one auto.

21:09.99
Adz
Price points and and yeah.

21:11.52
Russell Gibson
Yep.

21:18.28
Adz
um True. Yeah.

21:22.94
Alvie
And then you've got three autos in in jumbo in some products, Breakers Delight, three autos.

21:27.96
Adz
Okay.

21:28.08
Alvie
um So, yeah, we just have to wait and see. So it won't be too far away. Okay.

21:33.40
Russell Gibson
All right, let's go to a break and we'll be right back. This advertisement break is brought to you by Fast Break Trading Cards. Head to fastbreaktradingcards.com for all your card collecting needs. Also head down to 75 Tulip Street in Cheltenham, Thursday and Friday, 12 to 6, Saturday 9 to 5, Sunday 10 to 4. Alvera, I'm going to put this back to you.

21:53.47
Russell Gibson
In three dot points, what is the ah the best parts of coming down to Fast Break Trading Cards?

22:02.58
Alvie
Well, had a discussion with someone. you got You might see me sipping the water. There's been a lot of conversations this weekend, so I'm struggling little bit.

22:09.23
Adz
Nice.

22:10.53
Russell Gibson
You're a bit hoarse.

22:11.05
Alvie
um one One conversation I did have with someone yesterday, he comes in, he goes, el every time I come in, there's just different cards. And I said, well, it's when you come into the shop, it's unique because you're not you don't see these cards on eBay, you don't see these cards anywhere else.

22:25.46
Alvie
If we want to sell cards quickly and move them, we send them to Fanatics Collect. um but the rest of the stuff stays in the shop, man. So that's unique.

22:35.09
Adz
nice

22:37.05
Alvie
Uh, it's something that's, uh, that you're not going to get anywhere else. Um, so yeah. Sorry. What was the question again, Ross?

22:44.26
Russell Gibson
Just two things that you think is great about your shop or two more things I should say.

22:47.47
Alvie
Great about the shop. Yep.

22:48.33
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

22:48.90
Alvie
Um, it's the, what's the one-stop shop, you know, is grading this consignment. Um, you know, you can buy singles, you can trade singles, you can sell your cards.

23:01.12
Alvie
Um, We've got a wide range of products ranging from One Piece, TCG, Pokemon. ah And then we've got All Sports. ah Also memorabilia.

23:12.91
Alvie
You know, Aussie Market can't get a hold of.

23:13.29
Russell Gibson
Great.

23:15.07
Alvie
Fnatic's product, you come to the shop. so we ah want this ah I want this jersey. Mate, I'll ring the rep and see if we can get it for you. If we can, let us know and we'll bring it in.

23:27.19
Alvie
um

23:27.01
Russell Gibson
Great.

23:28.91
Alvie
So, yeah. and The other but third main point, would probably be education. You know, I think it's very easy to buy online. You can buy a box online. You can open it up. You don't know. You've got to do your own research.

23:39.67
Adz
That's it.

23:40.19
Alvie
ah You come in the shop, you open in front of other like-minded people. if i ah If I don't know what something is, I'm sure there's someone in the shop that will that will tell you what, you know. And if not, we just look it we just look into it together.

23:52.09
Adz
Yeah.

23:52.53
Alvie
um But it's the conversation education, ah especially with new collectors. We've lot of people coming in, um that are not specifically related to the hobby but are becoming part of the hobby.

24:06.55
Alvie
um And that's what I say to the guys when they do these shows. um Bring in flyers because most of the people that come into the shop will not be on your Facebook pages seeing. They're not on your Instagram.

24:18.00
Alvie
they're They're locals of the Southeast Melbourne community that come into the shop and we're educating still still now, a year and a half later.

24:21.89
Russell Gibson
Yeah. Yeah. That makes a whole lot of sense. Yeah.

24:27.28
Alvie
Yeah, yeah.

24:28.07
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

24:28.38
Alvie
year and a half year later, we've still got people coming in. I was a collector in the 80s and 90s. I want to get back in. ah All right, where do we start?

24:33.73
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

24:35.86
Alvie
So, and that's what I love about it because it's, um you know, bought a couple of old magazines, you know, what the prices were in, you know, 1994, early 2000s and what they are now.

24:40.77
Adz
Yeah.

24:44.60
Adz
Bill Beckett's.

24:48.45
Alvie
And, um yeah, so, yeah, I think that's...

24:49.50
Adz
Goodness gracious. to to piggy back ah To piggyback on what you're saying, as someone that's been down to the the shop a few times, I can say that the best experience is the people, both sides of the counter.

24:52.47
Alvie
it's

25:02.42
Adz
Like everybody's always happy for a chat, learning about new cards, learning.

25:02.70
Alvie
Yeah. Yeah.

25:07.06
Adz
Like I came down to ah the last trade day to learn about Pokemon and the amount of people that just were happy to speak to me, that just wanted to engage and talk about their stories and their experiences with cards.

25:19.05
Adz
You don't get that in the online space. You get that in the in-store space. So um you guys should be really proud of the community you've developed in that in that area.

25:25.00
Alvie
yeah

25:29.96
Adz
And I travel from the the CBD, the city, to come out and see you guys because that's something you just don't get everywhere.

25:38.66
Alvie
appreciate it man and we'd love to build up we i think we do really well with what we what we can get our hands on when it comes to pokemon i must admit i've got to give props to hodge because he spends a lot of money um building up the the pokemon stuff that we've got in the shop um and from a limited amount that we get from distributors like we don't get much um

25:39.05
Russell Gibson
Thank

25:44.99
Adz
For sure.

26:00.28
Adz
Yep.

26:00.89
Alvie
because we're not a play center. So play centers always had take priority.

26:03.66
Adz
Of course. Of course.

26:04.40
Alvie
um However, what people don't realize is we might not be a play center, but ah I'd say half of our customer base are Pokemon collectors, which is why we have to then go above and beyond getting as much singles as we can um to to have for people to come in.

26:13.10
Adz
Yep.

26:15.69
Adz
Yeah. And you do. And you do. Yeah.

26:22.76
Alvie
And that's where, and that's a beauty about your local hobby shop, because yeah it's important for people to come to sell to us rather than us trying to find

26:25.40
Adz
Yeah. 100%.

26:30.17
Alvie
product. If it comes to us, then we can put it into the shop. um So it goes both ways. um

26:36.08
Adz
and pi um

26:36.90
Alvie
So I think, but the what Topps does is they prioritise your LCS, you know. um Having a local card shop, it goes back to the night.

26:47.14
Adz
There's nothing like it. There's seriously, there's nothing like it.

26:48.73
Alvie
Nah, man, like definitely, but without a doubt.

26:52.43
Adz
Yep.

26:52.64
Alvie
You can have you have all yeah or your online stores, but there's nothing of physically going in, hanging out with people, watching sport, ripping a pack. and just talking about cards. Like, guess that's what we did as kids.

27:01.89
Adz
Yep. That's what the hobby is all about.

27:04.01
Russell Gibson
So I say we end that advertisement there, but I just want to segue and just dive into a bit more of what you just said. So you believe that tops are actually going to try and preserve and actually give priority to hobby shops.

27:17.63
Russell Gibson
Is that what, can you just, can you cover that?

27:18.98
Alvie
They said that, yeah, they outlined that a year and a half ago.

27:20.07
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

27:22.53
Russell Gibson
Okay.

27:23.63
Alvie
they They said that,

27:23.96
Russell Gibson
Cause that was something i didn't get the feeling was going to happen. It seemed to me like breakers were going to get the feel and online people and

27:27.78
Alvie
know.

27:30.59
Adz
Look, that that I think because of the way fanatics were so aggressive in certain areas, I guess early...

27:31.63
Alvie
Yeah.

27:39.55
Alvie
So

27:39.98
Adz
Last year with the overlap with Panini, it didn't... It wasn't a... It was more of an aggressive takeover and showing Panini how it's done. But I think...

27:49.99
Alvie
yeah

27:50.66
Adz
I think the movement to the, and you're talking about the launch, like the physical product, the the promotional stuff you got for the launch.

27:52.86
Alvie
so there's... Yeah, see, that's...

27:56.72
Russell Gibson
But Alvaro, I'm not too sure that everyone got allocation though.

27:58.31
Alvie
That's Fanatic's.

28:00.64
Russell Gibson
Like, so for example, in Australia, not every hobby shop has got allocation, have they?

28:05.15
Alvie
No, because there's only there's only six Topps partners.

28:08.02
Russell Gibson
Right.

28:08.89
Adz
Yep.

28:09.24
Alvie
Yeah.

28:09.19
Russell Gibson
So how how are they going to maintain all the hobby shops then?

28:09.86
Alvie
i

28:13.26
Alvie
Because those Topps partners then... So prior to when Panini, we couldn't get weak when get Panini from anyone. we had to get a um

28:19.76
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

28:20.79
Adz
Yeah.

28:20.83
Alvie
We had to get it from the States.

28:22.14
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

28:22.44
Alvie
Most guys had to get it from the States.

28:24.50
Adz
Yeah.

28:24.77
Alvie
um So it's a similar thing. They just partnered with different... But you can't partner with everyone, though. You know what I mean?

28:29.58
Adz
A hundred percent.

28:29.72
Alvie
So we make it...

28:30.22
Adz
hundred percent.

28:30.52
Alvie
wait We try our best to also provide stock for other hobby shops. So if, but if, and if put it this way, if tops wanted to prioritize or not prioritize cart, they wouldn't have distribute.

28:37.30
Adz
Okay.

28:42.92
Alvie
They'd literally but sell everything off their website.

28:46.80
Adz
True.

28:47.73
Alvie
So, but, um but their, but their, their thing is, is, is, you know, they're making a big deal about, it but even sending the posters to the shop and and and all the break mats, creating the environment at those, at those,

28:49.39
Adz
True.

29:01.40
Alvie
local card shops I think that's yeah that's definitely been a big thing for him

29:03.18
Adz
Yeah.

29:05.40
Russell Gibson
I'm actually, Mike, I'm sort of a bit, um I'm not too sure of the right word. I feel a bit jumped right now, but at the same time too, I feel really happy. Like, I'm so glad that you believe that and you're like, and you're telling us that.

29:17.28
Russell Gibson
So I really hope that it continues on.

29:18.31
Alvie
yep

29:20.53
Russell Gibson
All right. Macau, talk to us about Macau. How was the vibe at the Macau show compared to the Australian shows? Like, what would you talk to about that?

29:29.77
Alvie
micka

29:34.14
Alvie
anyway How we explain it? The biggest cards that you'll see.

29:39.65
Russell Gibson
Okay.

29:40.31
Alvie
Money. Yeah. Massive deals going down. um the yeah One of the main differences, when we get to a card show in Australia, we're there about 7 o'clock in the morning.

29:53.40
Alvie
We got there about an hour before ah start time, about 9 o'clock, and guys are still setting up at 11 o'clock. But it goes till 8 o'clock at night.

30:02.64
Adz
Wow. Okay. So it goes later.

30:04.05
Alvie
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah that's that's right yeah so you when even when we're in hong kong things were up until about 10 o'clock at night they weren't up until about 10 in the morning yeah but yeah you're right that's it that's it that's that's the culture yeah but

30:04.58
Adz
Like it's not a four 35 o'clock.

30:05.47
Russell Gibson
That's an Asian thing though, isn't it?

30:06.27
Adz
Okay. Okay.

30:06.79
Russell Gibson
Like they're they're not early starters. They're kind of like mid morning to sort of like brunch, lunchtime sort of retail opening, isn't it?

30:19.53
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

30:23.49
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

30:25.92
Adz
and ka

30:28.90
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

30:29.76
Alvie
Mate, it was just dealing the the whole the whole day. It was it was it was crazy. We were dealing, so we didn't really walk around as much as we we did last year. we were more focused on what we were doing at the table.

30:40.53
Adz
Yeah.

30:40.27
Russell Gibson
That's

30:40.62
Alvie
ah we did We did see some massive cards, huge cards. I think there was a couple of guys. um and There's a few guys from Australia, which was great to see. um And they reckon they did really, really well.

30:54.68
Alvie
So... um

30:56.64
Adz
What's the space like there? Like, is it is it bigger than, yeah.

30:59.96
Alvie
Yeah, it's massive. So one one whole one whole side is... Yeah, one whole side is... I don't have i don't have the figures, so that's something I probably should have looked into.

31:09.53
Russell Gibson
that's okay

31:09.99
Alvie
But i can probably get oh I can probably get the figures for you next time. But it's a one...

31:12.55
Russell Gibson
Just make up some numbers, man. We we don't we don't fact check on the show anyway. It's okay.

31:16.84
Alvie
No.

31:16.83
Russell Gibson
yeah

31:18.61
Alvie
But there's always going to be someone that will.

31:20.36
Adz
I'm sure someone will correct this

31:20.36
Alvie
But on the left-hand side... Yeah, this look, there's there's there's one side of just all tables in the middle of the show is all activations. um You got PSA, eBay, whatnot,

31:28.29
Adz
Okay.

31:32.80
Alvie
ah Panini, Tops, Fanatics. um And then last year, and they had i had the the table spread out on both sides of the of the of the venue.

31:42.80
Adz
Hmm.

31:43.24
Alvie
Right-hand side this time, they had um they just had tables for for for breaking. So that that side was actually quite dead this year from what we could see.

31:52.64
Adz
Okay.

31:52.88
Alvie
All the action was on the table side. So um even the guys that had

31:57.07
Adz
Live deals.

31:57.67
Alvie
had an activation.

31:57.83
Adz
So it was all live dealing.

31:58.47
Alvie
Oh, it was just, yeah, it was, no, no, it was just, it was, yeah.

31:59.03
Adz
It wasn't about the online presence. Yeah.

32:04.33
Alvie
So if they spread the tables on both sides, like they did last year, they had, they'd had, they'll have more people walking through the activation zone. So that's probably we'll have a chat with them about as well, just to, just to spread it out a bit.

32:10.15
Adz
Yeah. Okay.

32:13.61
Alvie
But it's, it's, it's huge. Like it's the money that gets around there is unbelievable.

32:18.29
Adz
Yep.

32:18.46
Alvie
Uh, the cards that are there, uh, phenomenal. Um, so if you're going to go there, you've got to make sure it takes some big cards. Um, because yeah you're gonna you're gonna be moving it i think roth uh josh roth was uh i'm sorry i suppose he goes man some of the biggest cards you'll see so ah think he did a video and on youtube as well it was actually yeah some big cards getting around so

32:36.93
Adz
Insane.

32:43.16
Adz
So much bigger than than Australia, but how better in comparison to the States, say the national?

32:43.28
Russell Gibson
what was the,

32:49.86
Alvie
the way i look at the hong kong sorry the macao card show anything print panini era um

32:55.34
Adz
Yep.

32:56.28
Alvie
To current, you've got one-on-ones, nebulas, logo men, massive.

33:00.52
Adz
Okay, wow.

33:02.47
Alvie
um when we When we go to the national, um a lot of vintage, a lot of Tom Brady, a lot of Jordan, a lot of Kobe.

33:07.59
Adz
Okay. Yep.

33:10.96
Alvie
or There's a lot of Kobe here as well.

33:11.09
Adz
Okay.

33:12.59
Alvie
Don't get me wrong.

33:13.40
Adz
I was going to say Kobe was was the most popular, but like, is Kobe more popular than Jordan in China?

33:13.88
Alvie
ah

33:16.99
Alvie
He was a crossover, wasn't he? Steph Curry was our number one seller.

33:24.31
Adz
Okay.

33:24.44
Alvie
So we were blind, Steph.

33:26.15
Adz
Yep.

33:26.14
Alvie
putting it on the, putting it down and though and it was, it was, it was just reselling.

33:28.24
Adz
Go on.

33:30.31
Alvie
Um, so from what we could see at our table, Steph Curry was the, he was the one.

33:37.90
Russell Gibson
Crazy.

33:39.16
Alvie
So, but yeah, so,

33:39.12
Russell Gibson
What was the biggest card that you saw for the show?

33:40.77
Adz
I like him too.

33:43.65
Alvie
um, oh, there's, there's a, there's a fellow called, uh, the logo man. He's got a, he's got a shop in Hong Kong and, um, he had an activation and,

33:54.44
Alvie
It's literally just logo, man. And then he had the whole, I think he had the whole set of Eminence Kobe autos in a frame. And it was it was huge. i don't know how many there eyes are. Is it 30 or something?

34:05.86
Alvie
But it's, yeah, it's just ridiculous, man.

34:09.81
Adz
That's insane.

34:10.39
Alvie
So his whole activation was...

34:11.04
Russell Gibson
Did he go with security or did they supply him with security? Like, how does it work for something like that?

34:16.36
Alvie
To be honest, man, it's Macau. You're not, you don't, yeah, there's people there,

34:21.00
Adz
Yeah.

34:22.35
Alvie
but It's not as if it's tight security. Like, it's like where where are you going to get to?

34:25.02
Russell Gibson
It's not packing them.

34:27.94
Alvie
the

34:28.47
Adz
ah

34:28.83
Alvie
You know, the the Venetian is so big, you' you've pretty much got a shopping centre the size of Southane in the in the in the in the in the hotel. it's it's It's massive. It's it's mcil's huge.

34:38.69
Adz
Trying to contextualize it all. Yeah.

34:41.58
Alvie
Well, in that hotel, ah where they had the Venetian, where they had the ah the show, they also had the pre-season games.

34:43.63
Adz
Yep.

34:50.60
Alvie
ah the Suns versus the Nets in the actual hotel. they've got a basketball stadium in the hotel. Well, it's a stadium. They obviously have shows and so forth. But ah that's how big this that's how big this place is.

35:00.26
Adz
Wow. Just, yeah, okay.

35:03.62
Alvie
Like, you actually...

35:03.68
Russell Gibson
It's big enough to host a basketball game and a card show on the same weekend.

35:04.14
Alvie
know like but and had and And you've still got, you know, a shopping centre the size of, you know, we our second biggest shopping centre in Melbourne.

35:07.02
Russell Gibson
yeah

35:12.15
Adz
Yeah. Yep.

35:15.34
Alvie
It's huge. It's massive.

35:17.75
Russell Gibson
You're selling it actually. ah That would, it sounds pretty great to go to.

35:22.12
Alvie
Oh, yeah, I thoroughly enjoy it. we we it's just it's It's just awesome. The vibe's fantastic, mate. Everyone's just friendly and, mate, it is.

35:28.00
Adz
yeah

35:31.69
Alvie
it's It's a fantastic vibe. So we'll check out – next year's a big year for us when it comes to car shows.

35:34.12
Russell Gibson
I

35:37.35
Alvie
I think we're – you know, I think I've mentioned but and in the past we're going to start taking it – start going a bit more interstate um and then potentially head to Bangkok.

35:43.85
Adz
Mm-hmm.

35:46.47
Alvie
We got invited to the Bangkok car show, but that was like the weekend that just passed. So it was too soon. There's also, Hodge might go to the um the Singapore card show, which is in December. They've also got another one in June, July.

35:56.46
Adz
huh

35:57.66
Alvie
So we know the boys that run though and that as well. So, um yeah, so I think next year we'll ah we'll venture over a little bit more to the Asia side of because, mate, they've got massive, massive, massive hobby ah participation in Asia.

36:13.54
Adz
Yeah.

36:14.56
Alvie
And, um yeah, hopefully we get them over to Australia as well.

36:18.60
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

36:19.33
Adz
But that's, yeah, they they're a big player in the market and and that's, we're we're seeing, I guess we're starting to see a bit of a trend with them showing up the bigger card shows in some way, shape or form, but I think that'll that will grow the more it's sort of reciprocated, I guess, with Aussies going over and becoming an area for collectibles, for cards, yeah.

36:22.69
Alvie
Yeah.

36:29.08
Alvie
Yeah.

36:41.92
Alvie
sure yeah

36:43.45
Russell Gibson
I saw a couple of the local boys on Facebook, NCM, that they'd actually gone over there and had their own table.

36:51.45
Alvie
yeah

36:51.76
Russell Gibson
If there's any of our listeners that are thinking about venturing over there and getting their own table, what's your advice you would give to them to give them a bit of a step forward?

37:01.38
Alvie
I'd say go and check it out first, um and then which is what we did.

37:05.65
Adz
okay

37:08.87
Alvie
um And I'm glad we did rather than just venturing over without quite a sight unseen because you do get a feel for what you need to take, where to stay. It's so big. So we didn't at the Venetian this like it's so big um so we didn't stay at the venetian this year ah we did last year, but because the price jumped up a little bit because he had the NBA there this year, we stayed at the next hotel um and we were still catching taxis, even though we're at the next hotel.

37:36.03
Adz
Yeah.

37:35.83
Russell Gibson
yeah

37:42.92
Alvie
um So, and we're the next hotel.

37:44.95
Russell Gibson
Is that because of the humidity? It's just too hot to walk that far? Yeah.

37:48.59
Alvie
Well, it's still taking me 20 minutes. Actually, was it was, was taking me probably 10 minutes to get out of the show to the cab area. And if I was walking from the cab area to the next hotel, it's about 10, 15 minute walk.

38:01.83
Alvie
Like these, these hotels are massive. Like there's, yeah.

38:03.91
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

38:05.07
Alvie
So you got to know where to stay.

38:05.39
Russell Gibson
hard to get your head around. Yeah.

38:06.69
Adz
Yeah, for sure.

38:07.34
Alvie
Yeah.

38:07.76
Adz
Yep.

38:08.55
Alvie
But once you get your head around, you go, you check it out. It's, yeah, it's, it makes it easier. It's in a reason makes it, locks in a little bit easier. yeah And even getting there, like, cause when you get there, ah last year we caught a, um with a few of the boys that we met, cause you can get ferries, but ferries,

38:26.73
Alvie
and they close it, they finish at a certain time. So if not, you then, you cause you've got to go through two immigration customs.

38:33.68
Adz
yep

38:34.52
Alvie
um So it's a bit of a process. um So we just caught a car from the, from the airport straight to Macau as it now took us to the hotel, but 600 bucks.

38:46.43
Alvie
It's, it's not, it's not cheap. Whereas the ferries lot cheaper. So then youve got to figure out, you know you do you do that?

38:50.90
Adz
Yeah. Yeah.

38:53.29
Alvie
Do you allow for the ferry? Do you stay a night and and do the ferry the next day? So, yeah, it was a more a lot more efficient this year.

38:58.73
Adz
yeah

39:02.19
Alvie
Last year, was it was all over the shop. We ended up getting to the to the hotel at 2 in the morning because we were just, yeah, just running around everywhere and there's a lot mucking around.

39:08.39
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

39:11.99
Russell Gibson
Interesting. Interesting. um

39:19.10
Russell Gibson
What's one story or moment from a cow that you'll probably hold onto that memory forever or yeah.

39:24.56
Adz
It speaks out. Yep.

39:26.97
Alvie
I ah think without a doubt, look, it's got nothing to do with the card show, ah but we did get invited by Tops with all the other Aussie partners that were there and and and and and some of the guys from Asia.

39:40.55
Alvie
We were lucky enough to to go to the NBA game and um and it was we were you know two rows back from the from the floor and Soji went all fangirl and high-fived a few the players while i was you know when I was

39:54.70
Russell Gibson
Oh yeah.

39:56.35
Alvie
But it was, mate, it was awesome.

39:56.64
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

39:57.59
Alvie
it was this is So when I said to you, lot when it was mentioned before, they're prioritizing relationships, that's what I'm talking about. You know what I mean? it's It's just those little things that they're doing that,

40:08.03
Adz
Yeah.

40:07.77
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

40:10.16
Russell Gibson
If they're buying you very C tickets, that's yeah. Yeah.

40:13.67
Alvie
man, it they didn't have to. You know what i mean?

40:15.63
Adz
No, no, no.

40:15.47
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

40:16.99
Alvie
i they we you know They got us at the show. They got all the Asia partners together. you know And so they're creating a real camaraderie, which is what I love.

40:24.88
Adz
Yep.

40:25.20
Alvie
Because we now know the guys from you know the guys from One Collectible in in Singapore. And we spent time with Om from Bangkok. And we know the guys from from China. And we met them last year, had a beer with them this year.

40:38.14
Alvie
And it's it's literally becoming it's it's becoming a you know ah close working relationship with our closest partners, which is the Asia region.

40:38.28
Adz
Yeah.

40:38.16
Russell Gibson
Yeah, awesome. Yeah.

40:44.45
Adz
Yeah. yep

40:47.78
Alvie
So so when I say ah they prioritise... you know, some of the this is what I'm talking about. Like, they're really making a concerted effort to build a team that's going to, yeah, create a positive vibe throughout the whole the whole community.

40:53.91
Adz
Yeah.

40:53.77
Russell Gibson
yeah

40:58.19
Adz
yeah but It sounds like...

41:02.97
Alvie
You know what I mean?

41:03.11
Adz
Yeah. It sounds like they're really keen on... the experience, not just for the consumer, but for the, for those that represent their brand.

41:12.81
Alvie
Definitely.

41:13.55
Adz
Yeah.

41:13.55
Alvie
Definitely.

41:14.44
Adz
Yeah.

41:14.53
Alvie
ah Because then it relays into into the product itself.

41:18.12
Adz
yeah

41:18.37
Alvie
You know what I mean?

41:19.13
Adz
Yeah.

41:19.13
Alvie
Into the experience. like You know, they didn't have to do what they did at CollectFest with the activation.

41:23.88
Adz
No, no.

41:25.91
Alvie
But we asked and they said, yeah, let's do it. You know what I mean? and and they and And, you know, they're keen to explore the options again to you know, to do the same thing and create that experience.

41:33.09
Adz
I like it.

41:35.13
Alvie
Because that they that's... So what you saw at CollectFest is what you see in some of these bigger shows, you know, those kind of activations where you can bring, you know, some of the some of the basketball players or, you know, um some of the local sports stars that they can meet the, you know...

41:50.12
Alvie
meet the meet the people that come to the shows and, you know, get some autographs for the kids. And so that's what you want to build. yeah

41:55.80
Adz
Yeah, for sure.

41:56.67
Alvie
You know, build that build on that experience.

41:57.11
Adz
and

41:59.66
Russell Gibson
ah Anything else you want to talk to us about Macau? Just give it you a bit of an open floor.

42:07.04
Alvie
No, I think we covered it all. Look, to be honest, if if if we actually, it's a bit boring to talk about because we were dealers.

42:09.18
Russell Gibson
You happy?

42:15.14
Alvie
So we were literally the whole time,

42:16.67
Adz
You were just at the stand doing deals.

42:16.88
Alvie
you know, you're, you're, at you you're, yeah, you're at the stand and you're willing and dealing. So i think I gave you an overview of, you know, you know, general overview. um I think if we went back as, you know, as, as customers, like we did last year, I could give you more stories because there was a lot, a lot more to talk about.

42:32.58
Alvie
ah But I just, I just, look, i to be honest, i I just can't, if you ever get the chance to go to a card show outside of Australia, to the Macau card show.

42:40.15
Adz
Yep.

42:42.29
Alvie
It's just easy to get to.

42:42.35
Adz
Okay.

42:42.29
Russell Gibson
Okay.

42:43.77
Adz
All right.

42:44.50
Alvie
It's an,

42:45.29
Adz
um I've got one for you. Is there anything you learned as a vendor in Macau that you would bring back here to do it, say the national or a collect fest or a hobby hangout?

42:54.65
Alvie
yo Yeah, no it we did last year and that's why we did CollectFest.

42:58.75
Adz
Okay. Yep.

42:59.65
Alvie
So, we we yeah, yeah. yeah So even though we weren't vendors last year, we did you know we did get a good idea of of of how we should do things and we brought that back.

43:05.76
Adz
Yep.

43:08.86
Alvie
um

43:09.02
Adz
Excellent.

43:09.92
Alvie
So if if anything, we brought what we do in Australia to Macau this year because we just set up a table

43:14.22
Adz
Yep.

43:15.35
Alvie
put some cards out, hey, let's deal, let's buy.

43:17.50
Adz
And that's let's go. Yeah. Okay.

43:19.24
Alvie
Yeah, yeah. So we we we we got all our IP last year and we brought it but to Australia.

43:20.06
Adz
Awesome.

43:24.25
Alvie
so um

43:24.53
Adz
Excellent.

43:25.92
Alvie
But what I'm keen to explore next year, in all honesty, partly and apart from the the smaller shows, I want to see what they do at Fanatics Fest because um that's next level.

43:37.45
Alvie
That really is.

43:37.85
Adz
that's That's going to be a, yeah.

43:38.74
Alvie
ah custom you know yeah Customer experience, like there's nothing like that. So we're, you know, we'll probably plan to go there next year and whatever we can bring back from there, i think then we we may be tied to the year after.

43:47.20
Adz
Yep.

43:50.52
Russell Gibson
And yeah.

43:51.97
Adz
Yeah.

43:53.06
Russell Gibson
And so their focus was more like as an experience, as an event, like they had lots of celebrities there and they had like you were using the word activations before, but I think from what I saw of the fanatic stuff, like that was the true definition of an, of an activation.

43:59.13
Alvie
Definitely.

43:59.24
Adz
Sure.

43:59.47
Alvie
100%.

44:00.97
Adz
Once again.

44:07.97
Russell Gibson
It's actually you go there and you participate in an activity.

44:08.96
Alvie
Yeah.

44:08.98
Adz
Yeah.

44:09.16
Alvie
Yeah. yeah

44:11.89
Russell Gibson
And the other thing they talking about too with fanatics is it was so successful.

44:12.28
Alvie
yeah

44:15.04
Russell Gibson
Basically they're going to extend it out. Like there wasn't, There wasn't enough time to get everybody through to look at everything. Like that's how much entertainment they had there.

44:23.23
Alvie
Man, and have a look at all the all the celebs that went through there.

44:24.85
Russell Gibson
So yeah.

44:28.71
Alvie
It was crazy.

44:29.12
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

44:29.68
Adz
True, true.

44:30.06
Alvie
It's next level.

44:30.41
Adz
Yeah.

44:32.12
Alvie
Obviously, we can't do that here, but I think there's certain ah there's certain things that we can potentially take from what they do over there and and maybe bring it back here.

44:32.27
Adz
They're back in a big way.

44:39.16
Russell Gibson
But you can still bring like b grade Aussie celebrities there.

44:40.72
Alvie
Well, man,

44:43.16
Russell Gibson
I still i still think people would be interested in that.

44:46.05
Adz
but this is But this is stuff like, well, no, no, no, but in Australia, you've got Dyson Daniels, you've got Josh Giddey.

44:46.81
Russell Gibson
It doesn't have to be Tom Brady you know or Dwayne Wade.

44:50.00
Alvie
we had a

44:49.77
Russell Gibson
like

44:51.06
Alvie
well man look we had we

44:51.10
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

44:55.69
Adz
They're Australian personalities in the off-season that you can run here.

44:56.18
Russell Gibson
But they'll be in the States. Yeah, yeah, sure. But if they're... Yeah, if it was the offseason, you'd be able to get those guys down for sure.

45:00.83
Adz
yeah

45:00.90
Alvie
Yeah, so you've just got a talk you've just got a time the show ah but for when they're when they're doing it, that's all.

45:03.02
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

45:05.41
Adz
Correct.

45:05.35
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

45:07.53
Adz
Yep.

45:07.39
Russell Gibson
If you want Josh Gideon, Dyson, Daniels. But there's other guys who are you know currently residing in Australia...

45:12.98
Adz
But why wouldn't you plan a show for like an August or September and plan for Giddy or someone to be there in the off season and just try and plan it down the track? it's a guy's injured. He's injured.

45:21.55
Alvie
Yeah.

45:21.77
Adz
But do you know what i mean? Like here's an appearance from a local celebrity and and someone with fanatics's level of swing can they can, they can influence things like that.

45:25.88
Russell Gibson
Yep.

45:26.62
Alvie
Yeah.

45:32.32
Alvie
if

45:34.20
Adz
So, mean, that's a consideration for Australia.

45:35.78
Alvie
sort of never Never say never. buts let's just Let's see how we go.

45:38.48
Adz
Correct.

45:39.18
Russell Gibson
Yep.

45:40.41
Adz
That's it.

45:41.33
Russell Gibson
All right. I've called this next session rapid fire to say goodbye. it's going be just quick hitting questions.

45:48.51
Alvie
Yeah, cool.

45:48.77
Russell Gibson
True or false. You were seen playing blackjack at two o'clock in the morning.

45:53.94
Alvie
Completely false.

45:54.01
Adz
in Macau.

45:54.93
Russell Gibson
In Macau.

45:55.66
Alvie
Completely false. ah I'll have a bet on a horse, but I i will not sit at a table. My son and Hodgie...

46:03.91
Russell Gibson
Okay.

46:06.93
Russell Gibson
I had no evidence of that. I was just digging for dirt. What's the wildest card you've ever seen walk into the shop?

46:14.25
Alvie
Hey, I didn't tell you the story. Talking about the wildest card. So on Friday night, we, Hodge and I said, mate, like, what a great day. Like, yeah, let's rip a couple.

46:24.91
Alvie
And now, I don't rip, I don't rip boxes.

46:25.74
Russell Gibson
You deserve a couple of boxes. Yeah. Yeah.

46:28.52
Alvie
We had a couple of boxes boxes of Prism Black there. Like, mate, That era's gone. Let's just rip it. All right, let's rip it. We ripped the first one. There was absolutely nothing out of it.

46:35.14
Russell Gibson
Prism's dead.

46:37.23
Alvie
There was nothing out of it. And was just like, let's go again. goes, I'm going to go again. was like, all right, let's do it. Anyway, we're halfway into the box. And I said to Hodge, I picked up the pack.

46:49.68
Alvie
And I've got video video footage of this, by the way. I will share it. Picked up the pack. I said, there's a color blast, mate. I said it twice. Open the pack. Move the cards.

47:01.04
Alvie
saw the whiteboard up, slapped the table. Dude, there's a colour blast. He rushes over. We go through it. You wouldn't believe it. It's a LeBron James colour blast. and so

47:09.93
Russell Gibson
Wow.

47:12.95
Alvie
Yes. So that we posted it on our social media.

47:13.83
Russell Gibson
Congrats guys.

47:16.06
Alvie
So to be honest, that is literally one of the biggest cards that's come through the shop and it happened Friday and night.

47:16.14
Russell Gibson
Yeah. Great.

47:19.39
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

47:21.39
Alvie
So I'm glad you asked that question because, yeah, that was crazy.

47:22.75
Adz
That's pretty,

47:25.18
Alvie
I have't no hadn't opened a box for over a year, to be honest.

47:28.45
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

47:28.80
Alvie
Apart from blasters, you know, every every net once in a while.

47:28.62
Russell Gibson
Right.

47:31.04
Alvie
But, yeah, so so I'm still excited by that.

47:31.55
Russell Gibson
Yep.

47:34.39
Russell Gibson
No, you should be congrats.

47:35.52
Adz
That's awesome.

47:35.56
Russell Gibson
Yeah. If you could open one case from any year or set, what would it be?

47:45.35
Alvie
Oh.

47:48.24
Alvie
That's a really good question.

47:52.03
Alvie
You know what? I'd like to find, and I'm not going to go, you're not going to go, you know, too far away to pass, but I wouldn't mind opening Contenders 19-20 to see if I can find some of those Kobe Autos, those last final year Kobe Autos, because I think that they mean a bit more.

48:05.52
Adz
o

48:06.81
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

48:10.51
Alvie
You know what I mean? That's the last on-card Kobe Auto.

48:15.88
Adz
Yep.

48:16.18
Alvie
I'd like to open

48:16.39
Russell Gibson
Yeah, good answer.

48:17.68
Adz
Great answer.

48:18.46
Alvie
Yeah. I saw a green shimmer at the National about two years ago, and I was like, it's just such a beautiful card.

48:24.48
Adz
Yep. Yeah.

48:25.09
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

48:25.45
Alvie
And they only come out of retail, those ones. um I just wish I had the money at the time to buy it. It would have gone up exponentially now.

48:31.41
Russell Gibson
Yeah, that's right. That's a hindsight thing though, isn't it?

48:33.34
Adz
Hindsight, right?

48:33.75
Alvie
but yeah but But, yeah, look, 100%.

48:33.81
Russell Gibson
Or he could have just bought Kobe autographs for like a couple hundred dollars, you know, 12 months, two years ago, right?

48:38.83
Alvie
ah hundred hundred percent and Yeah, definitely.

48:40.06
Russell Gibson
Like, yeah.

48:41.08
Alvie
But, yeah, but that, but you know, just for a bit of, um yeah, that'd be fun, I reckon.

48:43.89
Adz
Mm-hmm.

48:47.93
Russell Gibson
Yeah. What song would be the soundtrack to a busy day in the shop?

48:54.80
Alvie
All the soundtrack.

48:58.77
Russell Gibson
K-pop demon hunters is on high rotation in my house at the moment.

49:02.88
Alvie
Well, yeah it's got to be Golden then because my son would not stop listening to Golden. That's, yeah. That and Hilltop Woods.

49:11.76
Russell Gibson
It's just like a plague.

49:12.88
Alvie
I think ah Hilltop Woods, man. i just I'm just a massive Hilltop Woods fan. So I think they yeah the song that we the song that we yeah that we did our video to um on opening day was was Hilltop Woods.

49:17.24
Russell Gibson
Yep. Great.

49:25.55
Alvie
So anything Hilltop Woods, that's us.

49:27.35
Adz
Nice.

49:28.93
Alvie
Yeah.

49:29.75
Russell Gibson
What's your favorite player to collect?

49:33.39
Alvie
It's still Kobe White.

49:35.49
Russell Gibson
Wow.

49:36.72
Alvie
And now Josh Giddey. Josh Giddey's always been my second. so But my biggest my biggest PC is Kobe White.

49:40.86
Russell Gibson
Okay.

49:45.72
Alvie
ah yeah We're 2-0 this year, so I'm loving what they're doing.

49:48.87
Adz
Very nice.

49:48.89
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

49:49.39
Adz
Yes.

49:49.57
Russell Gibson
Yep.

49:50.73
Alvie
Yeah.

49:50.96
Adz
i' got great I've got both Gideon White in my ah fantasy NBA team. So I'm hoping for big things.

49:55.53
Alvie
Have you? Yeah. I hope White doesn't come in and disrupt what's happening at the moment because they're

50:00.65
Adz
Yeah.

50:01.48
Alvie
Ray Jones is doing well and, you know, Ayo's doing well. they yeah They're actually playing with cohesion. It's actually nice to see.

50:10.39
Adz
days

50:11.81
Russell Gibson
Thank you so much, Alvaro. We would love to have you back on the show again. And we've got more questions I'll ask you that I think we should hold in the tank for next time. And yeah, really appreciate your time and everything you've done for us.

50:21.21
Adz
yeah

50:21.32
Alvie
No worries. hopefully Hopefully next time we come come back, even if it's even if we want to do something... you know, just during the week, or whatever it may be, for quick 10 minutes.

50:32.37
Adz
Yeah.

50:32.61
Alvie
um It'd be great to talk about when, ah even before after the release, but Topps Chrome, I'm so excited by it.

50:39.79
Adz
Yeah.

50:42.23
Alvie
And if there's anyone anything anyone wants to know you mean any questions that, you know, anyone might have, more so maybe after release because we don't get much information until the product releases.

50:45.72
Adz
Yep.

50:48.32
Adz
Yeah.

50:52.75
Adz
Yeah, for sure.

50:52.58
Russell Gibson
Yeah.

50:52.89
Alvie
um So I can provide a lot more info now than what I could last week. So I'm glad we had we did this this week rather than last week because there's a lot more information to share.

51:01.47
Russell Gibson
you You tell us when the schedule suits and we can work around that.

51:02.20
Adz
Yeah.

51:05.13
Alvie
Yeah.

51:05.20
Adz
Yeah.

51:04.95
Russell Gibson
It's easy. Yeah.

51:06.08
Alvie
oh I'll let you guys know if we if we do anything special for that release. i'd Love to have you guys there. um

51:12.04
Adz
That'd be great.

51:12.25
Alvie
Yeah, we're just really excited by it. so and Appreciate all your support, guys.

51:14.18
Russell Gibson
We'd love to come to your party. Yeah.

51:16.77
Alvie
it's um It's always a pleasure talking to the both of you fellas.

51:17.04
Russell Gibson
Thanks man. Yeah.

51:20.16
Adz
Thanks, Albie.

51:20.93
Russell Gibson
Thanks everyone.

51:22.97
Alvie
Thanks, guys.

51:23.86
Russell Gibson
Right.