National 2026 Recap, Observations and details on all my pickups!

What a week.

I wanted to share with you all some of my biggest takeaways from the National, and what I am thinking about after the craziest week of the year in the hobby.

1.) Yes, the attendance really was that crazy.

I don’t know what the official attendee numbers are yet but I can almost guarantee they will be record-breaking. The action from the first minute it was open to when I left was insane. I give a lot of credit to the folks who work at the National in putting that show together, all things considered they did a great job moving things along and even though lines were big they moved.

The National is staying in Chicago next year, and will be moving to Detroit in 2028. I just hope the space they get out there will be big enough….

2.) The Market and Experience as a “Dealer”.

I put dealer in quotations because I don’t usually think of myself as a traditional dealer. I am usually most comfortable when I can be mobile at a show, doing content, finding deals and moving around. This week I had a home base upstairs in HALL G with the Sports Cards Nonsense crew, and I got to experience what it was like set up with a table, and having people come up to me to sell or buy.

I only got a fraction of this week actually sitting behind the table because I did have a ton of interviews and meetings which I am excited to get to share over the coming weeks ahead, but for the times that I was set up, I loved getting to meet so many of you guys who listen or watch my show or read the newsletter.

Some of my biggest buys the whole week came from members of the Bonkers Cards Club who brought their collections to sell or trade with, and you guys will be seeing more pictures of those cards in the near future! (I think I bought more than 300 slabs this week, and spent over $150,000 in inventory for the Bonkers Cards LIVE ebay show alone)

I felt that pricing across the show was as expected - most dealers had sticker prices that sat 10-20% above market, however there were plenty of deals to be made. Buying at a big show like that requires patience, and oftentimes the best deals are made with pre-existing relationships. I have always emphasized building strong relationships, and I do think that helped me get a lot of deals done.

I loved getting to see some of the high quality inventory that only shows up at the National, and I am currently working on some deals for some truly iconic grail-level cards that came to market over the weekend. More on those soon too!

3.) My best content show ever.

I had the opportunity to be set up with the SCN Media network throughout the week, and the team did a great job with getting a ton of awesome clips and interviews put together. Look for interviews over the next few weeks on the Gordy Bonker show with Drew Hester of Greg Morris Cards, Founder of Eye Appeal Inc. Matt Cirulnick, Tyler Schmitt of Vee Friends, and my most recent published interview with Gary Vee!

Additionally, I presented on the main stage at the National to talk about the rise of Sports Cards as an alternative asset class, and will have that full talk published this week!

4.) Live selling is going to be massive.

I got to spend some time with global leadership at eBay this week at the National. I had lunch with them and we talked about what is coming from an investment perspective towards the collectibles category and as it pertains to the live streaming medium. It’s so early days here in the U.S. I think it’s one of the biggest areas of opportunity anyone can capitalize on in the space right now.

I hosted a Bonkers Cards eBay LIVE show direct from the National on Friday as well, and had an absolute blast! Thanks to everyone for tuning in!

5.) The Investment Money on cards is about to get really serious

I have been talking and writing about sports cards as an alternative asset class for the past 5 years. A lot of my early writing especially used hypotheticals. “If” we see this trend play out… “if” attention moves to this space… “if” more sophisticated buyers start thinking about this market differently…

There are no more ifs. They are here - it’s happening now. I talked to more than a dozen of individual investors this week that have more than $1M allocated to cards, some more than $10M, looking to allocate more. Some of these guys were not in the space 12 months ago. I’ve sold them some of their cards that got them going. And I can assure you they’re not going anywhere.

I had dinner Friday night with some of the guys who head up the Fanatics Collector Relations team. These guys manage the relationships with some of the biggest customers and clients of Topps and the Fanatics Collect platform. The amount of excitement and interest of what is coming in the future from an investment potential perspective in the sports card space was very clear to me listening to them talk.

I believe we are still in the early days of where valuations on the high end market of cards and collectibles, mostly because there is still a lot of speculation and education and discussion happening on what types of cards will see the biggest return and demand in the future. But the buying activity has begun, and will continue to progress over the next few years.

6.) I am a believer in vintage as the investment, but modern for entertainment

At the dinner with the Fanatics guys Friday night I got to rip some of the new 2026 Topps Update Hobby Boxes. I couldn’t tell you the last time I ripped packs like that. And I have to say - it was a lot of fun.

As a vintage guy I am envious that the modern world gets to have that experience of opening packs, and being surprised with what you might get. To me, that is one of the pillars of the enjoyment of collecting.

I am not sure what to make of that experience as it relates to my platform and my own brand, but I think there is a likely a place for some more modern sports card content that can exist in my ecosystem. I want to have more quality content from people I trust to help educate you guys on that side of the hobby, and possibly have a dedicated night that someone under the Bonkers Cards umbrella to even possibly rip some packs live or sell. It’s not something I myself will take on, but I think there is something there.

7.) The biggest losers this week were the grading companies.

I hate to be critical, but I want to call balls and strikes here. I think the grading companies are really at an inflection point with the amount of demand they have vs. the resources they have to fulfill that demand.

I heard and saw some horror stories this week most specifically with MBA and PSA with wait times, and commitments on grading services even at the highest of levels not fulfilled. I am concerned that the customer experience being so negative will have ripple effects to people looking to get more involved with the hobby. If these are your first experiences with the grading and authentication, it will really leave a bad taste in your mouth. I personally try to avoid grading cards and dealing with the grading companies as much as possible, because the experience as a customer is just not good. I hope it changes, and there is some signals that they are working towards making it better.

PSA is working on a 10M+ card backlog right now for grading submissions. They’ve pledged to invest $200M into their infrastructure to help meet the demand they are taking in. They also announced recently their lowest tier service for card grading on their site is now $80 / card.

I personally don’t know if they will ever go below that price point again.

Is that good for the hobby? I am not sure. Time will tell. But it’s clear the demand is currently there, just look at the lines this entire past week.

8.) I am so beyond grateful and lucky.

I don’t take any of this stuff for granted, but sometimes I get so deep in the trenches of all of it I need to take a step back and realize how fortunate I am to be in this position.

I talked to a lot of people this week who have been following my journey for a long time. And the amount of encouragement that I received, and the kind words from all of you means more than you know.

I will continue to keep pushing forward and doing my small part in helping grow this hobby we all know and love.

Stay tuned for a ton more content these next few weeks, and please reach out with any questions or cards you may have interest in, as I will have a ton for sale coming up soon! (And yes - I am still buying!)

This week I will be processing all of the cards that I bought while out in Chaicgo and posting the previews early for club members.

Last night on my ebay show, I sold a small portion on the preview below:

Join the Bonkers Cards Club for more deep dive content, as well as early access to buy more of the inventory I picked up the national before the rest of my audience:

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!!

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