Issue #20 | May 30, 2026
Comped
The Numbers
that’s…impressive
–Baseball Huge week
–Basketball 13 week streak, biggest so far
–Football Spiking after positive move last week
–Soccer World Cup in 12 days
–Pokemon 20 consecutive weeks of gains, big one here
–One Piece 🚀
–S&P 500 Bounces back after muted last week
–Gold glinting faintly
–Bitcoin three bad weeks
This is the biggest cumulative move I’ve seen since I started tracking these 6 card markets for Comped 20 weeks ago.
When all markets move, the supply or demand shift is foundational, not event-driven.
I will talk about one of these factors in “The News” segment, but I would attribute this widespread outperformance to two other causes you have read about in Comped over the past few weeks:
1) New Releases
2) Pokemon 30th Anniversary
May had huge releases across Pokemon, Baseball, Football, and Soccer. Pokemon continues to crush.
A big learning for me the past year was the confluence of factors is necessary for huge movements. In simple terms, the perfect storm is so much bigger than a normal one; for the last piece of this puzzle, read on.
The News
“It’s deja-vu all over again”
DM me if you get that caption quote…we had similar college experiences.
The biggest news this week, and the biggest reason for the perfect storm of card values this week is PSA’s massive announcement:
“Effective June 2, PSA is pausing the Value Bulk ($24.99 per card), Value ($32.99), Value Plus ($49.99), and Value Max ($64.99) tiers for new submissions. All currents submitted before June 2 will still be accepted and graded by PSA, however.” – NY Times
First of all, PSA had recently hiked the price of these tiers already by $3 and $5, which now looks like an ingenious move in light of this subsequent announcement three months later…They raised prices, then drove everyone to scramble to submit at the raised prices.
Pundits will tell you ten things about what this means and how it will affect you, but let me give you the low-down, dirty, universal version:
Just like how the Fed raises or lowers interest rates to slow down or stimulate the economy, PSA raising prices then cutting off subs halts the supply of low-value cards in the market for the near term.
That’s not conjecture, that will absolutely happen at scale.
So why have all the prices gone up in our weekly tracking for all six Cardladder Indexes? If new information hits the market that supply will be constrained for the foreseeable future, prices must correspondingly rise by financial law.
This is the same reason why prices at the pump are higher when the Straits of Hormuz which transport 20% of the world’s oil consumption were blocked off. Supply shock.
What does this mean to you? Graded cards just got more valuable. For now. This may lead to a fall in short term prices on sealed wax, since demand for rip and grade will dry up quickly.
As far as what prices become more attractive in this environment, long-term card investors should find deals on raw cards in 2-3 months that were absolutely not available before. Keep on the lookout before the masses catch up, buy good condition raw at a discount, and hold until grading opens back up.
The Framework
You are[where?]
Comped (and Slabnomics) is all about empowering you with the critical information to break out of herd mentality.
If you’ve read prior issues, you have a good idea where we are in the above cycle graphic. If you are a new subscriber, where would you say we are in the cards markets?
Data suggest we’re in the late cycle expansion stage, and history confirms our proximity to the peak by the leading indicator that is PSA policy and backlog.
When the NY Times starts posting articles about PSA halting submissions, that’s a clear warning.
One result of late-stage status is that grails that don’t see the light of day finally come out. One may surmise that this is because those that have been holding them think linearly about demand, and believe because the market is up throwing these grails onto auction is the right call. Many times they’re right.
But oftentimes they’re ignoring how powerful seasonal demand and other factors are.
Please know, you can still find massive long-term value if you know what you’re looking for.
In the midst of chaos, there is always opportunity.
Sun Tzu
Keep Building,
DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. The content reflects the author’s personal opinions and analysis and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any assets. Sports cards and collectibles are speculative investments with significant risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The author may hold positions in assets discussed in this newsletter. Readers should conduct their own research and consult with qualified financial, tax, and legal professionals before making any investment decisions. By reading this newsletter, you acknowledge and accept these terms.