Recession in 2026??
What Happens to Your Collection in a Downturn?
Cover Image: Connor McDavid and Shohei Ohtani (image created with canva.com)
No matter what you do, you cannot escape an economic recession. If the economy is going to go down, the only thing you can do is be prepared and then wait it out. But how should collectors prepare if a recession hits in 2026?
And the answer is Recession Proof Players.
What is a Recession Proof Player?
A recession proof player is someone whose card values do not plummet during an economic downturn. Because the one thing long time collectors know that new collectors have to learn the hard way is - not all players are equal.
Take for instance, Randy Arozarena.
In 2021, Randy was the A.L Rookie of the Year with the Tampa Bay Rays, but as of 2025 he’s playing leftfield for the Mariners. And despite putting up decent numbers, he hit 27 homers and had 31 stolen bases, no one is talking about his cards.
Why?
Because he’s not a recession proof player.
Whereas, someone like Shohei Ohtani is a recession proof player.
Why You Should Subscribe and Share This Newsletter?
Every single week, more and more people are subscribing to this newsletter, which means people are hearing the message. “If you want to know everything about the high-end card market, you need to be a subscriber!”
Get the Free PDF
When I started my YouTube channel in 2021, I knew that I wanted to create and share FREE PDFs with my community. The problem is YouTube doesn’t give creators an easy way to share PDFs, which means I had to come up with a different strategy.
And then came substack…
The great thing about this newsletter is that you can learn everything there is to know about the high end card market, but you can also get access to all of my free PDFs and content.
All my free subscribers will always get access to any FREE PDF or other content that I want to put out, which means you have zero excuse to not become a free subscriber and also share this newsletter with anyone you know in the hobby.
Whether your young or old, new collector or long time collector, or just a flipper, dealer, investor (in that order) Shout out to Chris Sewall!
When you subscribe, its a win-win!
Do You Want to Sell a Card? ($100 to $500 in Value)
I’m going to try something new here. Therefore, I have no idea if this idea is going to work or not, but you never know until you try. If you are trying to sell a card that’s worth between $100 and $500 in value, I want to give you the opportunity to sell the card on my YouTube channel.
Yes, you heard me correctly. I want to give you 15-30 seconds to sell your card.
Here’s what you need to do.
Record a short 15-30 second video of you selling the card. (Show the card, front and back, tell us your comps, and then tell us how much you are asking for it)
Then DM me on Instagram telling me who you are (what name should I use on YouTube and also where people should contact you to buy the card, ie. ebay store, veriswap, IG, Facebook, etc)
By sending me a video on IG, you are agreeing to the following: You give me full permission to use your name, video and likeness on my YouTube channel in part and full, as well as any other marketing channel I choose. And you agree to hold me harmless for any interactions or transactions you make after the video goes public.
Like I said, I have no idea how this idea is going to go - but one of my biggest frustrations as a recovering card hoarder is that when you do not have an audience or following on social media - its a lot harder to sell your cards. And as I grow my channel, I want to try to help the small collector sell some of their cards, so they can take the money and either buy cards they really want, or go do something fun with that money.
The hobby should be fun, but we should not be prisoners to our cards and collectibles.
One Final Thought - I Need a Producer
I would like to start going live on YouTube, but the thing that holds me back is not having a producer for my show. Right now, it takes all of my time to just produce the videos I create for the channel, therefore, I really don’t have any extra time to prep and write for a Live Show on top of that.
Therefore, I’m reaching out to the community to see if anyone wants to be my producer, or knows a high school or college student who would love the opportunity to learn the behind the scenes of broadcasting, journalism, social media, marketing and also content creation.
“If you build it, they will come.”
So I’m putting this out into the world and maybe the right person will find it. Thank you to everyone that’s already a free subscriber, more and more content is on the way - if you like what you’ve seen so far, please restack this, share it, post on social media and tell everyone you know that’s into cards and collectibles - “you have to sign up for this newsletter!!”
Thanks everyone - “This is Doc saying, see you in the next one!”