The highlight of my last week or so has been The Vermont Collection, and now I need your input.

But first, in case you missed it:

I picked up a large (maybe 100,000 cards) collection in Vermont last weekend. It’s why I didn’t do a newsletter last week and this one is sparse. It’s a lot of work. And that’s not a complaint! It’s so much fun.

I hadn’t had a chance to really look at everything yet, but several eagle-eyed commenters noticed that the sealed tin of 1987 Fleer in one tub is actually the glossy set:

I actually have the Greg Maddux glossy rookie in a PSA 9, but I think that’s it from that set.

So I got wondering: how much is the sealed set worth?

Maybe $20?

What if I break it open and pulled out the Maddux? Well, he’s in the Update set, which isn’t included.

But the Barry Bonds is! What’s the value of a PSA 10?

Okay, now we’re talking. Plus there are cards for Bo Jackson, Barry Larkin, Mark McGwire, and others that sell for over $200 in PSA 10.

The Bonds and Bo sell for around $50 in PSA 9.

I’m not much of a gambler, so should I gamble a $20 sealed set for the chance at a $450 card? A $300 card?

In case you missed my Sunday “Clearing The Bases” episode:

I’m celebrating 9,000 subscribers with a livestream Sunday night!

Other than that, no clue! Zero in the hopper for the coming week. Still want to announce my big new series that I’ve been teasing for two months, but every time I go to wrap it up I discover something new. I want to be completely sure I’m ready.

And this is the beauty of being an independent content creator. My only timelines are my own. I am beholden to you, the viewer.

Despite a slow start to the month and only doing three videos all of last week, I reached 91,000 views for May. That’s a solid month, and if we exclude April due to my 9-day vacation, I’ve reached 90,000 in three consecutive months.

I don’t actually go into a month with a goal for views or subs anymore, and haven’t for a while. When I did that a year+ ago, I felt like the content suffered. Now I just put out the videos I want to do and if they resonate with people, that’s awesome.

I had two videos reach 10,000 views each:

What’s the common denominator in those two? It’s not the thumbnails!

It’s crime.

True crime sells. On podcasts and YouTube.

I often have people suggest to me that I start a scammer series. Scammer Saturday, anyone? But I don’t want to be known as the guy who talks about scammers all the time, like I’m known for attic finds. One is positive, the other negative. I cover the ones that really interest me, but I don’t want to be seeking out scammer stories to fill a series.

You may have noticed a significant improvement in some of my thumbnails. I bought a package of ten professional thumbnails from an artist, and he does an amazing job. I’ve used six of them so far and am not at all convinced that they make a difference in the number of views. I will likely finish out the ten and go back to my janky homemade thumbnails.

After Chasing Cardboard joined District, which I had never heard of, and offered $5 off your first purchase, I had to check it out. And I got this sweet Gunnar Henderson PSA 9 for $12 all-in:

I really wanted to buy this item off eBay, but it was too expensive. Look at all those autographs! Including Ted Williams!

Only one link this week: Mike Sommer covers the eBay Plain White Envelope problems that have been swirling for weeks now.

Speaking of Mike, he interviewed me last week and I’ll share that link here when he posts it.