Blog
Notes from the record.
· 6 min read · How to start collecting, part 8 of 8
How to start collecting, part 8: your first year
A plan, a budget, a cadence, and the seven mistakes everyone makes once. The end of the series and the start of the record.
· 5 min read · How to start collecting, part 7 of 8
How to start collecting, part 7: keep the record
Cost basis, provenance, photos, and the ledger. Why the history of an item matters more than its price, and how to start the record on day one.
· 6 min read · How to start collecting, part 6 of 8
How to start collecting, part 6: what a card is worth
Catalog prices, sold listings, medians, estimates, and why a number without a source is an opinion. The pricing method SlabX uses, explained so you can use it yourself.
· 5 min read · How to start collecting, part 5 of 8
How to start collecting, part 5: storage and care
Sleeves, holders, humidity, light, and where slabs live. The cheapest insurance a collector will ever buy, and the environment numbers that matter.
· 7 min read · How to start collecting, part 4 of 8
How to start collecting, part 4: buying without getting burned
Which marketplaces protect you and how, what eBay's authenticity guarantee actually covers, the payment mistake that voids your protection, and three questions before every purchase.
· 6 min read · How to start collecting, part 3 of 8
How to start collecting, part 3: how to read a slab
The cert number is the card's identity with its grader. Here is what each grader prints, what the QR code opens, what a lookup returns, and the population number that moves the price.
· 7 min read · How to start collecting, part 2 of 8
How to start collecting, part 2: raw versus graded
What a grade is, what the graders charge in September 2026, why most of them are backed up, and the simple rule for when grading is worth it.
· 6 min read · How to start collecting, part 1 of 8
How to start collecting, part 1: pick a lane
One category, learned properly, beats five you half know. How to choose what to collect, what a lane costs to enter, and why the first decision is about attention, not money.
· 3 min read
SlabX Web is open
The collection platform now runs in the browser: a dashboard built like a trading terminal, value ranges on everything, the ledger, a watchlist, Market Pulse, and the shop. One free account, shared with the apps.
· 4 min read
What the holo pattern tells you
The foil on a card is not decoration. It is a manufacturing signature that changes by era, and it is the part counterfeiters get wrong most.
· 4 min read
Struck or cast: the two-second coin test
Genuine coins are struck between dies. Most fakes are cast in a mold. The difference is visible with a loupe and audible with a fingertip.
· 4 min read
A permanent, verifiable history for every collectible
Our mission, written out in full: what the record contains, how we build it, and why a market where collectors know the truth is the company we want to be.
· 4 min read
The three-bucket rule: how much of your money goes into cards
Core, trading, and play. A simple split that keeps one expensive card from becoming the whole collection and the whole risk.
· 4 min read
What a population report tells you, and what it does not
Population is the number of copies a grader has certified at a grade. It shapes prices, it is easy to misread, and it is not published the same way by every grader.
· 5 min read
Anatomy of a trading card: the parts every check depends on
Set symbol, card number, rarity mark, copyright line, card stock, and the black core. Know where each one lives and every later check gets faster.
· 5 min read
Why every price should show its source
A number without a source is an opinion. Here is where SlabX prices come from, game by game, and what we do when the honest answer is an estimate.
· 4 min read
How to photograph a card so a buyer trusts it
Five photos, one light, no filters. The set of pictures that answers a buyer's questions before they ask, and doubles as your own record.
· 5 min read
How to read a grading cert number
PSA, BGS, CGC, SGC, TAG, and PCGS each print a certification number on the label. Here is what the formats look like, what a lookup returns, and why you should check every slab you buy.
· 4 min read
Why we built SlabX
A collection is a set of numbers you cannot check, a grade you cannot verify, and a history nobody wrote down. SlabX started in April 2026 to fix all three.
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