I Built the Sports Card App I Wished Existed

Every collector brings something to the table from outside the hobby. An eye for design, a knack with numbers, maybe just the to outlast another bidder at 2AM in extended bidding. When you fold those real-world skills back into collecting, the whole experience gets richer.

That's been my north star with The Smarter Collector. When I started the site almost a year ago, the goal was simple: inspire people through Player Profiles and fill in some of the hobby's blind spots with Collecting Guides. And it's been great. But eventually I hit that wall every creator knows—I could only crank out so much content solo.

So I stepped back and asked myself something bigger: what could I actually build that would help every collector out there, no matter their background or budget? And of those things, what am I qualified to deliver for the hobby?

This summer, I sat down with about 20 collectors—newcomers, lifers, vintage die-hards, modern prospectors. The stories were all over the map, but one thing kept coming up: collecting happens in pieces—and those pieces rarely talk to each other.

Think about your own setup right now:

• You've got spreadsheets tracking every sale, submission, and side project (and dreading each time you need to create a new workbook)

• You're bouncing between a dozen auction sites and marketplaces trying not to miss the listing for a card you really need

• You've got the actual fun part—handling your cards, arranging them just right, and showing them off to people who get it

• And then there's the money side that somehow turns every sale into an accounting project

Some people love building their own Frankenstein collecting system from all that chaos. More power to them. But for everyone else who'd rather spend time with their cards than their spreadsheets, there should be a better way.

Enter The Smarter Collector Platform.

It brings everything together in one place and makes the whole experience—even the parts that used to suck—actually enjoyable.

Here's what's already live:

• Track your collection with images and details that actually matter to you

• Build a wantlist that shows you live eBay listings (no more missing that card you've been hunting)

• Create projects to track your progress—whether that's completing a set or building a PC

• Dive into your collection stats and spot patterns you never noticed

• Use the "Collection Sandbox" to rank cards, build tiers, or figure out what to move

• See your collection's full financial picture—purchases, sales, grading costs, even tax prep

This platform is just getting started, and I want you to be part of shaping what comes next. Your feedback, your ideas, your collecting goals all matter.

Join me at app.thesmartercollector.com. Sign up free and let's see where this thing goes.