# Passion to Profession: What Outside Operators See in the Sports Card Hobby with Gavin Hoover of Tombstone Collectibles

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/stacking-slabs-754804/passion-to-profession-what-outside-operators-see-in-the-sports-card-hobby-with-gavin-hoover-of-tombstone-collectibles
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/stacking-slabs-754804/passion-to-profession-what-outside-operators-see-in-the-sports-card-hobby-with-gavin-hoover-of-tombstone-collectibles.md
Podcast: [Stacking Slabs](https://stenobird.com/podcast/stacking-slabs-754804)
Published: 2026-06-29T06:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/1e6a4ff3
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/1e6a4ff3/efa88d15.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/stacking-slabs-754804/episodes/passion-to-profession-what-outside-operators-see-in-the-sports-card-hobby-with-gavin-hoover-of-tombstone-collectibles
Duration seconds: 3783

## Resource

What happens when experienced business operators build a sports card company instead of longtime collectors? In this episode of Passion to Profession, Brett sits down with Gavin Hoover, Chief of Stuff at Tombstone Collectibles, to discuss what happens when enterprise experience meets the hobby. Gavin shares how his background building large retail organizations shaped the way Tombstone approaches breaking, hiring, branding, analytics, customer relationships, and growth. Instead of thinking like a breaker, Tombstone thinks like a business. The conversation covers why trust is the biggest challenge in scaling, how data drives decisions, why great breakers look more like sales professionals than entertainers, and why the future of the hobby depends on keeping collecting at the center of it all. If you've ever wondered where the hobby is heading as more capital and experienced operators enter the space, this conversation will give you a different perspective. Sign up for Hobby Jobs and The Weekly Rip for free A special thank you to eBay for sponsoring Passion to Profession . The biggest and best marketplace to buy your next favorite trading card. Get exclusive content, promote your cards, and connect with other collectors who listen to the pod today by joining the Patreon: Join Stacking Slabs Podcast Patreon Follow Stacking Slabs: | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tiktok ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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