Where it started
I've loved the hobby since I was a kid. I can still remember pulling my first LeBron rookie out of a 2003 Topps pack — the kind of moment that locks a kid into this thing for life.
Life took over for a while. School, work, the usual stuff. But the cards never really left.
2019 — back in
In 2019 I started ripping again and posting small videos. Nothing fancy — just me opening packs and talking about what I pulled. When COVID hit in 2020 the hobby exploded, and I kept the videos going through the boom and the cooldown that followed.
2022 — the $200 bet
In 2022 I decided to try flipping value-box cards seriously. I told my wife I was starting with $200 — if I couldn't make it work with $200, I'd quit and just keep collecting for fun.
It took a while. A lot of grinding. Top loading thousands of fifty-cent cards, listing them, packaging them, shipping them. Slow at first. Then less slow. Then it started to compound.
That $200 is what BigJohnsCards24 is built on. Every card show I work, every box I rip on camera, every deal I close — it traces back to a stack of fifty-cent commons and a promise I made to my wife.
What I do now
I run BigJohnsCards24 across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook — pack openings, card show coverage, hobby news, and honest market takes on sports cards and Pokémon TCG.
I'm also partnered with 740 Hobby in Marietta, Ohio. I run the sports section for the owner and my friend Cody. If you're ever in the Ohio Valley, come through the shop.
This isn't my full-time gig. I'm an attorney by trade. The cards are something I do on top of that — evenings, weekends, road trips to shows. It keeps the standards high because I don't have to chase every dollar.
How I do it
Treat people with respect, dignity, and fairness.
That's the whole approach. I'll quote you what I think a card is worth, not what I can get away with. I'll tell you when something is hyped and when it isn't. I'll show the misses, not just the hits.
The hobby was here before any of us, and it'll be here after. The least we can do is leave it a little better than we found it.
My personal collection
The business is the business. But I still collect for me. Here's who's in the PC:
Mick Foley
When I was five years old Mick came to my town for a show. I was terrified of him in the mask. But being the guy he is, he took the mask off, knelt down, talked to me, and then walked me around to every other wrestler on the card so I could get a magazine signed by all of them.
That magazine still sits in my office. Anything Foley — cards, memorabilia, autos — I'm always buying.
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaq has been my favorite player as long as I can remember. I was always the big kid growing up — and Shaq made it cool to be the big kid. He played huge, smiled bigger, and never apologized for taking up space. Every Shaq card I pull goes straight into the PC.
Kobe Bryant
The greatest pure scorer we've ever seen. Footwork, mentality, the mid-range that he refused to let die — nobody worked harder at the craft. Mamba mentality wasn't a slogan, it was a standard. I collect Kobe heavy across his whole career.
Diana Taurasi
The greatest women's basketball player to ever play the game. UConn has always been my favorite basketball school — I almost went there — and Taurasi is the player who defined Husky basketball for a generation. Three national titles in Storrs, the all-time leading scorer in WNBA history, an Olympic legend. She gets her own section of the binder.
Cincinnati Bengals
Who Dey. Lifelong Bengals fan and season ticket holder — through the lean years and the loud ones. I collect Bengals across the eras: Chad, Burrow, Chase, and everyone in between. If you've got Bengals to move, hit me up first.
Get in touch
If you run a card show, have inventory to sell, or just want to talk cards, reach out anytime. The fastest reply is by email at john@bigjohnscards.com or DM on Instagram.