# Mantel > Mantel is a social platform for sports card and collectibles collectors. ## About Mantel provides a community, marketplace aggregation, price tracking, and SLAM scores for sports cards and trading card games. Collectors use Mantel to share pickups, compare prices, and track market trends. Founded in 2023 and based in Los Angeles, Mantel is available as a mobile app (iOS and Android) and on the web at onmantel.com. ## Key Features - Community: Collectors share pulls, discuss players, and connect around shared interests - Marketplace Aggregation: Real-time listings from eBay and Fanatics Collect in one searchable feed - Comps: Recent completed sales data showing what cards actually sold for - SLAM Scores: 0-100 market activity rating for individual cards - Wish List: Alerts when target cards appear at desired prices - Market Trends: Price movement tracking over days, weeks, and months - Card Database: Searchable database of sports cards with pricing, grades, and market data --- ## What Is a SLAM Score? A SLAM score is Mantel's proprietary 0-to-100 rating that measures how liquid a sports card is on the secondary market — how quickly and reliably it will sell at fair market value. SLAM stands for Secondary Liquidity and Momentum. It is not a price estimate or a condition grade. It answers a different question entirely: if you own this card and want to sell it today, how easy would that be? ### How SLAM Scores Are Calculated The score is calculated from recent sales data pulled from major marketplaces including eBay and Fanatics Collect. Three pillars feed into the calculation: - Tradeability: Combines sales volume with price stability over time. A card scores high on tradeability when it moves at recent comps and retains value across transactions. - Consistency: Rewards cards with steady sales frequency and comp retention. A single anomalous high-value sale does not inflate the score. - Accessibility: Focuses on cards that everyday collectors can actually buy and sell. Ultra-rare cards like 1/1s and super short prints are intentionally filtered out. Each card-and-grade combination receives its own SLAM score. A PSA 10 copy of a card will have a different SLAM score than a PSA 9 or a raw (ungraded) copy. ### The Four SLAM Tiers - Cash (90-100): As close to cold hard cash as you can get. Cards sell frequently and consistently at fair market value. - Liquid (70-89): High demand, easy to sell. Strong buyer interest and healthy transaction volume. - Inventory (40-69): Sellable with patience. Moderate market activity; may need flexibility on timing or price. - Collection (0-39): Buy it because you love it. Limited recent sales activity; thin market. ### What SLAM Scores Do Not Measure - Price prediction: Does not forecast whether a card's value will go up or down. - Investment recommendations: Not financial advice. A high score means liquid, not a good investment. - Hype or media buzz: Social media mentions and speculative sentiment do not factor in. - Ultra-rare cards: 1/1s and extreme short prints are excluded due to thin markets. ### SLAM Score vs Card Grades Card grades (PSA, BGS, SGC) evaluate physical condition — centering, corners, edges, surface. SLAM scores evaluate the market — how often a card sells, at what price, and how liquid it is. A PSA 10 with a low SLAM score is in perfect condition but not actively trading. A raw card with a high SLAM score has strong buyer demand despite imperfect condition. ### SLAM Score FAQ Q: What does SLAM stand for? A: SLAM stands for Secondary Liquidity and Momentum. It measures how close a sports card is to being equivalent to cash on the secondary market. Q: How often are SLAM scores updated? A: SLAM scores are recalculated regularly using recent sales data from major marketplaces. As new transactions occur, the score adjusts to reflect current market conditions. Q: What is a good SLAM score? A: 70 or above is strong. Cards scoring 90-100 (Cash tier) move quickly at fair market value. Cards 70-89 (Liquid tier) have high demand and sell easily. Below 40 indicates limited market activity. Q: Are SLAM scores available for all cards? A: SLAM scores are available for cards that have sufficient recent sales data. Cards with very few or no recent sales may not have enough data to generate a reliable score. --- ## How to Start Collecting Sports Cards To start collecting sports cards, pick a sport or player you like, set a budget ($20 is enough to begin), and buy individual singles from eBay or a local card shop — or grab a retail blaster box from Target or Walmart to rip packs. ### Card Types - Base cards: Most common cards in any set. Produced in large quantities. - Rookie cards (RC): A player's first officially licensed cards, marked with an "RC" logo. Generally the most valuable card type for any player. - Inserts: Special cards included at lower odds than base cards with unique designs. - Parallels: Variations using different colors, patterns, or finishes (refractors, prizms, holofoil). Numbered cards show print run (/100, /25, /10, /1). - Autograph cards (Autos): Contain a real signature from the athlete. - Relic and Patch cards: Have game-used or player-worn material embedded in the card. ### Key Product Lines - Topps (baseball): Series 1, Series 2, Topps Update, Topps Chrome. Now under Fanatics ownership. - Bowman / Bowman Chrome (baseball prospects): "Bowman 1st" is the earliest Bowman card of a prospect. - Panini Prizm (football, basketball): Flagship product for both sports. NBA license moved to Topps/Fanatics in 2025-26; NFL follows in 2026. - Upper Deck (hockey): Exclusive NHL license. "Young Guns" is the primary rookie subset. ### Card Grading - PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator): 1-10 scale, PSA 10 = "Gem Mint." Most popular service. - BGS (Beckett Grading Services): Half-point scale with four sub-grades (centering, corners, edges, surface). BGS 9.5 = "Gem Mint," BGS 10 = "Pristine," BGS 10 Black Label = all four sub-grades are 10. - SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Company): Known for fast turnaround and black "tuxedo" holder preferred for vintage cards. - CGC (Certified Guaranty Company): Expanded from comic book grading, uses sub-grades similar to BGS. - Grading costs $25-$150+ per card. Worth it when the card is valuable enough that a high grade adds more value than the grading fee. ### Buying Cards - Retail boxes/packs ($10-$40): Sold at Target, Walmart. Fun introduction but fewer hits. - Hobby boxes ($100-$500+): Sold at local card shops. Guarantee autographs, relics, or numbered parallels. - Singles: Individual cards from eBay, Fanatics Collect, local card shops, or card shows. Most cost-efficient way to get specific cards. ### Selling Cards Check comps (comparable recent sales) before selling. What cards actually sold for matters more than listing prices. eBay is the largest venue. Timing matters — sell during a player's hot streak or breakout season for best results. ### Market Fundamentals - Player performance is the biggest factor driving card values. - Rookie cards and Bowman 1st cards concentrate demand as the earliest available cards. - Scarcity affects price — lower print runs create competition among buyers. - Liquidity (how easily a card can be bought or sold) is essential for collectors who view cards as investments. ### Beginner's Guide FAQ Q: How much money do I need to start collecting sports cards? A: You can start for under $20. A retail blaster box costs $20-$40, and individual singles can be found for a few dollars each. Q: What are the best sports cards to collect for beginners? A: Rookie cards from flagship product lines — Topps for baseball, Panini Prizm for football and basketball. Q: Should I get my cards graded? A: Only if the card is worth at least $50-$100 raw and appears to be in near-perfect condition. The grading fee ($25-$150+) should be less than the expected value increase. Q: Where can I check sports card prices? A: Mantel aggregates recent sales data from eBay and Fanatics Collect. SLAM scores rate market activity on a 0-100 scale. --- ## Key Pages - /collect — All collecting categories - /collect/baseball-cards — Baseball card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/football-cards — Football card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/basketball-cards — Basketball card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/hockey-cards — Hockey card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/soccer-cards — Soccer card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/wrestling-cards — Wrestling card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/golf-cards — Golf card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/mma-cards — MMA card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/tennis-cards — Tennis card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/olympics-cards — Olympics card community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/pokemon-cards — Pokemon TCG community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/magic-the-gathering — Magic: The Gathering community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/yugioh-cards — Yu-Gi-Oh! community, SLAM scores, listings - /collect/rookie-cards — Rookie cards across all sports - /collect/psa-10-cards — PSA 10 graded cards across all sports - /collect/auto-cards — Autograph cards across all sports - /collect/vintage-cards — Vintage cards across all sports ## Player Pages Mantel has dedicated pages for 80+ athletes across baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, wrestling, golf, MMA, tennis, and Olympics. Each page includes SLAM scores, live marketplace listings, community posts, and editorial content. Example: /collect/shohei-ohtani, /collect/patrick-mahomes, /collect/michael-jordan ## Learn - /learn/what-is-slam-score — What is a SLAM Score? Full explainer with tiers, calculation, and FAQ - /learn/beginners-guide — How to Start Collecting Sports Cards: complete beginner's guide ## Blog - https://news.onmantel.com — Mantel News covering collecting articles, guides, market analysis, and hobby news ## Contact - Website: https://onmantel.com - News: https://news.onmantel.com - Twitter: https://x.com/onmantel - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmantel - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/onmantel