Brandon Steiner has always been in the business of trust. Not sports. Not memorabilia. Trust. In a market where a signed Derek Jeter jersey can be worth $5,000 or $50, depending on who you ask, the real commodity has never been the object—it’s the confidence that the object is what it claims to be. Steiner figured that out early, in Brooklyn, with $4,000 and a conviction that someone needed to bring order to what was, at the time, little more than a hobby.
What followed was a $50 million empire. Exclusive Yankees memorabilia rights. A roster of clients that reads like a Hall of Fame induction speech. Then, a wrenching exit from the company he built—a forced sale that would have finished most people.
It didn’t finish Steiner. It clarified him.”At Steiner, I felt like I was in a traffic jam,” he says. “With CollectibleXchange, I’m on a highway with no red lights.” Seven years into his second act, Steiner has built a marketplace designed to solve the problem he identified decades ago: millions of people are sitting on authenticated wealth locked inside cardboard boxes and display cases, with no reliable way to value it, sell it, or transfer it. CollectibleXchange is the infrastructure play he couldn’t build the first time.
You started with just $4,000 in Brooklyn and built a $50 million collectibles empire. Looking back, what was the pivotal mindset shift that made that leap possible?
Answer (Brandon Steiner): The first thing was being comfortable not knowing what the hell I was doing. I had to accept that. What I did know—was that someone needed to bring order to what was, at the time, just a hobby. I could see collectibles becoming more and more popular, but there was no real structure. That’s where I jumped in.
The second piece was figuring out what customers really want—and delivering it above and beyond. People and principles must come before ego and money. You can’t compromise there. In collectibles, especially with authentication, there’s no middle ground. Your brand must stand for doing it the right way, period.
In 2008, Steiner Sports acquired the exclusive memorabilia rights to the Yankees. What did you learn from that deal?
With big opportunity comes big responsibility. When you’re dealing with something people are emotionally connected to—like the Yankees—you better buckle up and deliver. Fans first, always.
I also learned you have to be comfortable getting into uncomfortable situations. On big projects, there’s what you think, there’s what you know, and then there’s what you don’t even realize you don’t know. Those blind spots can make or break you, so you must handle them very carefully.
That experience gave me a strong sense of what it really takes to execute on high-profile projects—something I’m keeping in the front of my mind now as I am involved with the Buffalo Bills on the dismantling of Highmark Stadium.
CollectibleXchange is celebrating its seven-year anniversary. What problem in the marketplace were you trying to solve when you launched it, and how has the platform evolved?
When we launched, I saw that so many people were sitting on mountains of stuff they didn’t know what to do with. They didn’t know if it was authentic, they didn’t know what it was worth, and the big auction houses weren’t a good solution for most of them. CollectibleXchange gave them a trusted marketplace where items could be authenticated and valued fairly.
Since then, it’s evolved into not just buying and selling, but really about helping people unlock and transfer wealth tied up in collectibles—and creating a platform that gives both fans and sellers confidence.
Fans don’t just buy memorabilia, they buy meaning. How important is storytelling in collectibles?
Storytelling is everything. Sports moments rank in the top five or ten memories of people’s lives. When fans have an emotional connection to a game, a player, or a team, it becomes one of their favorite things in the world.
My job is to bring them closer to the game and the players—through products and experiences. If it matters to my customers, it has to matter to me. That shared love of the game is what unites fans across all sports.
What trends do you see shaping the future of collecting—whether traditional memorabilia, NFTs, or new formats?
The biggest trend is expansion into areas that haven’t been touched yet—women’s sports, rugby, cricket, soccer, racing. These are nowhere near the level of U.S. sports like football, basketball, and baseball, but they’re growing fast, and collecting will follow. And with the FIFA World Cup this year, soccer will be on everyone’s radar.
Trading cards are another big one. The business is evolving beyond the traditional cards we grew up with. It’s bringing in new people and creating fresh ways to collect. NFTs? I’m not sure anyone knows yet, but the lane is widening.
You’ve worked with icons like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from them?
That there’s no such thing as a “big game.” Consistency over time equals credibility. The great ones don’t get too high or too low. They stay grounded, treat every game like the most important one, and respect every fan.
The other thing is confidence—a deep belief in themselves and their strategy, combined with a love and respect for the game. Guys like Jeter and Rivera would probably play for free. That’s how much they care about the game itself.
You’ve been candid about using failure as fuel. Can you share one that became a valuable teacher?
Not being able to buy back Steiner and having it taken from me was probably my biggest setback. But it forced me to build something bigger, better, smarter. At Steiner, I felt like I was in a traffic jam. With CollectibleXchange, I’m on a highway with no red lights. That failure gave me the perspective to create a business with a lot more freedom and speed.
Your new book, “The Ride Alongs” explores crime and policing in New York City. What surprised you most from that experience, and how does it connect back to business and life?
Everything about it was uncomfortable—which was the point. What I learned is how important prioritization is, how important it is to help people, and how critical safety is to everything we do.
Policing showed me that a lot of problems come down to people who need more investment and support. It also showed me how urgent it is to fix urban policing, because retention and recruiting are at all-time lows. And honestly, it’s the same in business—finding and keeping the right people is one of the hardest things there is.
Worth often talks about “worth beyond wealth.” What does that phrase mean to you?
For me, it’s about going from working just to survive—waking up hungry, literally—to now being in a place where money has no meaning. When money isn’t the driver, you find out what you really love and what your true purpose is.
The test is simple: would you still do the work if you didn’t get paid? That’s the question I’ve had to answer over the last five years. And the answer is yes—because what I do isn’t about the money anymore. It’s about impact.
