What’s Going On With The StackofSlabs Versus RyansCardssLLC Controversy?

It seems every day there is a new controversy or scandal in the hobby. But it’s important to remember that thousands of sports card transactions occur nationwide daily. But this one seems to have gone horribly wrong.

The person behind the StackofSlabs account on Instagram sold a Temarr Johnson Orange Bowman refractor card for a whopping $3300. But then things escalated out of control.

We have the full story in our StackofSlabs Versus RyansCardssLLC spat overview.

How the StackofSlabs Versus RyansCardssLLC spat started  

The Temarr Johnson Orange Bowman refractor card sale for $3300 took place on the popular sports card Discord server run by RyansCardssLLC. But the deal did not involve Ryan himself.

But reportedly, everything went wrong in this exchange. The mailer was poorly shipped and not insured. That is an all-too-common occurrence, sadly. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The mailer was empty, and the card was absent from the package. Here is what happened in their own words:

OK, I just had one of the worst experiences ever dealing with StackofSlabs Kaden Lyons, who should be avoided at all costs. I bought a $3300 orange Temarr Johnson off of him, and he shipped it in a flimsy mailer first class with no insurance, and there was nothing in the mailer. I truly believe he never shipped the card. At first, I didn’t and thought it might have gotten stolen, but how he handled trying to rectify the situation made me think otherwise. Long story short… Myself and the Mods here went out of our way to try and make this right. He agreed to send me other cards at a much lower value than $3300 but then was trying to sell them after agreeing and then backed out. Ryan encouraged him to do the right thing and said he would, but he just left the server and is now banned. What a nightmare.

While we can’t get into the mind of Kaden Lyons — those suspicions seem well-founded — undoubtedly, most collectors would reach the same assumptions under those circumstances.

StackofSlabs attacks RyansCardssLLC

As noted, RyansCardssLLC, a moderator on the Discord server he runs, tried to mediate between the two. This included him asking StackofSlabs to compensate the client with cards of an equivalent value. After Kaden Lyons agreed to compensate the client, he backed out of the deal and left the RyansCardssLLC discord server.

Matters escalated even further when Lyons took to his Instagram account to hit back. However, he (thankfully) did not go after his disappointed customer. Instead, the operator of StackofSlabs attacked RyansCardssLLC. He posted:

“For the record, @RyansCardssLLC sold someone that works for me a card over 1k with a mashed-in corner last week. He told me there were 0 issues. Am I mad? Yeah, but I obviously haven’t posted about it yet because its not worth my time. But here we are.”

Who are RyansCardssLLC and StackofSlabs?

Both sell and buy cards through social media. RyansCardssLLC is best known for its highly active discord channel. They describe themselves as “Always buying, trying to be the fairest/easiest person to do deals with in the hobby. Paying 80-85% on cards.”

Meanwhile, StacksofSlabs is not a particularly big player in the business. He has over 5,500 followers on Instagram and tends to sell cards through WhatNot. They have conducted around 1,200 transactions on the platform.

The reviews are pretty positive, though, with only 120 reviews, the sample size is somewhat limited. Still, the average review is 4.9, which is exceptionally solid.

One recent customer did complain about poor packaging. He wrote, “Package was open upon delivery, so not sure if I got everything. I’m pretty sure i did but idk.”

Still, that may have been a post office issue. I saw no sign that others had complained their items arrived empty. And most of the reviews were excellent, like the 5/5 review that said, “excellent service, fast, packaged great, and the cards were amazing.”

Previous run-ins between StackofSlabs and RyansCardssLLC

We did a bit of digging and found that this was not the first negative interaction between StackofSlabs And RyansCardssLLC. Exactly a year ago, StackofSlabs Tweeted (it was still Twitter back then): “Is @RyansCardssLLC legit?

I really want to believe so, but he only takes Zelle, and there is no money-back guarantee.. please let me know, guys!

It is unclear if StackofSlabs was asking a sincere question or digging for dirt. However, if it was the latter, he did not get much. Most replies vouched for Ryan as someone who has executed countless deals. Here is the most notable exception:

However, some complaints had little to do with his integrity as a salesperson.

Allegations of racism against RyansCardssLLC

Back in 2015, RyansCardssLLC made a Tweet that included the N-word. It caused a bit of a stir in the card world then. Ryan then went on a blocking spree. He has since deleted the Tweet. We have not seen any more indications of racism; even this Tweet is ambiguous. Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning.

Reactions to the RyansCardssLLC and StackofSlabs spat

Ryan is definitely considered a polarizing figure in the hobby. It isn’t just the racist Tweet, which is old and many have forgotten. He has a bad reputation for getting into nasty Twitter fights and having abrasive followers. That is social media for you.

And there is no question that most observers have taken RyansCardssLLC’s side. He is a far better-known quantity in the hobby and has made deals with everyone.

Although many people dislike him, Ryan’s ability to maintain a good reputation for sales is worth noting. It is also noticeable that StackofSlabs has been unable to produce evidence of serious wrongdoing by RyansCardssLLC.

Meanwhile, there have been a few accusations against StackofSlabs on social media. Here is an example.

The final word on StackofSlabs vs. RyansCardssLLC

We contacted all the parties involved for comment but have not heard back. We will update this story if and when we get a response.

We are unsure that our friend Temarr Johnson is worth $3,300. After all, he is a 19-year-old player. However, he was the number 4 pick in the 2022 MLB draft and an All-American. But, of course, that is not the point.