Ken Goldin turned his sports hobby into a multimillion-dollar business. Now Netflix shows off his collection.

Ken Goldin has only earned money by trading and selling sports cards.

There is, however, one exception. When Goldin was 16 years old, his late mother, Carole, said he had to get a “real” summer job. He worked at York Steakhouse in the Cherry Hill Mall for about four weeks before he quit.

“You can’t make money playing with baseball cards your whole life,” Goldin, 58, recalled his mother saying. “ ‘You need to understand how to have a boss.’ She was certainly incorrect with both of those statements.”

It wasn’t the lifestyle for the Cherry Hill native.

Goldin enjoyed the gamble and niche of sports collecting, a hobby he started as a child. Determined to have the best collection, he eventually saw that he could make a living out of it. So in 2012, he started his own collectible trading company called Goldin Auctions, now called Goldin, based out of Runnemede.

The company took off, growing into a multimillion-dollar business. Goldin has become prominently known in the world of sports collectibles — and within the last two years, he has risen to stardom.

Netflix came out with a miniseries in April 2023 about Goldin’s work called King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, which follows Goldin and his crew digging up rare memorabilia and showing viewers how much return he makes from each sale.

Through the show, Goldin has worked with sports stars, including Peyton Manning, one of the show’s executive producers, and Mike Tyson. He also has come across unique sports items, like a game-worn Jackie Robinson jersey and a signed Michael Jordan uniform.

The eight-episode Netflix series will launch its second season on Wednesday.

“I never thought that when I was a little kid starting out doing this that I would turn it into a business,” Goldin said. “On a personal side, it’s incredibly rewarding. If you wake up in the morning dreading what you have to do for work, or you dread going to the office, you might want to consider a career change — hopefully I don’t make people quit their job because of that.”

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Goldin was 12 years old when he made his first business transaction. He traded his electric race car set for a baseball card collection.

After that, he was hooked. Goldin, who graduated from Friends Select School, spent countless hours trying to figure out how much an item was worth so he could sell or trade to acquire more cards, preferably baseball cards.

Goldin and his father, Paul, who died in 1994, would set up tables at card shows at nearby hotels to sell items. He also would pay to advertise his items in the local shopper’s guide.

“My goal was to build the best collection,” Goldin said. “I would only keep one of each [card], I would sell all of my duplicates. It ended up being quite a big business for me.

“We didn’t have cell phones, we didn’t have the internet, it was like the Wild West out there.”

There were many items that Goldin kept for his personal collection — and some that carry a story.

“My first autograph from a professional athlete had to be [at] 1977 Yankees spring training,” Goldin said. “My grandfather took me — it was Ron Guidry, who went on to have the most amazing year two years later.

“I was at Game 6 of the Phillies-Royals 1980 World Series. I still have my ticket stubs and the program from that year. I also remember when Pete Rose broke Stan Musial’s hit record in 1981. I went around and bought 250 programs at the game because I thought they would be valuable.”

Goldin earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management at Drexel. He then attended the George Washington University School of Business.

In 1986, with his father, the pair started a business called the Score Board, a trading card and collectibles manufacturer. It gave him more exposure and built his reputation in the market. He later opened Goldin Auctions in 2012.

“I was trying to figure out what to do next,” Goldin said. “I came up with the idea for an auction house since I know all these athletes, I’m good friends with Barry Bonds. I worked with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willie Mays, Muhammad Ali, Joe Montana, Cal Ripken, and Mike Schmidt. All these people I put into collectibles in the ‘90s that are probably worth 10 times as much now.”

Goldin’s goal was to make $10 million by having four to five auctions a year.

He started the business with $100,000 cash. By 2016, he had reached $10 million, and in 2019, Goldin Auctions made $28 million. In 2020, the company grew to $102 million and has only continued to progress.

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“I was looking for a relaxing lifestyle because I’ve always been a workaholic,” Goldin said. “Little did I know that I built it into a near $400 million business and I would not be relaxing.”

One of Goldin’s favorite collectibles: a Honus Wagner card.

In 1909, the American Tobacco Company started using baseball players to sell cigarettes, creating trading cards with players on the front and tobacco advertising on the back.

The company included all major league players, but Wagner, one of the most famous players at the time, reportedly did not want to promote cigarettes to children. He made the company pull his cards. Less than 100 of his cards were produced, and only 50 are known to still exist today.

“We got one of those cards in 2013,” Goldin said. “We set a record with it at the time: $2.1 million. It was the most valuable card ever sold at an auction. Today that card would go for about $30 million, but back then it was a record, and that really put Goldin Auctions on the map.”

Among the Philly flavor items he has come across: One of Kobe Bryant’s championship rings that he gave to Kobe’s parents. He also sold Joe Frazier’s jockstrap from his 1971 Fight of the Century against Ali. Goldin said that’s in his top five for most bizarre memorabilia.

In 2020, Goldin was introduced to Connor Schell, co-creator and executive producer of the 30 for 30 series on ESPN. After he spent the day with Goldin, Schell wanted to create a show about the business.

“He said, ‘You live a fascinating life and nobody knows who the hell you are,’” Goldin recalled. “‘People would be fascinated by what you do on a daily basis. They would be fascinated by the people you deal with and the items that you sell.’”

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In the last two seasons, Goldin has traveled the country searching for the rarest sports memorabilia, and even items beyond sports. He recently took in a drum set used by The Beatles and plans to put that up for sale soon.

From looking to build the best collection to businessman making millions, Goldin certainly hasn’t lost his touch. And what keeps him going, he said, is simple:

“What drove me was always making the next big find.”