Panini America is staying in college.

Its licensing deal with the CLC, the nation’s leading collegiate licensing company, has been extended beyond its current deal that was signed in 2015. It was dubbed "a long-term extension" but no details were revealed other than it remaining an exclusive one for the schools that are covered by the program.

“We’ve been impressed by the creativity, innovation and value that Panini America has delivered to our partner institutions and the collegiate space in just five short years, and we look forward to working with them as they continue pushing the category to new heights,” said CLC VP Dave Kirkpatrick in a prepared release. “We entered this partnership on behalf of our client institutions back in 2015 with high hopes on the new direction, and we are pleased to say those expectations have been exceeded.”

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, Yasiel Puig to the Braves and crunching some numbers in today's edition.

Continue reading →

The Topps Project 2020 baseball card of Ken Griffey Jr. that you see here has obliterated the sales records for the company's online offering of 20 memorable baseball cards re-imagined by 20 different artists.

This creation from artist Keith Shore -- a re-do of Junior's 1989 Topps Traded Rookie Card -- sold a record 99,177 copies in just two days, obliterating the previous high of 34,950 sold for one of the Mike Trout cards earlier this spring. (See all past cards in the series here.)

With today's numbers finally revealed, the overall volume of cards sold in this ongoing series has surpassed the half-million mark (650,102) less than a fourth of the way into its release -- two cards are offered every weekday via Topps.com until all 400 are done. Meanwhile, the re-sale prices on a number of these cards have reached into the thousands of dollars (despite having an original price of just $19.99) -- and that's left people pondering the possibilities of what happens when pop art meets the pop of the bat.

It doesn't hurt here that artists are often their own best marketers, right?

"Absolutely. The goal of Project 2020 was to appeal to the fans of the artists," said Jeff Heckman, Topps' Director of E-commerce. "Therefore the social media presence of the artist was an important factor in choosing the artist. We wanted the artists to have fun with the Project and engage with their community. So far, the engagement and interactions with the artists has been amazing."

Heckman fielded a number of other questions about Project 2020 ... keep reading for an exclusive Q&A.

Continue reading →

The waiting is the hardest part ... but all we need is just a little patience.

Topps notified dealers on Monday that there will be a delay for the arrival of 2020 Bowman, which had finally been penciled in to arrive this Friday.

Continue reading →

Topps' schedule is starting to come a little more in focus after a number of products were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the halt of business in a few locations key to its baseball card production and business.

The company released a list of target dates for its upcoming MLB releases and it all begins with 2020 Bowman finally arriving next Friday, May 22. That one will be the home of cards for highly touted New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez.

It wasn't alone.

Continue reading →

This year's National Sports Collectors Convention -- if it happens -- has been rescheduled for Dec. 12-16 in Atlantic City, N.J., according to an announcement from the show promotors on Saturday afternoon.

The move will hinge upon health officials' guidelines for the region with the ultimate decision on whether to cancel this year's show to come in mid-September.

Continue reading →

Derek Jeter's Hall of Fame enshrinement may have to wait until next year, but the new cardboard push is coming from Topps.

Up first? A new Topps Now line launching this Saturday with Jeter’s autograph attached on cards noting "his biggest moments and milestones" among projects that will "bring his perspective to life through one-of-a-kind collections."

It's part of plans in a multi-year deal that will include "experiential, one-of-a-kind events and limited products and Jeter will collaborate with Topps in many new ways across its physical, digital and e-commerce products." It will include the former Yankees shortstop as part of the creative process. There will be the Captain’s Collection and Jeter also take part in the One of One Club, which will give "fans the ability to create their own unique 1/1 Jeter Topps card, which will then be signed by Jeter at a One of One Club event."

Continue reading →

If you're on the registry, you can now take more action -- and earn more medals, too.

Today, Professional Sports Authenticator launched a revamped “activity page” for its set registry members and that helps them document changes that include "set ranking changes, pending removal requests, pending slot requests and any comments made."

“The activity page already existed, but now it’s been completely overhauled to include all of these important functions,” said PSA Set Registry manager Cosetta Robbins. “It provides a level of convenience for our members, so they’re able to keep an eye on everything they need to see, all in one place.”

Continue reading →

A simple $10 donation on StockX's Benefit for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund might land you a $1,000 BlowoutCards.com shopping spree or a number of other pieces from around the sports world and beyond.

The effort includes nearly 80 different items currently up for grabs that you can get tickets for and it includes signature-model shoes, competition-used memorabilia and autographed pieces as well as other shots at sports cards.

Some of the names involved include Topps, Panini America, PSA, Allen Iverson, Chloe Kim, Eminem, Kobe Bryant, Goldin Auctions, Kevin Durant, Usain Bolt, Leo Messi, The Golden State Warriors and more.

Continue reading →

You might have missed some of the newest sports cards on the planet released just last week -- but don't worry you can still find them.

(We've got 'em.)

There aren't a ton of details out there, but Panini America has a number of new releases being sold in China -- Tmall versions of two basketball favorites, 2019-20 Panini Select and 2019-20 Donruss Optic as well as 2019-20 Panini Obsidian soccer cards that are all available now with more apparently set to come.

Continue reading →

The best of the best high school quarterbacks will have a new team when it comes to early football cards.

Panini America has signed an exclusive multi-year partnership with Student Sports' Elite 11 to create the organization’s official football cards for the Elite 11 QB competition and "as the official trading card of these premier events, Panini America will present the official invitation that is presented to all athletes selected to compete in the Elite 11 Finals and the National Showcase."

Continue reading →

Panini America's Dallas, Texas-based operation is working through the COVID-19 pandemic -- at home -- but noted in a Friday-afternoon announcement that the companies it uses for printing and packaging in the area were not, however, online.

That could lead to product delays at some point but none were noted at this time.

Here's its statement in full ...

"We hope that all of you are safe and healthy as we all navigate through this COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to provide all of you with a brief update on Panini America. First, we are all well and still operating.

Continue reading →

There's no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is now affecting the trading card industry in full as Topps announced delays to 11 upcoming products -- and more are likely on the way.

Why? Topps' main office is based in New York City on the tip of Manhattan -- the epicenter of the nation's cases (click map for closer view). Meanwhile, its products are printed, packaged and initially distributed from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which is under lockdown conditions that have halted production there as well. The company also has other steps in traditional product production handled in Pennsylvania, also on lockdown, while its Topps Now and other online-first releases emanate from Florida, another state that has now implemented limits to businesses.

Continue reading →

Brick-and-mortar hobby shops -- the heart of the hobby for years and one of several options for collectors these days -- are facing some potentially uncertain times right now and in the coming weeks because of the effects that Coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, will have on their walk-in sales.

Panini America sent an email to its brick-and-mortar dealers on Wednesday, giving them notice that it's allowing them to relax their online-selling policy for the next 45 days, a move that aims to help shops bridge problems or potentially avoid short-term issues that could have taken hold -- or still could be to come -- with their businesses. They are now being allowed to sell newly released Panini products online so they can reach a wider audience beyond their shop's typical clientele.

Continue reading →

PSA is going paperless -- so your carbon-copy submission forms are out and online submissions are in.

The move is effective on April 1 and was announced by the Newport Beach, Calif.-based company on Monday.

PSA "will no longer be accepting paper carbon copy submission forms for orders involving cards, tickets, packs or dual service authentication and grading requests," said the company announcement. "Like most PSA collectors are doing already, you will be required to enter your ordering information online and print out a completed, corresponding submission form."

Continue reading →

Topps' annual Industry Conference is under way in Arizona right now and it has teased some things to come when it comes to cardboard this year.

Here's a notebook of what's been teased so far ...

Continue reading →

You can look for even more information and chatter on the Blowout Forums very soon.

Blowout Cards, the leading online retailer of trading cards, and ThePit.com, a long-running bid/ask marketplace, revealed today that they have entered into a partnership where ThePit will provide content and market data to enhance discussion on the Forums in exchange for the opportunity to incorporate links to its related item pages.

"The Blowout Cards Forums have for many years provided the most active space to discuss important issues and build community within the card collecting hobby," said Blowout’s Tom Fish. "Veteran collectors use our Forums to delve deeply into fields they are passionate about, while newcomers to the hobby explore potential areas of interest and build their knowledge by engaging with more experienced hobbyists. ThePit.com’s Forums postings will explore in detail the most popular modern sports cards and we expect that this will inspire further Forums discussion.”

Continue reading →

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Purple parallels are back in 2020 Topps, Ozzie Albies, 2020 Topps Heritage heat, The Modern Wax Fund and more in today's edition.

Continue reading →

Serious investors wanting to get into the card world have a new option.

It's The Modern Wax Fund, which is a first of its kind private-equity fund that is focused on trading cards.

Set to close on Feb. 28, the Fund is a creation of Attic Investments and Blowout Cards. They have packaged more than $3 million in unopened product -- some of the rarest and most-desired baseball, basketball, football and other cards from the modern era -- into the project.

Continue reading →

It's time to watch the Topps Million Card Rip Party emanating from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, right now.

Check it out below.

Continue reading →

We're just days away from the arrival of 2020 Topps Series 1 baseball cards and its early debut at the Topps Million Card Rip Party, but BlowoutCards.com has a few more reasons you might want to visit the first installment of the hobby's flagship release looking for one thing.

The 2020 Topps Celebration of the Decades golden tickets.

These invitations to an exclusive event are at the top of the Blowout want list -- and we're paying you $5,000 if you land one during the Million Card Rip Party set for live-streaming on Tuesday from Dallas.

Keep reading for more details.

Continue reading →

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn't finish his college career the way he planned, but he's got his first new team as a pro and was out working that new development on Friday with media appearances in advance of Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

He's signed for Panini America.

Full details aren't yet available -- we suspect we'll have them here soon -- but the news was teased by the company today.

Continue reading →

If you look closely at the Holo parallels of Scottie Pippen's 2017-18 Donruss Optic Retro Series insert cards, you will see something that's a key in a new lawsuit between Upper Deck and Panini America. 

It's a lawsuit that a lot of collectors are talking about over on the Blowout Forums and the player in the background appears to be Hall of Famer and UD-exclusive player Michael Jordan.

In its trademark infringement suit, Upper Deck alleged that "Panini deliberately altered and manipulated Jordan's image into the background of multiple Panini trading cards in two trading card releases to gratuitously lend on the tremendous international brand equity and goodwill of Michael Jordan who is not only one of the greatest NBA players of all time, but a current NBA owner."

Since Jordan is an exclusive spokesman and endorser to its company, Upper Deck said it's an issue.

"Upper Deck is the only trading card manufacturer that has ever had a license agreement for trading cards with Michael Jordan," its lawsuit states. "Yet, Panini recently willfully interfered with Upper Deck's agreement with Jordan in order to generate illicit profit from his image without Upper Deck's knowledge or consent."

Continue reading →

The wildfires ravaging Australia have prompted Topps to try and help efforts there in the best way it can -- via trading cards.

All net proceeds from sales of the 2020 Topps Benefit for Australia card set will be donated to a charity in Australia focused on helping animals that have been displaced by the fires.

"Australia is one of the most-diverse continents on the planet, with rainforests, mountain ranges, deserts, and many endemic species of plants and animals," reads the introduction of the set, noting the focus of what collectors will find. "Conserving Australia's wildlife is key to our planet's health."

Continue reading →

"JerryWorld" will be the scene for some baseball card madness next month.

Topps revealed that AT&T Stadium in Dallas will be the site for its Million Card Rip Party -- what it calls the "world's largest group break" on the day before the arrival of 2020 Topps Series 1 baseball cards on Feb. 4.

Continue reading →