Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

KEY CARD, KEY PLAYER
The Card: Lucas Sims & Ozzie Albies 2018 Topps Heritage 100th Anniversary -- RC parallel (announced /25)
The Reason Bought: This parallel card isn't numbered, but they are very rare and if you consider the healthy print run and various pack formats for this popular brand, it's a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack type of card to pull in general let alone for a notable or specific player. I grabbed this since I've met both of them and Albies is a key Braves player ... and this brand is one that I generally buy a lot of (and did a ton in 2018). It's funky but I like 1969 Topps, too.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Why did I bite? The combo of scarcity and high grade and a price that wasn't that bad (about $80) made this one appealing to me. Also, the fact that the only other one was on eBay for $199.99 and isn't as good on subs as this one. (That price? Too high.) There are three copies of this card in PSA slabs (two 10s, one 9), too. How many might still be sitting in packs? Probably a few ... and that's also another reason I grabbed this to stash it.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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: The death of Darth Vader, big pulls, NBA box recommendations, bots and when is one copy overproduced?

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The boxes: 2020 Panini Mosaic NFL hangers (two)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (a few formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one ...

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: Nothing but big pulls and breaks in today's edition.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2020 Donruss NFL cards (holiday sweater blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for this and other formats)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of highlights from this one.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2020 Panini Illusions football cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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: 2020 MLB successes and some big pulls and highlights in today's edition.

Continue reading →

What: 2020 Panini Contenders football cards
Arrives: Dec. 28
Box basics: Five autographs (one on-card) per 18-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Contenders arrives with this year's NFL rookies in their pro uniforms, with plenty of ink and parallels to chase and some other familiar inclusions for this long-running brand.

Keep reading for more info as well as some early images.

Continue reading →

What: 2021 Super Break QBs Football Edition
Arrives: Jan. 22
Box basics: One buyback per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Super Break hits the field for the new year with nothing but QBs in this release.

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: Joe Burrow, Derrick Henry, Panini Illusions and more in today's edition.

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: 2020 Bowman Chrome X, NFL sketches, new pulls, COMC chatter and "My middle school teacher played in MLB."

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: Oldschool ripping, new pulls, Taysom Hill, an autopen problem and will Mike Trout ever win a World Series?

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: NBA Draft, the off-season lulls and big pulls from premium releases as well as blasters.

Continue reading →

What: 2020 Donruss Optic football cards
Arrives: Dec. 30
Box basics: One autograph per 20-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Optic hits the field once again with this year's top rookies and plenty more in tow -- all on Optichrome stock with plenty of parallels to chase.

Keep reading for a gallery and more info.

Continue reading →

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2020 SAGE HIT Complete Series football cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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: Chewing on the new Hall of Fame ballot, Theo Epstein, big pulls, inside a UFC case and more in today's edition.

Continue reading →

An auction of props and wardrobe pieces from HBO's hit show Ballers is entering its final week via Heritage Auctions and there are a number of interesting items that will end up in collectors' hands on Sunday.

A number of items were used by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as well as other cast members from the series that ran five seasons. Auction proceeds will benefit the Know Your Rights Camp. So far, a number of the items are dirt-cheap but action should pick up by the time things are over -- nearly 500 different items up for grabs.

Keep reading for a quick look at a few of the pieces on the auction block.

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: Big pulls, fun buys, an apparent fake BGS slab issue and more in today's edition.

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: Big pulls and Project 2020 chatter lead the way in today's edition.

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: Buy, sell or hold on Tua ... with Paul Hornung, a buyer FYI, a question for NFL fans, pondering the next Acuña and "when is grading not worth it?"

Continue reading →

If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as Blowout Cards' Black November sales are going strong with Wave 3 recently dropping.

Many of the discounts are dramatic enough that Buzz once again had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye ... and there's far more that just might suit your tastes in the big sale.

--

MORE THAN JUST MOOKIE ...
2014 Topps Heritage High Number MLB sets and cases
There was a time when these sets were super-affordable and pretty cheap considering they are loaded with Rookie Cards and include an autograph in every box, too. Then Mookie Betts blew up and so did these as people wanted one of his better RCs and a shot at his ink -- he's in there -- but he's also not alone. Here are some of the RCs that have had their ups and downs but are still in here every time -- Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, Randal Grichuk, Billy Hamilton, Joe Panik, Jacob deGrom, George Springer, Xander Bogaerts, Kyle Hendricks (his only RC), Yordano Ventura, Kolten Wong, Jose Ramirez, Betts and reigning American League MVP Jose Abreu. It's a pretty strong lineup on one of the best Topps vintage designs, 1965 Topps, if you ask me. Autographs can be found with red ink (/10) atop the normal ones. and that lineup does include Abreu, deGrom, Betts, Springer, Ramirez, Nick Castellanos, Oscar Tavaras, Taijuan Walker, Ventura and a number of other players.

Keep reading for a few more boxes you should consider (and are likely to end up in Buzz's cart).

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: Big pulls, favorite NFL sets, new Star Wars cards, Hack Wilson and Topps x Steve Aoki.

Continue reading →

This one is a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's perhaps something to ponder.

This time? Five upcoming products on Buzz's mind right now.

ONE OF THE GO-TO RELEASES ...
Dropping March 3: 2021 Topps Heritage baseball cards
While standard Topps is the flagship release for pretty much all of collecting, for the last 21 years this one has been a highlight and a staple for many who enjoy things oldschool but with the chases of today and plenty of nods to the days that were so much different than they are now. I've said it before, but the 1970s perhaps won't be as fun for some Heritage fans -- I'm speaking for myself here but others may agree -- but the 1972 Topps set is one that has some weirdness that works. (And it's better than most of what might follow it for Heritage.) This set is one that gets a ride this year ... so here's hoping that beget all that and more. The Relics look like they could be interesting this year but that's just one thing to look for. Now is the time to be watching the boxes and get those pre-orders in, too, as peoples' attention might be on other sports or flagship that arrives before this one. (Hit that link for closer look and to find an ordering link, of course.)

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

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: MLB and grading chatter, a "sucker for parallels," break highlights and more in today's edition.

Continue reading →

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a bit of everything.

--

A SLEEPER NO MORE
The Card: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps WWE Transcendent Collection -- Rookie Card (/50)
The Price: More than I want to admit ... but less than a Chrome box
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was a card I was watching for intently when the second edition of Topps' WWE super-premium brand arrived, and this one was on my radar before any autograph in the super-rare release -- well at least within my typical budget. Why? She's pretty much the only newcomer of note in the base set -- I spy at least one other who is no longer with WWE and one other lesser name -- amidst a sea of past greats and some notables from today. It's an odd set as it's not the typical lineup but also not a full lineup. (I think the checklist-maker tried to cover all the main bases between the base set and the auto set.) Nobody got an RC logo here and this card's thunder may be stolen a bit with the delays resulting in her Undisputed and Chrome cards arriving close together -- and with her first certified autos -- just recently. This card has topped the $100 mark and is bolstering some of the base set prices out there. (On the cheapest side, these were around $60 in terms of sales but asking prices are now far higher.) I'm somewhere in between but I ponied up as this Aussie badass should be a major player soon. I'll grab ink and other cards eventually.
Grab a box: 2020 Topps WWE Transcendent Collection

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

Continue reading →