Fast Five: Brands that always get my collecting attention

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? Brands that always get my collecting attention ... with a touch of collect 'em where they ain't.

TOPPS HERITAGE MLB/MiLB (AND OTHER SPORTS, TOO)
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This brand has been a go-to for me since its MLB arrival back in 2001 with today's players on a new take of 1952 Topps. Since then, we've marched through the 1950s, 1960s and are into the admittedly lacking early 1970s now, but there have been twists since those early years that still make this one a go-to, though I don't see myself buying this one anywhere near as heavily in the next few years compared to the last 10 generally speaking. (I'll probably pick off more key singles -- just don't dig a lot of the 1970s designs.) In earlier years, MLB legends' autographs were a big draw in the brand but in more recent years the solo-rookie action variations and their autographed cards have become very big deals financially. (And at the same time the older big-name autos also have appreciated heavily in a lot of instances. They are safe long-term holds, too, in my mind.) One more thing to take notice of here? The years of boxed high-number sets that include ink and the MiLB releases that have to have some of the lowest print runs of all baseball releases out there in the last decade. Go look up Mookie Betts' high-number, auto and MiLB cards from Heritage as just one example. Mike Trout's 2012 Heritage is another example and there's cash sometimes waiting to be found with all of those tough variations from the past.

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

USA BASEBALL
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Want the earliest autographs of some of the most-notable MLB guys from recent years? Then you need to look closely at USA Baseball cards that have been regularly made in boxed set form for the last 20 years or so and also have been included in other releases in smaller form as well as in their own in-pack releases in recent years. The key here? Volume -- as long as you get in the game early. Boxes are typically pretty modestly priced compared to, say, Bowman stuff and a lot of the other prospect options out there. They also typically offer up stronger volume of hits per box with rarer and more unusual cards inside, too, since the costs of acquiring autos and memorabilia are far cheaper than pro releases where there are agents involved. Want team-signed cards? They've happened here. Want crazy patches? Well, they were here before the Immaculates of the world arrived. Big names' early autos can also look a bit better than they do now -- that's why I picked Clayton Kershaw here, though it's never been a great-looking 'graph -- and they can sell for a lot more than you think over time, too. (This card goes for more than you might expect for a /495 auto.) The only risk is that the pool of players is deep ... so you will have a lot of never-made-it guys for every Kershaw all those years later but if you buy buy the case or pick off singles before hype, then it's safe. (The cards also have a longer lifespan if a player opts for college after appearing on USA stuff as a teen, too.) So many top MLB prospects have appeared on USA stuff ... go look.

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DONRUSS OPTIC NFL
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OK, this one is not a collect 'em where they ain't kind of pick -- this brand is one where a lot of people are buying hard all day long everyday, twice-a-day on Sunday and then doubling up on all of that the following week to stockpile gems. It's a brand that we've only had since 2016 in the NFL, but it's already delivered so many solid pieces with Rookie Cards in a boatload of parallels with That Mahomes Guy leading the way. I busted a lot of these boxes (along with Donruss) back in the day since they were safe buys with a hit every time at retail with a number of exclusive retail parallels. Meanwhile, hobby boxes coughed up ink on the regular as well as even more so they are pricey if you can find them at all. I don't sweat RC autos -- I prefer the standard RC -- but this brand is one that has plenty of both. It's always worth a look -- and the chase isn't easy as you don't get a boatload of cards in every pack.

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VARIOUS BENCHWARMER BOXES
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I've been on a slight BenchWarmer kick the last few years here and there -- I'll rip a few then wait for a new sale later or dig in on the brands that deliver the most hits for the lowest prices and then take a break. What makes these different? Well, in the newest releases they are more hits-only boxes with the base cards an afterthought -- but it's sometimes those rarer base cards and their parallels that can carry surprising prices -- sometimes right along with the hits. There were a lot of them out there on eBay with surprising price tags (and a little too much booty for me to showcase here) but here's one that is admittedly on the rarer side but still had a surprising price. It sold for $60 -- and it came out of a box that wasn't dramatically more expensive than that. Newer boxes don't have as many A-list names (bigger TV and wrestling personalities have appeared in past releases) but the gem cards and oddball memorabilia cards can have surprising prices on them. You wouldn't expect that if you're used to the sports formulas out there, either. Print runs here also can't compete with the likes of MLB, NFL, NBA, etc., so unopened box prices can get a little nutty on the secondary market at times, too, for those holding boxes that you can't find like at the link above. (That said, we seem to have way more options than anyone else out there.) Some signers have a ton of cards here over the years, some don't -- and there are a lot of creative cards out there from this brand. When you land a good card, you'll know it.

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TOPPS ALLEN & GINTER
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I'm pretty sure I pulled this one and have it sitting in a box somewhere -- click here and then flip to completeds for a surprise -- and now I need to go find everything I ripped from that year. Even his base card is selling for more than you might think. This is part of the magic of this brand. Ginter isn't the home of a boatload of standard Relics that sell for $250 and up over and over and over, but there are many examples of unique inclusions since this brand arrived from Topps back in 2006. I've been a heavy ripper quite a bit in that time -- mostly for framed autos and minis -- and his are hot, too. Cards like this one hold value because unlike, say, Derek Jeter or Mike Trout, there's only one release to rip into for him, and it's 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter. Yep, surprisingly, that one is in stock at the link above ... but I'm not digging in on any more until I go dig up what I have. Here's hoping a past bummer or two then is a big-money find now. I'm sure I wasn't ripping looking for this one ... but I knew it was different enough to sit on it.

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What would you want to see in a future Fast Five? Let Buzz know on Twitter or email.

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