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 ... a lot of my usual suspects and some early spring cleaning as I've always got plenty of stuff lined up to appear here.

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AS YOU KNOW ... I BUY BO
The Card: Bo Bichette 2023 Topps Tribute Stamp of Approval Relics (/196)
The Price: $13
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you're a regular reader, then you know Bichette is in heavy rotation here and I sprung a little more than I might usually for a memorabilia card to grab one of these premium-brand Relics that has a little extra attached ... just to talk about it here. As you can see at right (click for a closer look if you need it) this piece comes from a jersey worn on May 21, 2021, that was then cut up and authenticated a second time -- for this exact piece -- that got its sticker on Sept. 1, 2022 ... all for you to know which specific game, event and season it came from. (Spoiler: Other game-used Relic items were stickered, too, they're just not noted on every card as some releases will inevitably have more than one item used, creating a logistics nightmare between cards printed and pieces available.) I don't mind these, but at the same time it's not necessary on every card as the time and organization that it requires isn't worth it for the cost for the company to do it all the time, it could cause even more errors, and it doesn't add much value -- you can find these with some interestingly low prices through the years.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes at BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as the new wave of Blowout Cards' Black November sales is here

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

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BLACK IN NOVEMBER
2021 Topps Allen & Ginter X Baseball Box
Most boxes in this wave of picks are ones I have personally opened in the past, but this one is the lone exception for Allen & Ginter X as in it's the only one that I missed landing since 2018. Why? I actually don't remember -- it was likely timing of arrival -- but Ginter X is a pretty safe buy as there's an autograph in every box with the ink here typically trending rarer than the standard stuff. Almost everything here is in the trademark black take on the Ginter designs and among the autos this time are Aaron Judge, Chipper Jones, Corey Seager, Johnny Bench, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Mike Trout, Pete Alonso, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ryne Sandberg, Vladdy Sr. and Vladdy Jr. and more from the MLB realm. From beyond baseball, there's Bobby Moynihan, Jose Andrés, Rocky Bleier, Randall Cunnignham, Sara Spain and Trevor Lawrence to start. Again, regular Ginter doesn't include ink every time and these boxes do ... and some years of X could statistically deliver two.

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

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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.

Click for a closer look.

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

TO SEE WHAT CONDITION MY CONDITION IS IN ...
The Album: The Big Lebowski soundtrack (Mercury, 2014 -- first pressing)
The Reason Graded: As you can probably tell, I'm a dabbler with grading in a few -- but not yet all -- directions, but the notion of having a pristine item encased for permanent protection to be appreciated as an artifact of sorts appeals in a lot of ways. Video games, Funko Pop! figures, other toys, VHS, tickets, press photos and more can be graded just like cards, comic books, magazines and coins. I've tried grading VHS and there's a chance I might do more there with a different company that I use for pretty much everything else, but vinyl is one that, well, I jettisoned most of what I had long ago. That means this was more of a first project than just a first try. (I didn't have much vinyl as my early music-buying years were where the Sony Walkman and then CDs were a thing or emerging, not records.) I spotted this soundtrack cheaper than it might have been elsewhere and it's an original, so I grabbed it with an eye for a slab with Texas-based Tuned In Grading as this one is memorable as more than just a soundtrack but a film that's a cult classic with tons of interest and action beyond a couple hours of screen time. And the total package is cool front and back with scenes and even key characters noted.
The Grade: Tuned In Grading 9.0 (sealed)

Reality Check: I did this one to basically to go through the process and see if I liked the results and then to decide how I would approach doing more. It seems based on their grading scale and description that a 10 isn't easy -- that's fine in my book and that took away some of the grade-shock here. (A nine is fine in all realms, really, but we all want perfection and in some genres a nine has a few slots above it on the scale. Not here.) There isn't really a pop report just yet (but I know of at least one copy*) and it appears that the typical overall grade is a meshing of five applicable sub-grades -- record, cover, inner sleeve, labels, shrink -- but since this is a sealed record only two of those are in play. They both clicked at nines for me -- the cover here had a small bend on the back, while the shrinkwrap has a couple minor spots on the right side but I didn't notice one of them previously. I wasn't totally surprised as I knew the small bend would hurt me but everything else seemed strong. Part of me wants to try something vintage that's not sealed next time, but that's easier said than done in terms of balancing condition, an item I like and price -- I know of a few I'd try but I'm a stickler for condition and this kind of grading isn't quite as cheap as others but still less than some so I'd want something with an appealing grade. Plus, if it's not sealed then other things get looked at ... that you can't examine unless you're buying stuff in-person. Part of me also thinks albums without shrink-wrap could look better in the sleeve but I haven't really read up on what the musical devotees prefer. I think, generally, I dig it but I think for storage and size I like the idea of slabs for CD, DVDs and stuff that's more game-sized more ... but the size here also makes all the details you see on the back of this one as well as that main art on the front pop a bit more, too.

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

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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: 2023 Topps Chrome Star Wars trading cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Pack/Box Odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

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

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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: 2023 Topps Chrome Star Wars trading cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Pack/Box Odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

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

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What: 2023 Topps Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi Chrome Sapphire Edition
Arrives: June 21 (Wednesday online-first release; $199.99 start)
Box basics: Two parallels per 32-card box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: The 40th anniversary of Return Of The Jedi gets its cards Chromed with a Sapphire touch coming this week from Topps.

Keep reading for more.

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What: 2023 Topps Chrome Star Wars trading cards
Arrives: June 3
Box basics: One autograph per 24-pack box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Star Wars hits Chrome once again with an autograph in every box and plenty of focus on the memorable characters from the franchise.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as Blowout Cards' Black November sales have arrived this year.

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

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NOW'S THE TIME ...
2022 Panini Prizm WWE wrestling cards hobby boxes
This one is an important release for wrestling card collectors since it was the first Panini America WWE set and it's one that is absolutely loaded with actual Rookie Cards for a bunch of new NXT 2.0 and NXT UK stars who didn't have any previous cardboard at all as well as most of the biggest names of the past and present -- all in one spot, all on one checklist and all with rainbows of parallels. Throw in autographs and a boatload of color and inserts and there's big potential here. The Prizm investor crowd here certainly pumped these up big-time as there is big potential here the rarest stuff ... but the box prices have dropped heavily since release. Why? There's supply for everything available here -- for now -- and that volume of singles, parallels (a deep rainbow on every card and plenty of retail and hobby boxes, too) couldn't keep up with the volume of buyers if you take away the flippers. It remains the same solid release that it was when the boxes were three times the price ... but now it's a more reasonable rip. If you land big stuff you're probably still OK -- maybe more ahead vs. the past -- but if you're a collector this might be closer to the price point where it's more do-able.

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

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What: 2022 Topps Star Wars Chrome Sapphire Edition
Arrives: Sold out today on Topps.com (online-first release)
Box basics: Two parallel cards per box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: The first two series of original Topps Star Wars cards from 1977 get Chromed with a Sapphire treatment in this release that will pack two parallels per box.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022 Break King Non-sport Premium Edition
Arrives: June 10
Box basics: Two buybacks -- two autos or one auto and one sketch/other -- per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Break King looks to the icons of the non-sports realm for a buyback release that will be nearly all about ink but work in some original artwork at times, too.

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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: 2022 Topps Star Wars Signature Series trading cards
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in 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: 2021 Topps Star Wars Chrome Galaxy trading cards
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in 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: 2021 Topps Star Wars Chrome Galaxy trading cards
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

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: Big pulls, new additions and more in this Bowman Draft arrival week.

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 little bit of everything.

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REEL BIG FISH
The Card: Mike Trout 2020 Topps Project 2020 -- Artist: Ben Baller (/34,950 made)
The Price: Factory cost from Topps (bought bundle of five)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: It's probably no secret that Project 2020 is the runaway winner already for Set of The Year with most cards selling thousands of copies a pop at $20 apiece and a number of those re-selling for far, far more than $20. (This one, last I looked? Add on a zero.) Some of the prices are as volatile and logic-defying as it gets if you're looking at things from a cardboard-volume perspective -- rarer ones that weren't that popular at first are now very-pricey ones -- but that's just one part of the equation. The players have fan bases, the artists have fan bases -- and prices for their art may not be as soft as collectors might think them to be. In other words, a style you might not like could have thousands of people wanting them because they know their work elsewhere. (Ben Baller, for example, has more than 260,ooo Twitter followers and 1.4 million on Instagram. Both dwarf most hobby industry accounts and definitely tops them all.) The set has garnered a lot of mainstream media attention, too, meaning non-collectors are buying cards up, too. As I type this, the Trout here is still the No. 1 best-seller but others have come close. This one was the first break-out card volume-wise and is my favorite of the bunch so far this year. Even if others sell more, it will likely remain my favorite unless something to come really wows me.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one ... but MLB boxes are here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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 Topps Women of Star Wars trading cards
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a breakdown of what was in this A+ box along with a gallery.

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: Nothing but big pulls and break highlights in today's edition -- including a 21-box Optic NBA haul and this legendary Star Wars autograph.

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: Some unreal -- but totally legit -- Star Wars pulls, MLB breaks, new Optic NFL and plenty 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 Today: Busting that wall of wax, Houston Astros cheating and big pulls from around the collecting world.

Continue reading →

What: 2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork trading cards
Arrives: Nov. 20
Box basics: Four hits in every four-pack hobby box with two autographs guaranteed (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' high-end Star Wars brand arrives for another go in a galaxy far, far away with a number of new signers, legendary classic autos and plenty more from this long-running release.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2019 Topps Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Black & White trading cards
Arrives: Jan. 23
Box basics: One autograph or sketch card per seven-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps brings its a black-and-white brand to Empire, the legendary second Star Wars film, for its sophomore release.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery of images.

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What: 2018 Topps Finest Star Wars trading cards
Arrives: Dec. 5
Box basics: Two hits -- one autograph or sketch card guaranteed -- per 12-pack box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Finest adds The Force with the mini-box format allowing Star Wars fans to chase autographs, Refractor rainbows and other hits in smaller chunks as part of a product that revisits all areas of the Star Wars universe.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery.

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What: 2018 Leaf Metal Pop Century trading cards
Arrives: Aug. 1
Box basics: Four autograph or memorabilia cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's annual celebrity release returns but with some new touches that help widen its scope of inclusions as well as cut autos and memorabilia cards -- all with a Metal finish.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2018 Topps Star Wars Galaxy trading cards
Arrives: Nov. 14
Box basics: Two hits (one autograph guaranteed) per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Galaxy returns to take a look back at all past Star Wars releases with new art, autographs from throughout the franchise's history and images not seen before on cards.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery.

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What: 2018 Leaf Pop Century Signed Photograph Edition
Arrives: August/September
Box basics: One autographed 8-by-10 photo per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's next autograph product for pop culture arrives with certified autographed photos from the biggest names in Hollywood as well as big names from elsewhere one per box.

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