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 ...

THEY'RE BACK ... SOMETIME SOON
The Item: Stranger Things Season 1 Target-exclusive Blu-ray set (2016)
The Reason Bought: How many Netflix series these days get a physical DVD release of any kind? How many get chain store-exclusive variant versions? Not that much of anything TV gets a physical release, really, not at least anywhere near the volumes of the past and that thought, along with the fact that the final season of this franchise is finally dropping sometime this year, got me looking here. I really liked the feel of this DVD set that's made to look like an old 1980s VHS sleeve that's had plenty of wear and tear and I also liked the idea of a graded item with that feel -- one where its actual flaws can blend in well and not stand out as glaring reasons why an item didn't grade higher.
The Grade: CGC 9.4 (A+ seal)

Reality Check: There are definitely other* copies of this one graded, but a pop report doesn't yet appear to be live for CGC Home Video (or it was down when I prepped this) and my number didn't come up on the verification search, either. That's OK for me as slabbed movies and games aren't as high on my radar in slabs as cards and magazines in terms of a "commodity" ... these are more the kind of shelf item with maybe some longer-term potential substance to them. To me they're more of a name-your-price novelty -- and, as an aside, I do like CGC's cases a lot more than others in this realm. This was a relatively cheap addition as well -- less than a lot of retail card boxes -- and over time affordable items can build a collection. One scary part? This is not far away from being 10 years old ... time flies.

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

Continue reading →

What happens when an established college cardboard commodity has a break-out game? We're about to find out ...

Texas Longhorns redshirt freshman QB Arch Manning -- the nephew of Eli and Peyton -- propelled his team to a dominating victory on Saturday and to the top of the AP rankings with a crazy day in relief of an injured starter, Quinn Ewers.

Manning completed nine of 12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for one more in a 56-7 drubbing of UTSA and that's just one more reason why people are buying and chasing down his cards from Panini America right now and perhaps more than ever before. That chasing wasn't a new thing -- he was a known player on cardboard (Thanks, NIL!) since before his first real snaps for Texas last season (one game) and first TDs (one passing, one rushing in some garbage time) last month.

Just like that, Manning has seemingly arrived -- depending on Ewers' injury status -- and just like the Heisman chatter the cardboard chatter has intensified for a lot of his stuff, which was already selling well.

Keep reading for the basics there.

Continue reading →

--

Update: The auction ended at $102,500 after 36 bids on Saturday night.

--

The newest chapter in the story of an iconic football family has a new home and a new card.

Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning -- the grandson of NFL QB  Archie Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning -- has signed an NIL deal with Panini America, which was revealed on Tuesday along with his debut card, which is up for auction right now.

"Manning’s multi-year alliance with Panini America represents his only NIL agreement to date and includes exclusive autographed trading cards," read a formal reveal from the company.

Keep reading for the details as they stand now ... and for the auction link.

Continue reading →