Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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GOING FOR THE GOLD
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2022 Panini Select WWE Gold Wave Prizm (/10)
The Price: Around the price of a blaster box at arrival
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This brand is my favorite of the Panini years for WWE, and in the case of this star who I collect I have seemed to found her rarities on the affordable side at times with this release. This is a perfect example of that with it being one of the rarest parallels in there but it cost me not much more than the price of a retail box. It was arguably underpriced, so I grabbed it quickly when I spotted it. Will I grade it? It's a possibility, though this release's centering issues can create some surprises (that aren't totally surprises) as I found out with a different parallel of this card. Poke around in Making The Grade last month for an example.
Grab a box right here: WWE cards are here.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

STARTING ON A SERIOUS NOTE ...
The Card: Will Ferrell 2015 Topps Archives Will Ferrell Inserts
The Reason Graded: Back in 2015 this comedy legend took to the field for 10 MLB teams and played 10 positions in a single day of real spring training action -- you can see his stats here -- as part of a project with a charity component called Ferrell Takes The Field. Collectors ended up chasing his autographs on 10 different cards in Archives that year -- roughly one per hobby case if I remember correctly -- but, alas, I went 0-for-1 there before those boxes got too pricy and/or vanished ... but I did hit the blasters. There, the regular Ferrell inserts were found one per box -- at least until all of those boxes disappeared, too. It's been a decade since this publicity stunt took place (March 12, 2015), so I figured we could start this new MLB season here on a serious note. These aren't his only cards -- he popped up a few times that year -- but this was the first set and this was the first card -- and one for my team.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: There's a small volume of stuff slabbed for this card -- roughly all cards here have no more than 10 slabbed copies across the entire set -- and this is among the top marks. This card has full-bleed back edges in bright blue just like in 1965 Topps and when I saw how clean this card was, well, it was a no-brainer. I previously slabbed one elsewhere years ago and this copy will go well with that and a slab of the same photo used on a magazine cover that ended up on a show promo card. A lot of those who likely weren't collecting back then seem to be interested here as asking prices can be steep -- raw or graded -- for Ferrell stuff.

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

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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LEGENDARY INK
The Card: Ichiro Suzuki autographed 2001 Topps Rookie Card (BAS 10 auto)
The Price: Not as much as you might think ... but also not that cheap.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Clean copies of this iconic Topps flagship Rookie Card are not easy finds in general with the boxes and sets likely bricked now if they remain unopened -- that means the gloss will be snowy if you're lucky to peel the cards apart at all -- and then the dark green border and high-gloss on soft stock here is always going to be problematic. When I spotted this card among many where Suzuki has signed for literally years (Mill Creek Sports) without a premium price, I bit on this just before his Hall of Fame results hit. (We all knew he was going in ... but I didn't know if his prices were going to rise.) This copy is super clean vs. many cards out there with some very light roughness on maybe one edge and a light touch on the bottom-left corner ... but some of what's seen in my photo is just how the light is reflecting. I generally don't do a ton of bigger buys for my collection, but this one's cost wasn't that much more than some of the hot and plentiful new release hobby boxes. I went with a safe and iconic bet for my (for me) premium spend and went with the sure thing on an iconic card for a living legend. I pulled his ink once from an unlicensed release -- and it was in one of my earliest Making The Grade posts here -- but a signed RC means I'll likely never need to sweat his stuff again. (Might window shop, though, or bite if price is right for a nice certified.) One more fun part of my card? If that label had a simple added line of Beckett/Fanatics witnessed instead of signed for Mill Creek and then slabbed, the price likely would be double what I paid. I wouldn't pay that -- and this one is a win in my book.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ... 

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CROSSING HIM OFF 
The Card: Joe Montana autographed 1988 Topps card (BAS slabbed)
The Price: About $65
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Rewind the clock to the early/mid 1990s and Montana is the unquestioned top QB on cardboard with perhaps only a small number of RBs or WRs even coming close to competing with him for popularity on cards. Back then, in a new era of certified autographs from brands such as Pro Line and Classic or mail-order autographed items, there was ink to chase but Montana was never, ever on my radar. Why? Look at that auto ... there's still not much going on there that would have sparked me to pay a premium price for a glorified initialgraph with a slight more added on. Fast-forward to now and the Hall of Famer still has all those rings and all those MVP awards, but he's been surpassed on the stat sheets and cards ... it happens. The 68-year-old has done a lot of signing for Leaf for its releases and buyback brands -- I think this was one from there -- in recent years and it had been on my radar for literally months as I really like the look of many of his 1980s Topps cards. A relatively clean copy with an on-card auto is a no-brainer if the price is right and I got this one for about half of the asking price of man identical copy I'd been watching. All these years later, I can cross Montana off my ink-needed list.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but NFL cards are here.

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What: 2025 Leaf Metal Pop Century trading cards
Arrives: May 2025
Box basics: Four autographed cards and two 1/1 proofs or printing plates per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's annual celebrity release returns once again with some big names in store and a little more to be found in every box.

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

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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 ... 

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THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR TIFF
The Card: Tiffany Stratton 2024 Panini Instant WWE Red-White-Blue Autograph (/10)
The Price: $49.99 via Panini Instant
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was an instant buy for me for that price and I suspect that future autos for this rising WWE star will cost more when they happen again via Instant based on asking and sale prices over on eBay that are far higher. (And because Panini has charged more for names who aren't as popular.) It's not a perfect card with the auto running off the sticker to a small degree here (though others I saw were worse with that being part of the "T") but that doesn't matter to me much with this being a personal collection addition. The only question is whether I'll slab it or not and I'm leaning toward no as I don't want any surprises on a solid card. With this victory, she got a title match anywhere and at any time, so this is a key moment upon that rocketship ride to the top as she only started wrestling in any capacity in late 2021 and already has all the skills to pay the bills. (Here's one match to see.) There will be more Strattons to come here as long as the prices don't get too crazy.
Grab a box right here: Not for this ... WWE cards are here

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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 ... 

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GOING HIGH-END ... 
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Bowman Transcendent (/100) -- Rookie Card
The Price: Less than some retail mega boxes ...
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: While this comes from one of the most-expensive brands ever made and he's a past All-Star, a bad season apparently prompts easy sell-offs these days and in this case I was a buyer. While I'd like his RCs from these releases in slabs (the frames and Chome-like surfaces here can show smaller flaws easily) this one was too cheap to pass up in comparison to slabbed cards that weren't even in elite grades. This cost me half or even a third of common asking prices for the graded cards with no obvious, blatant flaw to make it feel like it would check in lower ... though it's not perfect. It's a perfect start for me here -- I'll likely add more if The Big Bo Slide of 2024 keeps going. Why? I collect Bichette.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one, but MLB boxes are here.

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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 ...

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THE FORCE WAS STRONG ... 
The Item: Daisy Ridley autographed Star Wars: The Force Awakens IMAX 3D ticket (/500) -- BAS Authenticated
The Price: Less than a couple Chrome boxes
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The next Star Wars film is in pre-production -- Star Wars: New Jedi Order coming in 2026 -- and it apparently pushes forward more than a decade from the last film with Rey Skywalker its main character. Hearing that much alone got me thinking I should really track down a Ridley auto now vs. later -- she has signed a lot but prices are perhaps softer now than they may have been in the past. Well, at least in theory ... she's seemingly always been expensive. So here we are. I had a few rules for looking here -- I wanted a full-name sig for sure, an on-card auto and a decent presence/feel for the item ... whether it be an item, an oversized photo or something else that might display a little better than merely a card. I wanted something clean and unique but also safe for a price that I'd stretch a little to get to since she's pricey. I opted for a seemingly Fanatics-adjacent seller where a number of big-ticket items reside without the massive prices that can come with those names and opted for this oversized commemorative ticket for an IMAX showing in Chicago -- only 500 numbered tickets made for each week of the promotion per location in late 2015 and early 2016 during its first run. I don't do a lot of tickets, but I liked the promotional twist and serial-numbered volume here (albeit it's only limited to 500 per venue) and then it being signed and encased gives it a nice feel in an oversized slab. This was substantially discounted by a third or maybe half of a typical price (they have a few) so I bit. Unsigned, it's not a pricey item but this felt cooler to me for its price than a lot of pricier certified auto cards.
Grab a box right here: Star Wars boxes at BlowoutCards.com

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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 ... 

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HER TIME IS NOW ... 
The Cards: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps Transcendent WWE (/50) -- Rookie Card
The Price: Less than some of your new boxes out there
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one is more of a long-term buying project for me as I think Ripley has the potential to be an all-time great in the WWE's women's ranks. She's only 26 and has literally been wrestling half of her life, already has held WWE gold and this is her premium-brand Rookie Card (gaming cards don't count in my world) that has an iconic pose and is limited to only 50 copies. This one also is easily among the priciest of the unsigned cards in this pricey set that was made to be broken up. Only three of these are new additions for me but I had to take a pic of all five together as a bit of a brag -- I don't do that a lot and I don't like to give the prices when I spend big on stuff -- but this is a card I like ... and I'm definitely not done yet. She has other Rookie Cards (with logos ... this set didn't use them) from 2020 but this one will always be the best in my book and we know exactly how many exist and that it cost plenty for somebody else to land one. She's got another WrestleMania match against an all-time great, Charlotte Flair, here soon and I don't know exactly how that might go ... but I do know she's definitely worthy of a long and dominating title reign and a smackdown of a great would solidify her place. I think her time is now.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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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

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BATTING LEAD-OFF ... THE PITCHER
The Card: Tatum O'Neal (as Amanda Whurlitzer) 2013 Panini Golden Age Exhibit Box-topper
The Price: $14
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a modern take on the old Exhibit postcards and this one is one of a few cards in a huge set that stands out to me. Why? It's one that shows an actor in character as she was the ace of The Bad News Bears. The key here? This is a box-topper set that had 40 cards in it ... so that's a lot of boxes to open to complete a set -- just one per box -- and the collation could be quite repetitive in my experience as I ripped a ton of these over the years. While a lot of sets from even a decade ago have dried up in wax form and gotten perhaps too steep for the typical return, these are still very affordable and include some good stuff. The only drawback? A wide array of inclusions may not be for everybody and now all these years later some of the good autograph redemption cards (only a few) can't be redeemed for that ink. (Points now as they are long-expired.) There are a lot of on-card autos in this release that have no equal -- including autos from her and other Bears.
Grab a box right here: 2013 Panini Golden Age

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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 ... 

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FLOWN IN THE FINAL FRONTIER?
The Card: 2018 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Museum Collection Aviation Jumbo Relics (5-by-7) Space Shuttle Columbia Mission STS-75 MLI Blanket
The Price: About $85
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This over-sized piece is one of a number of space-related memorabilia cards that you can find (as redemptions) in this past Goodwin release, and I opted for this one since it's got a lot going on with its swatch and because it's noted as being used for Mission STS-75 that went to space in the spring of 1996. What exactly an MLI blanket is I didn't know when I grabbed it, but apparently "Multi-layer Insulation" blankets help protect various pieces of equipment from heat and light while in space. I liked how this piece has a rivet hole on one side and some Velcro on another along with some striping to help make it a little more interesting than just a big plain white swatch of material. A lone drawback here is that it's not easy to store at 5-by-7 and about a half of an inch thick but it's a cool card. (I wrapped it in a sealed magazine bag and then boxed it away.) Did I need it? Probably not, but it's pretty interesting and I will have more oddities like this coming in the future. If it grabs your attention, there are a number of standard-size cards with varying pieces inside them to suit more budgets easier than this card. Other blanket swatches look like tin foil and you can find other pieces in cards, too. I may need to get one of those.
Grab a box right here: Goodwin Champions (all years)

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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BIG DEMAND FOR UNSIGNED EARLY RARITIES?
The Item: Drew Brees 2000 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity parallel XRC (/30) BGS 8.5
The Price: $4,960 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The NFL's new all-time passing yards leader is here and his key first autos have some insane asking prices (see link below) but there are a few other cards that can be surprising out there, too. Why? They're low-volume and the wax is nowhere to be found now -- and there's that Tom Brady guy not helping in 2000 -- but this one is even more complicated. It's a card that was issued via redemption and this one is an interesting card as it's from the year before Brees' Rookie Cards -- and it's a foilboard parallel (hence that scan) limited to only 30 copies. That asking price seems lofty but only four of the 30 have been slabbed by BGS and only one has graded higher (a BGS 9). You won't find one graded higher and you may not find one at all otherwise ... so, is it worth the big price tag? Maybe if you're a diehard Brees fan who hasn't found one yet or if you think there's big potential in other rarities from this era that could appreciate big in the future. (Remember, there's no back stock of volume boxes walking through that door for new cars to be found unlike the being-revisited boxes of the 1980s and 1990s that can still be found easily. And, again, this one is a redemption.) Buzz actually owns one of the three other cards so seeing this one out there at that price was a shocker -- I'm definitely going to keep my eyes on this one.
Similar Pieces: Other Drew Brees autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for NFL boxes

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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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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What: 2017 Rittenhouse James Bond Archives - The Final Edition
Arrives: May 24
Box basics: Two autographs per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: James Bond gets another run on cardboard but includes something pretty big and pretty notable -- Sean Connery cut autographs -- that are a first but only found in the rare Archive Boxes.

Keep reading for more.

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The newest James Bond movie, Spectre, arrives in theaters today with the latest in silky smooth suits, fast cars, creative-but-lethal technology, big villains and everything else one has come to expect from the series that began back in 1962 and has spawned 24 movies since.

While there haven't been quite as many Bond trading card sets, there have been plenty of interesting cards created by Rittenhouse Archives though the past few years with many of the incarnations of Bond reflected on autographs, memorabilia cards and standard releases that even the most-casual of Bond fan could appreciate.

Check out the trailer for the film above and keep reading for our choice of five James Bond trading cards that are worth a look.

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