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: 2018 Donruss Optic baseball cards (Target mega box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 12 (10 standard, 2 Shock)
Cards per pack: 4 per standard, 10 per shock
Cards per box: 60
Set completion: 
16 of 100 (16 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ken Griffey Jr., Corey Seager, Buster Posey, Adrian Beltre, Kirby Puckett, Reggie Jackson, Justin Verlander

Continue reading →

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters this year 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. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

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

--

A BEGINNER BEAR ... 
The Slab: Paul "Bear" Bryant -- nickname autograph cut (BAS-certified)
The Price: $90
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'll be the first to say that this is perhaps not my ideal autograph situation, but when it comes to Alabama football, Bryant is about as big as it gets -- still above Nick Saban for now -- and landing an authenticated signed photo or slabbed cut of the legend known as "Bear" will typically cost at least $275 and often more. Bryant was one of the autographs that had been on my want list for years but because of the price I'd never really considered it because the quality of autos that can be iffy even for $275. So, when this one presented itself earlier in the year, I opted for a beginner 'graph -- something in a slab and enough to say I have one. I grabbed it and held onto it for here until football season arrived so here we are. Bryant won six national championships in his legendary career and when Saban wins another that will set a new NCAA record. Even then, Saban will still be coaching in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Paul W. Bryant Drive down the road from the Paul W. Bryant Museum -- all named after the coach who died in 1983 less than a month after he notched his record 323rd career win. Bryant's autographs aren't super-tough finds -- they're just pricey. He's had a handful of cut autographs in football releases in recent years but I've never gotten in on the chase there -- also pricey.
Grab a box right here: No boxes on this one ... but college football boxes are here

Keep reading for five 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: 2018 Panini Chronicles baseball cards (two blasters)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby and blasters)

Packs per box: 5 (four standard, one Revolution)
Cards per pack: 5 (three in revolution)
Cards in this lot: 46
Base set completion: 
4 of 60 (7 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Giancarlo Stanton, Chance Sisco, Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto

Continue reading →

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 1.

The box: 2019 Topps Chrome baseball cards (hobby box)
The cost: Click here

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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: 2019 Topps Archives baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard packs, one coin pack)
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 58 (56 cards and two coins)
Base set completion: 
50 of 300 (17 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Randy Johnson, Gary Carter, Ozzie Albies, Roger Maris, Mariano Rivera, Early Wynn, Matt Olson, Lou Gehrig, Bobby Doerr, Don Sutton, Steve Carlton, Jose Altuve, Robin Yount, Juan Marichal, Mike Piazza, Johnny Mize

Rookie Cards (9) – Keston Hiura, Rowdy Tellez, Kyle Wright, Jake Cave, Francisco Arcia, Touki Toussaint, Griffin Canning, Corbin Burnes, Kyle Tucker

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: 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter X baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 18
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 144
Base set completion: 
125 of 300 (42 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Boston Red Sox, Clayton Kershaw, Jose Canseco, Giancarlo Stanton, Buster Posey, Ozzie Albies, Christian Yelich, Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, Roger Clemens, Mookie Betts, Nolan Ryan, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Ichiro Suzuki, Jeff Bagwell, Carl Yastrzemski, David Ortiz, Eddie Murray, Carlton Fisk, Tony Gwynn, Juan Marichal, Rickey Henderson, Ozzie Smith, Ernie Banks, Steve Carlton, Whitey Ford, Ivan Rodriguez, Al Kaline, Tiger Mask, Post Malone, Brian Fallon, Mayumi Seto, Dan Rather, Gary Vaynerchuk, Vincent Stio, Tyler Kepner, Sister Mary Jo Sobieck

Rookie Cards (6) – Pete Alonso, Dakota Hudson, Corbin Burnes, Sean Reid-Foley, Kevin Newman, Cedric Mullins

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: 2019 Topps Chrome baseball cards (mega box)
Where to buy: Click here (a few formats)

Packs per box: 12 (10 packs plus two X-fractor packs)
Cards per pack: 4 per standard, 5 per X-fractor
Cards in this box: 50
Base set completion: 
30 of 204 (15 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Jacob deGrom, Blake Snell, Max Scherzer, Rhys Hoskins, Kris Bryant, Byron Buxton, Buster Posey

Rookie Cards (11) – Eloy Jimenez, Jake Cave, Francisco Arcia, Michael Kopech, Chance Adams, Cionel Perez, Taylor Ward, DJ Stewart, Josh James, Kevin Kramer, Corbin Burnes

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: 2019 Bowman Platinum baseball cards (collector's box)
Where to buy: Click here

Packs per box: 20
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 100
Base set completion: 
44 of 100 (44 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ronald Acuña Jr., Cody Bellinger, Juan Soto, Albert Pujols, Giancarlo Stanton, Max Scherzer, Jose Altuve, Francisco Lindor, Ozzie Albies, David Price, Alex Bregman, Miguel Cabrera, Yasiel Puig

Rookie Cards (14) – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (SP), Eloy Jimenez (SP), Michael Kopech, Christin Stewart, Dakota Hudson, Corbin Burnes, Touki Toussaint, Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams, Cedric Mullins, Ryan O'Hearn, Danny Jansen, Josh James, Ramon Laureano (no RC logo)

Continue reading →

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 7.

The box: 2018 Topps Holiday Box baseball cards
Where to buy: Click here

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

Continue reading →

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 2.

The box: 2019 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (hobby box)
The cost: Click here

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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 pack: 2019 Topps MLB Sticker Collection jumbo pack
Where to buy: Check retail (past sticker releases here)

Packs per box: 50
Stickers per pack: 4
Stickers per box: 200
Base (backs) set completion: 184 of 223 (83 percent)
Duplicates: 16

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: 2018 Topps Holiday Box baseball cards
Where to buy: Click here

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 98
Base set completion: 
92 of 200 (46 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Aaron Judge, Jose Altuve, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, Ichiro Suzuki, Alex Bregman, Buster Posey, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper, Noah Syndergaard

Rookie Cards (24) – Ozzie Albies, Shohei Ohtani, Rafael Devers, Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo, Clint Frazier, Tyler O'Neill, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Amed Rosario, Francisco Mejia, Jack Flaherty, J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith, Garrett Cooper , Christian Villanueva, Scott Kingery, Chris Stratton, Mikes Mikolas, Fernando Romero, Joey Lucchesi, Tyler Mahle, J.P. Crawford, Nick Kingham, Austin Hays

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: 2019 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (Walmart blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby/jumbo)

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard, one commemorative patch pack)
Cards per pack: 14 per standard
Cards in this box: 99
Base set completion: 
85 of 350 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Cody Bellinger, Andrew Benintendi, Mike Soroka, Andrew McCutchen, Christian Yelich, Jose Altuve

Rookie Cards (15) – Carlos Tocci, Willians Astudillo, Rowdy Tellez, Cionel Perez, Adam Cimber, Caleb Ferguson, Myle Straw, Trevor Richards, Kyle Wright, Jose Briceno, Aramis Garcia, Jeffrey Springs, Bobby Poyner, Josh James, Bryse Wilson

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: 2019 Topps Finest baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 12 (via two mini-boxes)
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 60
Base set completion: 
45 of 101 (45 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards of note – Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Ozzie Albies, Clayton Kershaw, Buster Posey, Christian Yelich, Alex Bregman, Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, Miguel Andujar, Trea Turner

Rookie Cards (13) – Pete Alonso, Ramon Laureano, D.J. Stewart, Cedric Mullins, Rowdy Tellez, Steven Duggar, Touki Toussaint, Ryan O'Hearn, Chance Adams, Luis Urias, Danny Jansen, Kolby Allard, Kyle Wright

Continue reading →

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 2.

The boxes: 2019 Bowman baseball cards (four Mega Boxes)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside these? Keep reading ...

Continue reading →

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 1.

The box: 2019 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (jumbo)
The cost: Click here

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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: 2019 Topps Series 2 baseball cards (standard blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby/jumbo)

Packs per box: 8 (seven standard, one commemorative patch pack)
Cards per pack: 14 per standard
Cards in this box: 99
Base set completion: 
83 of 350 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 5

Base cards of note – Ozzie Albies, Albert Pujols, Clint Frazier, Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge

Rookie Cards (16) – Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., Yusei Kikuchi, Eloy Jimenez (2), Christin Stewart, Nick Ciuffo, Victor Reyes, D.J. Stewart, Josh Rogers, Myles Straw, Austin Wynns, Jalen Beeks, Noel Cuevas, Dawel Lugo, Tim Hill

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: Hot Corner Box baseball card repack (The Fairfield Company)
Where to buy: Target (Click here for our Bargain Breaks section)

Packs per box: One hobby pack, three retail packs and two hits per box
Cards per pack: Varies by brand

Notables on base cards – See gallery for key pulls

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: 2018 Topps Holiday Box baseball cards
Where to buy: Click here

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 98
Base set completion: 
92 of 200 (46 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Mike Trout, Carlos Correa, Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, Max Scherzer, Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Nolan Arenado, Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, Jacob deGrom, Buster Posey, Francisco Lindor, Yu Darvish, Javier Baez, Ichiro Suzuki, Bryce Harper

Rookie Cards (16) – Shohei Ohtani, Ozzie Albies, Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, Christian Villanueva, Scott Kingery, Nick Williams, Mike Soroka, Nick Kingham, J.P. Crawford, Jordan Hicks, Tyler O'Neill, Dominic Smith, Dustin Fowler, Francisco Mejia, Garrett Cooper

Continue reading →

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.

--

DOMINATING BAT, SOFT DEMAND?
The Item: Austin Riley 2015 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospect Autographs Cyan printing plate (1/1)
The Price: $1,800 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The Atlanta Braves have a rich history of homegrown players dominating on the big stage and a crop of young players on the team now who are seemingly capable of big things on the field and selling cardboard. The latest new arrival -- a guy who has already set a team home run record -- has had a scorching start in terms of the longball and yet he's seemingly a little soft price-wise when it comes to the high-grade first Chrome parallel auto front. (See that link below.) They aren't cheap, but the prices don't compare to other notables in recent years who have arrived and played well. This particular example isn't the cheapest but it is a unique one.
Similar Pieces: Austin Riley autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2015 Bowman Draft boxes 

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

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: 2019 Donruss baseball cards (Target Mega Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 14
Cards per pack: 8
Cards per box: 112
Set completion: 
35 of 150 (23 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Stephen Strasburg, Joey Votto, Rafael Devers, Justin Verlander, Javier Baez, Trevor Story, Manny Machado, Matt Chapman, Christian Yelich, Michael Conforto

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: 2019 Bowman baseball cards (Mega Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 6 (four standard, two Mega Box Chrome)
Cards per pack: 10 in standard, 5 in Chrome
Cards per box: 50

Set completion: 
20 of 100 (20 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Prospect set completion: 
12 of 150 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Chrome Prospect set completion: 
8 of 150 (5 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base/prospect cards – Fernando Tatis Jr., Nick Senzel, Austin Riley, Dylan Cease, Roberto Ramos, Kris Bryant, Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, Francisco Lindor

Rookie Cards (9) – Ramon Laureano, Ryan Borucki, Bryse Wilson, Aramis Garcia, Enyel De Los Santos, Jonathan Loaisiga, Cedtic Mullins, Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams

Continue reading →

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 ... a super-sized edition this time around that's heavy on MLB and NBA but with a few surprises.

The Cards: 1991-92 SkyBox #544-546 Team USA puzzle
The Reason Graded: I picked up a box of this one for roughly $16 late last year (a bargain price) and pulled two sets of these puzzles, which was good. Why? Because grading these and the other notables from the iconic Hall of Famer-loaded Dream Team is pretty heavy and this one has been on my to-do list. I landed most of the notables more than once but just one Jordan that was noticeably off-centered. These glossed cards on the puzzle could have issues that the standard cards don't have simply because of their surfaces, but mine were clean. I will revisit my second set to see if anything stands out. I may go the PSA route on the other set for variety's sake if I see anything that would make me wonder about potential grades.
The Grades: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This one was a stressful one as I had hoped for matching grades. Thankfully, that's what I got and that's where most cards land for all three pieces of the puzzle. This is a textbook example of the kind of cardboard that can make you some money with grading, too, as they're no more than $10 total raw, while BGS 9.5s together should top $100 in some cases and asking prices for the middle (Jordan) card alone can be steep. It's memorable cardboard from the past with nothing but iconic players involved, so there's still good demand -- and that's another reason why I slabbed. Wax boxes aren't all that plentiful, either, compared to other boxes around that time.

Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.

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: 2019 Bowman baseball cards (Mega Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 6 (four standard, two Mega Box Chrome)
Packs in this box: 7 (five standard, two Chrome)
Cards per pack: 10 in standard, 5 in Chrome
Cards per box: 50
Cards in this box: 60

Set completion: 
25 of 100 (25 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Prospect set completion: 
15 of 150 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Chrome Prospect set completion: 
10 of 150 (7 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base/prospect cards – Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, Shohei Ohtani, Jose Altuve, Ryan Mountcastle, Kevin Smith, Jesus Sanchez, Keston Hiura, Brock Burke, Marco Luciano

Rookie Cards (9) – Notables include Ramon Laureano, Kolby Allard, Ryan O'Hearn

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: 2019 Topps Big League baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 240
Base set completion: 
189 of 400 (47 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Ronald Acuña Jr. (2), Ozzie Albies, J.D. Martinez (with Hank Aaron), Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Kris Bryant, Corey Seager, Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout

Rookie Cards (13) – Notables include Ramon Laureano, Kyle Tucker, Rowdy Tellez

Continue reading →