Latest news with #ToppsChrome
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is 2025 MLB Topps Chrome the worst product of the year?
In what is generally an 'exciting time,' 2025 MLB Topps Chrome launched to maybe the most 'meh' degree imaginable. After some pointed out that the rookie checklist was one of the worst in modern baseball history, it became a little clear that maybe we all needed a moment of reflection. Is it time for us to recalibrate The Hobby? You can literally pay $300 for a 'guaranteed' auto of a player who is 28 years old and no longer in the Major Leagues. That could be your 'one guaranteed' hit. As Clever Cuban Cards also points out that it might be time to lower the rookie auto checklist and only guarantee hits in Jumbo Hobby boxes - let people collect without having to spend over $300 for less than $50 worth of cards. Yes, the 1/1 gold patches are pretty insane, but you have a better chance of making the Majors Leagues than you do hitting one of those. And the MVP buyback program everyone seems to love. Except Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who has a shot at winning the American League MVP (if something were to happen to Aaron Judge, of course) isn't even in the checklist. What happens if Raleigh wins? Then there goes half of the buyback program. Now, yes, this rookie class is pretty abhorrent compared to last year's, but that's still beside the point. You have 160+ rookie autos on the checklist and maybe a handful of them are knowable. Granted, this happened this year as well with NBA Prizm after people were paying 'Wemby prices' for mediocre cards – until they weren't – so this isn't a problem that exists exclusively with Topps. I get there's a bit of a time lag for price corrections, but there certainly seems to be a need for the hobby to recalibrate, generally speaking, how they're pricing boxes. Not everyone wants to spend $300 for garbage and not everyone only partakes in breaks. Let's put the fun back in "collecting sports cards… um, for… fun' and bring back the joy of baseball collecting! Oh, wait, you are? But also joy-joy, please. Hulk Hogan died this week. Have to admit, before we go any further, I was a massive Ultimate Warrior fan. I of course had the Wrestling Buddy and used to use the Ultimate Warrior in WWF Wrestlemania Challenge on NES back in the day. I'm not going to wax on about how awesome Hulk Hogan was because of that, and, you know, also, the racism stuff. But, I do wonder if wrestling figures are going to get hot at some point. More specifically the mid-80's, rubber versions where you could take one of the wrestlers with 'red shoes' and rub the color off on another wrestler to make it look like they were bleeding. We all did that, right? Those have to make a run at some point. The nostalgia, the fact that they preceded the hard plastic ones. And I can't imagine there are many at all that are still in boxes. It feels like vintage baseball cards lore - we all took them out of their boxes, scuffed them up heavily, maybe put them in the spokes of our bikes (maybe?) and now very few boxed and pristine versions are out there. How's about paying $850 for one? Maybe we're too late? (Buy on eBay) I don't want to pat myself on the back for calling this one, but…I called it. Caitlin Clark's 1/1 Flawless RPA (out of the WNBA Royalty box that I still think was a waste of money) sold for $660,000 over at Goldin. Whatever, that Dutch auction was still stupid. Speaking of recalibrating the price of things, with the new round of WNBA cards still set to launch it's a wonder if we're going to pay Caitlin Clark prices for product or if they're going to start to scale back. It was 'insane' when Sabrina Ionescu moved WNBA Prizm hobby boxes to over $400. What followed was two years of a lull in the WNBA Prizm pricing with boxes going for under $200. Clark and Reese's rookie campaigns moved them back up to near $1,000 per Prizm box, but it will be interesting to see where Paige Bueckers helps settle the price tag of boxes this year. I'm guessing we're going to see Clark/Reese pricing for this year's release of WNBA Prizm, but also lucky for Panini those boxes might actually be worth the price. There's been a lot of chatter online about all the 'things you need to know' as we head into The National Sports Cards Convention this week. Hard to think of any actual, useful advice to dole out other than: have fun. Maybe stay away from sports card influencers. Don't overspend on PCA cards to add to your PC, aye? And remember to drink lots of water. It's hot out there - stay hydrated, kids. Pop over to Mantel to share your itinerary and hopefully get some fun meetups going! This dude has over $1 million in McDonald's collectibles and I just want to set the record straight: he is not I and I am not him. I do have some Mickey D's cups, though. But I'm more of a Burger King collector, if I'm being honest. Finally, great to see that Walmart got in on the collectibles action and launched Walmart Collector Con 2025 which, as far as I can tell is just the same stuff they already sell on their website… but under one singular collectibles page. Very innovative, very wow. Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel today.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Topps Chrome's biggest 2025 rookie chase has been pulled early — now what?
Jacob Wilson might win AL Rookie of the Year, and his 2025 Topps Chrome 1/1 Autograph Superfractor was pulled by a breaker on Whatnot 24 hours before the product's official release date, according to a post on Reddit. Arguably the most coveted rookie chase in the set, it's hard not to feel disappointed when your chances of hitting a major card instantly drop to zero. Why do pre-release breaks happen? Pre-release day pulls don't just affect collectors. Retailers worldwide, including breakers, cannot legally sell 2025 Topps Chrome until the official release day. Even Fanatics Live, which sometimes grants breakers early product access due to their vertical integration with Topps, isn't allowing breaks on their platform until the scheduled date. Advertisement How does this happen? The simple answer is logistics. Ideally, Topps would coordinate every shipment to arrive exactly at 12:01 a.m. on release day, but we can all agree that's unrealistic. Twitter/X users have reported receiving and opening products as early as July 19th, four days ahead of schedule. Despite Topps/Fanatics' best efforts. At the end of the day, people are just getting the product early. It's unrealistic to tell individuals who've received their orders early not to open them for several days. However, for professional breakers, the consequences of opening products prematurely can be severe. The risks for early breaking 'If you are a breaker who gets their product directly from Topps/Fanatics, breaking early can result in your allocation for future products being suspended, or worse, having your entire account deactivated' according to Mantel user Ben Smith, of Midwest Box Breaks. Advertisement Yet, these penalties aren't enough to deter everyone. A quick visit to Whatnot reveals dozens of breakers actively opening 2025 Topps Chrome, some since Sunday. One breaker, who asked to remain anonymous, said breaking early provides a significant competitive edge. 'With all the competition, you might struggle to fill breaks on release day. But if you jump on early, these breaks snap-fill quickly.' Which makes sense. Being the first to the market when selling cards makes a massive difference in sell price. So, why doesn't Topps just shut down these early breakers' accounts? It's not that easy according to Mike Maher of Filthbomb Breaks. Turns out, most of them are using middlemen to get their products. The challenge for Topps and Panini 'This is something that is very hard to prevent in the hobby right now because there are card shops and people who acquire product, who sell to breakers, that are not under Fanatics and have no repercussions when it comes to selling it early,' said Maher. Essentially, If these breakers are getting their product from undisclosed third parties, there isn't a distribution account Topps, or Panini, can threaten. Advertisement Though for sellers with direct allocation, the risks can be significant. Even Filthbomb, which is one of Fanatics Live's top partners, wouldn't be exempt from repercussions, should they break before the street date. 'It would be serious. You'd be risking access to product, platform suspension, or worse. There's too much at stake to play games with street dates, especially when Fanatics is pushing hard for professionalism and transparency in the hobby harder than ever, especially on its platform.' How early breaking impacts the market When shops break early, it has ripple effects across the hobby. "Seeing a major hit like the Jacob Wilson Superfractor auto surface prematurely significantly affects the market," Maher said. "This is especially true for Pick Your Player (PYP) breaks and collectors who've pre-ordered Athletics spots hoping to chase that card." Advertisement Even if you aren't particularly sympathetic to the financial implications for breakers, the broader impact on collectors is undeniable. The excitement and anticipation that accompany a product launch are severely diminished. 'Longtime customers lose opportunities to land key chase cards they've been anticipating for months,' Smith from MBB said. Without meaningful repercussions enforced by platforms like Whatnot, early breaks will likely continue. At the end of the day the consumers pay the biggest price, Smith said. 'It deflates the excitement and anticipation of the product for everyone. It is very disappointing knowing that our long-time customers have that team in an upcoming break can't hit a card like the Wilson 1/1 for their PC. I hate it for the hobby as much as for myself.' How can the industry fix the problem of pre-release breaks? Let us know on Mantel.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Did Panini use Jets Malachi Corley's goal line fumble as his rookie card?
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 31: Malachi Corley #14 of the New York Jets drops the ball prior to entering the end zone during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium on October 31, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by) What would you do if the most embarrassing moment of your life wound up immortalized on your rookie card? That's exactly what might have happened to Malachi Corley, raising the question of whether a cringe-worthy image can still be iconic. What makes an iconic card? For many, it's being able to tie the image on the card to a specific play or game. A great example is Odell Beckham Jr's 2015 Topps Chrome card featuring 'The Catch'. (Buy on eBay) . Advertisement Corley's rookie issue, however, may feature his notorious end-zone fumble, one of 2024's most squirm-inducing highlights. If you need a reminder, here's the replay (and a brutal Twitter jab) that went viral. This week, We the Hobby dropped an Instagram Reel suggesting the fumble might actually appear on Corley's Phoenix rookie card: Will this discovery increase the value of his rookie card? Stranger things have certainly happened and collectors do love a card with a story. Whether it becomes a sought-after oddity or simply a quirky footnote, it's proof that context can be as valuable as on-field performance. Advertisement
New York Times
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Frank Gore Jr.'s ‘elementary school' FGJ autograph a joke among Bills teammates that he vows to fix
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Frank Gore Jr. swears up and down he didn't sign that football card. Buffalo Bills teammates have a hard time believing him. 'I don't know what to think,' nickel back Taron Johnson said upon being shown a picture. 'But it's hilarious.' 'Is that AI?' receiver Keon Coleman asked. 'Either way, that s—'s funny.' Advertisement Gore is getting dragged about an autograph Topps inserted into packs and certified as authentic, a scrawling of only his initials: FGJ. A collector apparently pulled the card last week from a pack of 2024 Topps Chrome football cards and posted a photo on social media, asking 'Worst autograph ever?' The tweet made it into a Bills players group chat. They've been skewering Gore ever since. Ty Johnson and the rest of Gore's fellow running backs have been particularly merciless. 'They troll all day,' Gore said after practice Tuesday afternoon. 'They think it's funny, 'FGJ.' They say I have a poor, elementary-school autograph. 'But, in reality, I think it was fake. I'm 99.9 percent positive. I'm sure I didn't do that.' So there aren't any more 'FGJ' cards out there? 'Shouldn't be,' Gore said with a sheepish smile. 'I reached out to my team. It's social media. I'm not going to respond to it. But it was funny for sure.' The problem with Gore's claim is that an eBay search shows for sale dozens of 'FGJ' signatures that also carry a 'Topps Certified Autograph Issue' label. The backs of the cards read, 'The signing of all Topps autograph cards is witnessed by Topps representatives to guarantee authenticity.' But some of the same versions of Gore's 2024 Topps Chrome cards bear a gorgeous, flowing 'F. Gore Jr.' signature. Those cards feature the same Topps authenticity avowals. A third distinct signature can be found on his 2024 Panini Contenders insert cards with the back of the card stating, 'The autograph is guaranteed by Panini America, Inc.' 'FGJ' is worthy of ridicule, but not nearly the worst autograph out there. Card manufacturers have been frustrated for years over poor quality and the minimum effort players, who are getting paid for the endeavor, put into the assembly-line autograph industry. Google 'worst autographs' for a seemingly endless gallery of chicken scratch, spaghetti scribbles and kindergarten scrawls, including superstars such as Tom Brady, first overall pick Cam Ward, NBA great Luka Doncic and three-time NHL MVP Connor McDavid. Some in the collectibles industry consider such autographs vandalism when applied to valuable memorabilia. They're also easily forged. Advertisement Bills quarterback Josh Allen was shamed into improving his signature while playing for the University of Wyoming, where his offensive coordinator's wife saw Allen's slop and told him he needed to be more dutiful to his fans. For a feature on the trend of ugly sports autographs, 2013 National League batting champion Michael Cuddyer told The Athletic how Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew castigated him for a sloppy autograph while at a Minnesota Twins fan event. Cuddyer revised his signature and now is known for delivering one of the most beautiful around. 'Your signature is who you are,' Cuddyer said. 'It's your name. I respect my name, respect the people that gave it to me, respect the hard work they put into helping to make my name autograph-worthy. 'When people truly want your autograph because they're proud to have met you, you don't want them to remember you as a squiggly mark. I feel like I'm defacing my name if you can't read it when I write it.' Topps did not respond to questions from The Athletic about the 'FGJ' authenticity or whether it would assist in a proposal Gore made to remedy the situation. Gore offered to autograph the 'FGJ' card in question, which would create a humorous collectible — and maybe get him off the hook in the locker room. 'If they reach out to me, I'll sign the right one,' Gore said. 'I promise. However I can make it better, I want to make it better.'
