Curiosity got me.
When Pasadena, Calif.-based Loot Crate recently announced its first crate that’s a tad closer to the sports (entertainment) realm than most of its mystery box offerings — the WWE Slam Crate — this fan decided to sign up and see what was to come.
The First, which is the theme of this one, arrived today packing a few surprises and some oddball inclusions that offer a glimpse of what might be to come.
If you hadn’t noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com’s Black November Wave 2 hits today.
Many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases — and here are five boxes that caught this collector’s eye.
2015 Topps baseball Mega Box case
This is the only place to find cards from the 50-card 2015 Topps Chrome Update set and buying by the case is probably the best way for a shot at key rookie parallels and autographs/Relics. Among the notables here? Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor. Statistically there should be at least one Relic per case but the real chase are those key players and their parallels. You get five packs of standard Topps Update and only two packs of Chrome Update but it’s worth it if you buy by the case here — though there is a limit.
The Chicago Cubs are still alive after a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of the World Series Sunday night and today we have the Topps Now cards that commemorate that first Series win in Wrigley Field since 1945.
A total of 16 cards — with a mix of Kris Bryant autographs and Aroldis Chapman game-used base Relics — are available today and for no more than 24 hours via Topps.com.
What: 2016 National Treasures baseball cards
Arrives: Dec. 21
Box basics: Eight autographs or memorabilia cards — including one booklet — per box (four boxes per case)
What’s buzz-worthy: National Treasures returns to the diamond for the third time with some big, big inclusions as you can see above as well as some other touches that enhance the popular high-end brand.
Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.
The flagship product for NHL fans arrives in just 11 days but the wait to find out who made the cut in 2016-17 Upper Deck Series 1 is over.
It ended with the arrival of the final checklist on Monday afternoon.
What: 2017 Bowman baseball cards
Arrives: April 26
Box basics: One autograph per 24-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case);
Three autographs per 12-pack Jumbo box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view
What’s buzz-worthy: Topps celebrates the 70th anniversary of Bowman with a number of throwback inclusions as well as buyback cards while offering up the newest crop of rookies and prospects with plenty of color.
Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.
What: Topps Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Series 2 trading cards
Arrives: March 22
Box basics: Two hits per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view
What’s buzz-worthy: The next Star Wars movie comes to cardboard for a second time with a new wave of autographs, visuals and spoilers — but that’s just fine because the film arrives before this one does next spring.
Keep reading for more as well as a gallery of images.
She’s one of the comic book world’s biggest icons and a ferocious superheroine vampire — and her first story ever published back in 1969 is now in the hands of one of the world’s biggest comic art collectors.
She’s Vampirella and the original art — the complete seven-page story — from Vampirella No. 1 is in the hands of Thomas Fish, the owner of BlowoutCards.com. The artwork previously sold in May 2009 after it had been in the collection of its creator, Forrest J. Ackerman all these years.
“During the last comic art con in Secaucus, N.J., I had an opportunity to meet the previous owner and discuss this historic first appearance piece of comic book and horror memorabilia,” Fish said. “After some negotiation, we were able to come to a deal we were both happy with and the artwork is now part of my collection.”
The Cleveland Indians‘ decisive win in Game 4 of the World Series Saturday night has prompted 11 more Topps Now baseball cards and there’s something that’s never been done before for the company’s online real-time card platform this time.
Dual autographs.
Five of the 11 cards feature autographs from arguably the top two most-collectable players on the team, shortstop Francisco Lindor and pitching ace Corey Kluber.
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What’s Buzzing Today: Collectors continue to react to 2016 Topps Transcendent Collection, big breaks from other brands, Jose Fernandez reactions & more.
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: 2016 Donruss Optic baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
Packs per box: 6
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 30
Base set completion:
18 of 165 (11 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Notables on base cards – Alex Rodriguez (DK), Albert Pujols (DK), Ichiro Suzuki, Miguel Cabrera, Clayton Kershaw
Rookie Cards (3) – Kyle Schwarber, Miguel Sano, Michael Conforto (all Rated Rookies)
Skip this post if you haven’t seen the season premiere of The Walking Dead.
Topps on Saturday released its newest online-only offering of cards for the hit TV show and it’s for a pair of “In Memoriam” cards for two characters who didn’t last past the newest episode.
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: 2015 Donruss football cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 56
Base set completion:
44 of 185 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Notables on base cards – Terrell Davis, Odell Beckham Jr., Lawrence Taylor, Eli Manning, Julio Jones, Michael Irvin, Larry Fitzgerald
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What’s Buzzing Today: Collectors react to 2016 Topps Transcendent Collection, pick Greg Maddux’s Rookie Card, continue their World Series chatter and show off their big pulls.
If you hadn’t noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com begins its Black November sales today.
Many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases — and here are 10 boxes that caught this collector’s eye.
2010 USA National Teams (2009 Team) Baseball Box Set
There have been plenty of USA Baseball products in the last decade and this one is the one that went a bit high-end. Why? The talent. Among the autographs you can find here are Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor, Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray, Kolten Wong, Jameson Taillon and Albert Almora. This box carries a pretty hefty discount but all those key autos are still in there.
What: 2017 Leaf Cut Signature Edition History of Baseball
Arrives: January
Box basics: One cut signature card per box (20 boxes per case)
What’s buzz-worthy: Leaf’s newest cut autograph product will be all Hall of Famers as part of a made-to-order product with all serial-numbered cards encapsulated and printed on Metal Prismatic stock.
What: 2016 Topps Transcendent Collection baseball cards
Arrives: Dec. 7
Box basics: 52 autographs per 168-card briefcase (one briefcase per case)
What’s buzz-worthy: Topps is unleashing the priciest box of baseball cards in history as part of its 65th Anniversary celebration — a box loaded with ink, nods to the past, sketches and, well, plenty more in what Topps calls a “once-in-a-lifetime extremely limited release” that “will represent the most premium of trading card experiences.”
So, what comes in a case? Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.
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: 2016 Topps Triple Threads baseball cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
Packs per box: 2
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 14
Base set completion:
6 of 100 (6 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Base cards – Zack Greinke, Reggie Jackson, David Price, David Wright, Willie Mays
Rookie Cards (1) – A.J. Reed
The Chicago Cubs‘ dominating Game 2 victory in the World Series Wednesday night was sparked by the hot bat of a returning slugger and the strong arm of an ace who held the Cleveland Indians hitless deep into the night as part of a 6-0 win.
Today, the slugger and the ace have new Topps Now cards that will only be available for 24 hours via Topps.com as part of its real-time baseball card program.
The slugger is, of course Kyle Schwarber, who will be signing six types of standard and Relic cards, while the ace is Jake Arrieta, who is among the remaining five cards as part of today’s offering.
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What’s Buzzing Today: Big breaks, 28 boxes busted in one thread, big retail pulls, four 1/1s in a case and tracking a year of breaks.
So … that almost happened.
Max Scherzer tweeted the image above Wednesday night, proving that he’s capable of putting up a save, too. A second tweet showed some “dirty” purses in the trash — but there’s been no word on any offseason Disabled List stops for the Nationals ace … yet.
Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.
What: 2016 Limited football cards
Arrives: Jan. 11
Box basics: Two autographs and one memorabilia card per three-pack box (15 boxes per case)
What’s buzz-worthy: After some time off, Limited returns with a focus on hits (one per pack) but also with five cards per pack as part of a limited package focused on rookies and stars.
Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.
Game 1 of the World Series is in the books and now we have the Topps Now cardboard to reflect all that happened in the Cleveland Indians’ 6-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.
In fact, we have a dozen cards to show for the game highlighted by a dominating performance from Corey Kluber.
The former Cy Young winner has autographs and autographed Relics up for grabs for just 24 hours — or until they sell out.
Yahoo! Sports’ Mike Oz had some 1991 Donruss Series 1 packs in storage and he’s made a habit of tearing into a pack or two when the time is right.
That latest bit of time came in the presence of Alex Rodriguez, who joined the Big League Stew writer to tear into a pack, see who he got inside and pull off a trade while fielding some questions.
What: 2016-17 Gold Standard basketball cards
Arrives: Dec. 28
Box basics: Three autograph or memorabilia cards per seven-card box (12 boxes per case)
What’s buzz-worthy: Gold Standard returns with a new crop of rookies and all of the metallic, ink and memorabilia expectations of the past.
Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.
A number of championship rings, awards and game balls from the career of a Hall of Fame quarterback are headed to the auction block in January.
George Blanda‘s 26-year career as a quarterback and kicker included three AFL championships and a league MVP award — and the spoils of those successes will be sold via Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based SCP Auctions.
What: Yu-Gi-Oh! Raging Tempest
Arrives: Feb. 10
Box basics: Twenty-four packs per box (12 boxes per case) or nine cards per blister pack (240 packs per case)
For all the hobby firepower on the field for Game 1 of the World Series last night, leave it to the light-hitting catcher with just one anonymous Rookie Card to grab the spotlight.
The catcher is Cleveland’s Roberto Perez and the only place to find his cards is in packs of 2015 Topps Update.
He doesn’t have an RC logo on his lone Rookie Card. He doesn’t have a single prospect card from the Bowman realm (or any other of the countless brands from other companies) and all he has is a base card and parallels in Update save for a few team-issued minor league team sets here and there.
Game 1 of the World Series is set for 8 p.m tonight on FOX and it pits two long-losing franchises against each other with one of them ready to claim their first championship in decades.
Here are a few basic questions about the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians for collectors to chew on …
—
—
—
—
—
Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.
Update: Including a buyer’s premium, the card sold for $1,135,250
—
A Heritage Auctions sale with more than 20 days remaining has a legitimate shot at yielding the hobby’s next million-dollar baseball card.
It’s a PSA 8.5 copy of Mickey Mantle‘s iconic 1952 Topps card and it’s already pushing the high six-figures in an auction that began earlier this month.
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What’s Buzzing Today: Kyle Schwarber’s return, big breaks and more.
Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi racked up 214 rushing yards on 28 carries Sunday against Buffalo to walk his way into some elite NFL company.
He became just the fourth player in the history of the league to rush for 200 yards in back-to-back games. The others? O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams. Not bad company for the former Boise State star who’s in his second season after being a fifth-round draft pick last year.
His cards are relatively available with more than 1,500 different cards made since last year and more than 750 of those being certified autographs. He has 40 Rookie Cards in a number of brands from Panini America and Topps last year.
>> Click here to shop for football boxes on BlowoutCards.com.
Keep reading for more guys who generated some buzz on the field this week.
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: 2016 Topps Update baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
Packs per box: 10 (plus one medallion pack)
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 101
Base set completion:
81 of 300 (27 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Notables on base cards – Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Manny Machado, Matt Wieters, Ichiro Suzuki, Mike Trout, Aroldis Chapman
Rookie Cards (14) – Johnny Barbara/Ben Gamel, Jeimer Candelario, Tyler Goeddel, Derek Law, Joey Rickard, Julio Urias, Jose Berrios, Matt Bush, Tim Adleman, Lucas Giolito, Shawn Morimando, Luis Severino, Corey Seager, Stephen Piscotty
The Chicago Cubs are headed back to the World Series and Topps has the cardboard to prove it.
Less than 24 hours after the team clinched its first National League pennant since 1945, Topps Now cards are on the way documenting the big win — but for only 24 hours via Topps.com.
There are Kris Bryant autographs — a first for the player in the line — along with Relics and standard cardboard as part of today’s 16-card lineup.
What: 2017 Topps Wacky Packages 50th Anniversary sticker cards
Arrives: March 15
Box basics: One hit per Hobby Collector box (eight boxes per case)
What’s buzz-worthy: Topps’ long-running art parody brand looks back to its own past while mocking today’s pop culture icons and events in this new release.
Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.
BlowoutBuzz.com 