Retail is crazy man, insane really. I remember not that long ago when we would all laugh and joke about spending (read wasting) a Jackson on a blaster from Topps or Panini at your local Target or Wal-Mart. We would go as far as saying, I spent $20 bucks on cards from COMC or Sportlots or eBay and got a whole bunch of fill in the blanks that I needed for my PC!!! Yeah, I was one of those guys…but something happened.
What was it?
Greed?
FOMO?
COVID-19?
Social Media?
No. It was Gary Fuckin’ Vee!!!
Well, not really. It was a bit of all of those things…(side note, I have nothing against Gary Vee or what he has brought to the hobby, any interest in the hobby in my mind is a good thing) every one of those, plus more than what I mentioned. I’m sure of it.
Crazy times ya’ll.
So with retail evolving into sneaker heads land and lines waiting for new releases or limited editions of whatever’s new, my thirst for retail has grown. Grown more out of the FOMO category more than anything else, but also just enjoying a good cheap rip once in a while. I like to open cards. I would venture to say we all do, or at least the vast majority of us…I need to do a better job of not speaking for others…I never depended on anything from Target to build a collection around, just something that was inexpensive that I could open on a Tuesday night…fill some need for instant gratification…and go on with my life. A few years ago I began hording boxes. I’d buy a box or two but not open them, you know? Just buy them.
Saving them for a rainy day.
Saving them for a day that didn’t go as I had planned.
Saving them for a long week of work.
Saving them for something to write about on a blog I abandoned.
Saving them for something cool to break.
I could pick up blasters of cards that I’m not super interested in, but like to have just to get an idea of what they look like…I like design and I like sports, so sports cards fill both of those buckets for me…but also the rip factor.
That has obviously come to a screeching halt during the past six plus months, but I have still managed to accumulate a few tasty samples from Target and Wal-Mart as well as from my LCS’s Hoody’s and The Sports Room.
The first two locales for an acquisition are great because the’re based on MSRP…no ‘flippity flip flipper-life’ markups. There’s no LCS overhead cost markup or anything else that would make the box more than they should be. Trust me (you know this too), retail boxes should not be going for these nutso upticked prices.
…HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT PRIZM FOOTBALL IS GOING FOR ON EBAY, HOLY SMOKES!!!!…
The hobby shops are a bit of a different story, there’s a markup. The great folks over at Hoody’s though, didn’t do too much for this box of Topps Chrome 2020 I picked up a couple months ago. $35 for a $20 box. Nothing too egregious I guess…?
The packs are lovely aren’t they, Mr. Pete Alonso and some honeycomb corners for the exciting Sepia Refractor Pack. Let’s see if this was worth the $35!
Here are the results of the box and the ‘bonus sepia pack’
*****
PACK ONE
Joey Gallo and Bobby Bradley
AJ Puk ’85 Insert and Luis Urias
*****
PACK TWO
JD Martinez and Austin Nola
Robel Garcia Prism Refractor and Ian Desmond
*****
PACK THREE
Archie Bradley and George Springer
Jean Segura Refractor and Trevor Story
*****
PACK FOUR
Paul Goldschmidt and Lucas Giolito
Austin Riley ’85 Insert and Jose Altuve
*****
PACK FIVE
Freddie Freeman and Nicky Lopez
Dansby Swanson Refractor and Charlie Blackmon
*****
PACK SIX
Matt Olson and Rafael Devers
Mike Yastrzemski Future Stars and Michael Fulmer
*****
PACK SEVEN
Randy Arozarena and Kevin Newman
Babe Ruth Decade of Dominance Die-Cut and Sam Hilliard
*****
PACK EIGHT…THE SEPIA PACK!
Fernando Tatis Jr. Refractor
Aaron Civale Refractor
Orlando Arcia Refractor
Luis Arraez Refractor
*****
All this writing reminds me of one of my favorite all-time MC’s, MASTA ACE! Here’s Sittin’ on Chrome…the namesake for today’s post. Enjoy the jeep thumping mid-90’s bass heavy joint.
