The arrival of this year's Allen & Ginter baseball card set from Topps is nearly here -- a little later than usual thanks to COVID-19 -- but for breaker Christopher Lawson over at Crackin' Wax that just makes things even better.

Why?

The release is the key for his annual charity break that benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. It's in its seventh year and this time it gets a bunch of stuff into collectors' hands beyond the newest oddities in baseball card form. Proceeds from all of their Ginter breaks go there as do entries for a large lot of stuff going to one lucky collector -- the Charity Prize Pack. And more time (Ginter is normally a July release) means more stuff up for grabs.

Keep reading for how it works.

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It wasn't an easy first year thanks to coronavirus, but they're almost there

You might remember them from this piece in March, and since then Turf & Dirt Sports Cards in Bellingham, Wash., has weathered the storm with its eye on a one-year anniversary roughly this time next month.

"We opened our shop to create the best environment possible for the community of sports card collectors," said owner Jimmy Sears, who opened it on Oct. 5 last year. "Being a new shop is always challenging, but a new shop during COVID-19, brought new challenges to being open and keeping the hobby going."

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The show will wait until next year.

This year's National Sports Collectors Convention in Atlantic City, N.J., is canceled.

It had been postponed to December due to the COVID-19 pandemic but finally was officially called off by show organizers on Thursday morning. They cited "concern for the safety of attendees and exhibitors and the uncertainty over COVID-19 federal and state guidelines as the major reasons for the cancellation" and noted that the 2021 show in Chicago is set for July 28-Aug. 1 is under way.

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Blowoutcards.com is very excited to be part of sports card history.

For more than 20 years, our team has worked with collectors and investors looking to purchase unopened boxes and cases, and early this year while working on The Modern Wax Fund we were fortunate to meet with some of the most-passionate collectors in the business.

The 1986-87 Fleer NBA sealed case of 12 36-pack boxes is one of the most-prestigious, rare and sought-after items in our hobby as it includes the Rookie Cards for Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and many other Hall of Famers. We fielded dozens of calls for our opinion and assessment of value shortly after what many consider the "holy grail" of modern era sports cards was going to be available at auction.

One of those calls was from a collector that we have worked with in the past and we were given the green light to purchase the case on his behalf. We are pleased to announce that we were successful in procuring it for him via Collect Auctions for $1.79 million on Thursday night.

Based on perfect collation -- Fleer was relatively consistent in its delivery at that time -- the case should be home to roughly 40 untouched Jordans, which have sold for $100,000 in BGS 10 form and PSA 10s have pushed that mark to just over $97,000 via Goldin Auctions. The card is heavily graded but those top marks are elusive due to the printing, cutting and packaging of the era.

Blowout Cards is active in the market and looking to purchase unopened NBA boxes and cases. A few current examples include 1980-81 Topps, 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection, any Panini Prizm and also  Panini National Treasures releases.

If you have any to sell, please email wanted@blowoutcards.com.

For more information on the Modern Wax Fund, visit Modernwaxfund.com.
For inquiries or questions please contact Thomas Fish at fish@blowoutcards.com.

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com.

Tomorrow would have marked the opening day of the National Sports Collectors Convention this year in Atlantic City, N.J., but that's not happening thanks to the coronavirus' life-changing grip on the country.

However, thanks to a group of podcasting collectors, there will be plenty of card chatter going on this weekend as HobbyPalooza! 2020 is here beginning on Friday at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

What is it? It will be a marathon of 35 hours full of card chatter from a number of different areas of the industry -- a virtual hangout.

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Panini America is staying in college.

Its licensing deal with the CLC, the nation’s leading collegiate licensing company, has been extended beyond its current deal that was signed in 2015. It was dubbed "a long-term extension" but no details were revealed other than it remaining an exclusive one for the schools that are covered by the program.

“We’ve been impressed by the creativity, innovation and value that Panini America has delivered to our partner institutions and the collegiate space in just five short years, and we look forward to working with them as they continue pushing the category to new heights,” said CLC VP Dave Kirkpatrick in a prepared release. “We entered this partnership on behalf of our client institutions back in 2015 with high hopes on the new direction, and we are pleased to say those expectations have been exceeded.”

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Big pulls, Yasiel Puig to the Braves and crunching some numbers in today's edition.

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The Topps Project 2020 baseball card of Ken Griffey Jr. that you see here has obliterated the sales records for the company's online offering of 20 memorable baseball cards re-imagined by 20 different artists.

This creation from artist Keith Shore -- a re-do of Junior's 1989 Topps Traded Rookie Card -- sold a record 99,177 copies in just two days, obliterating the previous high of 34,950 sold for one of the Mike Trout cards earlier this spring. (See all past cards in the series here.)

With today's numbers finally revealed, the overall volume of cards sold in this ongoing series has surpassed the half-million mark (650,102) less than a fourth of the way into its release -- two cards are offered every weekday via Topps.com until all 400 are done. Meanwhile, the re-sale prices on a number of these cards have reached into the thousands of dollars (despite having an original price of just $19.99) -- and that's left people pondering the possibilities of what happens when pop art meets the pop of the bat.

It doesn't hurt here that artists are often their own best marketers, right?

"Absolutely. The goal of Project 2020 was to appeal to the fans of the artists," said Jeff Heckman, Topps' Director of E-commerce. "Therefore the social media presence of the artist was an important factor in choosing the artist. We wanted the artists to have fun with the Project and engage with their community. So far, the engagement and interactions with the artists has been amazing."

Heckman fielded a number of other questions about Project 2020 ... keep reading for an exclusive Q&A.

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The waiting is the hardest part ... but all we need is just a little patience.

Topps notified dealers on Monday that there will be a delay for the arrival of 2020 Bowman, which had finally been penciled in to arrive this Friday.

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Topps' schedule is starting to come a little more in focus after a number of products were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the halt of business in a few locations key to its baseball card production and business.

The company released a list of target dates for its upcoming MLB releases and it all begins with 2020 Bowman finally arriving next Friday, May 22. That one will be the home of cards for highly touted New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez.

It wasn't alone.

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This year's National Sports Collectors Convention -- if it happens -- has been rescheduled for Dec. 12-16 in Atlantic City, N.J., according to an announcement from the show promotors on Saturday afternoon.

The move will hinge upon health officials' guidelines for the region with the ultimate decision on whether to cancel this year's show to come in mid-September.

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Derek Jeter's Hall of Fame enshrinement may have to wait until next year, but the new cardboard push is coming from Topps.

Up first? A new Topps Now line launching this Saturday with Jeter’s autograph attached on cards noting "his biggest moments and milestones" among projects that will "bring his perspective to life through one-of-a-kind collections."

It's part of plans in a multi-year deal that will include "experiential, one-of-a-kind events and limited products and Jeter will collaborate with Topps in many new ways across its physical, digital and e-commerce products." It will include the former Yankees shortstop as part of the creative process. There will be the Captain’s Collection and Jeter also take part in the One of One Club, which will give "fans the ability to create their own unique 1/1 Jeter Topps card, which will then be signed by Jeter at a One of One Club event."

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If you're on the registry, you can now take more action -- and earn more medals, too.

Today, Professional Sports Authenticator launched a revamped “activity page” for its set registry members and that helps them document changes that include "set ranking changes, pending removal requests, pending slot requests and any comments made."

“The activity page already existed, but now it’s been completely overhauled to include all of these important functions,” said PSA Set Registry manager Cosetta Robbins. “It provides a level of convenience for our members, so they’re able to keep an eye on everything they need to see, all in one place.”

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A simple $10 donation on StockX's Benefit for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund might land you a $1,000 BlowoutCards.com shopping spree or a number of other pieces from around the sports world and beyond.

The effort includes nearly 80 different items currently up for grabs that you can get tickets for and it includes signature-model shoes, competition-used memorabilia and autographed pieces as well as other shots at sports cards.

Some of the names involved include Topps, Panini America, PSA, Allen Iverson, Chloe Kim, Eminem, Kobe Bryant, Goldin Auctions, Kevin Durant, Usain Bolt, Leo Messi, The Golden State Warriors and more.

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You might have missed some of the newest sports cards on the planet released just last week -- but don't worry you can still find them.

(We've got 'em.)

There aren't a ton of details out there, but Panini America has a number of new releases being sold in China -- Tmall versions of two basketball favorites, 2019-20 Panini Select and 2019-20 Donruss Optic as well as 2019-20 Panini Obsidian soccer cards that are all available now with more apparently set to come.

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The best of the best high school quarterbacks will have a new team when it comes to early football cards.

Panini America has signed an exclusive multi-year partnership with Student Sports' Elite 11 to create the organization’s official football cards for the Elite 11 QB competition and "as the official trading card of these premier events, Panini America will present the official invitation that is presented to all athletes selected to compete in the Elite 11 Finals and the National Showcase."

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Panini America's Dallas, Texas-based operation is working through the COVID-19 pandemic -- at home -- but noted in a Friday-afternoon announcement that the companies it uses for printing and packaging in the area were not, however, online.

That could lead to product delays at some point but none were noted at this time.

Here's its statement in full ...

"We hope that all of you are safe and healthy as we all navigate through this COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to provide all of you with a brief update on Panini America. First, we are all well and still operating.

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There's no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is now affecting the trading card industry in full as Topps announced delays to 11 upcoming products -- and more are likely on the way.

Why? Topps' main office is based in New York City on the tip of Manhattan -- the epicenter of the nation's cases (click map for closer view). Meanwhile, its products are printed, packaged and initially distributed from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which is under lockdown conditions that have halted production there as well. The company also has other steps in traditional product production handled in Pennsylvania, also on lockdown, while its Topps Now and other online-first releases emanate from Florida, another state that has now implemented limits to businesses.

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Brick-and-mortar hobby shops -- the heart of the hobby for years and one of several options for collectors these days -- are facing some potentially uncertain times right now and in the coming weeks because of the effects that Coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, will have on their walk-in sales.

Panini America sent an email to its brick-and-mortar dealers on Wednesday, giving them notice that it's allowing them to relax their online-selling policy for the next 45 days, a move that aims to help shops bridge problems or potentially avoid short-term issues that could have taken hold -- or still could be to come -- with their businesses. They are now being allowed to sell newly released Panini products online so they can reach a wider audience beyond their shop's typical clientele.

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PSA is going paperless -- so your carbon-copy submission forms are out and online submissions are in.

The move is effective on April 1 and was announced by the Newport Beach, Calif.-based company on Monday.

PSA "will no longer be accepting paper carbon copy submission forms for orders involving cards, tickets, packs or dual service authentication and grading requests," said the company announcement. "Like most PSA collectors are doing already, you will be required to enter your ordering information online and print out a completed, corresponding submission form."

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Topps' annual Industry Conference is under way in Arizona right now and it has teased some things to come when it comes to cardboard this year.

Here's a notebook of what's been teased so far ...

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You can look for even more information and chatter on the Blowout Forums very soon.

Blowout Cards, the leading online retailer of trading cards, and ThePit.com, a long-running bid/ask marketplace, revealed today that they have entered into a partnership where ThePit will provide content and market data to enhance discussion on the Forums in exchange for the opportunity to incorporate links to its related item pages.

"The Blowout Cards Forums have for many years provided the most active space to discuss important issues and build community within the card collecting hobby," said Blowout’s Tom Fish. "Veteran collectors use our Forums to delve deeply into fields they are passionate about, while newcomers to the hobby explore potential areas of interest and build their knowledge by engaging with more experienced hobbyists. ThePit.com’s Forums postings will explore in detail the most popular modern sports cards and we expect that this will inspire further Forums discussion.”

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Purple parallels are back in 2020 Topps, Ozzie Albies, 2020 Topps Heritage heat, The Modern Wax Fund and more in today's edition.

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Serious investors wanting to get into the card world have a new option.

It's The Modern Wax Fund, which is a first of its kind private-equity fund that is focused on trading cards.

Set to close on Feb. 28, the Fund is a creation of Attic Investments and Blowout Cards. They have packaged more than $3 million in unopened product -- some of the rarest and most-desired baseball, basketball, football and other cards from the modern era -- into the project.

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It's time to watch the Topps Million Card Rip Party emanating from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, right now.

Check it out below.

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