Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less 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.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a little bit of everything -- 20 items for a new year.

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WILL HE STAY OR WILL HE GO?
The Card: Kyle Schwarber 2016 Bowman's Best Rookie Card (PSA 10)
The Price: $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked this one up because the price was right for a high-grade Rookie Card but also because I took a look at the stat sheet. I'd argue that while he's been off the collecting radar of many lately, Schwarber put up a career year last season. His average was still low -- but a career-best .250 -- and he also had career marks in homers (38) and RBI (92) as well as games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles ... pretty much everything except stolen bases and on-base percentage. He'll always be remembered as a member of the 2016 Cubs World Series championship team, but I said "had been" off collecting radars because there were recent trade rumors where he could be headed to the Yankees. A move like that would make these kinds of cheaper buys vanish far faster than they might already and rejuvenate his cardboard. I'd be buying on him right now among the cheap early options.
Grab a box right here: 2016 Bowman's Best baseball cards (when available)

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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: Nothing but breaks and other big pulls in today's edition.

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What: 2020 Topps Star Wars Authentics Autographs
Arrives: March 18
Box basics: One autographed 11-by-14 photo and one serial-numbered trading card per box (12 boxes per case)
Signers list: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The signing roster for the Star Wars universe is in full effect here -- with some new ones, too -- for this autographed photo line, which includes oversized autographs for the first time.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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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, tracking Transcendent toppers, pondering grading differences and slower return times.

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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 ... a super-sized edition with 20 cards to open 2020.

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SO CLOSE TO PERFECTION ...
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Chrome #193 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: This one looked very clean to my eye and I figured getting some of my past Acuña pulls slabbed was a good move considering his almost-40/40 showing last year. Some of his cards are heavily graded to the point where they can be had for not much more than a typical cost to slab if not in top grades. Meanwhile, others aren't as plentiful and some can typically grade very well. I went with this one since it's not as heavily graded and it does tend to grade well. Plus, I just liked the photo here compared to others -- and those I already own slabbed.
The Grade: BGS 10

Reality Check: This one surprised me a bit -- just one half-subgrade away from a BGS Black. Only 14 cards have gotten the perfect mark and this one is among an also-small population. Most cards here check in at 9.5s -- a solid mark and a perfect card to bat lead-off for this first MTG of the year. I expect big things from Acuña this year and I'll be slabbing him often.

Keep reading for more.

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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: Some unreal -- but totally legit -- Star Wars pulls, MLB breaks, new Optic NFL and plenty more in today's edition.

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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: Chasing Zion Williamson from fresh NBA boxes, big pulls and more surprises in today's holiday edition here on The Buzz.

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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: Pondering the NFL's all-time Made of Glass Team, collectors react to Hyun-Jin Ryu to the Blue Jays, and big breaks to start off the week.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less 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 it's the biggest roundup ever (in volume, not price).

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A UNIQUE SURPRISE 
The Card: Tony Gwynn 2015 Panini Immaculate Collection Collegiate Memorabilia (/99)
The Price: $16.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: It took me a while to find one of these (only casually looking), but this card of the Baseball Hall of Famer is one of a few that show him in his other sport, basketball, which he played at San Diego State. His estate auctioned off a number of game-used pieces and other memorabilia in 2015, generating more than $217,000 partly going to the Tony and Alicia Gwynn Foundation to help kids in need. His first Aztecs basketball uniform went for $11,858 in that SCP Auctions sale and the buyer was Panini America. These cards aren't all that plentiful in this release -- and they certainly aren't the only place the swatches went as there are just 99 standard cards and a second one limited to five copies with a much larger prime swatch. The follow-up release to this one had a few more, including prime cards, and he also had posthumous autographed cards (stickers) showing him in his basketball uniform in a National Treasures release. Spoiler alert: you'll see one more of these here at some point.
Grab a box right here: 2015 Panini Immaculate Collection Collegiate (when available)

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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: Nothing but new breaks and pulls from around the collecting world in today's edition.

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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 Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (mini blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: Initially at Walmart -- BlowoutCards.com for hobby

Packs per box: 6 (five standard and one three-card Red parallels pack)
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 33
Base set completion: 
20 of 100 (20 percent)
Duplicates: 0

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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: Chasing new Zion Williamson cards, pondering value of grading, Panini Prizm developments, new Star Trek breaks and more in today's edition.

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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 from recent NFL, MLB and non-sports breaks (Star Wars, Stranger Things and a high-ender) and more.

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Have you seen the latest cool cards from a new release? With so many options for collectors of all kinds arriving every week it's possible you haven't. That's where Buzz comes in -- well at least on one brand you'll see here from time to time in what we're calling Buzz's Pick Six. Simply put, here are six cards from a new arrival that seemed interesting to this collector and we think they might interest you, too.

This week's list: Six 2019 boxes that I'd rip (or maybe even stash) right now ...

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SAFETY IN NUMBERS -- AS IN A BOATLOAD OF ROOKIE CARDS
The Box: 2019 Topps Update Series Baseball Jumbo Box
The Price: Click here
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This year's rookie crop is a strong one -- and there might be more potential than the 2018 class that sparked serious interest in this release last year. It was seemingly plentiful all year long and then poof -- the rocketship took off. This year's isn't super-cheap (right now) but some of that fuel seemingly has gone to Series 2 since it has earlier cards for a couple of high-profile guys -- Series 2 is pricey and surprised me -- but this one has some of those guys' cards as well as a number of others. Topps Chrome also seems to have some very good potential in my mind, too, but these jumbo boxes include a ton of stuff and the chances you get at parallels and other stuff here - in volume -- put this one at the top of my list. (And if you're on a budget and don't want to swing hard on this one -- you might look for blasters of Series 2 and Update both here and at retail ... those can still be found. These won't last as long as those, though.)

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

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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: Nothing but highlights from breaks in today's edition.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer boxes 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.

So, with that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a bit of everything but more on the affordable side.

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MONSTER YEAR, SIMPLE ROOKIE CARD
The Card: Derrick Henry 2016 Donruss Rookie Card (BGS 9.5)
The Price: $9
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I made this pick-up just before he started his recent run of big games mostly because it seemed underpriced for the grade, which is a solid quad 9.5. Interestingly, just 25 copies of this card have been slabbed and nothing has checked in below this mark. It makes me think you could pick off a factory set at a pretty cheap price if you want to dabble with grading key cards here -- and there are a few where you could do pretty well with some 9.5s or 10s. About that price ... one of the other 9.5s had an asking price of $40 on eBay when I looked. Sure, the action here is heavier on Optic, ink and rarer parallels, but simple RCs of affordable sets seem to be go-to cards for more and more people these days.
Grab a box right here: 2016 Donruss (several formats)

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What: 2020 Topps Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Series 2
Arrives: April 22
Box basics: One autograph guaranteed in every two-hit box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The upcoming Star Wars film gets a second run on new cardboard next spring with a number of inclusions that should be in-demand as the Skywalker Saga comes to a close (for now).

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery of images.

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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: More 2019-20 Panini Prizm NBA pulls, a Triple Threads scorcher, non-sports breaks and more in today's edition.

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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 BIG BLASTER PULL
The Card: Shohei Ohtani 2018 Topps #700B hand on helmet SSP photo variation
The Reason Graded: Not that long ago, I pulled this card from a Series 2 blaster box and decided that it needed a slab since these SSPs appear to be relatively rare -- and I was even more surprised to see how they didn't grade all that well on the pop report. Meanwhile, mine looked very clean ... so I had to do it.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Only one card graded better than mine and four others have equaled it while eight cards have checked in at a BGS 9 or lower -- that seems pretty low for a modern card, though the skinny stock here clearly could have issues after these cards hit packaging. I'll admit that this was a pull while Ronald Acuña Jr. hunting in Series 2, but this feels like a win on top of a win with it grading so well after being pulled from a discounted box. Here's hoping his third season is as strong or better than his first two, which are remarkably similar from the batting side.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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If you hadn't noticed, our fourth wave of Black Friday boxes with discounted prices have dropped right now right here as BlowoutCards.com is bringing a wave approach to today's sales.

There's one more wave of discounted boxes to come later in today's big sale ... so keep watching.

Here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye in this wave.

2017 Panini Chronicles baseball hobby box
Sure, the two Chronicles releases since this one pack a lot more oomph, but the rookie crop in Chronicles is one that includes some notables with some selling power -- Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Andrew Benintendi and Alex Bregman for example. They can be found on a number of signed cards in this one and a number of different "brands" all in one place. The 2017 boxes aren't as crazy of a rip as this year or last year but when there's a pretty decent box discount this is the time to try for something big. You get four hits and eight numbered cards per box here and a lot of low-volume cards have some hefty prices even if not inked based on one recent search I made. There also can be some oldschool memorabilia finds here for the likes of Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew, giving it a scope that's beyond just rookies.

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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: Transcendent arrives, Panini Prizm NBA madness and plenty more in today's edition.

Continue reading →

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: Nothing but big breaks and cool pulls in today's edition.

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The Force is strong with this one ... and we're just getting our first look at his merchandise.

Topps' Chapter 3 Topps Now Packs for The Mandalorian arrived on Monday via Topps.com with three of the five cards for this episode showing the viral sensation of the Disney+ series so far.

It's Baby Yoda.

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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, Optic vs. Prizm and a weird Tom Brady game-used story a few years in the making.

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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: CZX Super Heroes arrives with star power, collecting nothing but PSA 10 NFL RCs, big Zion Williamson pulls and a hanger box for the win.

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