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: New pulls, hot NFL takes, MLB chatter, busting a Chronicles WWE case and more in this Saturday 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.

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Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

TO SEE WHAT CONDITION MY CONDITION IS IN ...
The Album: The Big Lebowski soundtrack (Mercury, 2014 -- first pressing)
The Reason Graded: As you can probably tell, I'm a dabbler with grading in a few -- but not yet all -- directions, but the notion of having a pristine item encased for permanent protection to be appreciated as an artifact of sorts appeals in a lot of ways. Video games, Funko Pop! figures, other toys, VHS, tickets, press photos and more can be graded just like cards, comic books, magazines and coins. I've tried grading VHS and there's a chance I might do more there with a different company that I use for pretty much everything else, but vinyl is one that, well, I jettisoned most of what I had long ago. That means this was more of a first project than just a first try. (I didn't have much vinyl as my early music-buying years were where the Sony Walkman and then CDs were a thing or emerging, not records.) I spotted this soundtrack cheaper than it might have been elsewhere and it's an original, so I grabbed it with an eye for a slab with Texas-based Tuned In Grading as this one is memorable as more than just a soundtrack but a film that's a cult classic with tons of interest and action beyond a couple hours of screen time. And the total package is cool front and back with scenes and even key characters noted.
The Grade: Tuned In Grading 9.0 (sealed)

Reality Check: I did this one to basically to go through the process and see if I liked the results and then to decide how I would approach doing more. It seems based on their grading scale and description that a 10 isn't easy -- that's fine in my book and that took away some of the grade-shock here. (A nine is fine in all realms, really, but we all want perfection and in some genres a nine has a few slots above it on the scale. Not here.) There isn't really a pop report just yet (but I know of at least one copy*) and it appears that the typical overall grade is a meshing of five applicable sub-grades -- record, cover, inner sleeve, labels, shrink -- but since this is a sealed record only two of those are in play. They both clicked at nines for me -- the cover here had a small bend on the back, while the shrinkwrap has a couple minor spots on the right side but I didn't notice one of them previously. I wasn't totally surprised as I knew the small bend would hurt me but everything else seemed strong. Part of me wants to try something vintage that's not sealed next time, but that's easier said than done in terms of balancing condition, an item I like and price -- I know of a few I'd try but I'm a stickler for condition and this kind of grading isn't quite as cheap as others but still less than some so I'd want something with an appealing grade. Plus, if it's not sealed then other things get looked at ... that you can't examine unless you're buying stuff in-person. Part of me also thinks albums without shrink-wrap could look better in the sleeve but I haven't really read up on what the musical devotees prefer. I think, generally, I dig it but I think for storage and size I like the idea of slabs for CD, DVDs and stuff that's more game-sized more ... but the size here also makes all the details you see on the back of this one as well as that main art on the front pop a bit more, too.

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

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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: 2017 Topps Journey to Star Wars The Last Jedi (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com for other Star Wars releases

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.  Continue reading →

What: 2022 Topps Star Wars Chrome Sapphire Edition
Arrives: Sold out today on Topps.com (online-first release)
Box basics: Two parallel cards per box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: The first two series of original Topps Star Wars cards from 1977 get Chromed with a Sapphire treatment in this release that will pack two parallels per box.

Keep reading for more and 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: Pondering Han Solo's Rookie Card, a cool Action Packed error card, big pulls, a vintage decision (don't do it!) and ... a Target run coughs up a 1/1.

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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 mix of new slabs and some recent pick-ups.

BIG RETAIL PULL NOW VS. THEN
The Card: Christian McCaffrey 2017 Crown Royale Platinum #88 (/49) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: With the NFL season (perhaps) finally coming, I'll let this guy kick things off since it's a rarer card and one that I figured would grade well but did have some fears about with one of the back corners showing some funk. I pulled this one from a mega box (or whatever it was called for this one) while sitting in a snowy Walmart parking lot back in the day only to be bummed that my autograph guaranteed in the box wasn't there ... it was Panini Rewards points. I was more hung up on that than appreciating this card back then, but he's been a playmaker in the league -- so much so I actually got rid of my Donruss and Optic RCs of him without getting them graded. Instead I decided to slab this one.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It graded better than I had expected -- I was thinking probably a 9 but optimistically a 9.5 -- and I consider this one a win. It's razor-sharp and clean except for that one corner and on the back it may not hurt as much. Either way, I'm good with this one. Only 12 total cards of McCaffrey from this release have been graded and this is the only for this parallel. There have been nine copies of his standard RC graded and only four cards overall equal this one with nothing higher.

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

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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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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters 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. 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 they're (mostly) affordable finds.

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A PIECE OF THE OCTAGON
The Card: Jon Fitch 2010 Topps UFC Main Event Authentic Cage Relics
The Price: $2.45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card was not one bought for the fighter but rather the type of Relic -- and you should know with this series that I'm a fan of unusual memorabilia cards. Bronze, Silver and Gold parallels can be found for this set which has a piece of the Octagon embedded into every card. There are 30 fighters in this one with the likes of Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Rashad Evans and Georges St-Pierre among them. The Bronze (/88) are the easiest of the parallels while Silvers are limited to just eight copies and the Golds are 1/1s. Even retail boxes include a hit in these every time -- a mix of autos and Relics -- and the link below includes more than one option for you to chase stuff fresh from packs without spending a ton. This basic set has a strong lineup and some good highlights and these cards are unique (I don't think there are many others like it, if any). The parallels give you a tough chase but the basic set is do-able. I'm not there yet, but with super-cheap lesser names possible the set is perhaps more do-able than you might think on the cheap.
Grab a box/lot right here: 2010 Topps UFC Main Event

Keep reading for five more interesting items ...

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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ONE SUPER PULL
The Item: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Chrome Superfractor autograph
The Price: $3,050 after 19 bids (more than five days remaining)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is one of the biggest cards possible in this year's Rookie Card parallel lineup without the name Ohtani attached -- and even with that this should be one of the bigs -- and this one is on the auction block as an auction via an eBay seller with a heavy buyer list and a huge presence. How big will this card go? We'll find out in a few days -- and it was big enough my plans to not have an eBay Buzz this week hit the bench in favor of this Friday-night edition.
Similar Pieces: Other Ronald Acuña Jr. autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2018 MLB boxes

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

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Somewhere out there in a galaxy not far, far away is a list where every single character in the Star Wars universe exists. Whether they are a bit player or a background character, they seemingly all have names because of merchandising needs and they all probably have back stories to justify the action figures, trading cards and other ways those small-time wonders on the big screen can help make big bucks.

We're not here to showcase bit players who had a few seconds or a few lines. We're here for 10 of the top names from the previous films as the hours melt away before the arrival of The Force Awakens on Friday.

Here are 10 cool cards for 10 key characters in the past Star Wars films.

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