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 ...

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?
The Card: Derrick Henry 2023 Panini Luminance Red (/25)
The Reason Graded: This card was an instant need for me in some form the second I saw that photo and I managed to find this rarer parallel on the cheap and in clean shape to make it a double win. It was so clean, it was one of a couple cards from this that made it into my recent submission and, well, it's another win for the school ties part of my collection.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: That one checks in as a good as it gets and this release grades really, really well from what I have seen -- not a lot as it's a premium-priced brand -- but enough that it will get further looks from me. (Maybe more since football season will be upon us very soon.)

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 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 ... a mix of recent grabs and some older stuff, too.

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A SURPRISING SEASON
The Cards: Spencer Strider 2022 Topps Living Set (five-pack)
The Price: Bundle price via Topps.com
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The defending World Series champs didn't have the finish they'd hoped for this year, but one big highlight this season was the arrival of this rookie seemingly out of nowhere. Strider flashed record-setting potential for strikeouts when on the mound as he went 11-5 this season with a 2.69 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 172 innings He reached 200 Ks in 130 innings -- an MLB record held by Hall of Famer Randy Johnson -- and he had 16 Ks in a single game to break the team record. The year also got him a new contract that will keep him in Atlanta along with a number of other young stars for several years. Strider had RCs in this year's stuff since early on but should have more to come in the later releases that have been delayed. I grabbed this pack with an eye on grading with mixed results -- one had big, nasty surface issues, two having unusual and not-good surface problems and then two that are yes/maybe for slabbing. One is in CSG's hands as I type this.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... but MLB boxes are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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 ... and it's one of the biggest months ever.

A MONSTER MONTH ...
The Card: Bo Bichette 2020 Topps Archives Snapshots Archives Autographs
The Reason Graded: I've been buying up Bo Bichette cards relatively heavily by my standards -- second perhaps only to some top favorites and people with school ties -- but of all my pick-ups only one was an autograph. These were, I believe, via a redemption and that's how I landed mine -- at least in a sealed Topps top-loader -- and I opted to slab it in a recent submission. (Even though I generally don't grade a lot of autos as I don't want to get a dreaded grade on a card I like.)
The Grade: CSG 9

Reality Check: I'm fine with nines, but this one seemed like a slight bummer as I didn't see anything dramatically wrong with it -- so there must have been a couple of minor issues that dropped it down in tandem. The design here is one that doesn't have a lot of perfectly center-able features ... so maybe part of that was just a judgment call, too.

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

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Normally, this Collecting Game-used series spotlights a recent find of mine of the complete-item variety -- a pieces of equipment matched to a specific moment from a game where I take you beyond the authentication to see precisely when it was used via photo-matching.

This is not that time -- we're going from card swatch to action.

The Topps ring mat Relic you see above shows Georges St-Pierre and is from UFC 158 and is a jumbo piece with three distinct stripes of color that seem like they aren't the norm -- and a simple image search showed me where it was from. And then when I went to the video tape, well, it became even more obvious.

You can keep reading to see the details ... and the item in action.

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Buzz Breaks are always among our most-read features here on The Buzz as many of you are curious about seeing what comes out of a new box of cards -- whether it's some affordable retail box or some pricier box from the many that are out there.

Excluding our monthly #Buzz8in8 marathon days -- those will return in 2020, by the way -- Buzz ripped nearly 300 boxes for Buzz Breaks this year. While we'd love to present all of them here, that's not just going to happen today. (There's just not enough on caffeine for that.)

Instead, here is a sampling of the most interesting breaks of the last year -- some new boxes, some not -- presented in no particular order.

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Buzz Break: 2019-20 Panini Prizm NBA cards (mega box)

Buzz Break: 2018-19 Panini Prizm NBA cards (mega box)

Buzz Break: 2019 Topps Big League baseball cards (hobby)

Buzz Break: 2019 Panini Diamond Kings (FOTL)

Buzz Break: 2019 Topps Tier One baseball cards (hobby)

Buzz Break: 2017 Donruss Optic football cards (SE blaster)

Buzz Break: 2019 Topps Tribute baseball cards (hobby)

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Keep reading for more ... there are nearly 50 breaks in this one.

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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: 2015 Topps UFC Chronicles (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: 40
Cards in this pack: 400
Base set completion: 
275 of 275 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 38

Notables on base cards – Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Paige VanZant, Arianny Celeste, Holly Holm, Nate Diaz, Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Dan Severn, Rampage Jackson, Royce Gracie,  Miesha Tate, Chael Sonnen, Rashad Evans, Amanda Nunes, Brock Lesnar

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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 super-sized edition this time around that's heavy on MLB and NBA but with a few surprises.

The Cards: 1991-92 SkyBox #544-546 Team USA puzzle
The Reason Graded: I picked up a box of this one for roughly $16 late last year (a bargain price) and pulled two sets of these puzzles, which was good. Why? Because grading these and the other notables from the iconic Hall of Famer-loaded Dream Team is pretty heavy and this one has been on my to-do list. I landed most of the notables more than once but just one Jordan that was noticeably off-centered. These glossed cards on the puzzle could have issues that the standard cards don't have simply because of their surfaces, but mine were clean. I will revisit my second set to see if anything stands out. I may go the PSA route on the other set for variety's sake if I see anything that would make me wonder about potential grades.
The Grades: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This one was a stressful one as I had hoped for matching grades. Thankfully, that's what I got and that's where most cards land for all three pieces of the puzzle. This is a textbook example of the kind of cardboard that can make you some money with grading, too, as they're no more than $10 total raw, while BGS 9.5s together should top $100 in some cases and asking prices for the middle (Jordan) card alone can be steep. It's memorable cardboard from the past with nothing but iconic players involved, so there's still good demand -- and that's another reason why I slabbed. Wax boxes aren't all that plentiful, either, compared to other boxes around that time.

Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.

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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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ABOUT THOSE UNIFORM ADS ... 
The Item: Giannis Antetokounmpo 2017-18 Panini Flawless Gold auto patch (/10)
The Price: $1,000 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card is the perfect example where the recently added company logos on NBA uniforms has some added value -- as memorabilia cards -- beyond those for the advertising companies and league coffers. This card combines the world of Harley-Davidson motorcycles with one of the league's young and dominating stars. Sure, cards like this will be more common as high-end brands such as the new Flawless arrive with more, but this one still feels underpriced to me compared to some of the cardboard out there with new-hog price tags attached.
Similar Pieces: Other 2017-18 Panini Flawless autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2017-18 Panini Flawless boxes/cases

Keep reading for four 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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Old box breaks, new MMA cards, 2016 Topps breaks, Johnny Manziel & more.

Contest >> Click here to win a box of 2016 Topps Series 1

Continue reading →

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: Old box breaks, new MMA cards, 2016 Topps breaks, Johnny Manziel & more.

Contest >> Click here to win a box of 2016 Topps Series 1

Continue reading →