Buzz buys a lot of stuff these days and for a few reasons, really. Sometimes it's just bargain-hunting, sometimes it's just something that strikes me. And other times it's a lot -- a group of things -- and that has happened enough lately I figured I'd try something different as a regularly appearing item. Sometimes my lots will be wins, sometimes they won't be ... but I'll let you decide. 

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CHASING SOME EARLY WWE APPEARANCES
The Lot: 2018 Topps Now WWE cards -- Oct. 28 WWE Evolution PPV (two lots of six)
The Price: About $70 ... which was low vs. singles at the time -- and maybe even now.

Keep reading for more on this one ...

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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 ... an edition heavy on MLB and WWE but with some surprises.

A FULL SIG THAT'S TWICE AS NICE ...
The Cards: Shotzi Blackheart 2020 Topps WWE NXT Roster Autographs
The Reason Graded: If you're a regular reader then you know it's no secret that I've busted tons of these boxes and picked off tons of her cards as the WWE's Tank Girl is high on my collecting radar. Why? She's unique and fun -- and the name and character is self-made, too, so if her WWE run were to ever come to an end, well then "Shotzi" won't. In this case, I pulled both of these autos myself and since it's among her first certified sigs as well as a more of a full auto (unlike how she signs now) I'm eventually slabbing all I own ... but not all at once.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: The stock here is skinny and since there are on-card autos they are prone to having some issues at times ... so this pair of 10s was an exciting return. The pop report looks pretty good, too -- I really need to get all my stuff organized to see how many of those are mine and how many more I need to slab ... eventually they'll all get graded. Why? I'm a collector and I like this one (and it's parallels) that much. 

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

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Note: A break from The National coverage for this month's Making the Grade as Buzz preps to be at the show later today. Look for plenty more from Cleveland here soon.

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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 ...

Continue reading →

Have you seen the latest crazy 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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THIS YEAR’S PHENOM -- SHOHEI OHTANI
The Item: A game-used baseball from Shohei Ohtani's MLB debut
The Price: $479.99 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This year's biggest deal on baseball cards is also becoming a big deal elsewhere for memorabilia fans -- and some of the newest items out there are ones from the games he's played thanks to the MLB Authentication program. Fans in MLB cities have a built-in advantage when it comes to game-used memorabilia but that hobby has continued to be a fun one to explore on eBay. In cases of notable rookies such as Ohtani or future Hall of Famers, there are plenty of instances where a typical game-used ball is something more. This particular ball is from his MLB debut game on March 29 in Oakland. He didn't use this ball, but it's one of not many out there to be authenticated and make it to market. Helping it is the fact that MLB Authentication notes this being Ohtani's debut game in its listing. Balls Ohtani pitched in his first start commanded much more than this direct from the team, making a ball like this an interesting option. They won't be making more debut gamers -- so once they're gone, they're gone.
Similar Pieces: Check out these other game-used baseball auctions -- it can get crazy
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for boxes with Shohei Ohtani baseball cards

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

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Update (April 13): Rousey's card has set a new Topps Now WWE sales record with 1,342 copies sold.

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Now it's official.

Ronda Rousey's move to the WWE from the MMA ranks became a reality in the ring on Sunday -- but now it's official on cardboard.

The former UFC champ appears on her first Topps WWE trading card as of today as she's going solo on three cards in the 2018 Topps Now WWE set that arrived today after Brock Lesnar's cards yesterday and the remainder of the WrestleMania 34 and NXT: Takeover match cards on Monday.

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Topps has unleashed its lineup of real-time cardboard for WrestleMania 34, the Super Bowl of professional wrestling that wrapped up a weekend of action Sunday night in New Orleans.

The 21 cards in this newest lineup include The Undertaker and Daniel Bryan -- both have mat Relic cards from the big event -- as well as cards for stars from the NXT: Takeover New Orleans show on Saturday.

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Whether it was a surprise or not, the deal is done -- and now the wait begins for cardboard.

Former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut on Sunday night at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in Philadelphia. After the main event, the first women's Royal Rumble match, Rousey marched to the ring wearing a new "Rowdy" Roddy Piper-inspired shirt and a coat given to her by the late WWE icon's son to make it known she's headed to WrestleMania.

"This is my life now," Rousey told ESPN. "First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt. When I first met with Triple H, I told him, 'There are other things I can do with my time that'll make way more money, but I won't enjoy nearly as much.'"

When it comes to cards, Rousey has been among the most-popular female athletes out there and her autographs are among the most sought-after in UFC, despite her last match being back in 2016. The wait for her new WWE cards, may not be long, though, thanks to one detail seen on Sunday.

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Update (Jan. 24): Topps has added two Relics and a base card for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to the lineup one day later. The standard Relics (/25) are $39.99 and the 1/1 version is $499.99.

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A big event for the WWE to kickstart its march to WrestleMania has spawned the first 2018 Topps Now WWE cards of the year after the 25th Anniversary of Raw last night in New York.

Four cards will start things off and are up for grabs for the next 24 hours in advance of this weekend's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which will likely see some additional returns of past greats just like last night's nostalgia-filled special -- and some additional cardboard next week.

Continue reading →

Update (Jan. 24): Topps has added two Relics and a base card for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to the lineup one day later. The standard Relics (/25) are $39.99 and the 1/1 version is $499.99.

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A big event for the WWE to kickstart its march to WrestleMania has spawned the first 2018 Topps Now WWE cards of the year after the 25th Anniversary of Raw last night in New York.

Four cards will start things off and are up for grabs for the next 24 hours in advance of this weekend's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which will likely see some additional returns of past greats just like last night's nostalgia-filled special -- and some additional cardboard next week.

Continue reading →