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 ... 

HE'S BACK!
The Card: Tiger Woods 2001 Upper Deck No. 1 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Not that long ago I unearthed my stash of these heavily produced but in-demand RCs and sent off a couple to be graded. Since that time Woods returned at The Masters and fared relatively well considering where he was little over a year ago. While he's got plenty of high-dollar cards -- and stuff that pre-dates this with non-traditional distribution -- this one is the propellant that brought back golf cards to the masses and it has been slabbed thousands of times between all of the grading companies. I amassed a number of them because I used to rip this on the cheap whether it was repacks, hobby boxes, retail boxes or whatever. This wax was cheap for a long time and had a few formats -- for example, I opened a case of this one for somewhere between $75 and $125 (I want to say it was the lower number) probably 15 years ago ... and did better than I expected for hits (that's why I was ripping). Now? A single box would cost more than what I paid.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: Even this newcomer to grading has taken on a ton of Tiger RCs with only a dozen grading higher than this -- and with their new slabs/scale, this copy would be a CSG 10 now. (Gem Mint is now a 10 with Pristine 10s nixed and Perfect 10s still in play.) I may send off a few more from my stash to see how the new top end of the scale looks on my others. (All of my submissions came back just before the change.)

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

Continue reading →

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: 2020 Topps Archives baseball cards (blaster box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one.

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: Big pulls, appearing on cards, big patches, a redemption finally arrives and 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: Big pulls, Project 2020, Wander Franco vs. Jasson Dominguez, grading in the hobby and "bought to flip ... opened it all."

Continue reading →

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.

--

THE RIGHT PARALLEL COLOR
The Item: Patrick Mahomes 2017 Donruss Red Press Proof -- Rookie Card parallel
The Price: $600 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Everything for Mahomes in 2017 is kind of a big deal and given how the last two seasons have gone there's no reason to stop looking -- either as singles or in wax form. I picked this one because I managed to pull one and it graded a BGS 9.5 -- not an easy task for paper stock -- and I think it's the best more-basic version color-wise (perfect for the Chiefs) and then also in its obscurity as its a retail-only parallel. Oh, and have you seen some of the prices paid for slabbed versions of this card? (A PSA 10 recently sold for $2,300 and raw copies have topped $500.) The photo here is a good one with his helmet off so you can see his face much like many oldschool RCs of legends from the past. He's already a legend of today. I'm not saying this card is under-priced -- raw, it probably isn't -- but if it ends up grading well? That's a solid long-term piece.
Similar Pieces: 2017 Donruss Mahomes cards on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2017 Donruss NFL mega boxes (that also include two hobby packs) and other options are also in stock

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

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: Big pulls, inside a Goodwin case and some hits from a throwback TV break.

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: Some chatter, some snark, some new breaks, reactions to new cardboard and more in today's edition.

Continue reading →

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: 2020 Topps Archives baseball cards (blaster box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what was in this one.

Continue reading →

Pull a "Phil's Pulls" card and get free cards.

It's as simple as that in 2020 Topps Archives where former MLB pitcher Phil Hughes is offering free stuff, including a case, to anyone who pulls one of four specific inscribed autographs he signed for the release. The new boxes arrive on Wednesday and will be found right here.

It's a tie-in to his Phil's Pulls channel of YouTube videos where he breaks and shows off finds from his many boxes of cards he rips and does group breaks.

Continue reading →

What: 2020 Topps Archives baseball cards
Arrives: Aug. 19
Box basics: Two autograph cards per 24-pack box (10 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps Archives is back with looks back at the 1950s, 1970s and 2000s as part of the base set while also spotlighting favorites from the past and present with past card designs.

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

Continue reading →