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 ...

TICKET TO HISTORY ...
The Ticket: Woodstock (Aug.15-17, 1969) -- three-day ticket ($24)
The Reason Bought: There are more than a dozen different styles of tickets for this historic event in music and pop culture history and none of them are all that rare -- and that makes for an interesting grading market. High-grade tickets can be priced like they're non-existent yet about 60 percent of the full tickets that are slabbed check in at a PSA 9 or 10 and raw tickets (assuming they are real ... but there's a chance they might not be) can be found on the cheap under $100. I knew quite awhile back that I wanted one in a slab and I was patient with my window shopping until I spotted this one. I wanted a three-day style but there are single-day tickets that are very traditional-looking and I finally spotted this one at a good price (just under $100) vs. the same thing with asking prices for 9s and 10s that are as high as $1,000. Actual sales for higher grades are typically anywhere from $200 to $700 on eBay with a lot of irregularity -- and BINs just under the $200 mark quite often. In short, they're findable.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: More than 3,750 different full tickets have been slabbed for Woodstock and this version -- one of three types in the PSA pop report for a three-day ticket -- is the easiest and the only one with more than 1,000 copies slabbed. In fact, the number of 10s for this style is higher than all but two of the entire slab totals for other styles. I didn't sweat the grade as the flaws on this one seem minor -- I'm imagining some minor black ink "snow" on there perhaps dropped it a grade but generally everything here is clean to the eye with no obvious flaws. That's good enough for me as beginner or one-time dabbler. Modern tickets for big artists can be quite pricey when slabbed as availability is often an issue, but I'm assuming a bulk "find" of these happened at some point back in the day given the high-profile event and all that went into it.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for 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: Lewis Hamilton Superfractor chatter, $100,000 cards sitting in packs, Prizm WWE, Japanese Chrome cards and more.

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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: 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 racing cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of highlights here.

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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. 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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(SAY) HEY NOW ... 
The Item: Willie Mays 2021 Topps Sterling Bat Knob Relics (1/1)
The Price: $17,999.99 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This huge pull is an example of the possibilities in this new high-end arrival from Topps, though I'm not sure it will get that much. (But the best offer feature is there for a reason.) The number of full Mays bats out there is perhaps not what it used to be -- at least for those available on the auction block -- but they're probably not going quite that high for the full item ... but anything seems possible these days. Sterling boxes aren't cheap but they include big stuff every time and this one is among the bigger possible finds with bat barrels, jersey letters and more possible. Check out the link below and grab your box after that if it's a brand for you.
Similar Pieces: 2021 Topps Sterling 1/1s on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2021 Topps Sterling boxes and cases

Keep reading for 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: A six-figure Wander Franco has them talking, Project70 chatter and new breaks lead the way today.

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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: 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 racing cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of highlights here.

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: Topps Chrome Formula 1 Sapphire Edition revs its engines, some lies perhaps exposed throughout a thread, Russell Westbrook, card aisle rumors, Tim Tebow & more.

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: Showing off Shohei Ohtani cards, TTM autos, Formula 1, Fernando Tatis Jr. and "bought a box of old baseball cards for $300."

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What: 2020 Topps Chrome Formula 1 racing cards
Arrives: April 23
Box basics: Eighteen four-card packs per box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Formula 1 comes to Chrome cardboard for the first time with top stars, their autographs (in every other box) and, of course, plenty of Refractors in the mix, too.

Keep reading for more.

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