Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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GOING FOR THE GOLD
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2022 Panini Select WWE Gold Wave Prizm (/10)
The Price: Around the price of a blaster box at arrival
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This brand is my favorite of the Panini years for WWE, and in the case of this star who I collect I have seemed to found her rarities on the affordable side at times with this release. This is a perfect example of that with it being one of the rarest parallels in there but it cost me not much more than the price of a retail box. It was arguably underpriced, so I grabbed it quickly when I spotted it. Will I grade it? It's a possibility, though this release's centering issues can create some surprises (that aren't totally surprises) as I found out with a different parallel of this card. Poke around in Making The Grade last month for an example.
Grab a box right here: WWE cards are here.

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What: 2023 Leaf Magnificence sports cards
Arrives: March
Box basics: One "extremely limited premium" autographed card per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf goes high-end to start the new year with a multi-sport release where every card is limited to no more than five copies and the array of past and present greats comes from all realms of the sports world.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2019 Leaf Autographed Football Helmets
Arrives: Late October/early November
Box basics: One autographed mini-helmet per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf brings a new batch of autographed helmets to the masses with a mix of past and present stars as well as a celebrity presence.

Keep reading for more.

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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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THREE OF A KIND
The Item: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. & Eloy Jimenez 2019 Bowman Sterling Red Refractor Auto (1/1)
The Price: $3,999.99 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The return of Bowman Sterling after a few years on the bench is a showcase of this year's  strong rookie crop and some promising prospects with an autograph in every single pack. Three of the top names from those rookies are on this card -- one that also has versions much easier to find -- and they are not alone. There are a number of key guys to look for here and there are some prospect auto sales that might surprise you so far -- hit that link below and then flip to completeds. The big rookie autos are the big deal right now but it's the prospects who could potentially pay off even more later.
Similar Pieces: 2019 Bowman Sterling autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2019 Bowman Sterling boxes

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

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What: 2019 Leaf Autographed Football Mini-Helmets
Arrives: Oct. 30
Box basics: One autographed mini-helmet per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf brings a new batch of autographed mini-helmets to the masses with a mix of past and present stars as well as new draft picks -- and some surprise helmets in there, too.

Keep reading for more info.

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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 ...

The Card: 2018 Donruss Optic Red & Yellow #153 Baker Mayfield (RC parallel)
The Reason Graded: I found this one in a Mega Box and it was by far the best highlight of the bunch there so that's why you see it here. Mayfield has shown himself to be a spark plug among a good rookie crop since back when I pulled it, so that's another reason. A third? This brand is one that I like more than others. The color scheme of this card, a retail-exclusive, also looked good, so I figured I'd slab it up and see how it looked when it came back. These were very pricey when they first started arriving on eBay but I'm sure they have settled down by now -- still an impressive card to me either way and I'll be tucking this one away in my stash alongside my Bowman Chrome Tom Brady RC for the simple long-term appreciation. (Mine, not financial.)
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: At the point I submitted this one, there was at most one graded and I'm still surprised that there are so few slabbed. I also was surprised with the grade figuring I'd check in at a likely BGS 9 but I'll take it. I think high-grade copies of retail-only parallels found in certain formats could be tougher future finds than people might think.

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

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When it comes to baseball card brands, Topps' Allen & Ginter is one of the most-unique ones in the hobby today -- even though it's modeled after cards from the 1880s.

Why? Those original tobacco cards featured all kinds of people and all kinds of things -- not just baseball players -- among many releases but it's the "World's Champions" that drive the idea of what we've gotten today since Topps re-introduced the brand back in 2006.

Kate Upton, Takeru Kobayashi, George W. Bush, Serena Williams, Axl Rose, Michelle Beadle, Anthony Bourdain, Nick Saban, Cat Osterman, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk, Maria Sharapova, John Wooden, Laila Ali, Snoop Dogg, Pele, Henry Rollins and so many other surprising subjects have been found in packs of baseball cards beside typical MLB inclusions such as Mike Trout, Hank Aaron, Bryce Harper, Derek Jeter, Justin Verlander, Sandy Koufax, Clayton Kershaw and Ichiro Suzuki through the years. Those surprises can be pricey later, too. Upton wasn't a super-rare autograph but you wouldn't know it based on these prices.

Planning stages for the 2019 release are clearly already beginning for the brand as Topps took to Twitter on Thursday to ask collectors who they'd want to see in Ginter for non-baseball inclusions.

That got Buzz thinking ... and here are a few signers I'd want to see in 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter -- and more than a few of them have small ties to the baseball world.

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