For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Winter Olympic Games veteran Lindsey Vonn.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as the new wave of Blowout Cards' Black November sales is here

Many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz once again had to ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five that caught this collector’s eye ... and there's far more that just might suit your tastes in the big sale.

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STRIKE NOW ... BIGGEST INK IS REDEMPTION
2022 Topps Heritage High Number Hobby Box & Case
This release being in Black November sales will be one of those things we look back at years from now and wish we had loaded up on it a lot more ... and a part of that sentiment could come as soon as next year. In fact, Oct. 31, 2024, is when the redemptions for Julio Rodriguez's very-in-demand autos in this one expire. Now, you shouldn't expect his ink in every case -- that's a reason it's a $600 card for just the basic version -- but there are a few autos per case and a hit per box here for starters. Atop that, there are inserts and variations all flowing regularly that can have key names attached and easily pay for the box. Beyond that, the base set itself is small so you should land most of the set in every box (or come close) and that means you can stockpile key names here for slabbing or future deals ... or sell them off in lots as timing works for you. Among the rookies? Rodriguez, Spencer Strider, Bobby Witt Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Jeremy Peña and a ton of others. Among the auto Relics? Mike Trout, Matt Olson, Joey Votto. Among the standard autos? Bryce Harper, Witt, Carlton Fisk, Juan Marichal, Jim Palmer, Rodriguez, Juan Soto, Votto, Olson, Trout, Nolan Ryan, Ronald Acuña Jr., Steve Carlton and many others. The long-running power of the brand and the relative scarcity (difficulty to pull ink) can make some names big surprises here. There are a lot of formats to consider here but this one is, by far, the one with the biggest potential. Oh, and there are Hot Boxes, too.

Keep reading for a few more boxes you should consider (and are likely to end up in Buzz's cart).

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This one is a new department here on The Buzz ... Fast Five -- a quick list under a simple topic that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection. It's a basic list of five items that could be fun for a starting collector or a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's perhaps something to ponder.

This time? Five Sports Illustrated covers I'd want on cardboard now in Topps' new card set ... and five more after that.

Junior goes home ... Ken Griffey Jr. | Feb. 21, 2000
It was a blockbuster kind of move, and, while Junior's first SI cover (May 7, 1990) might be in more demand, the portrait on this one would get my cardboard nod first in the new Topps set. Why? It's just a much better photo than his debut. I'm pretty sure I saved my copy of this one from back in the day ... so if there's no card I'll survive. Junior's days in a Seattle uniform seem get more attention than his time with the Reds and that's another reason I'd do this one.

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time ... and five more after that.

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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: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery of highlights for what was in this one.

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Have you seen the latest cool cards from a new release? With so many options for collectors of all kinds arriving every week it's possible you haven't. That's where Buzz comes in -- well at least on one brand you'll see here from time to time in what we're calling Buzz's Pick Six. Simply put, here are six cards from a new arrival that seemed interesting to this collector and we think they might interest you, too.

This week's list: Bargain boxes I'd bust right now ... for a few reasons.

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TEN PACKS, TEN AUTOGRAPHS
The Box: 2008 Razor Signature Series baseball box
The Price: Click here
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: With the MLB Draft tonight, I figured I'd give this one a nod both for the power of prospect cards in everything when it comes to baseball these days and for the reality that not all draft classes age that well. This one has an autograph in every pack and a number of guys who made it to MLB and then many who didn't really make much of a mark. Your most-notable autos here at this point are Giancarlo Stanton (in his "Mike" days) as well as Buster Posey, Charlie Blackmon and Eric Hosmer. Others that have been of note at times? Tim Beckham, Pedro Alvarez, Yonder Alonso and Matt Wieters to name a few. An autograph in every pack makes this one fun but it can be a bit of a bummer if you don't land one of the bigger names ... but at the low-price volume still makes for a decent rip and you can find parallels and dual autos, too.

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

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If you hadn't noticed, our fourth wave of Black Friday boxes with discounted prices have dropped right now right here as BlowoutCards.com is bringing a wave approach to today's sales.

There's one more wave of discounted boxes to come later in today's big sale ... so keep watching.

Here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye in this wave.

2017 Panini Chronicles baseball hobby box
Sure, the two Chronicles releases since this one pack a lot more oomph, but the rookie crop in Chronicles is one that includes some notables with some selling power -- Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge, Andrew Benintendi and Alex Bregman for example. They can be found on a number of signed cards in this one and a number of different "brands" all in one place. The 2017 boxes aren't as crazy of a rip as this year or last year but when there's a pretty decent box discount this is the time to try for something big. You get four hits and eight numbered cards per box here and a lot of low-volume cards have some hefty prices even if not inked based on one recent search I made. There also can be some oldschool memorabilia finds here for the likes of Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew, giving it a scope that's beyond just rookies.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 1.

The box: 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (hobby box)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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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: 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 25 (24 plus box-topper)
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 192
Base set completion: 
127 of 300 (42 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Johnny Bench, Dave Winfield, bullpen car, Sloane Stephens, Manny Machado, Jose Altuve, Gary Sanchez, Theo Epstein, Lou Gehrig, Jim Thome, Anthony Rizzo, Genie Bouchard, Tommy Wiseau, Cal Ripken Jr., Corey Seager, Sandy Koufax, Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Bo Jackson, Ted Williams, Roger Maris, Barry Larkin, Ernie Banks, Albert Pujols, Lindsey Vonn, Cody Bellinger, Wade Boggs, Alex Bregman, John Smoltz, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Brooks Robinson, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson

Rookie Cards (21) – Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Rafael Devers, Miguel Andujar, Dustin Fowler (SP), Sandy Alcantara (SP), Jen-Ho Tseng (SP), Victor Robles, Andrew Stevenson, Jackson Stephens, Anthony Banda, Austin Hays, Tyler Mahle, Parker Bridwell, Jack Flaherty, Chance Sisco, Luiz Gohara, Scott Kingery, Alex Verdugo, Dominic Smith, Francisco Mejia

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 9.

The box: 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter X baseball cards 
The cost: Click here (for regular hobby)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 2.

The box: 2018 Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards (hobby box)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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If you want to see how different Topps' Allen & Ginter baseball card set is, all you have to do is look at the checklist set scroll down to card No. 18.

"Bullpen car."

That's just one of the surprises in the 2018 edition of the retro-styled brand that's been revived since 2006 with 1880s stylings that include not only baseball stars but "World's Champions" in other sports and beyond.

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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: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 181
Base US set completion: 
48 of 48 (100 percent)
Base USA set completion: 
45 of 45 (100 percent)
Duplicates (both sets): 36

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Imagine a world where New York Yankees star Aaron Judge had just a single product where you could find his one Rookie Card and one rookie autograph -- okay, okay, throw in some parallels of them and maybe a variation or two to make it a more realistic scenario.

What might those sell for? How tough would that wax become over time? It's something to ponder.

That hypothetical is much, much closer to reality for Olympic athletes and the heavy focus on the few cards they do have gets amplified a million times over during the Olympic Games, no matter whether they are of the summer or winter variety. While we're still on the cusp of this year's Winter Olympics, some of the notable first-time autographs already are selling very well -- but there's clearly room for more as they become true household names. One of those likely names belongs to 17-year-old snowboarder Chloe Kim, who'll appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's Olympics Issue dropping on Friday when the Winter Games open in South Korea.

The Kim 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls Gold autograph (/25) you see here already sold for $199, which seems low compared to the hype that already comes before she takes to the halfpipe and her dominating success in the Winter X Games. It's also impressive considering it comes from a box guaranteeing ink that's presently less than $75.

But it's not alone.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour on the hour all day long today ... this is Hour 10.

The box: 2014 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic & Paralympic Team and Hopefuls (blaster)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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What: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls trading cards
Arrives: Jan. 10
Box basics: One autograph and two memorabilia cards in every box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here to view

What's buzz-worthy: The newest crop of Winter Olympics and Paralympics heroes is found here with a focus on skiing star Lindsey Vonn, who gets her own tribute found in every box.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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When the newest edition of Upper Deck's Goodwin Champions arrives on July 13, it will include some of the biggest names in the sports world, some of the weirdest new cardboard out there and tributes to those who helped America and its allies win World War II.

It's a collectibles treasure trove and a history lesson all in one.

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When Upper Deck first teased its High Profile Fans cards of celebrities in its forthcoming 2015-16 Upper Deck Contours set, there was one notable hockey fan who got the attention, Chicago Blackhawks fan CM Punk.

Now, with the release of a final checklist, there are a few more.

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It's February and that means that we're set for the Super Bowl and some mass-marketing from SI.com over the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

And in reality the hype for both already has begun.

The last time we saw Ronda Rousey, she was suffering the first loss of her UFC career. Up next she'll be in the annual issue for the second year in a row. More publicity won't hurt her already-in-high-demand cardboard. She's one of a long list of athletes to appear in the issue and part of an even longer list of models who appear on cards and have certified autographs and even memorabilia cards for collectors to chase.

For the traditional models, there actually were SI Swimsuit card sets released each year from 2003 to 2009 from Stellar Collectibles and then a later retrospective set. In those sets, we got autographs, memorabilia cards and even paint cards from photoshoots. Meanwhile, for many of the athletes who have appeared in the issue since, there are autograph appearances in sets like Topps' Allen & Ginter (and many other sets) where collectors can also sometimes find the models. Kate Upton and Chrissy Teigen have been found there for example, and they sell very well.

Here's a rundown of a few sports stars who we've seen in the issue.

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