Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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ICONIC ARRIVAL
The Cards: Caitlin Clark 2024 Panini Instant WNBA (All-Rookie Team) -- Rookie Card (/26,980)
The Price: Whatever a 10-pack cost was from Panini
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There's no doubt that Clark owned the WNBA in her rookie year and for most of this year her only pro cardboard came via Instant ... but I passed. Why? I figured I'd wait and see what popped up that I liked in packs -- and then when I opened one of her college career boxes I found interesting stuff but not cards all that slab-worthy with the details for cutting and printing. (Too messy for the risk to me.) As an easy slabbing decision, I grabbed a 10-pack of this card within hours of its arrival online. Why? It's clean and simple -- iconic -- and I knew that I'd want one or two of these in a slab with a high mark. How does that happen? Well, you have to have a few to pick from -- to eliminate obvious flaws like centering or corners -- and in this case three of my 10 might get sent in. The rest were too off-centered for my taste. There were plenty of these made so there's no rush, but it'll happen at some point in 2025.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but WNBA cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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: 2023 Bowman baseball cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist/odds: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Keep reading for what was inside this one ..

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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: 2024 Topps Heritage baseball cards (hanger)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was found in this one.

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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: An MLB suspension, a big mailday, new pulls, Michael Harris, 2024 Topps and Spring Breakout.

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What: 2023 Topps Luminaries baseball cards
Arrives: Feb. 7, 2024
Box basics: One autograph or autographed Relic card per box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: This high-end line returns for a seventh campaign for MLB with every card a hit limited to no more than 15 copies and with a number of outrageous booklet cards in the mix.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2023 Topps Five Star baseball cards
Arrives: Feb. 21, 2024
Box basics: Two autographs per box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Five Star returns to the diamond once again with a familiar lineup of inclusions and nothing but ink for MLB stars from the past and present.

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

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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 ...

A FIRST FOR ME ...
The Card: Bo Bichette 2022 Topps Chrome Logofractor Edition Blue Refractor (/150)
The Reason Graded: If you're a regular reader, then you know that Bichette is perhaps my leading active player who I collect (casually ... as he's expensive). That means I dabble merely with what I like, what's a bargain and so on. In some cases, I'll grab a striking color of parallel or an appropriate shade from a certain brand that stands out from the rest and this Blue parallel fits right there along with this being a Logofractor parallel. Why did I grab this and then slab it? Well, the price was right (under $10 during the season) and it was one of few centered copies I saw and it was one that avoided a possible pattern gap in the logos that seemed to land on his cards often. When I grabbed this, it also became my first COMC pick-up to go directly to CGC for grading while all in their hands rather than starting out in mine.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: It came back with an ideal mark, which is what I had hoped for, though you never know with surfaces of cards ... that's about the only big risk of buying/subbing stuff there at the moment other than corners, which should be a smidge more obvious on screen -- but not always. My total cost for card and grading here? Under $24 and it only took about a month to get it back. That's a move I've actually done a few times late last year as my goal of sending in some new stuff for slabbing didn't happen on the card side of things before 2023 had ended. There will be plenty more in 2024 -- cards, comics, coins magazines ... and more.

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

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What: 2023 Bowman's Best baseball cards
Arrives: Jan. 17, 2024
Box basics: Four autographs (two per mini-box) per 12-pack box (eight boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Bowman's Best arrives for another year with its familiar format and plenty of colorful cardboard for fans of rookies and prospects.

Keep reading for more details and a gallery.

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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: 2023 Topps Holiday baseball cards
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Where to buy: Click here (when available)

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

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What: 2023 Topps Finest Flashbacks baseball cards
Arrives: Today
Box basics: Autographs found in every sixth 20-pack box
Odds: Click here
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: This one arrives once again with a throwback look -- this time, a revisiting of the 1996 Topps Finest release -- but with today's players with ink and more to be found for a number of veterans and newcomers, too.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022 Topps Chrome Update baseball cards
Arrives: Nov. 15
Box basics: One auto per 24-pack hobby box (six per case); Three autos per 12-pack jumbo box (eight per case)
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Chrome Update gets a bit of a revamp that guarantees autographs in now two box formats, includes some new inserts only found here and it's also the home of the one-of-a-kind MLB Debut game-worn patch cards introduced this season.

Keep reading for more and a gallery of images.

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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: Michael Harris, NFL Week 6, "playoff integrity," Brock Purdy, college football, TacoFractors and more.

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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: Damian Lillard to the Bucks, MLB and NFL chatter, non-sports cards, Michael Harris and an Allen & Ginter case packed with ...

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What: 2023 Topps Stadium Club baseball cards
Arrives: Jan. 24, 2024
Box basics: Two autos per 16-pack hobby box (16 boxes per case); One auto per eight-pack compact box (16 boxes per case)
Odds: Click here
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Stadium Club will arrive once again next month and the basics are here in advance of a full, formal hobby reveal to come at a later time.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2023 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition baseball cards
Arrives: Today via Topps.com
Box basics: Two parallels or image variations per 32-card box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Sapphire gets another run here with eight-pack boxes that offer up new chances at notable rookies and stars from this year's Topps sets but all in one colorful Chromed-out spot.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

GOING OFF THE RADAR ...
The Cards: Michael Harris 2021 Choice Rome Braves (five copies)
The Buzz On This One: This guy is likely to be on my collecting radar quite a bit this year after a near-cardless 2022 that saw him take home the National League Rookie of The Year honors with the Atlanta Braves. Before that, "Money Mike" had some prospect cards in packs and minor league cards count there, too, but his Rookie Cards were held to appear in the full 2023 lineup. With basic stuff like 2023 Topps figuring to the plentiful and prices all over the place right now, I opted to pick up a lot of these -- as team sets -- as he's in there and so are others (you'll see them in later months here) instead ... and I did it without breaking the bank. He has other MiLB cards -- but not a ton -- but this one looked good to me for the price. I'll probably grade some of these, too, as you can probably guess based on the cases they're in right here.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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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: New MLB pulls and 2023 Topps, ripping Immaculate WWE, Michael Harris, collector thoughts and who's on your NFL Coach Mount Rushmore?

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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: Busting 2023 Topps Series 1 jumbos and hobby, all your 2023 Topps talk, Michael Harris, pondering MLB's break-out stars this year and more.

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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: Predicting the Super Bowl, don't buy fake cards, video game reveals, NFL chatter, a big MLB pull and Michael Harris vs. J-Rod?

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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: 2021 Leaf Draft Baseball blaster box
Checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of images.

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: J-Rod and Michael Harris are your MLB ROYs, Shaq, NFL chatter, NBA breaks and 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: J-Rod, Michael Harris, autograph quality, NFL breaks, Jasson Dominguez and 2022 Topps Chrome.

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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: 2021 Topps Heritage Minor League baseball cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery of highlights with 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: Aaron Judge hits 50 and remains on pace, NFL and vintage chatter, Michael Harris, 1952 Topps and ... are custom cards overrated?

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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: NFL chatter, Kevin Durant, new breaks, Michael Harris, WWE cards and do championships add to card value?

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