There are a lot of things one can collect that aren't cards -- sometimes they can even come in packs and sometimes they don't. Buzz has been exploring the world a little bit in different directions but with many of them still being paper items -- stacking paper but not in that ol' money kind of way. Here's a look at a few items that entered my collection in recent months that can all fall under this department, which will be found here roughly once a month. 

FOR THE CHILDREN ... AND THOSE INTO ART
The Item: Wu-Tang Clan concert poster -- Sept. 21, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (/350)
What It Cost Me: $18.85
What's It Worth: Original cost $50 ... recent eBay asking $19.99 to $80 ... no recent eBay sales
The Buzz: Their musical genre isn’t really my wheelhouse, but obviously I know the legendary band and some of its members and hits, but what drew me here was the style of so many of their posters that are so intensely detailed where even this digital take above doesn’t do it justice. (I struggled to take good photos of my pick-ups due to their sizes, so I am using digital images when I can.) This piece from their New York State of Mind Tour features art by an illustrator named Johnny Crap. With the group’s name being a nod to Kung Fu, it makes sense that many (but not all) of their concert posters carry that aesthetic or feel to a degree, too. As I noted last time, I've recently started dabbling with concert posters -- but only on the relative cheap -- after finding a seller/collector with a vast stock and nearly everything so fresh that the prints have never even been rolled ... so damage is almost non-existent. I've picked off a few dozen prints in recent months and you'll see concert posters like this pop up here regularly.
Find Cards At: Non-sports boxes at BlowoutCards.com

Check out even more items after the jump.

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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: Kobe Bryant 1996-97 Upper Deck #58 Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I actually bought this card more than a year ago and thought I had it waiting in my stash of cards to present here at some point but, after doing some searching, realized that I never took a photo of this iconic 1990s card and it had been waiting for its time to appear. Unfortunately, we know why this NBA legend has been on the minds of many sports fans out there this week so here we are. I picked up this Rookie Card back then since it was a decent grade for a decent price -- just $9 -- and I didn't ever pull one way back when. It doesn't have any obvious flaws on the front, so it looks much better than its grade, too. (Sub-grades on the back of this slab are all 9 or higher except for an 8.5 on corners and one corner shows why.) The shocking news of this week has created a frenzy of interest for Bryant's RCs and autographs -- and a card in this same grade (not an elite grade, really) sold for $200. Mine will remain in my stash.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: The pop report on this card is a lot stiffer than I had expected with this being the most-common grade and fewer than 600 checking in higher. I had expected there to be more but I suspect the pop reports on this card could change a lot in the coming months -- and it will be interesting to see if any ever reach BGS Black status. Bryant has a number of RCs -- more than 20 -- and this one is unique in that it doesn't show him in his Lakers uniform. The debate as to whether Bryant's cards will hold values in comparison to what people are paying right now is an interesting one over on the Blowout Forums where there are a number of discussions. I think this is a scenario that may defy common collecting logic -- I'd think that anything is possible in this case and there are a lot of buyers right now who will pick up cards and stash them away forever, leaving a smaller volume of stuff available for everyday collectors to grab on eBay and other market hot spots. Finding unopened boxes won't be an option for a lot of his Rookie Cards that people want to track down, either.

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

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