Phil Jackson
Buzz Buys: Collecting Broadway Joe, Instant buys, WWE icons, good & bad ink, Kill Bill and even Drew Barrymore's debut
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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A STRATUSFACTORY ADDITION
The Card: Trish Stratus 2014 Topps WWE Road to WrestleMania Trish Stratus Pants Relic
The Price: Less than a typical low-end hobby box
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This WWE Hall of Famer got her own tribute set in this Topps release and part of the project also included a small batch of jumbo memorabilia cards that, unlike most Topps WWE stuff, wasn't loaded with pieces of shirts or mat pieces. Instead, these jumbos were massive swatches of some match-worn pants from the multi-time champ and they're also seen on the cards themselves in at least one instance. (This one.) These weren't impossible pulls back then -- I just never found one and they were pricey for Relics -- but I latched onto one when it surfaced to have it in my stash almost a decade later. With so many new boxes being pricey or less enticing at times because of that in all sports, I've found myself being more selective and playing the waiting game on some ... and buying up selected singles perhaps for more than I typically do. Though at the same time, the markets are starting to feel a little more normal here and there. This is an example of that.
Grab a box right here: None for this one ... find WWE boxes here.Keep reading for more interesting items ...
Making the Grade (November): Young MLB stars, a few Hall of Famers, Big Bang Theory, Trish Stratus & an early Dale Jr. card
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 ...
FEELING SUPER
The Card: Nick Swisher 2015 Bowman Chrome Superfractor #129 (1/1)
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up off of a collector friend who grabbed it for me, making this just my second Superfractor for my retired favorite player and my third Super overall (I once pulled one from a Heritage blaster) in years of collecting. There's not a whole lot of grading drama to be had on either the grade or the pop report, but I figured I'd lead things off with the rarest card of the bunch for this edition.
The Grade: BGS 9.5Grade 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 B10 Total Population 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Reality Check: This is the only one that exists and it had been on the market for literally years online -- I got it for about $3 more than an offer I made for it when it first arrived and was declined. I've never been all that enamored enough to chase any of them, but this one I'm comfortable with since it was not much more than a basic Bowman box typically goes for at suggested retail price even after landing a top grade.
Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.
The Last Dance: 12 ways to collect Michael Jordan & the Bulls
With the COVID-19 pandemic erasing pretty much everything in the sports world right now, ESPN's decision to launch The Last Dance early is a jolt of nostalgia that's fueling plenty of extra demand for some already legendary basketball cards from the past.
The eagerly awaited 10-part documentary arrives Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern and it tells the story of the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls and their final championship run -- their third title in three years and sixth of that decade. It obviously keys upon the NBA's greatest player of all time and its biggest name on cardboard, Michael Jordan. But he's far from alone as the series will present original and new footage from that season as well as interviews from the players -- both on the court and beyond -- back then. We'll also hear from others from around the league who were on the court or covering the team as it commanded attention, won it all and then was forced to go their separate ways.
For Jordan, that meant a second retirement and return with the Washington Wizards three years later -- we probably won't hear a word about that (call it a hunch) -- but we'll be hearing plenty from many involved every Sunday night (two installments per evening) from here until May 17. If you're a new collector wanting to jump on the Jordan bandwagon it's not going to be easy -- you're about 35 years and 13,000 cards too late -- and the asking prices for many a Jordan gem are though the roof more now than ever. However, if you're a fan who missed some of the historic action back then there are still plenty of ways to dabble in cardboard from The Last Dance as it's ultimately a tale that's not just about Jordan.
Keep reading for 12 ways to explore the cardboard for The Last Dance ... both for Jordan and others who we'll see often every Sunday night.
Black Friday Wave 1 -- here are five deals to consider
If you hadn't noticed, our first 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 are four more waves 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 first wave.
2015 Bowman's Best MLB eight-box hobby case
Best returned after several years on the bench, bringing a new wave of prospects and rookies with a total of four autos per box via a mini-box format. While a number of prospect releases from this timeframe have blown up, this one is still more on the affordable side while also including some solid names among the parallel rainbow as well as on the autograph front. Among autographs possible here? Andrew Benintendi, Anthony Rizzo, Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, Blake Snell, Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson, Francisco Lindor, Jose Altuve, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Max Scherzer, Mike Trout, Rafael Devers, Trea Turner, Walker Buehler, David Ortiz, and more. It's a good mix of prospects and more with 32 autos per case and plenty of color and inserts, too.Blowout launches Black Friday Week ... now (updated)
Update: It's here -- and here's your direct link.
Who wants to wait until Friday? Blowout Cards simply isn't as we're doing the ol' Black Friday thing all week long -- and Black Friday Week begins in less than 12 hours from now.
It all starts on Monday at 7 a.m. Eastern with the biggest deals in the business on tap beginning at that time and lasting as long as they can. But you shouldn't shop and run early as each day will have new deals -- and reloads -- all day long and Buzz will have Buzz Box giveaways -- boxes of free stuff -- each day, too. (Look for details on those tomorrow morning about an hour after the sale madness begins.)
While you've seen Doorbuster deals with each wave of Black November right here all month long, there's even more to come.
Like what? Keep reading for a sneak peek at some of the new deals on the way ...
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