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 ... a mix of recent finds and some from throughout last year.

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LEADING OFF WITH A BARGAIN ... 
The Item: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. autographed 2019 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby 8-by-1o photo (Topps Authentics)
The Price: Around $80 (regularly $130)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This autograph is one I've never bothered with on cardboard mostly for how it typically looks (it's not the greatest sig) but also because the stock-pilers have stayed busy grabbing them up as he's one of MLB's better young hitters today and he's not cheap. I landed this with a sale combined with some discount certificates on one of the sites that Fanatics populates and went here since that price was strong and the image isn't bad -- it's from his dominating Derby showing where he didn't win but wowed many. This was cheaper than most if not all autos from where I typically buy most often ... and those were sticker autos. I'll probably go this route for ink of notables (or singles in some instances) vs. ripping to chase 'em with pack prices these days. Pro tip: Just because a box is old doesn't mean the autographs just vanish ... hunt him from 2016 prospect stuff forward and Rookie Cards/ink in 2019 forward.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What: 2023 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Platinum autographed baseballs
Arrives: Jan. 27
Box basics: One autographed baseball per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's autographed baseball chase brand hits the field for a new year with some big chase baseballs -- think legendary teams -- and then a varied mix of stuff in every case.

The biggest chase of them all this year? Keep reading for that and a gallery of what's in this one.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as Blowout Cards' Black November sales have arrived this year.

The latest waves are here and 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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CHASING AARON JUDGE INK ...
2014 Bowman Inception MLB
First, I'll mention with my picks here that I do my shopping mostly on the traditional low-end to the mid-range stuff in the not-so-distant past -- so a box like this might be closer to my high-end of things when it comes to risk factor ... but a rough box here will still give you nothing but autographs. The biggest names her? Aaron Judge, Byron Buxton, Julio Urias, Kris Bryant, Xander Bogearts, Carlos Correa, Noah Syndergaard, Jose Abreu, Nick Castellanos, George Springer and many others who are still around the bigs (and some who are definitely not). There are a lot of parallels in play here, too, with some other stuff like printing plates, dual-auto cards, patch autos and even booklets. But if you land Aaron Judge he pays for the box ... and maybe more if it's a rarer version. Every box includes five cards -- five shots at him and other names here ... and they weren't short-printed signers back then, either.

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

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Mini Helmet Platinum Edition Series 2
Arrives: Dec. 16
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR finishes out its 2022 releases with a second batch of Platinum Hidden Treasures autographed minis where every box once again includes either a Hall of Famer or an active player.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Basketballs Season Edition
Arrives: Nov. 23
Box basics: One autographed basketball per box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line takes to the court for a second time this year with some legendary ink to be found -- the biggest names in the game -- and plenty of other stars, too.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Game Day Greats Football Jerseys Season Edition
Arrives: Nov. 16
Box basics: One autographed football jersey per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line hits the field during the season with its familiar format and mix of pro and college stars.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Mini Helmets Season Edition
Arrives: Oct. 26
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line arrives in-season with a new assortment of NFL and college stars -- including active college stars -- along with alternative-design helmets that can add some extra variety within the chase.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Official Footballs
Arrives: Oct. 19
Box basics: One autographed football per box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures blind-boxed football line is back for a new season with nothing but official autographed footballs in the mix from the NFL, college football and the Super Bowl and with legendary ink from stars of the past as well as the present.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Full-size Helmets 2
Arrives: Sept. 21
Box basics: One autographed full-size replica helmet per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures brand of full-size helmets arrives for a second time this year with a new batch of full-size signed helmets that are inked by some of the game's greatest players of today as well as top newcomers.

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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 ... and this time around it's a little heavier on football as that season is here.

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AEW ORIGINALS ... AS IN ORIGINAL ARTWORK 
The Cards: Gummy Arts original T206-style drawings (1/1s) for Thunder Rosa, Orange Cassidy, MJF, Powerhouse Hobbs & Sting
The Price: Less than an AEW hobby box
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you don't know the work of artist Mike Noren -- aka Gummy Arts -- he's been drawing athletes or memorable pop culture characters in penciled cartoon-style reproductions of past cards or on new creations for years now. You can find constantly updating feeds of his work in timely posts over on Instagram or Twitter and then sometimes those get reproduced and sold as cards in packs. In other instances, he's let the original artwork go, too. Those vanish fast and can be pricey -- actually, his packs can vanish fast, too -- and for years now I've eyed the section of his site for original art (typically $50-80 depending on subject) that made it into cards. I had never found one that was must-have for me -- or at least found a must-have one in stock -- but one day after seeing a tweet of his I did my regular ritual and checked the site to find this set of five T206/Honus Wagner homages in one slightly pricier lot but had to grab them. I had remembered seeing the Rosa online but didn't remember any of these being made into actual cards. It turns out they weren't, so the only thing that exists f0r now (at least when I recently grabbed them) are these originals. Four are top AEW stars while one is an all-time great who has worked for every company ... really a no-brainer for me and I might have paid the typical full price for one or two of these. The Rosa card in a Tijuana jersey and others in their own Wagner-style threads made me laugh, while that Cassidy is not far from spot-on even in Noren's style. Poke around here on The Buzz and you'll see more of these ... just not in 1/1 original art form.
Grab a box right here: AEW cards are here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Basketball Jerseys
Arrives: Sept. 9
Box basics: One autographed basketball jersey per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line hits the hardwood with some of the biggest stars in the history of the game involved as either standard jerseys or as the big chase.

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TRISTAR will have plenty going on at The National this year with all of the autograph signers, but that's not all -- the company also will have bonus bags for collectors who buy boxes from dealers at the show and bring them to its booth to open them.

Selected retailers will have your shot at getting a TRISTAR bonus bag at the show.

Three TRISTAR Hidden Treasures products are eligible for this one and bonus bags will include shots at autographed memorabilia pieces from Ken Griffey Jr., Ben Affleck, Mike Trout, Ted Williams and Shohei Ohtani for starters.

And that's not all.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Game Day Greats Football Jerseys National Edition
Arrives: July 27
Box basics: One autographed football jersey per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line takes the field for the National Sports Collectors Convention with its familiar format from the past.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Mini Helmet National Edition
Arrives: July 27
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Hidden Treasures brings its blind-box product to The National once again with a number of legends in the mix and some current college stars, too.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Diamond Stars autographed baseballs
Arrives: July 27
Box basics: One autographed baseball per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's autographed baseball chase brand arrives with a sneak peek of the release for this year's National Sports Collectors Convention -- just 100 cases -- in advance of a full release in September.

The biggest chase of them all this year? Keep reading for that ... and a gallery of what's in this one.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Baseball Photos
Arrives: June 22
Box basics: One autographed baseball photo per pack (15 packs per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line hits the field once again with MLB legends and stars of today all in one place -- and with the possibility for autographed memorabilia, too.

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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 ... 

HE'S BACK!
The Card: Tiger Woods 2001 Upper Deck No. 1 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Not that long ago I unearthed my stash of these heavily produced but in-demand RCs and sent off a couple to be graded. Since that time Woods returned at The Masters and fared relatively well considering where he was little over a year ago. While he's got plenty of high-dollar cards -- and stuff that pre-dates this with non-traditional distribution -- this one is the propellant that brought back golf cards to the masses and it has been slabbed thousands of times between all of the grading companies. I amassed a number of them because I used to rip this on the cheap whether it was repacks, hobby boxes, retail boxes or whatever. This wax was cheap for a long time and had a few formats -- for example, I opened a case of this one for somewhere between $75 and $125 (I want to say it was the lower number) probably 15 years ago ... and did better than I expected for hits (that's why I was ripping). Now? A single box would cost more than what I paid.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: Even this newcomer to grading has taken on a ton of Tiger RCs with only a dozen grading higher than this -- and with their new slabs/scale, this copy would be a CSG 10 now. (Gem Mint is now a 10 with Pristine 10s nixed and Perfect 10s still in play.) I may send off a few more from my stash to see how the new top end of the scale looks on my others. (All of my submissions came back just before the change.)

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

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Mini Helmet Platinum Edition
Arrives: June 8
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: A new batch of Hidden Treasures autographed minis drops from TRISTAR with every box including either a Hall of Famer or an active player.

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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 ... and this time around it's deep -- but also one of the pricier overall roundups I've done. 

BATTING LEAD-OFF ...
The Card: Roger Maris 2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Reverse Blue Single Materials (/50)
The Price: $30
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Most of my pick-ups for this series are more personal collection buys meaning a lot of them might not have a ton of mainstream appeal to all of you but I'll let a legend bat lead-off here once again with a simple piece of cardboard. This brand was one that had a ton of highlights in it for game-used memorabilia fans when it arrived at the end of the Donruss/Playoff years and it delivered a ton for roughly $40 a pack back then if I remember correctly. This one was the home of legendary memorabilia cards from Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and many more and I have pulled or picked up many of them though the years. One player I pick up regularly if the price is right is Maris and this one fits that bill. It's not a perfectly designed card (His legs ... what's up there?) but the brand has so many variations and so many cards.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one ... but newer MLB boxes are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Full-size Helmets
Arrives: April 29
Box basics: One autographed full-size replica helmet per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures arrives for another year with a new batch of full-size signed helmets that are inked by some of the game's greatest players of today as well as top newcomers.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures New York Dynasty Autographed Baseballs
Arrives: April 27
Box basics: One autographed baseball per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's autographed baseball turns its attention to New York for another new release focusing on the Yankees -- and with a chase that includes more than just standard-signed baseballs.

Keep reading for more and a gallery of what's in this one.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Basketballs
Arrives: May 11
Box basics: One autographed basketball per box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line takes to the court once again with some legendary ink to be found and plenty of other chases beyond just the legendary star power.

Continue reading →

What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Game Day Greats Football Jerseys
Arrives: April 15
Box basics: One autographed football jersey per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line takes the field for 2022 with it familiar format from the past but with some new stars (past and present) included here once again.

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What: 2022 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Mini Helmets
Arrives: March 23
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line arrives for the first time this year with a new assortment of NFL and college stars -- active college stars -- along with throwback and alternative-design helmets that can add some extra variety within the chase.

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Fast Five is a quick list that might offer a basic starting point for a themed collection or new focus -- five things that could be fun for a beginner or a new way to add something to your stash if you're a grizzled veteran.

This time? Five ways to collect Tom Brady now that he's done.

GET OUT THE TIME MACHINE -- ROOKIE CARDS
Tom Brady doesn't have a boatload of Rookie Cards from back in 2000 -- at least in terms of overall volume with hits and memorabilia included -- with just 44 RCs out of roughly 130 total cards that year. Joe Burrow, for example, also only has 44 RCs -- from just one card company, mind you -- but that's out of more than 4,000 different cards. Big, big difference. Sure, a lot of those cards are rarities you might never see even if you're a diehard infinitely deep-pocketed Burrow buyer but that makes a big difference. How? Brady just has so few cards available (even with higher volumes per most cards) that there are more people fighting over what's available in auctions. Throw in the whole grading game and the elite prices being paid for elite items aren't going to soften as he's easily an all-time great who will always be in demand no matter who shows up to rival his records over time. To collect Brady's RCs you can dabble on the cheap or chase big stuff ... but "cheap" is relative in his case. (There's a range of options.) My example? I ripped a lot of 2000 packs back in the day, mostly on the low-end of the spectrum, chasing other guys but I got rid of all but one ... a Bowman Chrome RC like what you see here. It was in a single pack of Chrome in a $9.99 random football repack I opened from a Target little over a decade ago. That one's a keeper for me. My point with this tangent? You can't go back in time and a lot of those boxes and packs are long gone now ... so if you want a Rookie Card you'll need target one that's in your budget and work to make it happen. (Unless you have a time machine.) There may be more available now ... but prices have no reason to be faltering at the moment. It's not the best time to be buying, but the question one must ask ... how much will be available later?

Keep reading for four more making up the list this time.

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