FTAG 2000 said:

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Wow that was quick on the Topps. Got two boxes when they opened it up. My son loves doing box battles so we'll throw down at some point.

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What does this look like? Sounds fun.
After my current buying spree I need to slow down a bit and focus on selling for a while lol.... After tomorrow. My son and I have been hitting up Target on wednesday mornings for the weekly Pokemon restock. It's quite a site to see 40+ people lined up 30 minutes before store opening.

I was able to get a couple of Mega boxes during the Signature NBA preorder. Hopefully I will be able to do the same next week when the Signature NFL preorder drops. Also picked up three NBA Hoops hangers boxes yesterday before the pre-order ended and a 5-card pack of the Topps Now Flagg ROY card. Even if they are all base cards they will be nice to have.

I have quickly learned how important these pre-orders are to getting product at the release price before they hit the secondary market. I have also learned how important it is to be patient and not get too caught up in the FOMO if the only product available is at secondary market prices. Based on what Topps has on their Release Calendar, it seems like there is always going to be another product release around the corner.

Will yall please hurry up, open packs, get them PSA10 so I can buy them off you?

You're the smart one here. Buying singles is certainly the way to go. I've never actually sent anything to get graded, but I'm thinking about getting a GameStop pro account so I can do it through them. Also, I just found out that if you're a pro member you get 5% off and they let you buy 4 boxes at a time instead of the standard 2 per customer.

I'll let you know if I pull anything grade worthy!

txagman1998 said:

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I was able to get a couple of Mega boxes during the Signature NBA preorder. Hopefully I will be able to do the same next week when the Signature NFL preorder drops. Also picked up three NBA Hoops hangers boxes yesterday before the pre-order ended and a 5-card pack of the Topps Now Flagg ROY card. Even if they are all base cards they will be nice to have.

I have quickly learned how important these pre-orders are to getting product at the release price before they hit the secondary market. I have also learned how important it is to be patient and not get too caught up in the FOMO if the only product available is at secondary market prices. Based on what Topps has on their Release Calendar, it seems like there is always going to be another product release around the corner.

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I impulse bought 10 of the Flagg ROY cards. Maybe I'll grade one and sell to Blonde Coffee Beans to make my money back, lol.

You're very right about the preorders. I've been able to at least get blaster and hanger boxes, but I think the bots get all the mega boxes. The chrome football megas should be available Friday. I know you'll have to get your order in right at 11am to have a chance.

It'll be interesting to watch the basketball market. New releases are fun but I hope they avoid the mass production mistakes of the 90s. So far, every release is flying off the shelves. I thought maybe Bowman would sit a while it also seems to be selling. Topps (Fanatics) really lucked out with their timing and this being Flagg's rookie year.

Ive yet to send anything to be graded... ever. I had seriously considered it a couple of years ago. I should have sent off the stained glass card I pulled.

NoahAg said:

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FTAG 2000 said:

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Wow that was quick on the Topps. Got two boxes when they opened it up. My son loves doing box battles so we'll throw down at some point.

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What does this look like? Sounds fun.
After my current buying spree I need to slow down a bit and focus on selling for a while lol.... After tomorrow. My son and I have been hitting up Target on wednesday mornings for the weekly Pokemon restock. It's quite a site to see 40+ people lined up 30 minutes before store opening.

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I get two boxes. Let him pick one. I get the other. We crack them and see who had the better box.

We usually bet on them. Things like if I have the Bette box he has to do some additional chores around the house, if I lose I have to pick up some of his or buy him another box. Stuff like that.

Keeps it interesting and fun for us and not just getting a box and ripping it in five seconds.

FTAG 2000 said:

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NoahAg said:

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FTAG 2000 said:

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Wow that was quick on the Topps. Got two boxes when they opened it up. My son loves doing box battles so we'll throw down at some point.

---

What does this look like? Sounds fun.
After my current buying spree I need to slow down a bit and focus on selling for a while lol.... After tomorrow. My son and I have been hitting up Target on wednesday mornings for the weekly Pokemon restock. It's quite a site to see 40+ people lined up 30 minutes before store opening.

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I get two boxes. Let him pick one. I get the other. We crack them and see who had the better box.

We usually bet on them. Things like if I have the Bette box he has to do some additional chores around the house, if I lose I have to pick up some of his or buy him another box. Stuff like that.

Keeps it interesting and fun for us and not just getting a box and ripping it in five seconds.

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Rule 1
If you pull a Draymond Green or a Dillon Brooks and its automatic 1-week grounding

lol. We absolutely do some side bets like that depending on teams and players picked.

Nice. I've gotten a few #'d cards and one auto (can't remember who) but nothing crazy. Still a fun box to open. I was able to order 3 mega boxes online.

FYI, Bowman Basketball mega boxes will be available Thursday. https://www.topps.com/pages/bowman-basketball
I've opened 4-5 blasters and still haven't pulled a Dybantsa. My best pulls have been a Chrome Flagg, 88/99 Ja, and a Reptilian refractor Darryn Peterson.

Not to nitpick but it looks like a sticker auto. Still a great pull tho!

For the football fans, Topps Signature football is about to be available. Noon central time today. I may sit this one out. Spent too much on boxes lately, lol.

https://www.topps.com/pages/signature-class-football

Unfortunately got shut out on this one. Maybe got too greedy and tried to get 3 Mega boxes instead of just 2. Got stuck in the queue on my phone for 30 minutes, then got thrown out (was also on a work call so didn't have another option other than my phone). When the product page reloaded all that was left was value boxes which I wasn't interested in. Hopefully there will be another online drop on the actual release date.

I bet you'll get another chance. I ended up getting 1 mega and 2 value boxes. You may be thankful in the long run. They're releasing Finest on 5/15. IMO, that'll be a better release.

I agree that Finest and Cosmic Chrome football will be better products, but also more expensive than Signature.

Missed out on the Bowman basketball mega boxes today because I was in a meeting. Probably for the best lol.

Opened my first chrome football mega box last night. Nothing crazy but it's a fun box to open. Lots of refractors. 2 numbered cards. A really sweet Myles Garrett All Chrome refractor. Will post pics later.

Interesting, you can still order Bowman mega boxes from Topps through Amazon, still at retail price.

https://www.amazon.com/2025-26-Bowman-Basketball-Factory-Sealed/dp/B0GR7F12WP/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1OF4RBU4OWJTQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._MnqdOuivz5OYIezm0ujY4caWxcKy7ue9y5xmoewrBtHEbj30jAvZcy3SE6X0u5ZeB3Slt0VCyCaVdMohEf0moIVDjYj29gSFvJEMwWFreNNel-zqqYiH0lVNRo79WFoNFp421vsM5WoO_Zh7A5tsXho3F1j7McSrhE9xtAJD2fDruwzE6E0CCNTuyOqxqmZFljKRdyh8qEppBgB-gSu-A.8H4pKL8WwIVKx3id54tMiB1WpPziRdwSJ6shWtIKtmc&dib_tag=se&keywords=bowman+basketball+mega+box&qid=1778173947&sprefix=bowman+%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

My local target stocked this morning, so I got just one Bowman mega box. We'll see how it goes and decide how many more to get.

Jeremiah Fears insert /75. I'll hold it for now.
The other numbered card is a girl from Stanford LOL. Only downside to the bowman release is wading through the chick cards.

Pulled a Flagg purple reptilian /199 from a Bowman blaster box

Bought a bowman mega box today. Any clue what this is worth. It's an auto that is numbered to 5. I was thinking not much but a couple of my friends who are more into the card game are saying it's a pretty good pull.

Wow, congrats. I was gonna LOL at pulling that, but apparently she has fans. Same card #'d 72/75 is about to sell for over $100.
Juju auto

And this one, 25/50, went for $365! 25/50

I'd put it on eBay asap, and buy a nice Flagg card.

(Also, put it in a penny sleeve, then top loader).

Thanks for the info. lol yea I honestly almost just threw it away bc I never dreamed it would be worth more than $5. I had no clue she was so popular and that her cards could be worth anything.

Hoops is available on Topps.com. Hobby, blaster/value, and hanger.
I have 6 blasters waiting at home that I bought on pre-order a while back. I don't think I'll pull the trigger on a hobby box. But the couple of YouTube videos I've watched, this release appears to be higher end compared to Flagship.

On the football front, Topps Finest (EQL) is tomorrow and Cosmic Chrome pre-order Monday.

I also have 3 hangers and 3 value boxes that I will get to this weekend. Plus I went ahead and got one hobby and one jumbo box that deliver next week. Hopefully I will have some luck with the auto cards.

For someone that wants to get into cards again with a couple grand to throw around, what would yall recommend? My dad cleaned out his place and dumped off about 15 boxes full of my old cards. Had a lot of fun going through them and had some gems in there that I looked up including about 5-7 that are worth a decent amount amount on grade.

I want to buy some boxes, what would yall recommend ?

I also recently got back into collecting cards for the first time since I was a teenager. In terms of how to spend your money, a lot depends on what type of collector you want to be. If you just want the rush of opening packs and are not too concerned about getting immediate monetary value back from your cards, then you can definitely buy boxes. If you want to be a little more focused and just collect your favorite player or team, then you may want to focus on buying single cards, either at your local card shop or at a card show, or online.

I prefer just buying boxes and opening packs. The current sets available now for the mainstream/value collector are Bowman Basketball and NBAHoops. The Bowman set includes NBA and NIL players (i.e., mens and womens college players), while the NBAHoops set is just NBA players. You are going to get a lot of base/common cards with these sets and a few parallels and inserts. It is extremely unlikely you hit a rare, high value card, but technically it's not impossible. Also, note that with these sets they create "retail" and "hobby" boxes. The "retail" boxes should be readily available at Target, Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods, etc. The "hobby" boxes include more cards and usually guarantee at least 1 autograph card (no guarantee that the auto card is a star player). These boxes cost a few hundred bucks and are available at a local card shop or online.

There are also higher-end sets available such as Finest and Cosmic Chrome. These boxes cost several hundred dollars and include fewer cards, but they are more premium then the mainstream sets. Again, there is no guarantee that you get a high value card. These boxes are only going to be available at local card shops or online.

If you're looking to just buy singles of key players, I think there are a couple of other folks on this thread who would be able to give much better advice on how to do that than I can. Either way, good luck and have fun!

txagman gave a good summary. My best advice about buying boxes is...don't buy boxes, LOL. You are MUCH better off going straight for the individual cards you want. (says the guy who literally bought 2 hanger boxes on the way to work today). Really, with a couple of grand to spend, your best investment is some combo of good Luka, Wemby, SGA, and/or Flagg rookies. Or spend all of it on one really, really good RC.

BUT, boxes are fun. And with Flagg, Harper, Edgecomb, etc. this is a good year for buying boxes.

This is some of what Topps has released so far for 2025-26:

-Flagship: Base, low end set with lots of inserts and this year's rookies. Fun to open. Sold out, but still available online, eBay, etc. Don't worry about buying boxes. Check card shops/shows/ebay for Flagg and Knueppel RCs.

-Chrome: Higher end, high quality. Great release, retailers sold out pretty quick. Boxes online go for more than twice what they were retail. Again, just look for singles.

-Finest: Higher end. I actually missed this release. Not something you'd find at Target/Walmart.

-Bowman: txagman described it well. Fun to open, but you'll be stuck with women's college cards too. Some nice inserts and Bowman 1st cards of the soon-to-be draft picks (Dybantsa, Boozer, Peterson). *Still available at retail stores. Mega boxes are your best value, IMO. About $60.

-Hoops: Step up from Flagship. Foil finish. I've only opened a few. Hanger and Blaster/Value boxes available retail now.

RELEASING SOON

Here's the link to Topps' release calendar. I'd check it periodically. https://www.topps.com/release-calendar
Chrome Cactus Jack releases tomorrow for preorder. It will sell out fast so if you're interested you'll need to be ready right at 11am central time.

I recommend going directly to Topps.com if you insist on getting boxes, especially if you buy hobby boxes. You're gonna pay a lot more for a hobby box if you buy it from a shop or secondary seller online.

*Yes, boxes can be a fun dopamine hit, and you miiiiight pull something that "pays for the box." But probably not. Your most likely outcome after ripping through boxes and boxes and boxes is stacks of random cards you don't really care about and a few cool inserts of star players. Still fun tho!

Here's your chance at Cosmic Chrome Football. $639.99 for a hobby box. https://launches.topps.com/en-US/launch
EQL launch, so a small chance. I'll sit this one out and wait for basketball.