[evolb909]

Usually flagship series one is not that popular this year it just happens to have an unusual number of cream of the crop rookie class that was hyped up to oblivion.

But sadly retail is what it is now. It all started with the Bowman Mega boxes a couple years ago. Now anything that is semi hype is going to be impossible to find at retail in quanity.

If you think series one is hard to find Just wait until series 2 and Lewis Robert is a super short print like Acuna in '18 and Vlad Jr. last year.

I think you nailed it with the Mega Boxes. I'm actually hoping I don't have one single reason to buy Series 2. I hope Robert is just an SP or in Update so I can avoid the temptation of packs entirely.

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@RJ, You may not be as much in the minority as you think on 1st Bowman vs RC. I personally like RC logo stuff so if you ever want to do some Bowman Prospect for RC logo parallel trading shoot me a PM.

[rjcj2017]

I think you nailed it with the Mega Boxes. I'm actually hoping I don't have one single reason to buy Series 2. I hope Robert is just an SP or in Update so I can avoid the temptation of packs entirely.

I'm a player collector, I don't really go for the big hits (though I've pulled a few).

Last night I found a couple of 3-pack blister packs and actually pulled most of the good rookies.

So, like, I'm good with Series 1 now after 9 total packs and one jumbo.

I don't feel the need to clear everything out and try to make a cheap and easy buck.

[evolb909]

Well that should be a relief! Lazy has become an epidemic so in a monkey see monkey do world, people just copy what they see other people do when it comes to quick "flipping" things.

I really just like the parallels so retail has been a dream come true for me the last 8 years or so. It may just be the last straw for me though if I can't get any exclusive parallel products actually at the store.

But it appears that every male on the West coast of Michigan is unemployed and informed (basically since someone discovered and blabbed about Big Lots having 2018 Topps Update packs) so beating them to the stores is nearly impossible. Chrome Update is even boring to me now. So watered down now while it used to feel like a cool exclusive parallel with regular Update packs. I will most likely be grading & selling some of my better non-RC cards to buy the singles I need until something changes.

[ZSDOne]

They buy retail because the colors bring the most value. It's not necessarily about autos. You get a better chance at color/more colors in retail.

As for the latter, the guy around here hasn't touched Prizm or Optic football really. Lots of that stuff left. But basketball is a different kind of nut/market.

Maybe its because even the people who buy a ton of retail know that retail Prizm and Optic aren't worth getting

And if they try to resell them, they definitely aren't going to get more than they paid

[franciscomarina]

I do live in Puerto Rico and I don't get the chance to buy retail since for God knows the reason Walmart doesn't bring baseball cards to PR, I have to buy hobby online and definitely has to preorder most of the products, because most of them prices raise in a matter of weeks, even 2 or 3 before the product is release.

[rjcj2017]

I do live in Puerto Rico and I don't get the chance to buy retail since for God knows the reason Walmart doesn't bring baseball cards to PR, I have to buy hobby online and definitely has to preorder most of the products, because most of them prices raise in a matter of weeks, even 2 or 3 before the product is release.

Hey Francisco! Long time no talk, I hope everyone is doing OK over there.

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Maybe its because even the people who buy a ton of retail know that retail Prizm and Optic aren't worth getting

And if they try to resell them, they definitely aren't going to get more than they paid

Exactly ... that's why, like, Prizm basketball makes sense with the Zion stuff.

But Topps Series 1 baseball?

[ZSDOne]

Hey Francisco! Long time no talk, I hope everyone is doing OK over there.

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Exactly ... that's why, like, Prizm basketball makes sense with the Zion stuff.

But Topps Series 1 baseball?

Its odd - with the exception of the unlicensed autograph based football products (Leaf, Sage), and the retail exclusive products like Prestige this year and Rookies and Stars last year, retail football and baseball tend to be very poor value products - most of which are not even worth getting at the discounted price - I guess that Heritage, Gypsy Queen, and Allen & Ginter can be okay at retail although maybe its just that I like the retro products base cards enough that I don't really care about the lack of hits

especially here where they actually is a LCS in the immediate area and there are 3 other LCS within about an hour's drive - there is really no reason to stock up on retail.

Even odder, the stores that tend to keep the retail products around longer tend to be the ones in the more rural areas - which makes sense in that they likely have fewer customers - but doesn't make sense in that the more rural areas don't have LCS around (or maybe it does make sense since there is a less ready market available for "hits")

[rjcj2017]

Its odd - with the exception of the unlicensed autograph based football products (Leaf, Sage), and the retail exclusive products like Prestige this year and Rookies and Stars last year, retail football and baseball tend to be very poor value products - most of which are not even worth getting at the discounted price - I guess that Heritage, Gypsy Queen, and Allen & Ginter can be okay at retail although maybe its just that I like the retro products base cards enough that I don't really care about the lack of hits

especially here where they actually is a LCS in the immediate area and there are 3 other LCS within about an hour's drive - there is really no reason to stock up on retail.

Even odder, the stores that tend to keep the retail products around longer tend to be the ones in the more rural areas - which makes sense in that they likely have fewer customers - but doesn't make sense in that the more rural areas don't have LCS around (or maybe it does make sense since there is a less ready market available for "hits")

Those are all definitely better on ROI than base Topps ... I'm assuming I won't see a single pack or box of any of them this year.

Oh well, as long as I beat them to my WalMart Holiday stuff in November that will be good enough for me.

[kerryandbeth]

It should be easy enough to befriend someone who works at Wal-Mart or Target and pay (bribe) them to let you know when the shipment will arrive or when the distributor gets there.

Not worth the trouble for me since the retail stuff is usually about color parallels that can be acquired later once the hype wears off.

[rjcj2017]

It should be easy enough to befriend someone who works at Wal-Mart or Target and pay (bribe) them to let you know when the shipment will arrive or when the distributor gets there.

Not worth the trouble for me since the retail stuff is usually about color parallels that can be acquired later once the hype wears off.

I think I just have to wait them out.

There was a decent amount of Series 1 available this week, so maybe the two Bubbas realized there's not much of a market for marked-up retail.

Like, take my recent 2020 Topps Series 1 blaster ... I pulled 5-6 cards that I really like ... but in all reality, the best one (Bichette 85 insert) is going for $5 on the bay right now.

There is literally no reason to buy these ... the odds are long on pulling a SP, and even if you pull one the odds are that much longer on a Trout or an Acuna.