2008 Topps Series 1

[frozenntimesports]

Hi all,

Thinking of doing 2 cases, is it possible to turn a profit on this. I got creamed by 2007 Series 2 but that was because Bowman released the same weekend.

Thanks,

KD

[corjac]

I think you can definitely make money on it (probably not a lot though) but it's a lot of work. 2 cases may not be enough to finish some of the larger insert sets (all depends on the collation). I have always collected Topps sets so I do quite a few cases and keep a lot of the cards for myself, but I think a lot of people don't think the payoff is big enough to deal with all of the sorting involved.

Also, this year the debate between regular hobby and HTA should heat up a little because the black parallels are hobby only.

[frozenntimesports]

Anyone else, I'm making my decision tomorrow or Wednesday.

[mma138]

the election cards turn me off

[davebo]

I'm considering 3 Jumbo cases and 3 regular.

[frozenntimesports]

Anyone else, I'm sitting on the fence on this one.

[death2redemptions]

I'm investing most of my baseball card-spending money on 10 cases of Topps Heritage so I only plan on picking up 3 cases of Topps Baseball but I'm having a hard time deciding on Hobby or HTA. Sure the black parallels are only in Hobby but on the other hand HTA offers an auto & relic per box. I'd have an easier time deciding if I knew the pack ratio for the black-border parallels.

[corjac]

I'd have an easier time deciding if I knew the pack ratio for the black-border parallels.

This is exactly why I'm going with HTA cases. If the blacks were one per box (which I doubt), it may be worth it. My decision would have been much easier had they announced the ratio for the blacks.

[corjac]

the election cards turn me off

From a collecting standpoint, I completely agree. However, I think these cards could sell well and are a good example of how Topps is adding some value to the boxes. Not that many people collect political cards, but they may appeal to some who wouldn't normally care about the brand otherwise.

[Rich_M]

I have done every base Topps issue since 2005 and never lost money. That said, the only two times I made a great deal was 2005 Update and the series that had the Jeter/Mantle/Bush card.

It is basically a low risk, low reward product. BUT with the amount of sellers now out there and with the amount of them that get product so much earlier, I think even this product could be a wash this year.

Plus the whole deal with the black parallels is frustrating. I don't know how many people remember, but the coppers last year were supposed to be in hobby and not HTA according to the website. I actually called Topps and they "confirmed" that for me. And guess what? The coppers were in jumbos. Those parallels add a lot of value and I would much rather bust jumbos.

There are still a lot of other inserts and such that sell, but it takes several cases to make some of the sets. It is quite a bit of work, but I have enough off-Ebay buyers so it is still a good rip for me.

[death2redemptions]

I've always profited from Topps Baseball Series 1, 2 & Update. My most profitable product of last year was Topps Update. The key is to buy early so that you can sort together a bunch of sets because they sell for much more before the factory sets are released. When sold early the singles & lots of the serial #d gold parallels do pretty well. I think that the Presidential Election cards will put some added value. Low risk/low reward is correct. You can't really lose money, you can't really make any huge profit but you can certainly make some extra cash to put in your pockets when bought in multiple case quantity.