First Buzz: 2025 Topps Chrome baseball cards

[okumeister]

Originally Posted by JMStang

Here ya go!

https://www.tcdb.com/ViewSet.cfm/sid...ractor-Edition


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you.
Doesn't seem to have the auto checklist, but still good to know the list of base card subjects.

[rwperu34]

I popped into a Target tonight. Only blasters they had were Bowman and Donruss. Then a few fat packs of S2. No Topps Chrome.

[Jboff73]

To summarize, these are the key reasons that 2025 Topps Chrome, especially blasters and megas, seems to be sitting on the shelves of your local mega-store (in a rough order of relevance):

Poor rookies class overall (pace James Wood)
Price increase to $40 and $70 for blaster and mega, respectively
Too many boxes lacking anything resembling a hit
Too many boxes lacking reasonable ROI
Key chase cards like auto refractors coming out early and publicly
Too large a checklist rookie of autos of players that nobody would want an auto of
Too many rookie autos of marginal players and too few of the better ones
No Cal Raleigh card for MVP buyback
Too many boxes printed
Overall decline in hobby interest by non-hard core hobbyist

Any of these untrue?
Any that I forgot?

In corporate meetings, the Fanatics employee discussing this dumpster fire will want to report the poor rookie class as the sole evidence for this debacle, but if they do, they will be missing the many other elements they may be responsible for that created this perfect storm.

[thewild3]

Originally Posted by Jboff73

To summarize, these are the key reasons that 2025 Topps Chrome, especially blasters and megas, seems to be sitting on the shelves of your local mega-store (in a rough order of relevance):

Poor rookies class overall (pace James Wood)
Price increase to $40 and $70 for blaster and mega, respectively
Too many boxes lacking anything resembling a hit
Too many boxes lacking reasonable ROI
Key chase cards like auto refractors coming out early and publicly
Too large a checklist rookie of autos of players that nobody would want an auto of
Too many rookie autos of marginal players and too few of the better ones
No Cal Raleigh card for MVP buyback
Too many boxes printed
Overall decline in hobby interest by non-hard core hobbyist

Any of these untrue?
Any that I forgot?

In corporate meetings, the Fanatics employee discussing this dumpster fire will want to report the poor rookie class as the sole evidence for this debacle, but if they do, they will be missing the many other elements they may be responsible for that created this perfect storm.

All true factors. I buy a lot of "wax" every year but I have cut my spending down dramatically. Fanatics have priced me out. I like spending money on my hobbies but I'm not gonna burn it for no decent return. These cards just don't hold value any more due to over printing. Topps Chrome base Rookie cards of the top guys in the last few years have not held any of its value. I can't even move Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Holiday, Elly De La Cruz, Corbin Carrol, Gunnar Henderson Topps Chrome RC in my dollar box at shows.

[letsgoredwings9]

Originally Posted by Jboff73

To summarize, these are the key reasons that 2025 Topps Chrome, especially blasters and megas, seems to be sitting on the shelves of your local mega-store (in a rough order of relevance):

Poor rookies class overall (pace James Wood)
Price increase to $40 and $70 for blaster and mega, respectively
Too many boxes lacking anything resembling a hit
Too many boxes lacking reasonable ROI
Key chase cards like auto refractors coming out early and publicly
Too large a checklist rookie of autos of players that nobody would want an auto of
Too many rookie autos of marginal players and too few of the better ones
No Cal Raleigh card for MVP buyback
Too many boxes printed
Overall decline in hobby interest by non-hard core hobbyist

Any of these untrue?
Any that I forgot?

In corporate meetings, the Fanatics employee discussing this dumpster fire will want to report the poor rookie class as the sole evidence for this debacle, but if they do, they will be missing the many other elements they may be responsible for that created this perfect storm.

A base checklist that doesn't have a lot of guys, from Cal Raleigh to Elly and PCA chases away the set builders. I don't want to go after a 600+ base set when it's $5 per blaster pack.

It's also that all of the Fanatics stuff is deeply unappealing. I just don't trust that company to do anything ethical or of quality. This all feels like someone trying to sell crypto or NFTs to scam marks exclusively.

[Boredlawyer]

Originally Posted by letsgoredwings9

A base checklist that doesn't have a lot of guys, from Cal Raleigh to Elly and PCA chases away the set builders. I don't want to go after a 600+ base set when it's $5 per blaster pack.

It's also that all of the Fanatics stuff is deeply unappealing. I just don't trust that company to do anything ethical or of quality. This all feels like someone trying to sell crypto or NFTs to scam marks exclusively.

Could not agree more with that last paragraph. Between the "tear eyes" Emoji on social media when they attempt to manufacturer an "emotional" moment with a young collector, to the weird patronizing language on the Topps Ripped website. It all feels insulting. Apparently I'm weird because a lot of people seem to appreciate it.

[letsgoredwings9]

Originally Posted by Boredlawyer

Could not agree more with that last paragraph. Between the "tear eyes" Emoji on social media when they attempt to manufacturer an "emotional" moment with a young collector, to the weird patronizing language on the Topps Ripped website. It all feels insulting. Apparently I'm weird because a lot of people seem to appreciate it.

It all feels insulting is absolutely right.

Everything Fanatics has done, from absolute garbage merchandise, to endless promotion of themselves and their CEO, reeks of annoying.

It's obvious, to anyone that looks at them with any critical eye, to see how everything Fanatics touches immediately gets made cheaper with the price jacked up. Every product they make.

With Topps, everything gets worse for more money, until there's an inevitable breaking point. Something like the bait-and-switch on Chrome (is everyone held back for Series 2?) turns more and more people away. Seeing dozens of boxes on shelves everywhere is teaching people that there is too much of this at this price point, so don't be the mark to buy it.

For me, I've got some stories of athlete friends being intimidated by Fanatics when they don't sign with them, so there's that. Along with orders not showing up, showing up wrong, etc., from friends too.

On top of it, when everything they touch is a bad experience, I really don't want to hear a purchased podcast episode where Michael Rubin runs his mouth about how great he is.

All of it leads to...spending my money elsewhere.

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by thewild3

All true factors. I buy a lot of "wax" every year but I have cut my spending down dramatically. Fanatics have priced me out. I like spending money on my hobbies but I'm not gonna burn it for no decent return. These cards just don't hold value any more due to over printing. Topps Chrome base Rookie cards of the top guys in the last few years have not held any of its value. I can't even move Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Holiday, Elly De La Cruz, Corbin Carrol, Gunnar Henderson Topps Chrome RC in my dollar box at shows.

It's not going any better for me on eBay.

[BabaORiley]

Originally Posted by letsgoredwings9

A base checklist that doesn't have a lot of guys, from Cal Raleigh to Elly and PCA chases away the set builders. I don't want to go after a 600+ base set when it's $5 per blaster pack.

It's also that all of the Fanatics stuff is deeply unappealing. I just don't trust that company to do anything ethical or of quality. This all feels like someone trying to sell crypto or NFTs to scam marks exclusively.

I've had exponentially more fun collecting Panini Blockchain NFTs than physical baseball cards in 2025. Maybe the Bob Ross and Sapphire releases will change that.

I haven't even ventured into the 2025 Topps Chrome waters becuase the 2025 Bowman chrome base cards look so washed out and cheap.

[callou2131]

The prices have driven me out. I always used to rip a ton of retail. At over $1 per card, with a bad rookie class, mass overprinting, and watered down auto checklist, I am out. Blasters and megas of this are a dead loss at this price, unless you get super lucky. You have better odds at a slot machine. Fanatics has sucked all the fun out of this hobby for me. I am seriously thinking of just selling off everything and putting more into my other hobbys

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by thewild3

Topps Chrome base Rookie cards of the top guys in the last few years have not held any of its value. I can't even move Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill, Jackson Holiday, Elly De La Cruz, Corbin Carrol, Gunnar Henderson Topps Chrome RC in my dollar box at shows.

That's because most of these rookies have turned out to be merely "good" players instead of superstars.

Not a single player under 25 has an OPS+ over 140 this year....

J.Rodriguez - 120
Witt - 132 (174 last year)
Carroll - 135
G.Henderson - 127 (155 last year)
Elly - 117
Merrill - 102
Chourio - 119
Langford - 112
Rutschman - 94

You get the picture....

[Cardsareus84]

Originally Posted by mfw13

That's because most of these rookies have turned out to be merely "good" players instead of superstars.

Not a single player under 25 has an OPS+ over 140 this year....

J.Rodriguez - 120
Witt - 132 (174 last year)
Carroll - 135
G.Henderson - 127 (155 last year)
Elly - 117
Merrill - 102
Chourio - 119
Langford - 112
Rutschman - 94

You get the picture....

That’s probably going to be the norm going forward as well. The Ohtani and Judge’s of the world are hard to come by and it takes years for it to come to fruition. Also, to get a good ROI, if that’s someone’s thing, sell at release or hold and sell years later when the player has shown they are on a superstar level. Winning in the playoffs helps and none of those, except Carroll, has sniffed it.

[timber63401]

Wish I would of took a picture but local Walmart had 14 Megas and 51 Blasters as of 30 minutes ago.

[sandyfrank]

Originally Posted by timber63401

Wish I would of took a picture but local Walmart had 14 Megas and 51 Blasters as of 30 minutes ago.

The local Target I shop is ABSOLUTELY Loaded to the brim with 2025 sports stuff, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL. Absolutely no Pokemon or other decent TCG stuff though.