2010 Topps T-206 Case Break

The case break video is in two parts on UStream, channel CardBandits.

The results will be scanned and posted, probably tomorrow.

Some of the highlights were 3 dual relic booklets /99, a 1/1, 2 chrome /50, a printing plate, 2 Strasburg base cards, and 1 Strasburg mini American Caramel.

Check out the video or check our blog here for the case hits.

LIVE ON USTREAM

I have a case of 2010 T206 to open....

Come hang out with us.

Wheeeeee!!!!

The case of 2010 Topps T206 has arrived!! I announced it on Twitter, then realized there may be some people who don't use Twitter.

I'm going to test my equipment out and make sure everything is working and then we can figure out when to break it.

I'm excited to open the case, and to have something to blog about. My brain has been empty lately of card ideas. I still love you all, though. =)

Going to hook up the camera now and try out the whole thing and see where I'm at. I'll send an update along shortly.

Sunday Question

This weeks question has nothing to do with cards or baseball. My friend Lisa who writes the blog Drugstore Divas, her grandma lives in Florida and plays bingo like most nice old ladies. The bingo parlor that she frequents in Lake Ashton is currently collecting all plastic bottle tops to help one of their residents get cancer treatments.

The guy whose name I do not know (the story is legit), can get one treatment per 300 tops. I would like to know if you guys would be willing to save some plastic bottle tops for a week or so and once I get the address everyone can send them along. If you aren't already willing to help, let my water bottle return story lure you in...

I had 3 GIANT black garbage bags full to return last night, and after Lisa and I went to 5 supermarkets trying to find open machines we gave up and went bowling. So today after my workout I went to the supermarket to return them and take all the tops off. While there, a bag lady (homeless maybe, even) is there with her shopping cart of collected bottles. Once she is done with her cans and glass, she taps me and tell me in some form of a language that I don't need to take the tops off. I, of course, get annoyed and snippy. I tell her I was there first and I need the tops for something so I'm moving as fast as I can. She grumbles. I grumble. She then sticks her hands into my bag and begins to help by taking the tops off and handing me the bottles while adding the tops to my top bag. So me and the bag lady are friends? Well, I finish and figured I should help her (and take all her tops). She was in a great rush for some reason. I had intended on giving her one of my slips for helping (and feeling bad for yelling at her but she was practically running out of the parking lot with her cart.

Moral of the story is that after 40 minutes and over $20 in bottle returns that little old man can get one of his treatments and have one less thing to worry about for at least a day or two.

If you want to help, please let me know and I can e-mail you the details when she gets them to me. Thanks guys.

Strasburg and our Case Break

Let me start by saying there was no need to rush this kid into the big leagues. If the Nationals were EVER a contender to win something, then MAYBE I would understand the logic. I know that doesn't make it right or wrong, but if they were in first place it would be easier to comprehend the rush. When baseball players get drafted they tend to spend more than one game in each level of the minors. I feel bad for the kid to be honest. I also hope that he is able to come back just as strong and doesn't let this get him down.

With all that being said, our case of 2010 Topps T-206 is set to arrive on Wednesday. I posted an earlier blog asking for a preference of when to break it so if you could scroll down and reply there and let me know. Now, this post is going to require a different type of response...

Update: Check out the hits from the case here. 

Razor Rookie Retro checklist - FINALLY - released

Brian Gray released the checklist for Razor Rookie Retro on Twitter on Thursday.

Check it out here.

The PDF file is 13 pages long and includes baseball, football, basketball, hockey and golf rookie cards starting with a 1941 Ted Williams. The cards are all graded with some modern grades going as low as BGS 8 or PSA 7.

As far as the baseball checklist goes, these are all names we have heard of, but there is a bit of gamble involved in these boxes. You could get a 2001 Topps Chrome Albert Pujols or a 1955 Roberto Clemente or a 2009 Bowman Sterling Auto of Randall Grichuk.

At over $200/box for this product, there is a lot of gambling going on, maybe even more so than usual.

What do you think of the checklist?

2010 Topps T-206 Case Info

I made the final payment on the case this week with Blowout Cards. I was told that the case should arrive Wednesday on the release date.

We could break the case Wednesday or Thursday evening. Let me know which day works best so we could do it on a video break. Obviously watching the entire thing is totally up to you and you can probably view it at another time if you can't be there for the whole thing. I am hoping to do the break through uStream.

Let me know if this works for you.

I guess he didn't have an eraser

We're not big football collectors (actually, we're not any football collectors) here at A Cardboard Problem. But 2010 Topps football was released and I know many collectors out there are excited about the new release.

It features many similar elements to 2010 baseball, including sketch cards.

Of course, there are also errors. I just found this one particularly amusing. The artist of this Brett Favre 1/1 sketch card might have seen "Something About Mary" one too many times.

Why so many secrets?

The first product to come out under the Leaf brand will be Leaf MMA,, which is set to release next month.

But what is in this set?

That’s a good question. There are eight packs per box and each pack will have eight cards with one autograph and seven base cards, according to the company’s website. Some autos included in the set are Fedor Emelianenko, Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Forest Griffin and Gina Carano. Here is the sell sheet for the set.

The picture is from the company's website, which also has two other shots of base cards if you want to see them.

According to the site, over 100 fighters will be featured in the release, 40 of which will be making their trading card debut.

But who are those people?

Another good question. But this time I have no answer. The checklist for this product has not been released. Perhaps it was Leaf finalizing cards or maybe the set isn’t ready yet.

But it looks as though it‘s neither. Leaf is apparently protecting its assets.

Brian Gray wrote on my favorite message board Freedom Cardboard:

“Honestly, one of our competitors as (sic) been calling around to distributors trying to get our checklist for MMA in an effort to make last minute additions to have the first ever autographs of some fighters which we have. We have purposely (sic) withheld that checklist to date, in an effort to perserve (sic) our status as first autographed cards of many athletes.

“I do feel comfortable letting that list roll in the next 10 days... I can assure you that the checklist of over 100 fighters autographed is very strong. Ill make sure you guys know when we post it to the website, leaftradingcards.com”

The checklist is coming soon, but it seems Leaf just wants to keep that to themselves right now keeping it a secret for as long as possible while other companies who create MMA cards are left guessing.

Something extra with Razor Rookie Retro

There was some news that came out about Razor Rookie Retro on Tuesday. Razor Rookie Retro, which is supposed to be the last Razor product Brian Gray is involved with, will have a little something extra inside.

Every pack will contain a 2010 baseball prospect autograph along with the graded rookie card. These aren’t basic autos either. There will be Metal prismatic autographs, Metal base and colored parallel autos, Gray wrote on Freedom Cardboard.

The Razor Rookie Retro checklist should be released sometime today and I will have that posted as soon as possible. However, Gray also said it could come as late of Thursday. Since the product ships out next week, collectors are anxiously awaiting to see it.

The reason the checklist is not available yet is because there is still tweaking being done to it. As market values change on cards, different cards are being included in the product while others are being taken out.

One of the cards we know that could show up is the 2010 Bowman Chrome Stephen Strasburg Superfractor. Gray paid $21K for the card to include specifically in this set.

Update: View the checklist here.

More delays in Topps' baseball release calendar

Beckett baseball editor Chris Olds wrote on Twitter there were several delays to the Topps baseball release calendar.

Triple Threads, which was set to release Sept. 15, is now Sept. 22, Topps Pro Debut Series 2 will be in October and Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects won't be until Dec. 15.

So, now there are only three Topps baseball releases in September instead of four.

Good thing they're unclogging the month.

Pujols approaching career milestone

Last night in Pittsburgh, Albert Pujols hit career home run  399, and his 33rd of the season. Pujols has hit at least 30 home runs and driven in 100 runs every season since he came up. Right now, he has 33 home runs and 90 RBIs with a month left to play.

Albert Pujols will become the 47th player in major league history to hit 400 home runs. Just as a point of reference I looked up A-Rod's stats through his first 10 seasons (Seattle, Texas) and he hit 345 home runs. While I wouldn't take anything away from A-Rod's career accomplishments, it does make me wonder how far beyond Alex Rodriguez's career stats Pujols could end up if he stays healthy the rest of his career.

How will this milestone affect his baseball cards or memorabilia? Honestly, I don't think it will at all. By Pujols career stats this is a "down" year for him (.316 BA), not having an average above .327 hasn't happened since 2002. Most guys in the majors would kill to have an off year like this.

I will be watching the Cardinals game tonight that's for sure.

2010 Topps Finest Rookie Redemption

Topps released the final checklist for the 2010 Finest Rookie Redemption program today. Here is the checklist:

1. Jayson Heyward, Atlanta Braves (10% autographed)

2. Ike Davis, NY Mets

3. Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs

4. Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds

5. Mike Stanton, Florida Marlins

6. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

7. Andrew Cashner, Chicago Cubs (autographed)

8. Dayan Viciedo, Chicago White Sox

9. Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies

10. Ryan Kalish, Boston Red Sox

Anyone planning on picking any of these up or already redeem yours? I'm still sitting on my Red Hot Rookie Redemption cards #2 (pulled at the National), and #10 (I hope it's good).

The mysterious case of the Sig Hansen auto

Sig Hansen is one of the captains the documentary television series Deadliest Catch. With that claim to fame, he rightly received a card in 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter.

Supposedly, Hansen also has a relic card and an autograph card card in the set.

The relic redemption card has popped up on eBay here and there, but for over a month, no one has seen an autograph card. There has not been one eBay auction with a Sig Hansen auto or redemption auto, which led many to believe he wasn't part of the set despite being on the checklist.

On Friday, someone asked Topps if he had autos in the set on their Facebook page. Topps Sports responded: “There is. It ended up being a redemption, and he has signed his cards.”

Does this mean that his autos will be retail exclusive cards? Or, perhaps they will be found in this new fancy value packs that you can get at Wal-Mart. The A&G packs in the Wal-Mart boxes are all hobby and people have pulled rip cards, relics and silk cards out of these.

If anyone finds a Sig Hansen auto card, I bet that card would go a decent price on the secondary market. He seems to have a popular following, additionally A&G is popular with set collectors.

Update: We've got word that the relic-card redemptions will be autos instead. So, if you have one of those cards, you're getting an upgrade.

Sunday Question

Stephen Strasburg is the hottest card since 2001 when Albert Pujols and Ichiro Suzuki were on everyone's mind. Strasburg has had a bit of a rough time lately, though.

Last night, he left his start in the fifth inning when he threw a 90 mile per hour changeup to Domonic Brown. He winced, grabbed his arm and the Nationals quickly took him out of the game.

If Strasburg ends up on the disabled list again this season - because he was already there once - he should be shut down for the rest of the year. Topps has invested a lot of money on this pitcher. They have signed him to an exclusive and have probably given him plenty of money to sign all the autographs that he has done.

If Strasburg is injured seriously and is shut down the rest of the year, how is the value of his cards going to change?

It only take one person to ruin the fun

First, I would like to start by saying I do not condone this video. I do not want people following what this guy does. I'm extremely disappointed that people would do this, however, not even a little bit surprised.

In the end, you, sir, are a douche.

Apparently, in the Wal-Mart value boxes, it's easy to find out which of the chrome refractors you will be getting because these cards are loose in the box. And, of course, there are people out there to exploit this fact.

What is wrong with Topps?

Honestly, I want to know how much they pay the people in Quality Control because it really isn't enough. Do they have robots watching what crap they turn out for a $250-$300 per box product?

Look at this ridiculous 2010 Topps Tribute Cano "ERROR" /25. This is the second card I have seen just of Cano that has looked like crap. It really makes me mad because now there are only 24 chances at this card, and maybe 10 of them will actually land on eBay or end up for sale somewhere.

There is absolutely no reason or excuse to produce a card like this and allow it to get into a box of anything much less one of your high end products.

I will NEVER buy a pack of this product much less a box. Way to keep the "value" in the box, Topps.

Hey Mister, sign my ball?!

It’s not often that we get to hear from the ballplayers about autographs. We all know that players sign items and when they don’t, we are quick to write these people off and think of them as jerks.

A colleague of mine stumbled upon this blog post written by Phillies prospect Michael Schwimer. He currently pitches for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Schwimer writes about reasons he may not sign autographs.

The four reasons he gives are valid reasons.

Do I agree with everything he says? No.

Schwimer says he will not sign items in perfect condition because of the fear they may end up on eBay or something of the sort. He talks about ‘sharks’ the people who seek autographs to turn a profit on eBay or in similar ways.

What's funny is that there isn't much of his stuff on eBay (auctions).

I pose this question. Why shouldn’t people be allowed to go online to do this? Maybe they are providing a service for someone who can’t get to a ballpark where the minor league player competes. To me, that attitude is much like our government. If they aren’t seeing a piece of the money, they don’t want anyone else to reap the benefits.

I know many players are like this and if I get an autograph will ask to get items personalized just to show that I am not going to sell. But why do I want an item signed by a player that isn’t going to be in the place I want it so I can display it with the rest of my memorabilia.

One of the perks of working at Topps

Have you ever pulled a card and thought to yourself, who the heck is this?

Few people might have had this problem with 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter this year. And I am not talking about the card of Wawra or whatever his name is.

Topps released employee autographs in this set and are supposed to be extremely rare to pull. The only way to know you received one of these employee cards - besides having no idea who is on your card -  is by the greenish border. The regular autos have a red border.

Victoria Levan is one of the ten Topps employees who have a card in the set. She writes briefly on her blog about the card she is featured in and notes that there is a 1/1 with her soon-to-be-married name.

Even though the idea of getting a Topps employee card isn’t appealing, some have sold well on eBay. One completed listing has gone for $99. To me, that would be the only reason to actually get one of these cards. But maybe there are aspiring illustrators or designers out there who want to collect these cards just like little kids who want to grow up and be baseball players.

Right now, there are only two auctions on eBay with these cards. One guy has seven of the 10 employee cards and here is an auction of just one card.

Baseballcardpedia has provided a checklist of the cards here.

Famous Fabrics comes up big?

Yes, Famous Fabrics is what I said. Do I know much about them? Not really. What I do know is that they apparently got their mitts on what they anticipated to be a hot item this year. I'm not sure how Topps didn't have something to do with this Strasburg 1/1, but I don't see what is so great about this product.

You take game used jerseys or hats, write a name on a card and glue a piece of fabric to it, and I am supposed to want this? How are these cards even nice to look at? Look at these Jeter cards. Why on Earth would someone buy those when they could buy this one? Again you can take all the "slabbed" authentication stuff as you wish, I wouldn't spend a dime on this stuff.

This last card is not from Famous Fabrics, and might even be dumber than their cards. Actually, they are dumber. I just happened to stumble on these admittedly "replica" dual jersey cards of Derek Jeter and Babe Ruth, some with Mantle and Jeter.... Honestly, who the %&*# wants this crap? Gee, I can't wait until they come out with "Modells replica jersey cards"- "this rack hung jersey card of Derek Jeter card has been authenticated to come right off a Modells rack in New York City."

New look ... obviously

When you came on the site today, some of you may have noticed the gals here have a new look.

We had an issue with our previous template and there was no easy way of resolving it other than getting a new template. So, that's what we did.

Hope you enjoy the new look. If you have any suggestions, fire away.

Thanks.

Have I told you lately....

how much I love the people I have met from Freedom Cardboard? Oh, well I do. On the message boards they do a ton of group case breaks of all different products with All In Cards (@allincards on Twitter), and they recently broke a some 2010 Topps Tribute.

One of my new friends, Lisa was lucky enough to pull a Robinson Cano /50 auto out of her stuff. Lucky for me she is a super nice person who sent me the card a few days later. So the score is Lisa 1, Marie 0 but I wrote an I.O.U. and will hopefully pull something I can send back in return.


There is something interesting about this autograph. If you click and enlarge the scan, you can see what appears to be a mistake by Robbie signing his name, he left the "b" out and went back trying to make it look like he didn't, or the end loop of the b just got carried away. Normally this is the sort of thing that makes me want to punch the Quality Control blind mice at Topps, but the signature kind of grew on me. It is unique in it's own way, and it's a Robbie writing error (maybe), which makes it a little more charming.

I also picked up one other card on eBay and it was actually one night in the hotel room at the National I purchased it. Yup, I bought a card on eBay after spending hours surrounded by them. Did you not read the title of this blog/website?

This card was picked up on a dirt cheap buy it now. It was the lowest BIN I have seen on these, and I might have purchased it even if I already had it.

For those of you that don't know this, Robinson Cano has FOUR variations in this set, all with 4 color versions (Face palm). Due to poor planning and over anxious behavior (as usual), I had no plan of attack on this years cards and ended up with one of each right now. I would love to end up with a rainbow of one version but I am not sure how realistic that is at this point.

If anyone has any of the Robinson Cano auto's for trade please let me know.