Topps put up its new 2025 Strange Things Cards for pre-order at $300.00 / Box, and it immediately sold out

Each box has 1 pack of 10 Cards ($30.00 / Card)

https://www.topps.com/products...-stranger-things-box

The Cards do look cool, and there are a lot of hits, but who are they making these for? I can't see the younger fans shelling out this much for a box of cards. And the older Stranger Things Fan who is also a card collector (Like me) is going to have a hard time justifying this price.

Just took a quick look at the auction site and boxes are going for ~$450.00 - $550.00 already (Relase date is March)

This can't be good for the Hobby

The hobby has gone nuts from the Topps current model. And you're lucky for any release to even get your order in, they sell out nearly on the dot of the time release. Some people must have an automated payment thing or some way of cheating the system.

However I somehow did get a box of the Formula 1 Eccellenza before Christmas. Not worth the money at all... £170 per box and you get 7 cards, no guaranteed autograph, but 1 relic. But I was curious and amazed I even got my order in.
I did get a 1/1 parallel base card and sold it today for £500. That's how stupid the market is. I could have asked more, but I just wanted to move it on and get my money back for the box and a little more. I know sports cards are crazy, but it seems the Topps movie/TV cards are going the same way.
So after all that, nope this model of selling isn't for me and they're mostly sticker autographs or cuts, so definitely not worth the money.

Basically Topps/Fanatics are selling to Breakers, they are not interested in the ordinary collector.

Fanatics merely reflects the modern Western capitalist view of scarcity economics. You have a commodity? Manufacture or offer less for high prices. A Taylor Swift concert? A ballgame? How 'bout tickets for a WWE event? Regular people are getting squeezed.

Fortunately, we do still have small independent companies like Long Dog Cards run by Ingrid Hardy. Her Time Bandits Card Set is currently on offer through Kickstarter at much more affordable prices Mind you, even there, the best option has already sold out

quote:

Originally posted by AWR:

This can't be good for the Hobby

In many cases it's no longer a hobby.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Dastick Jr.:

quote:

Originally posted by AWR:

This can't be good for the Hobby

In many cases it's no longer a hobby.

It's no longer an organized hobby that has any rules, or even goals, for the dedicated card collector. It has become all about the money and money has to change hands to make it work.

By that definition, there is no such thing as collecting any cards for your own enjoyment. It's about only buying what you expect to appreciate and selling as soon as you can make a profit. And this type of buyer is what is driving the market pricing and making it impossible for a non-sport card collector to participate in mainstream premium titles. You can complete nothing, and the best tiered cards you really want are beyond your budget and can't be pulled because they are case hits at best.

Yes, there are the little manufacturers with cheap licenses and/or public domain titles. Be satisfied with that because you are shut out of Star Wars, Bond, Stranger Things, Marvel, DC and all things Fanatics. Rittenhouse is still there more or less the same for now but find a new title at less than $140 a box, and that's a bargain.

The name of the game after the Topps sale to Fanatics is direct to consumer distribution. What this simply means is that wholesale is out. There is no difference between wholesale buyers and retail pricing. Everyone pays the same buy-in price for cards of a very limited production. Then eBay sellers or retail stores distribute for themselves at whatever ridiculous prices they can get. At this point it would appear that someone is still buying. Maybe it's investors, maybe it's fools with money, but it's sure not card collectors. Just reading this thread and the comments of experienced Card Talk members, you can see the for-once total agreement. Card collecting, both sports cards and now non-sport cards, have been manipulated to the point that it is no longer a viable hobby for a sensible person who wanted to have something they could be proud to own.

When you're the speculator making that 20-case purchase (or whatever case number that gets you THE super fantastic card in the set), do you even open the boxes yourself or do you pay someone to open them because it looks like work. Later, does that person present to you the other two super fantastic cards in the set on a special tray. Do you just throw away the rest? It would be like keeping the styrofoam that cushioned your new TV.