Episode 1:Heart Breaking A Box Of 1995 Topps Series 2 Football

BLOGGERS NOTE: For the next few weeks I will be publishing some posts that appeared on Now That's Some High Quality Cardboard blog starting with today's. I have decided to no longer blog on there because it's too hard to keep up with more than one and the fact that it didn't quite have the response I had hoped. Since not many viewed those posts and I didn't share most on Twitter, those posts will become new to most on here. So for those that viewed them and maybe even commented, you will be seeing them again.

Also these are helping be filler posts for me since I don't have any new content and it's been kind of nice taking a hiatus from having to be on here everyday. All of those posts will be posted with the word Episode in front of them. Enjoy!!

I recently made a big trade with my friend and fellow 90's wax buster Shane. He is the one who runs the Cheap Wax Wednesday and Other Stuff where he breaks boxes that cost under $50 from 80's, 90's and today.

In my trade, I not only got some set help along with some sweet singles,I will show off on here, I  was also able to land some boxes of stuff from 1995-1999 that I will bust and show off on here as well.

I thought for the very first episode of this series, I would take a dive into a very disappointing box of 1995 Topps Series 2 retail football.

Why was it disappointing? Let's take a look.

In every retail box of 1995 Topps Series 2 football, there are 36 packs with 12 cards per pack. This box was $12 so it was a good deal for a lot of cards and memories. I thought maybe I would build the base set or at the very least have the rookies and inserts to enjoy.

However, that wasn't the case.

I ended with this Stanley Richard face after seeing that every pack had damaged corner and stuck together cards.

It was beyond fixable and heartbreaking. My hobby OCD hit an 11 on a 10 scale.

Here were some more base that got the worst of it. The key word here, some. As 95% of the box contained destroyed cards.

Even this Air McNair didn't survive.

or any of the Steve Young subsets that I really wanted back. I think I was able to save one.

Fortunately enough for me, I was able to save this great 1995 Draft Pick card of Kordell Stewart. This was the only one from the box break.

Let's check out my pulls from this box to see if they survived at least.

Here is a Jacksonville Jaguars expansion booster of Kelvin Pritchett. This card didn't get damaged and looks amazing. These fall 1:36 packs. Would be fun set build...hmmmm....

Up next, I pulled three Profiles by Steve Young that fall 1:12 packs. This insert has Steve Young giving his thoughts on each player. The first one I landed was Chris Spielman

This was a set I am building and all three are new additions. Luckily for these as well that they stayed away from having any damage.

Barry Sanders or as I call him, GOAT.

Jerry Rice, another GOAT.

Then I pulled a 1:36 Topps Finest insert of Bruce Smith. These took on the base card design from 1995 Finest. One of the most iconic Finest designs ever.

Then came more heartbreak after being on a streak of positives with my inserts. One of the newest set needs was Air Raid which you can find in these boxes. Which is why I wanted it. They fall 1:36 packs, which should be one per box.

However, I found two. That meant only eight more to go for the set. Well, it didn't quite work that way.

The first one I pulled, a dual of  Cunningham and Barnett had damaged corners.

The second one I pulled and was extremely shocked to see was of Marino and Fryar. Sadly though, it was severely stuck to another card and upon finally prying off very slowly and carefully, it had leftover card on it.

This box wasn't quite as much fun as I thought it was going to be just because the cards were all damaged. I may have been able to save 30 cards from the box as the rest I have given away already to kids who needed some beginning cards to practice with.

I will need to update all of the set adds and needs from this box when I can. In the meantime, you can check out what I already need on the tabs above.

Nuttin But The Hits:2017 Panini Optic Football Blaster

I can't remember the last time I was able to buy and open something retail. It has been so, so long that I had forgotten about what I liked. It took me about ten minutes to decide which blaster I should choose and in the end, I chose Optic. I do regret my decision after, but hey, can't go back now and who knows when I can buy another retail box.

Let's see how it went.

In each $20 blaster of 2017 Panini Optic football are 24 cards with a few of those cards being pink parallels. That's it. Normally I am one for more but this time I went shiny. There is also one rookie relic per box as well.

I don't have much for 2017 football and am missing good parts of the top rookies in the class which is saddening. So I was hoping for any of the big names in here and was lucky enough to find at least one. 

I only pulled one NY Giant from my break and it was Brandon Marshall. New PC material is never bad so I can't complain about this card.

A couple of Rated Rookies. Joe Williams I seem to find often.

Landry and Reddick Prizms.A couple of cool flashy inserts with Freeman and Ross.

The promised pink parallels in the break. Both are pretty solid players but too bad Foster isn't a bit smarter off the field.

And the best pull of the box, one of the top rookies from the class in McCaffrey. With Stewart now gone out of Carolina, he could be the full time back next year.

Well that's the end of the blaster. I wished I had gone with a Panini blaster instead which has a lot more cards and could have landed me some of the other rookies I need like Watson, Fournette, and a few others.

Breakin Wax:1997 Upper Deck Football Retail Pack

Nobody did what Upper Deck could do in the 90's Their photography, innovation and inserts were amazing.

I didn't need any other reason but those to open this up:

1997 Upper Deck retail packs came with 9 cards and one guaranteed Star Attractions insert per pack. Packs are very cheap (it's basically just base and Star Attractions in retail but it's still cool) on the Jammin JD Sports Cards website for only $1.25. You can find those, HERE.

Like I said, base card photography was second to none. There are no borders really, simply leaving you for some nice clean base card action shots.

You can see that throughout this card pack gallery:

I really like this Reggie White shot.

My Star Attractions insert is of Curtis Martin. It's a nice looking silver die-cut and is similar to the foil that Upper Deck used a lot of in the 90's. No complaints from me about it however.

 

For $1.25 this was what I expected but I am very happy with. I do wish there was more offerings in the retail version, but I think the Star Attractions insert would be a fun set to put together. The base set is still fun as well. So I would be tempted to try a few more.

What are your thoughts?

Blaster Box Break Score Football 2013

I couldn't wait to get my hands onto this product. I got retail first before Hobby. But after breaking both, I would say by far stick with hobby when busting Score. The retail was really a dulled down version of the hobby. One rookie per pack. A few inserts per box. And this years prices went up to $20 a blaster instead of the usual $10.

This is normally a product I buy both retail and hobby but this year it just doesn't have the same equal appeal to me.

 

 

The reds are Target exclusive parallels. 

Let us know your thoughts on the product. And if you have tried it in retail yet.

Tips On Collecting: Best Retail Buys

In order to stay in this hobby, I can't always afford the expensive boxes or even hobby boxes most of the time. I know a lot of you can't either. Sometimes to satisfy myself of a break I have to do it retail style. I may also try out the retail version before breaking into the hobby version in the future.

I have found when buying retail there are no guarantees. Unless you buy a blaster box with one. Retail packs can produce hits but the odds are way against you. Even so more now with the world of pack searchers. So to me, I look for certain things when wanting that retail break. I mostly try to stick to blaster boxes.

Here are some tips on getting the best value buys from Retail Blaster Boxes:

1. I search for the shelves for the word Chrome or Platinum. The one thing you can be assured of when buying something with these words is value. I have always gotten my $20 worth out of a blaster or even my $3 worth buying packs and the odds for hitting an autograph seem higher. There is always a ton of value in Chrome. Mostly because of its popularity.

2. Blasters that guarantee a hit. Ones that don't guarantee a hit are harder to get value back from but certain ones like Topps Heritage or Gypsy Queen may produce a hit here or there. But if you don't get that hit, its hard to get your value back. I try to avoid Upper Deck retail blasters due to the lack of hits and they never have guaranteed ones from what I have seen. Score is always a great buy at $9.99 with it being rookie and insert loaded and possibly having an autograph inside.

3. Mark Downs. At the end of a year, places like Walmart and Target will put 20% stickers on most of the previous years products. And may also bring back some other years products as well . These I try to look for the guaranteed hits but if they are running between $9.99-$11.98 I don't worry so much about that and find the risk worth the possible return.

4. I like the combo boxes Topps does. Topps will take 3-5 retail packs of a product. Throw in a bonus refractor card then add in a hobby pack. These usually run around $15 but thats a lot cheaper than buying them separately. I actually hit a red auto numbered to #62 out of hobby Heritage packs in one of the baseball versions that had 5 packs of Topps series 1 included. Also got a Mickey Mantle refractor. Thats what I call a great retail break.

These are methods that I use to get retail cards. I will do a rack packs or regular packs here and there but the best value is in blaster boxes.The rack packs that come with bonuses are not bad buys. As stated above, when buying rack packs the words Chrome and Platinum are best. I have seen some huge hits from those. Ones like Sage and Press Pass are tough buys. Rare hits and just plain base cards. Just make sure you read the rack packs before buying.

Retail packs themselves I avoid. Pack searchers destroy not only the chances of getting a hit but even the cards. They due this to rack packs as well, but its not as easy.

Let me know some of your retail buying tips or what you thought of mine. Also if there are other tips you would like to hear on collecting, let me know. I will give you my best answer.

Fan Box Break: 2009 Artifacts A Piece of History Blaster Box

Jammin JDcards wanted to share this break with us and here it is for your viewing pleasure as well. I know I am totally digging the shirt piece of Ben Stiller used in "Along Came Polly". Though the movie wasn't that great, this piece of Hollywood Memorabilia is.

    

Here is what he thought of this break:

"2009 Artifacts A Piece of History – Also picked up these 2 blasters at K-Mart on sale. These are really nice cards. The design is nice and the card stock is thicker than normal so they have the feel of a high end card. There are also different colored parallels in the set which adds to the value of the boxes. I really enjoyed breaking these, especially with the guarantee of a memorabilia card in each blaster. The Ben Stiller “Along Came Polly” Piece of Hollywood card is really cool. Pulling stuff like that is surprising and adds to the entertainment/joy of the hobby. If you run across these blasters on sale somewhere I recommend buying them up – 1,2,17 just buy them all and send them to me if you don’t like them. lol"

Want to watch this break?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1CNHZXNTdI

Review: Topps Gypsy Queen Rack Pack 2013

Well, I had to see what all of this Gypsy Queen hype was about..I gotta admit..I wasn't as impressed as others. But here is my review.

Rack Pack Break Down:

• Packs will run you around $10
• Comes with 3 White border parallels per pack (Walmart version)
• 4 cards per pack, 3 packs per Rack Pack

 

 

BASE CARDS: One word can sum these up for me...DARK. I know this product is supposed to be unique in the aspect of it having an old fashioned appeal, the problem I have is the cards are very dark. The backgrounds seem to eat the players into the dark abyss. The border is also very dark. I would have liked to have seen it a little lighter. Speaking of a little lighter, the backs of these cards seem to GLOW in the dark. Wow..my picture doesn't it show it well but they are very bright.

INSERTS: Since Topps made a splash with me with their base product inserts they have let me down since. Heritage inserts looked like the base cards and so don't these ones. These are more like subsets to me. However, outside of the disappointing inserts, I do enjoy the framed parallels and what saved the value of this break was getting a Ripken Jr. one. I like the white against the dark color. It helps liven up the card a little and if they had used these colors for the base cards instead of dark on dark that would have been much better.

AUTOGRAPHS: N/A

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: N/A

OVERALL THOUGHTS: First off, a very steep rack pack price. I could have bought marked down blasters with more value than this break. Also, I am very disappointed in a product overall that was supposed to be all the rave. I am sure this is a product for some of you. And especially those of you who like past Gypsy Queen product.Maybe hobby is a little better, but don't think it would brighten it up any more for me.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 4
                Base Design: 2
                Insert Design: 2
                Memorablila/Autographs: NA
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 3

Review: 3 Retail Packs of Topps Football 2012

Finally got my hands onto some Topps Football 2012.  I liked what I got, but some of it I wasn't impressed with. I definitely did not hit it big at all. I got one card that caught my eye and the rest were just cards.

Wrapper: Andrew Luck..enough said. Tells you how many cards per pack and how many rookies you will get.

Base: Not too bad. The design is nice. I wish they would take it down a little notch with the border. Especially a white one. I do like the team symbol enclosed and the name where its placed. The rookies were great until I found one of those 00 cards. Its a DT. I doubt they were the number 00. I think at most they should have assigned him a number. Looks weird and the card overall looks very photoshopped.

Inserts: I actually like the giveaway cards they insert. However, we wish they gave more cards with those however. I would be happier getting a 1980's base card instead of some worthless virtual item. Which, the site is not open yet to unlock what we might have gotten. When we unlock it, we will post what we get. The Tall Boys inserts are nice, but I am not one for reprint inserts like the Warren Moon. They always feel like a filler insert to me. The blue bordered David Wilson 1957 card design was by far my favorite card in the three packs.

Auto: N/A

Jersey N/A

Overall: For retail, its $2 a pack. I didn't get any good rookies. But did get 3 per pack. Got at least 2 inserts per pack. Some base cards. So as for value, it could be there with the right packs. We just picked out the wrong ones. I would assume spending $2 a pack, you would get your money back with the amount of inserts and rookies in a pack.

Ratings:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 5
                Base Design: 4
                Insert Design: 3
                Memorablila/Autographs: NA
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 3

Review: Prestige Football 2012 BLASTER BOX+6 RETAIL PACKS

I know I have already done a review for Prestige...but I wanted to review Retail for those of us who couldn't afford hobby. Most of the review is the same. Here is my review:

Box: Still love the design. Peyton's replacement is a attention grabber. The box lets you know the hit amounts per box and it has a clean design.

Wrapper:  Just like the box..I would definitely pick up pack or two.

Base: Panini cleaned up the base card design this year and something spectacular came out. Best base design I have seen in this product! The rookie cards match the base. But with this years Prestige...the rookies are in their NFL uni's!

When it comes to retail...I go for products with good rookie cards in them and a decent amount of them. With Prestige having one per pack..you can't go wrong. And they are nice looking.

Inserts: And another reason to buy this product is for the amount of insert..roughly one per pack...and that also adds to the blaster box value.

Overall: For $20 a blaster and around $3 a pack, You get a good mix of rookies (1 per pack), and inserts. Sometimes you can get lucky and land an auto or jersey. I have seen it on other sites. I wasn't as lucky, but the cards were so nice it didn't matter.

Ratings:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 5
                Base Design: 5
                Insert Design: 4
                Memorablila/Autographs: N/A
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4

Review: Sage Hit Football 2012 low series blaster

Well, I get excited for the upcoming football card seasons and sometimes I get impatient and want cards of the new players now. This brand is an example of that. I do wish now I had waited til May when Panini releases Prestige, but here is the breakdown of this product for now. Sorry if I am a little negative about it. But there was nothing to be positive about. And I want to give you my honest opinion and that's what you will get on here with any product.

Box Design: Could be the best part of the product :) but the immediate draw is RG3 and the 2 autographs on the front box jumps out at you and grabs your attention to want to take it off the shelf. Sage did a very good job with that.

$$$ out of 5

Wrapper: Not so attractive. No player on it. No design. Nothing catchy autograph words or hits or anything. Very blah. If I saw this sitting on a shelf, I would have never grabbed or purchased it.

$ out of 5

Base: Dull, no action shots. No logos. No attempt. However first cards of Michael Floyd, RG3,  and Brandon Wheeden were nice.

$ out of 5

Inserts: N/A. That's right. They weren't available. I didn't get one parallel out of my blaster. Just base cards.

-$(thats right, a negative ;)out of 5

Memorabilia: N/A

Autographs: This is what everyone buys this product for. I got two no namers. The design however is not bad. And the autographs look unique. However I must point out the Alfonzo Dennard autograph. The sticker is crooked. The autograph is lazy as its just a scribble.

$$ out of 5

Overall: You knew this was coming. For desperation for new cards to come out. I bought it. But this will probably will be the last...for at least this year.....I also not only did not even get an insert, I couldn't even get a base set put together out of the box. There are 100 cards in a blaster. 75 in the set. I was at least 10 or more off from the set. I don't even believe with this particular blaster I didn't get back what I paid for it. I give you precaution when trying these, but if you want the first cards of the new draft class give it a try. Maybe you will get lucky and get a good autograph. Or a base set :)