2024 Topps Chrome Has One MAJOR Flaw

2024 Topps Chrome is almost here. Topps Chrome should be released over the next week or two heading into the National, and people are really excited about chasing the newest rookies. There is however a major flaw in Topps Chrome that may make this product the worst bang for your buck that we have seen in a few years!

[@agentsmith6763]

Just quit opening boxes at these crazy prices Buy the singles you want, you’ll be shocked at what you can get for the same amount you’d buy a box for

[@erikchristensen8415]

Just bought a dual auto relic booklet of Acuna/Vlad Jr /10 from 2022 Allen and Ginter. They are 1:836 boxes or roughly 1 in 70 cases. I paid $250. Not sure what 70 cases of A and G costs but it's more than $250 😂

[@sp123]

I agree, I stopped ripping a while ago, but some people are addicted

[@Chip-dg7wy]

@@sp123it’s so fun though. I’m going to probably stick with flagship from now on and buy the format that seems the most fun. Buy 3-4 boxes of each series and be done for the year. OCD in me really enjoys sorting them, making sets, checking stats of players I don’t know, etc. But ripping for value is brutal.

[@inlandempiresignpros1558]

Is football about the same price?

[@wyadlon]

Buying and opening boxes in 2024 is like playing the lottery but ticket costs $100-200 and the jackpot is $10K

[@Adam-dy5cn]

bUt ThErE aRe GrIfFeY aNd KoUfAx AuToS

[@RetailRipper]

I don't mind getting smoked on $25 blasters and $13 hangers. I thought $35 was rough last year but $40 is brutal. Definitely not buying much chrome again this year.

[@mnplumberman]

and with the odds of hitting a MVP Buyback so much worse, $40 might as well be $45 or $50.

[@RetailRipper]

@@mnplumberman for sure.

[@realcade]

Losing on a $40 dollar blaster hurts way worse man 😂

[@Bryan45552]

Another incredibly important fact about the blasters is there are only SEVEN packs vs. EIGHT in previous years. That's four less cards, and, as you noted, shrinkflation.

[@PeaceToAll-sl1db]

everything is worse under Joe Biden

[@livelycardcollector]

My take fanatics will be worst than panini. Everyone thinks the grass in greener on the other side. But if they’re pricing things like this for baseball imagine what football and basketball will look like.

[@fgstech4857]

Right 💯

[@TheProfessorsDugout]

I am working under the assumption is going to push prices for Topps Chrome to be like Panini Prizm once they produce everything. $800-1000 boxes for Topps Chrome (jumbo) upon release. Won't matter what sport.

[@jamieowens2499]

They will be much much worse.

[@zackrauer2823]

Fanatics ruins everything that they touch

[@MS-37]

Panini is still putting sticker autos on high end stuff. Fanatics has on card autos on average topps series cards.

[@benspringer8783]

I only buy singles. I miss opening the packs but the boxes are too expensive and the hits are weak

[@blankname6629]

It’s hard to find singles in my area. 5 below and ace hardware are the only places I have found that sell them

[@willwalsh9657]

Breaks offer cheap buy-ins for teams you PC

[@BoyYuKrazy]

I've basically stopped collecting altogether since Fanatics stepped in. These prices are just insane and I'm trying to save for my first house. I might pick up a blaster or hanger from time to time but my Walmart hasn't even had those in stock as consistently as they have in the past.

[@captains_collectibles]

box prices suck. id rather make a car payment than buy a box for same price.

[@Cryptoinvestor-pv4fy]

Your home will definitely be the better investment.

[@Kaneda383]

I'm not surprised anymore. Everything is priced for breakers now. Breakers will buy them at $1000/box as long as they have the gamblers risking it for the biscuit in the break. What I find funny is elly de la Cruz is the main feature as a rookie and he's not even a damn rookie this year. He was eligible for RoY last year as well. What a joke.

[@ThatwasaSTRIKE]

I think topps purposely holds some players for future releases in order to sell more product. Without the Elly chase, a lot of people wouldn’t be buying.

[@OpinionatedFanboy]

I knew when Fanatics said they wanted to 10x the hobby this was coming. 2020 was the last year i opened anything boxes because I stopped when I looked at the changes in the pull rates of golds.

[@aduncaroo]

Agree. They were never going to 10x the hobby by printing and charging into oblivion. Yet here we are

[@captains_collectibles]

remember when cards were for kids? kids cant afford these box prices, too much greed in our hobby.

[@Cryptoinvestor-pv4fy]

They are pricing the fun right out of the hobby.

[@randyranderson5122]

Greedy people and unregulated breakers equals NO MORE BOXES FOR ME!☹️

[@mangobango6970]

They just did the same thing with Topps Finest this year too.

[@Str8BreaksHomie]

Yep. I just looked at that checklist. Went from 100 to 300. So ridiculous

[@scottiebcards2354]

Topps Finest went to 300?!?! What?

[@carterjgray]

Topps “Finest” ten players from every team. What a joke.

[@bobbyandelena]

Man thanks for being so passionate and motivated to put these vids out. I’m a designer that loves cards for the design and pop culture excitement so these vids are so key for me to know what I need. I’ve been collecting since the early 90s and all I can say is this hobby is no way to make money. It’s speculation at best not investment. But when you collect to have fun it doesn’t matter. ❤thanks

[@mygodmanm3008]

How does scott have less than 30k subs? This dude should be a go to for anyone in this thing. Thanks again for what do scott.

[@TubeAdddict11]

You should also mention how much Hobby Box prices were in 2014 ($70) compared to todays prices. It’s ridiculous how fast and what rate Topps has raised the prices across the board.

[@carterjgray]

Just to play devils advocate: today’s prices are definitely inflated but you can’t compare price increase across ten years without comparing the market increase across that same span.

[@averagejoe7638]

I'll wait until the fall and buy the Blasters on clearance at Walmart for $15 just like last year. However, even at $15, I still lost money on 5 Blasters. 😢

[@305CardCollector]

Waiting till the MVP buyback is over sounds like a terrible idea. That’s probably 50% of the value of this product

[@averagejoe7638]

@305CardCollector perfect example of someone who knows nothing about the sport they collect. MVP isn't announced until November and buyback goes through the end of the year. And out of my Blasters, u got zero MVP cards. you literally only get 24 cards per box!

[@WaltTheCardManiac]

2023 Topps Chrome was never discounted to $15 for blaster. I get the growing sentiment of high prices and overall general negativity with every release, but no need to lie

[@305CardCollector]

@@averagejoe7638 what are you yapping about? Once it’s November only 2 different player’s cards will have value for the MVP buyback, where as of right now you can argue that there’s at least 5 legitimate MVP candidates 🙄🤦🏼‍♂️🥴. I still won’t be buying blasters at $40 but your argument/sentiments makes absolutely no sense

[@brutusonbaseball]

Great analysis again Scott, lots of behind the scenes stuff that collectors don't always think about!

[@louisquindlen2530]

Passed on Topps Chrome for the first time in nine years. Playing the lottery is more rewarding.

[@LeoMcGregor1]

You just could not leave Billy Butler mention out of video 😂

[@JoeyM007]

….. Billy was a good dude though, just saying 🍻. And I was honestly upset when they let him go, THE YEAR RIGHT BEFORE THEY WON THE WS, he deserved to be part of that team! But, the Royals might have the new “face of baseball” in BWJ…… And I called iIT many many years back when folks were ask: Acuna, Tatis or Soto, it wasn’t too hard to see “Chris / Jeff” = it’s was going to be Soto long term 😉. Why: the other two acted like fools when they did something decent. This is baseball, not the NFL or NBA where showboating is promoted / welcomed to help sell the “product” 🤮.

[@chrisc4264]

More than one flaw. The print runs are higher likely plus more parallels. At $40 a blaster , retail has gotten way too out of hand. I'll wait and get a deal on an MVP buyback lot. Too big a checklist at 300 cards also.

[@DriveForShow]

It’s refreshing to see all the comments about buying singles instead of boxes. This is what I’m doing. The excitement of opening packs just isn’t there anymore at these price points. Save a ton of money and get players I actually want to collect.

[@jordanm6528]

I think of these inflated checklists anytime someone starts firing off the "loaded" rookie checklist that'll be in a product. For every good rookie pull there are 10 reliever rookie autos of players pushing 30 years old, and another 10 utility guys that have already been DFA'd. People are getting hyped to be gouged.

[@EbbTide33]

Thanks for producing this video. When I saw the enlarged checklist with the increased cost, I immediately knew there was not going to be as much bang for the buck. When statistics and financial analytics are part of card collecting, it doesn’t feel much like a hobby anymore.

[@blixcards]

What we learned here today folks, is Fanatics has already successfully 10xed the hobby... with 10x the print runs of ten years ago. Nailed it! Need to know info here Scottie, well done.

[@wasfurious]

Scottie B back with another high quality video. Originally, before the news started coming out about this product, I was thinking of getting a case. Now, I’m not even interested in buying a blaster. Buying singles is so much better of a way to go. Just let the breakers open the product, since they are the reason for the product getting ruined.

[@rockiesinoctober]

Thanks for the deep dive. The data is concerning.

[@TheProfessorsDugout]

Superb analysis. I would have done the MVP buyback slightly differently, but yours is great too. Makes me want to buy a box of 2005, 2013, or 2014 Chrome in a couple of weeks in Cleveland.

[@tommytavor9308]

I like opening boxes but I’m being priced out of the market so I started buying retail but at 40.00 a retail box that is more than I’m willing to pay. Thank you for your time making these types of videos.

[@mikea5205]

I'm out. I'm not paying those ridiculous prices.

[@mauriciobori]

I can live with everything but the checklist i remember opening prizm foootball and just pulling nobodies at least a 220 checklist you are guaranteed to see a player you know and even a star every other pack pulling 10 packs and knowing a linebacker is the worst experience

[@1stBowman]

Excellent breakdown on shrinkflation. Where will it all end?

[@tnytdn1700]

The bigger problem that dealers are trying to keep on the DL is that guys are putting boxes under CT scans. There are many small privately owned medical imaging places. I know a guy whose dad owns a radiology facility and his son flips lots of unopened sealed boxes, but has very nice pulls. I know what’s going on.

[@davidkimura3034]

Nice job on getting us break down on the 2024 topps chrome!

[@hustlecrowe9440]

last years blaster sat forever at my Walmarts.

[@philiphewitt1801]

I pulled a Spencer Torklelson purple redemption auto out of a Blaster in 2022 WHAT A BUST !!!

[@barelyimpressive]

This is a great breakdown. Thanks for putting in the legwork here 🤘

[@1dayatatime107]

Great video man

[@jimc.goodfellas]

One major flaw-- no Skenes

[@ClassicPackBreaks]

In 19, we pulled a blue Tatis auto, orange polar bear auto, Eloy auto, and more all in a little over a case

[@jibsripnflip]

I will not be buying any Topps Chrome to rip. Only purchases I will make of Topps Chrome will be by buying individual singles. I just wish everyone would ban together and not purchase any retail or hobby packaged Topps Chrome. Topps (Fanatics) is getting more and more greedy. It's all about getting people to spend more money. No thanks.

[@Blabbin_Bout_Slabbin]

Good stuff! Appreciate seeing the numbers to back up my buying singles stance.

[@cappy95833]

Lets take a lesson from the War Games movie... "The only way to win, is to not play". Stop buying the new topps products. They will put out better products if we show them that we won't buy this trash.

[@garygordon3075]

Fanatics will always have their sheep that will buy no matter what, unfortunately

[@SmackyThaFrog24]

​@@garygordon3075yup, those lame ass fanboys will purchase no matter what

[@jacksonchoat]

I just started going to card shows. I also started back opening packs and blasters. I go for rookie cards, parallels and variants. I like hanger boxes the most and my favorite brand is Upper Deck. I know that I can trade for autos and relic cards at shows so I just stock up on players everyone loves and trade or sell at shows. Occasionally I’ll buy a blaster and I primarily buy fat packs and small packs with sale stickers

[@wyadlon]

Opening packs in general is always a colossal rip off. We give in because its a super thrill like gambling but there is no arguement to be made that its not a huge rip off.

[@waxtrashtreasures]

Man, increasing the checklist by 30% is just uncool

[@henrys3629]

I saw a video short months ago of a player with stacks and stacks of cards he had to sign that was in the 1000's. Think about dividing them between hobby and retail and that's 1000's of boxes while he's only one player of the many prospects that sign. The price is up and so is the quantity. We will never run out of old product to open.

[@justanotherlefty7541]

Thanks for breaking down the numbers like that, appreciate the video.

[@Juandirection1]

Honestly have mostly sat out of buying boxes retail or hobby since last year. Play. Anniversary is one of my favorite sets and yet couldn’t find the hype in it this year. And it even had better checklist this year.

[@bobbyandelena]

The ripple out effects of checkflation is what makes the waters of the secondary market so dangerous. It also suggests that Topps does strong projections about the secondary market way early on. What a wild hobby 🎉

[@carlosaguirre9834]

I love ripping boxes. I know I'm just blowing the money and am generally fine with that. It's fun. I like cards. I like to build sets. It's fun seeing if you get anything interesting. The entertainment value is worth it. But this year's Chrome release? No way. Forty bucks for a blaster? How can you have fun with that? Even outside the monetary value, you just get so little actual entertainment for that money. Even last year was a bloodbath when it came to fun. This year? No way, Topps. I saw the pre-sale price and skipped it. It'll release and...I'll skip it. I'll buy a few singles of my team, but they suck this year so not many. Make card collecting fun again, Topps.

[@justanothercollector43]

Community: rabble rabble *uproar* rabble Also community: take my money Next year: gets worst

[@robhanson2653]

I'm nuking only monster boxes of this product this year. Did that for 2023 and the XFRACTORS held some decent value for money back, and the pulls deff surpassed retail items.

[@thisbechris]

Awesome video, thanks for the info and concise breakdown.

[@bencomeaux5566]

Bought 1 hobby box last year on release day that’s it all year. Pulled ultra violet of my favorite player (Ohtani) but still sold it for twice the cost of the box. Bought it 4 months later for 30$ haha

[@blakemanuel3598]

Blaster pricing inflation is 100% due to MVP buyback

[@matsdiscgolf]

even as someone who enjoys buying hobby and jumbo hobby boxes somewhat frequently videos like these are a great heads up for what to expect/avoid

[@ianmelody4767]

I saw your video on your Larry Walker grail card. It got me thinking, the ultra modern cards are becoming the new junk wax. Totally saturated. I'm scooping up 90s serial #'d HOF for cheap and sending in for grading. Low pops and plenty of 35-50 year old men with some extra money to spend. Just a theory but I think the 90s are going to be a trend soon🤞. Look at Topps, they are doing 80s throwbacks, 90s are next

[@kubeske]

Great video bud

[@bennybreaks702]

Fanatics thinks Chrome is like Prizm. When it's not. So they increased the price on everything. Which sucks. The 10x the hobby idea should be dead as prices are insane. Average set collectors will quit the hobby soon and it'll be a breakers world just like panini football is.

[@TtoTheRock]

I am already regretting purchasing a hobby box of this product. Feels like I lit my money on fire.

[@fishepa]

That's why I don't rip any longer.

[@craigbrown7880]

Good stuff, and great information. Definitely be buying singles. I enjoy ripping but the print runs alone says stay away 🤙🏻

[@nevercold808]

Wow, those dollar amounts you had up for pulling the exact gold card you want is insane. I think a lot of collectors are getting priced out at this point. $40 blasters... bruh.

[@gregwilliams855]

Thanks for the video! It is sad to see Fanatics quickly morph into Panini. After buying 2 lackluster 2023 Topps Chrome Platinum hobby boxes, I decided not pursue a Topps Chrome Baseball hobby box, and go with blasters. Then I saw the price of those high-price blasters and pivoted to the monster boxes. Luckily, I was able to get a couple of monster boxes at the $59.99 price before Fanatics raised them to $64.99.

[@charlest7311]

Add in the fact that Walmart likes to add another $5 to the price of a blaster and Meijer adds $10. Looking at $45 and $50 at those places.

[@ChristopherHasenRedsFan1979]

Interesting analysis… I used to buy Hobby boxes along time ago, but the last five or six years I just buy singles because it’s way better value

[@scoremulti]

pretty good information. However, to clarify, your price of “getting the gold you want” are actually the price of likely pulling 220 gold refractors. not “of the gold you want”

[@mikeorz111]

Chrome continues to spiral downward

[@bryson6066]

im excited to scoop up singles for the low haha

[@305CardCollector]

I can’t/won’t touch blasters at $40, how much are mega boxes?

[@toppssportcardd]

Megas are 65

[@305CardCollector]

@@toppssportcardd jeez, that’s probably a little better than blasters for $ per parallel but a little worse for $ per card. Absolutely brutal

[@joedipilato7932]

HI SCOTT YOUR THE BEST KEEP IT GOING I'LL BE JOINING SOON AS I GET BACK TO WORK !!! PROMISE

[@TenaciousAC]

Worth noting : It appears the tacofractors are (so far) not making a return for 2024. They were inserted in 2023 Topps Chrome and Topps Chrome Cosmic for reference. If they don’t return and are in fact a one-year wonder, could be a sneaky fun collect down the track.

[@VideoEgo1]

Well I was excited about my jumbo hobby coming tomorrow ...

[@kmolescards]

I’ve gone back and forth on buying chrome or not. I’m pretty annoyed with the drastic price increase over the last couple years. I think I’ll stick to singles or buy something else

[@PatrickWayneCollects]

I buy singles and open boxes. This information is great knowledge for all in the hobby. Smarter collectors make a better hobby all around. Thanks for the content.

[@TouchingBasesPod]

Why do I still want a hobby box? 😢

[@JohnZBaeZ]

Are the stats on pulls similar to the 2024 Bowman baseball?

[@Brett_S_420]

Monopolisation is NEVER a good thing.

[@JorgeHernandez-th1kz]

Thank you 👊🏾

[@captains_collectibles]

last year i got 3 chrome acunas at lcs in a 3/$5 box....

[@the_wb_collection]

Thank goodness for breakers and their consumers.....I will never rip wax again, targeting singles only.

[@jdssportscards]

Good information here. Thanks

[@godisgreat8462]

Well done 👍

[@ThorsTradingCards-dk5oz]

Love this as a math/numbers guy. Got back into the habit recently (been over 30 years) and I was blown away by the cost of packs and boxes. These type of reviews hopefully open folks eyes and convince some to not keep spending the insane box prices and hopefully causes demand (and thus pricing) to go down. I know wishful thinking

[@scottflint4916]

I hope you have a will because Fanatics is coming for you! You are great for the hobby community and thank you!

[@NCFcards]

Still better than a box of Optic at $500 for a single auto

[@mnplumberman]

Gonna hold of on this product for this very reason. The increased checklist is a bigger deterrent for me than the pricing, and the pricing is terrible. I'd rather spend the same amount on some 2022 Update or Update Sapphire.

[@SS-pc6dg]

Buy some boxes to open, sell anything decent and buy the singles you want. Much easier to let others open +$1mil in product to find the card you want.

[@pamelabrooks9260]

How do I do the mvp buyback

[@teddo997]

there better be Billy Butler cards in this years chrome!

[@user-qj6pt8bh3k]

Good analysis Scottie, could not agree more, hopefully topps will listen and change but that is probably wishful thinking

[@brentpearson298]

I'm completely out on new product

[@realcade]

Definitely not a secret that it’s a rip off 😂 Love the content one of the most important people in the hobby

[@daviddietrich1194]

Cant think of the last time I bought retail. 9/10 times you get nothing from it. I've found success picking up a couple.singles here and there and trade them for bigger cards down the road. Save your $$$.

[@tylermikita8226]

Just go buy an auto of a future HOFer, Bryce Harper, for less than a box of 2024 Topps chrome where you’ll probably hit a mark Appel auto or something. Unreal.

[@kevh6831]

@scottie I’m interested in buying a Valuable card of David Ortiz in a Red Sox uniform. I’m 99% a Football collector, so I don’t know much about Baseball types like Tops, Chrome, Pristine, etc Can you point me in the right direction?

[@BoldandBrash21]

I think I'm done opening anything baseball wise other than Bowman at least for a while.

[@Adam-dy5cn]

No breaks or boxes or blasters for this guy. Singles... maybe. I just dont get excited for it like i used to with how hard they've made it to return even a 1/4 of your investment.

[@jmilb10053]

Smart Aleck comment prior to watching the video. The flaw is the cost right?

[@jimbo1028]

I've been back in the hobby since 2017 after collecting as a kid and I haven't opened wax since 2019. I let the gamblers and breakers open it and I just buy singles!

[@Kryptik33]

Sounds criminal

[@dsphillips16]

I’ll never understand why anyone with a fully functional brain would buy wax in 2024. People say it’s nostalgic and brings them back to their childhood. Apparently those people had an uncle that touched their no-no spot.