@WiffleBreakers

⏰ RELEASING THIS WEEK ⏰ 2025 Topps Pristine Baseball - Pre-Order ⚾️ Mon. 1/5 - 12 PM EST Hobby Box: $469.99 8 cards per pack, 6 packs per box 2 autographs & 1 auto-relic per box 2025-26 Topps Midnight Basketball - Pre-Order 🏀 Tues. 1/6 - 12 PM EST - EQL Release Hobby Box: $599.99 7 cards per pack, 1 pack per box 3 Chrome autographs per box 2026 Topps Chrome Premier League - Pre-Order ⚽️ Tues. 1/6 - 12:00 PM EST Hobby Box: $189.99 2025 Topps Chrome Tennis - Pre-Order 🎾 Tues. 1/6 - 1:00 PM EST Hobby Box: $94.99 8 cards per pack, 12 packs per box 2 Chrome autographs per box 2025 Topps Chrome Baseball Update - Sapphire Ed. 💎 Wed. 1/7 - 11 AM EST Hobby Box: $449.99 4 cards per pack, 8 packs per box 1 on-card autograph per box 2025 Pixar Gold ⭐️ Wed. 1/7 - 12 PM EST - EQL Release Hobby Box: $399.99 9 cards per pack, 1 pack per box 1 encased card in every box 2025 Topps Allen & Ginter X ⚾️ Wed. 1/7 - 1 PM EST Hobby Box: $179.99 8 cards per pack, 12 packs per box 1 on-card autograph per box

Ranking 2025 Formats by Cost per Parallel: I’ve been seeing all the end-of-year “Best Of” lists floating around, so I figured I’d jump in and join the party- and I brought stats with me. I went back and ranked every product format I analyzed from 2025 releases across multiple sports, based on things that actually matter for value-seekers: 1) Cost per parallel 2) Cost per auto 3) Cost per numbered card …and possibly a few other data points that catch my eye along the way. These things tend to escalate. To avoid blowing up your timeline with a spreadsheet explosion, I’m rolling this out as a short, digestible series over the next few days. In total, this project covers 108 different product formats spanning a range of price points. The first step was grouping them into tiers: • <$100 • $101–$250 • $251–$500 • $501+ For a few different reasons, there were some notable products I wasn’t able to include. Some lack published odds, while others are simply too high-end or niche to fit cleanly into a value-focused spreadsheet. Notable exclusions include: Allen & Ginter, Five Star, Bob Ross, Black & White, Diamond Icons, and Definitive. One exception worth calling out is Pro Debut. It was one of the standout value products of the year in my opinion, but since no odds were released, the data won’t be as detailed. That said, I was able to estimate the key metrics well enough to include it. All hobby products are based on current market pricing. I used the lower price from the two largest online hobby retailers at the time of writing. Prices can obviously move quickly. I intentionally did not include eBay pricing for sealed product. While eBay can be cheaper, it also comes with more risk, and certain products are too ripe for shenanigans for me to recommend buying them sealed from eBay. Retail products I placed at MSRP unless one of the big boys had them cheaper than MSRP. Today’s post: ranking the best and worst formats by Cost per Parallel within each price tier. Here’s how it shakes out 👇 Takeaways: 1) No surprise seeing Heritage formats at the top of the cheaper tiers. 2025 Heritage got a real overhaul with significantly more Chrome, though the weak rookie class limits the upside. I was more surprised to see 2024 Heritage High near the top of both lower tiers with its epic rookie class. I still think it’s a solid rip for value. 2) Not really surprising to anyone who pays attention, Bowman & Bowman Chrome Megas are the absolute worst for value, even on the cheapest tier. The addition of a Red RC and a couple lasers was not enough to pull that product off life support. 3) One of the bigger surprises was Bowman Blasters landing near the bottom for parallel value. They’re generally well regarded, and for good reason. While the floor is ugly, they still have one of the highest ceilings of any Value Box, which matters. 4) Broadly speaking, if a format has “Fanatics” in the name, the parallel game is usually strong. There are exceptions, but if you’re on the fence with a new product, it’s generally hard to go wrong with a Fanatics-branded box. 5) Eagle eyes will notice I accidentally dropped $100 boxes into the $101–$250 tier. Yes, I see it. No, I’m not fixing it. 6) The vaunted NBA Chrome Hangers @$20 ($9.35 per parallel) don’t even crack the top 40 in cost per parallel when compared with all the other products. That said, cheap formats tend to include a lot of valueless parallels, and this metric doesn’t capture hit quality. The retail Chrome NBA ceiling is still absurd, and we’re seeing that play out in real time. 7) Topps Chrome Boxing seems like a well-kept secret with sneaky value if you're into that. Some big names on the auto checklist, very limited production, and hobby pricing continues to slide ($250/hobby currently). Could be some upside here, though $250 isn't necessarily cheap for a box of Chrome anything. 8) A lot of products release with solid value, but it rarely lasts. Rising prices almost always squeeze the juice out quickly. The goal of this exercise is to see where value still exists at current market pricing, not in hindsight. We can often tell, as called out in many of my product release breakdowns, what products and formats show a propensity to rise in price. Best to jump on those as early as possible. If you feel confident in one, you'll usually be right. If wax is your jam, in the current landscape it seems the best play is to leave it sealed, as tough as that may be. @CardPurchaser #thehobby #SlabSquatchAnalytics

I would like to be on the record that I think the Browns should keep Kevin Stefanski. Thank you.

Topps forgot to include the Golden Hour inserts in 2025 Black & White, didn’t they? Days into release, loads of singles listed, not a single one has shown up yet. Either collation was a total mess or they didn’t include the best insert in the product

Yankees sign 2025 Mexican League MVP Nick Torres 32-year-old right-handed first baseman and outfielder has hit .343 with a 1.025 OPS since 2021 for Algodoneros Unión Laguna. A 2014 4th round pick by the Padres, Torres' last MLB affiliation was Triple-A in 2018 for the Rangers