Q&A: Why Do Some Topps Boxes From The 80s Have Black Marks On Them?

Question: Looking on eBay I see so many 1980s Topps boxes with black marks on the covers.  What are the black marks for?

Answer: As a way to help distributors/stores clear out old inventory that had been sitting for awhile, Topps allowed for some products to be returned.  The distributors/stores would get a little money back.  Once Topps received those products back they would place black marks on the box covers.  Then Topps would ship them off to discount outlets.  In order to qualify for this the cases and/or boxes had to be complete.  Nothing tampered with.  Back then Topps did not seal their boxes in plastic like they do today.  Its very possible the people sending them back compiled packs from multiple boxes just to make a complete one.  That is the true origin of those black marks.  Complete boxes from the 1980s without the black marks will always be more desirable.  But this practice was so common you see them everywhere.

Q&A – How Do I Attend The Topps Q&A During The National Sports Collectors Convention?

Question:  How do I attend the Topps Q&A during the National Sports Collectors Convention?

Answer:  The Topps Q&A meeting is one of the best events that you can take part in while attending the National Sports Collectors Convention.  The NSCC usually starts on a Wednesday, and Topps typically holds their Q&A meeting that following Friday.  The Q&A takes place after the NSCC has closed for the day, and is held either at the convention center or a hotel near by.  It depends on where the NSCC is taking place, and what’s available.

In order to attend the Topps Q&A you must sign-up for it at the Topps booth.  The event is limited to about (150) spots.  Its a wise idea to get to the Topps booth ASAP, because those spots fill up very quickly.  Badges for the NSCC usually can start to be picked up at 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. that first day.  The VIP Party starts at 2:30 p.m.  At 3:30 p.m. the show opens for VIPs.  General Admission gets in at 4:00 p.m.  If you’re a VIP, as soon as the show opens at 3:30 p.m. I’d run to the Topps booth and get my name on that list.

During the Topps Q&A you are encouraged to ask Topps employees anything you want pertaining to the hobby.  In between questions they tend to giveaway lots of prizes.  Everyone who attends usually receives a special gift on the way out when its over.  This gift is specially made for the Topps Q&A, and can only be obtained there.  In 2018, everyone left with a Francisco Lindor autograph #’ed/50.

The 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention takes place 7/31-8/4 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago.  I think its safe to say Q&A attendees will leave with a special Chicago-related card.

2013 Press Pass Platinum Cuts Inscription Edition Preview – Do We Really Need Another Cut Signature Driven Product?

I have to be honest.  The hobby doesn’t need another all cut signature driven product.  Panini, Leaf, TRISTAR, and Historic Autographs already do plenty of them.  We don’t need another.  Is there a spot for them?  Sure.  But just because a few companies do something doesn’t mean you have to join in.  Competition is good for collectors, but when it comes to cut signature products you’re not really competing for much.  When an entire product is based on the signature itself, design goes straight out the window.  Nobody gives two cents about the border design or if the card is encapsulated in a Beckett holder.  With each release the market gets flooded with the same signatures.  Of course they all contain cards we would love to pull, but the chances of that happening are slim to none.

2013 Press Pass Platinum Cuts Inscription Edition is Press Pass’s first venture with a cut signature product.  With 2,000 “1 of 1” cuts in an already saturated market, I’m sorry to say I don’t see this going too far.  I also don’t think cut signatures should be made of people that are still living.  Personally, I’d like to see some fancy insert cards made of these people.  Do something different.

Do More With Score

Historically speaking, the Score brand has always been a low-end product.  If your a collector on a serious budget, Score is where you want to go for cheap rookies of star players.  Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, and Troy Aikman are probably some of the best known athletes to have their best rookies on a Score card.  I’d like to see Panini do more with Score products.  I think they do a great job of creating some good looking cards that can easily be picked up for little on the secondary market.  A lot of Score cards past and present are extremely underrated.  I guess its a good thing for those collectors trying to watch their wallets, but I think they should get more credit.  Just because a product doesn’t cost all that much to open shouldn’t mean the cards inside are worth less.  Panini should create more products based on Score.  They should keep the low-end products they have now and expand on them.  They could easily kick Score up a notch.  I’m sure many collectors would love to pull an autographed buyback rookie of the Barry Sanders ’89 Score rookie.  Aikman fans would be right up there with them.  I bet Panini could make one heck of a baseball set using the Score designs.

This Peyton Manning 1998 Score rookie only sold for $0.56.

Why Do I Blog?

I never thought I would be operating a blog.  It just wasn’t something that I thought would be entertaining to do.  The first time I wrote anything about sports cards would have to be when eBay started allowing users to write their own guides on certain subjects they knew a lot about.  The first one I wrote was titled How To Spot Fake Sports Cards That Are Up For Sale.  Within the first day it had received 21 helpfulness votes and gained much popularity.  You probably have seen a link to it on the left sidebar while browsing the sports card category.  After my success with the first guide I went on to write more and more about cards.  In late 2007 I decided to start my own blog, only posting a few times a week about counterfeit cards and scams.  I found myself wanting to blog more than just the few times and week, and thats how Sports Card Info came to be where it is today.  I enjoy writing about the hobby and interacting with other collectors.  A lot of collectors see other blogs as competition, but thats not what I think at all.  Its great if your the first blog to break the news on a hot story, but we all know that can’t happen all the time especially when your in college and not at the computer a lot.  The blogosphere would be very boring if every blog reported on the same subject.  Blogging helps you learn more and share information about the sports card industry.  Thats why I do it.

Probably my favorite posts are the ones when I catch a scammer, discover a fake card, or figure out a new way that people could potentially scam other collectors.  My best catch was when I caught a seller trying to sell a Yogi Berra 1952 Bowman graded a PSA Mint 9 with a starting price of $10,000.00.  The picture they provided cut off the grade and PSA serial number.  When asking for the number, they kept giving me fake ones that didn’t match-up.  I was able to get the auction kicked-off eBay.  Another favorite thing I like to post about would be pictures from shows, autograph signings, and sporting events.

I would like to turn this whole blogging thing into a career somehow, but I’m not too sure how thats going to play out yet.  Thanks for reading!