SoCal Autograph Odysses

 For some years, Panini has controlled the card market when it comes to NBA and NFL products. That means that anything produced by Topps in those two sports would not have any team names or logos. For many, that is a no go for collecting those types of cards because in all honesty, the cards do look a bit weird when they say Los Angeles instead of Los Angeles Lakers and only have purple and gold jerseys without the name 'Lakers' splashed across the front. Last month, that all changed for Topps as they were able to release their first licensed NBA cards in a long time. I bought a mega box of their flagship set, and ended up pulling a rather big hit, Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel. What makes this hit even better is that it is also an on-card autograph, meaning it's not on a sticker and then placed onto the card. Knueppel has gotten his career off to a rather good start as well, so the long-term value of this card might be on a steady incline for the foreseeable future...

 Opening packs is fun. I can't deny that in any way, shape, or form. It makes much more financial sense to purchase singles of cards you want, or if you're trying to make money on a player long term, to speculate on players with upside. However, it is a high to open a pack of cards sealed with the unknown and then pulling a huge card. That's why people participate in breaks and buy hobby boxes and retail. The chase of the unknown is a lot of the fun. Of course, there is much more downside to buying sealed product, as most of the time you don't come close to the value that you spent on the box. Last weekend I experienced another one of the downsides, the fact that my guaranteed auto ended up being of a player I already had an autograph of.  In my hobby box of 2024-25 Topps Chrome UEFA Competitions, I ended up pulling another Harvey Elliott autograph. Last time, it was numbered /75 while this one is /250. So I ended up getting a lower version of the same card I already ha...