Hello Dutch Auctions, Goodbye Pennies

It looks like Topps is going to start using Dutch auctions for their releases which sucks, if you ask me. Panini does it and I hate it.

The overview from cllct states that “the practice allows the market to set the price for a product, rather than the company assigning one” which in theory is true, but the normal-sized print that doesn’t add up is that each product includes a “floor.” 

Meaning, if it starts at $1,000 and then descends by $100 every 10 minutes until it sells out or reaches the “floor,” which is set by the company, then you’re not fully letting the market dictate price. 

The market is saying the floor price is still too high. Now, yes, the floor price keeps us from doing anything sketchy like locking arms and letting the price drop to $1 before buying, but it still doesn’t create a true market indicator. It’s like when dudes on eBay set an auction reserve for the comp price or start the auction at the comp price — that’s not letting the market settle the price.

What’s to keep Topps from setting a $400 floor on a $500 product with the likely outcome being that most people will FOMO into paying more than $500 for the product so that they don’t miss out?

Also, we already let the market determine the price of the product: if Topps sets a hobby box and $500 and no one buys it, then the buyers have spoken. 

It also doesn’t help hobby shops who set prices and then could fall victim to the Dutch auction undercutting that. 

I kind of prefer the standard EQL system that Topps uses — it standardizes the price, technically gives everyone a shot, and doesn’t benefit those who can afford to “overpay” for a product. 

What the Dutch auction really amounts to is Panini and Topps hoping to catch people overpaying for the product. Remember when Panini set the WNBA Royalty boxes for $35k at the top of the auction? That wasn’t because they wanted us to decide if the market price was actually $35k but rather they wanted to catch some unsuspecting buyers in the $10k-$35k range knowing full well that the boxes weren’t worth that much. 

I know, this is usually a lighthearted newsletter filled with juvenile jokes and links to photos of Marge Simpson in Playboy, but this really grinds my gears so I wanted to vent. 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program…

Convenient, Questionably Suitable For Work segue… Did you see that professional basketball player Kysre Gondrezick made history as the first Black professional athlete to grace the pages of Playboy as playmate?

Interestingly enough, the former number 4th overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft does not have a Prizm rookie autographed card but she does have autos in the 2023 Goodwin Champions set (which you can buy here on eBay). 

You literally could have gotten her auto for $1 no less than 3 weeks ago and now will have to shell out $40 and a hint of buyer’s shame to buy her auto today. 

Happy? Shenanigans returned? 

I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention but it looks like Connor Bedard is “puckin’” - he’s top-5 in the NHL in points scored, top-10 in goals scored, and still just 20 years old. 

I mostly mention this because everyone is keyed in on Wemby (for good reason) but over on the ice Bedard is doing Wemby-like things. 

Do you have any great Bedard cards? Show us over on Mantel!

I’ve got good news and bad news

Good news: Topps Chrome NBA is back and officially here! Let’s goooooo!!!

Bad news: Those Topps NBA (paper) cards you bought over the last month are now worthless. 

If you’re a baseball collector you know the deal: Topps releases their flagship product and then a few months later release the Chrome version and it kills the non-Chrome market. 

If you know me, and you probably don’t personally know me, you know that I love this collaboration: Leaf x SI Kids launched a set of Leaf Metal collaborative cards. 

Leaf has purchased the licensing to the SI Kids cards and each week they are going to release a handful of “young stars” to collect. Of course, as you know with Leaf it’s “print to order” so some of these might end up being “sick, bro” and others might be worth mere pennies. 

For only 899 pennies you could potentially get a card that maybe includes a penny inside the card. What a time to be alive. Also, RIP to the penny. 

I’m a sucker for Topps Now cards - I have a dozen Pope cards and a handful of the Tom Brady thirst trap cards - but I also realize that most of them are a huge gamble when they dangle those “1/1 patch autos” in a 1-in-a-million fashion. 

However, this is easily one of the best Topps Now chases and probably a mid-six-figures card for whoever hits it. Like, five bajillion pennies - or something. 

Trader Joes knows what’s up. Buy a bag filled with bags that might be cool bags or not cool bags but don’t open this bag until Christmas. Got it?

This dude got 151 different Pokemon characters tattooed on his body. It looks dumb and is dumb, but I did laugh out loud with this comment by kyagui2: “Should’ve just gotten a shirt.”