Question on Topps Baseball Sets

[ptownpadre]

Hey, I'm new here. Just got back into card collecting.

Let me start with a side note: I'm here on out boycotting UD. I've had my Mystery Cut redemption out for seven months and have received NO RESPECT from their staff. Bogus. I'll stick to Topps.

Sorry for the mini-rant. My question is, I want to get Topps Series 1 this year to build the set and get as many World Baseball Classic redemptions as possible. I've noticed that Topps sells the 'complete set' of their products for pretty cheap. Is this really the complete set from Series 1 and 2?

What is the bonus to buying a jumbo box of Topps series 1(besides the WBC redemption) if I can wait a few months and buy the complete set for a fraction of what a couple of boxes cost me. Does anybody know?

 

[P_Manning 18]

Jumbo boxes have 2 mem. and 1 auto per box on average.

10 packs 50 cards per pack. Each pack contains about 10 inserts/parallels so 40 of the cards would be base cards... 330 cards in the set... each Jumbo box should make a full set.

Jumbos run about $95-100.

 

[Johnny B]

I may be misreading your question, but I think you are asking why you should buy boxes of topps if you just want the complete base set.

You shouldn't buy boxes then, unless you like the thrill of building the set through packs. It would be cheaper just to buy the factory set when it hits the shelves later this year (those sets often have unique bonus cards too).

However, the factory sets don't include autographs/GU/shortprints/inserts/parallels, which is the reason many people buy wax boxes.

The factory sets are good if you just want the set to have, but it kind of takes the fun out of the quest to build a set, IMO.

 

[ptownpadre]

I may be misreading your question, but I think you are asking why you should buy boxes of topps if you just want the complete base set.

You shouldn't buy boxes then, unless you like the thrill of building the set through packs. It would be cheaper just to buy the factory set when it hits the shelves later this year (those sets often have unique bonus cards too).

However, the factory sets don't include autographs/GU/shortprints/inserts/parallels, which is the reason many people buy wax boxes.

The factory sets are good if you just want the set to have, but it kind of takes the fun out of the quest to build a set, IMO.

Thank you. That was my question. I'm definetely more of a set builder. I don't buy the higher end stuff much. I just saw the 2008 Topps complete sets at Target with Mantle GU's in them. So I probably won't be buying Topps Series 1 or 2. I'll just get the WBC redemptions on eBay.

Does anybody have any other suggestions on what's a good set to build? How's Topps Heritage or Chrome? Is Allen and Ginter coming back?

To this point, I'm making sets of basketball Topps Chrome, but I want to do something in baseball within a certain budget and that provides a slight challenge. So Topps regular is out.

Thanks for clarifying for me though.

 

[mrwhitesox30]

I've never figured out why people build base sets when they can just buy the complete set online for 1/3 of what they would spend on individual cards. Usually you can buy the complete base set a few days after release from the people that break cases of the product. I enjoy going after sets, but I always choose sets with cards that are hard to track down. If you want a baseball set to collect, I would recommend looking through Ebay auctions and finding a parallel or insert set that you enjoy and go after that. You could pick out a recent set that would be easier to track down or something older, like a parallel set from 2000 with a print run of 100. When you do find a set, you should consider how long it might be until you complete it, how much it will cost, and also how much you could sell it for if you ever decide to sell it.