Black November

[phil]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

You will pay your 350% markup and you will LIKE IT!

3900%

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by dunquixote1

Card distributors who have been here a min have printed money and are still printing money. All my LCS guys who had been in the business for a decade plus rolled in money the last 4-5 years and most still are. They still can’t keep stuff on the shelves. And even if their margins are low on boxes they’re probably selling $5-7k a day on a slow day.

The amount of money being thrown around in this hobby is still ludicrous. Blowout knows that. As people begin to be priced out of 2026 product and beyond the older (cheaper) stuff they used to blowout via these sales will start to move.

Hell, look at me. I spent $900 on a case of 2014 Topps Chrome mini football! Last year that would have felt insane, but when a 2025 Chrome basketball hobby box is $850 (IF you can get it for that) suddenly buying an old case like that becomes a bargain.

Distributors are making massive profits since Covid. There’s no need to close out older stock like they used too.

[mikejones]

Topps cut out the middle (gts) man so prices will continue to stay high. Pretty sure they are releasing less than %50 of print run to lcs, breakers, etc. They house the other % themselves thus creating a shortage and high demand. Pretty sure in the past on a new release, they sell what they can to the LCS and public, then dump the rest to GTS and other distributors.

On blowout sales:
Blowout: Can't take a loss buddy.

[mikejones]

Originally Posted by ewokpelts

Distributors are making massive profits since Covid. There’s no need to close out older stock like they used too.

But blowout is not a distributor. Neither is Dave and busters and hellcity.

[WhacksPacks]

If you like that former superbreak stuff that is pure drek that has no resale value you’ll love the deals on their rebranded name trash.
Everything from Space to Villains to 19th century to George Washington.
The 2025 WWII set intrigued me until I saw the company.

[Archimedes]

I haven’t been to an LCS in a while but (because) when I look at photos online, it seems like they’re selling singles and retail. I don’t see any hobby. Is that normal? Shops without hobby distribution? Actually, they have break rooms. So, they probably just break hobby at higher margins as opposed to sell it as sealed wax.


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[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by Archimedes

I haven’t been to an LCS in a while but (because) when I look at photos online, it seems like they’re selling singles and retail. I don’t see any hobby. Is that normal? Shops without hobby distribution? Actually, they have break rooms. So, they probably just break hobby at higher margins as opposed to sell it as sealed wax.


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That’s the ones around here, too. Ones BF post was nothing but retail.

[clocsta2323]

How is blowout still in business?

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by mikejones

But blowout is not a distributor. Neither is Dave and busters and hellcity.

But they function as distributors within the eco-system....if you want to buy unopened product and can't get it directly from Fanatics, you get it from D&A, Blowout, or Steel City.

[seanbros55]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

Settle down guys, you'll know how Black Friday went come Cyber Monday.

If you liked Nothing Friday, wait till you get a load of Less Than Nothing Monday!!!

[njsportscardguy]

Originally Posted by seanbros55

If you liked Nothing Friday, wait till you get a load of Less Than Nothing Monday!!!

Technically speaking, would it be Less Than Nothing Monday, or...would it be MORE of Nothing...?


All jokes aside, this was the GRANDEST FARCE...of a "holiday savings event",...EVER! Without a doubt.

[PuddleMonkey]

If you guys could control your FOMO for a minute the entire market wouldn't be the way it is. But herp derps gonna herp derp.

[kissmaster]

Originally Posted by njsportscardguy

Technically speaking, would it be Less Than Nothing Monday, or...would it be MORE of Nothing...?


All jokes aside, this was the GRANDEST FARCE...of a "holiday savings event",...EVER! Without a doubt.

Agreed!!!! They Should just give this ..Fake So-Called sale up .. we all know all they do is raise the prices in the weeks before just to show them as a sale by discounting the prices back to what they normally are.. Why do they even Bother..It is a Joke

[dlouisb1313]

Originally Posted by Archimedes

I haven’t been to an LCS in a while but (because) when I look at photos online, it seems like they’re selling singles and retail. I don’t see any hobby. Is that normal? Shops without hobby distribution? Actually, they have break rooms. So, they probably just break hobby at higher margins as opposed to sell it as sealed wax.


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2 new shops just opened in my area. Neither have hobby. All they have is retail. The last shop to open in my city barely even had retail. There’s one shop about 1/2 hour away that I was told has limited hobby. I haven’t even there yet.

[nrm1977]

Originally Posted by Archimedes

I haven’t been to an LCS in a while but (because) when I look at photos online, it seems like they’re selling singles and retail. I don’t see any hobby. Is that normal? Shops without hobby distribution? Actually, they have break rooms. So, they probably just break hobby at higher margins as opposed to sell it as sealed wax.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

100% the normal here.

[jkampis]

Originally Posted by dlouisb1313

2 new shops just opened in my area. Neither have hobby. All they have is retail. The last shop to open in my city barely even had retail. There’s one shop about 1/2 hour away that I was told has limited hobby. I haven’t even there yet.

It is really hard for a new shop to get hobby at a decent price. They pretty much have to sell at a loss to build up their spend with distributors to get any allocation at wholesale price. And Topps isn’t taking on many new accounts.

[notfast]

“Retail” SKU’s like blasters and megas come direct from manufacturers now. Stuff like 2025 Mosaic football has a hobby blaster in a red box compared to retail blasters in green/blue.

Topps ships blasters and megas direct to hobby shops after hobby drops. Makes no sense. You were able to get Update blasters at target but shops had a release date of “hobby blasters” a week after update hobby came out.

[PoPCulture]

Originally Posted by notfast

“Retail” SKU’s like blasters and megas come direct from manufacturers now. Stuff like 2025 Mosaic football has a hobby blaster in a red box compared to retail blasters in green/blue.

Topps ships blasters and megas direct to hobby shops after hobby drops. Makes no sense. You were able to get Update blasters at target but shops had a release date of “hobby blasters” a week after update hobby came out.

GTS distributes retail for Topps in the US also. They were contracted to do this when Fanatics took Hobby distribution to 100% in house.

[jmarascojr]

I took the money I was hoping to spend here on Black Friday and bought some 24/25 Prizm Football Megas off a Facebook Marketplace flipper who just wanted to break even at this point.

Just needed something to scratch the itch over the holiday weekend...

[notfast]

Originally Posted by PoPCulture

GTS distributes retail for Topps in the US also. They were contracted to do this when Fanatics took Hobby distribution to 100% in house.

Makes sense.

I think people believe when they see retail SKU’s in hobby shops that the shops are wiping out targets…which likely isnt the case if a shop also has a ton of hobby.

Blasters and Megas are also at a SIGNIFICANTLY better price point for the majority of shop customers. Which sucks but it’s where we are at now.

[esoxwaters]

Originally Posted by jmarascojr

I took the money I was hoping to spend here on Black Friday and bought some 24/25 Prizm Football Megas off a Facebook Marketplace flipper who just wanted to break even at this point.

Just needed something to scratch the itch over the holiday weekend...

This is the way.

I found enough of what I consider “good” deals to pick up on Black Friday to enjoy over the holidays, just not from the Big 3. Happy to take my money elsewhere.

[dunquixote1]

Originally Posted by notfast

Makes sense.

I think people believe when they see retail SKU’s in hobby shops that the shops are wiping out targets…which likely isnt the case if a shop also has a ton of hobby.

Blasters and Megas are also at a SIGNIFICANTLY better price point for the majority of shop customers. Which sucks but it’s where we are at now.

Obviously it’s on steroids now. But even when I was a kid in 90s I remember $75 for a hobby box feeling like an insane price. If only I had known! Lol. I got all my cards at K-Mart that were like $8-20 “value boxes” because I couldn’t afford the hobby shop stuff. Really, retail hasn’t gone up as much as you’d think over the past 30 years now that I think about it. With inflation factored $10 back in 1995 is probably $40 now.

[Boo]

In case people haven’t seen, Prizm Monopoly basketball blasters are $7.99, buy 2 get 1 free on Target.com. Order in groups of 3 (5 is max/order but you don’t get the extra free one). You can place a bunch of different orders.

[dunquixote1]

Originally Posted by Boo

In case people haven’t seen, Prizm Monopoly basketball blasters are $7.99, buy 2 get 1 free on Target.com. Order in groups of 3 (5 is max/order but you don’t get the extra free one). You can place a bunch of different orders.

If the Money Blast inserts can come out of those then that’s a great deal. It’s a cheesy product otherwise but $5/box? I’m in! Thanks!

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by dunquixote1

If the Money Blast inserts can come out of those then that’s a great deal. It’s a cheesy product otherwise but $5/box? I’m in! Thanks!

You can place up to 15 orders of 3 and then they start getting cancelled