Buying Unopened Packs

For the past few years, people looking to turn a quick buck have been buying up the cards from retail shelves to sell online through eBay, Amazon and other sites. You can buy unopened retail from third-party vendors (i.e. Joe from down the street) on Walmart.com and Target.com. So you need to be careful when buying cards. These resellers charge more than the true retail price for cards. For example, 2021 Topps Chrome blaster packs were selling directly from Target for $29.99 on the company's website while a reseller had the same product for sale at $39.99 on Walmart's website. These resellers have been succeeding by simply buying up all of the stock. But the shift to online sales by companies like Target have made it more difficult for the crooks to control the market. Most companies put a limit on how many boxes of cards you can purchase, and that seems to be helping to keep stock available for collectors. When buying online, be sure to search for "sports cards" and then filter by retailer. For example, only click on "sold by Target" on the Target website and do the same if using the Walmart website. In summer and fall of 2021, collectors began to see Walmart increasing the prices of some retail packs. Therefore, it's best to check multiple retailers before making a purchase. \

Walmart, Walgreens, Barns and Noble and a few other retail chains also still sells packs in stores. However, only certain stores carry cards on the shelves, and that stock is subject to the same bulk buying/hoarding that has gone on for the past several years. So don't be surprised if your local Walmart doesn't have any cards on shelves.  In my experience, you'll have to ask about cards at the checkout counter. The cards may be kept in a secure location next to tobacco products and other items that require special attention.

You also can take your chances buying directly from Topps.com, the company that produces many of the products collected in today's hobby. The Topps website usually has unopened packs for sale by the box during the first days of a product release. Topps.com seems to run out of stock quickly, and the website usually never makes packs available once the initial stock runs dry.

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