2024 Topps Series 2 Buying Guide
3 options to get the top rookies in Series 2 at the best price for you
When you buy cards, do you prefer to buy unopened packs and boxes or do you prefer singles? Until recently, I was well entrenched in the unopened packs camp. The joy of the unknown was always appealing to me when compared to just getting your specific cards and adding to your collection. Recently I have slowly been shifting in my opinion. I no longer desire to have multiple storage boxes of cards that I really do not want, and that is what I tend to end up with when I buy a hobby box. What I do want, and what most collectors want, are rookie cards, parallel cards, numbered cards, relic cards, and autographs. When considering rookies, find out who to target from David Gonos’ article “11 Best Rookies From 2024 Topps Series 2 Baseball” on his website. With that said, I have done some research on 3 options to buy 2024 Topps Series 2 cards (and I assume this will work for almost any flagship product).
Option 1: Buy the hobby box
A hobby box will cost about $100 if you order online. Fanatics charges $89.99 plus tax online with free shipping, which will be just under $100. In the hobby box you will get 240 cards, 20 packs with 12 cards each. You are guaranteed either an autograph or a relic, but odds are you will get the relic. From the reviews and videos posted on You Tube, it is common to also get 2 numbered cards, 3 parallels (not numbered), a Homerun Challenge card, multiple inserts and probably 5 of the top 10 rookie cards in the set. The exception or outlier is pulling a top-tier rookie autograph, which could be worth around $500. This is not the norm and you should not plan to get this. The main appeal of the hobby box is the number of cards you will receive and the unknown of what is inside.
Option 2: Buy all singles on eBay
I recently did some research using David Gonos’ Top 11 list and came up with the following table of buying options:
The prices listed in the table reflect a combination of buy-it-now prices and historical sales over the last 2 weeks and all prices include taxes and shipping. It is a safe assumption that a buyer can find better prices buy winning auctions, but I wanted this to be more conservative and realistic. The other thing about these prices is that you must wait at least 2-3 weeks after product release to buy (if considering this option in the future) to allow the market to get more saturated with supply therefore dropping prices.
The goal of the table is to get the exact rookies in the exact version of the card you prefer using your allotted $100. As you can see, the cheapest auto will cost at least $30 (for a position player), eating up 30 percent of your spending money. My plan would be as follows: Abreu auto ($30), Lawlar gold /2024 ($10), Hoo-Lee blue foil ($15), Caminero rainbow foil ($9), Winn rainbow foil ($9), Imanaga Blue parallel ($9), and base rookies for the remaining 5 players ($10) for a total spent of $92. As you can see there are plenty of options here. The positive is you get the exact cards you want and you don’t get all the fluff. The negative is you will not hit a ridiculous rookie auto parallel and you will not get as many cards.
Option 3: Buy singles and a hanger box (or two)
A hanger box will cost about $15 at your local Walmart or Target. Each hanger box includes 59 cards, two include 2 yellow parallel cards. It is also is rather common to expect to get a foil parallel, and more often a numbered parallel. With this option, I went with the following plan: 2 hanger boxes ($30), Lawlar gold /2024 ($10), Hoo-Lee blue foil ($15), Caminero rainbow foil ($9), Winn rainbow foil ($9), Imanaga Blue parallel ($9), Abreu rainbow foil ($5) and base rookies for the remaining 5 players ($10) for a total of $97. The benefit of this option is you get guaranteed cards of your choosing, you get more cards that option 2 with the hanger boxes, and you get the joy of the unknown. If you want the auto, only go for one hanger, if the auto is not important maybe get two like I did. This is my preferred option moving forward with my purchases.
One note about each option is that I included getting all 11 rookie cards listed. That may not be your plan, maybe it is only a few of them and your favorite team. Bottom line is these options can be tailored to your collecting desires. Let me know what you think about these options and what options I am missing. Good luck with whatever option you chose and as always, have a #HappyHobby!!!
I wish i knew these things when i got back in. at that time everything was way overpriced and you couldn’t find any product on the shelf. Again great stuff
Well option 2 absolutely gives the best bang for the buck. Really if your goal is just collecting favorite player or best players it’s a no doubter. Option 3 provides well little bit of both which is nice but option 1 albeit most of the time is not the best option for investing or collecting certain players but no doubt is the funnest. We love the rip there is just something about the fun of it. I have for more expensive sets just went singles route i mean most boxes never come close to getting money back.
Here is another thing to think on if you have patience if you buy the previous release after the newest release youll find a discount. Ex when heritage came out or series 2 series one prices went down. If you can wait a month or two past release you can really hammer option 2. In most cases like now would time to buy junior bc when he is called will go up but most guys you can find good deals. Hopefully this makes sense