Curry/Durant/James Topps Now Auto Shines Spotlight on the Brand

Topps sold over 500,000 copies of a Curry/Durant/James Olympic Topps Now card causing many in the hobby to ask just wat the devil Topps NOw is. Topps Now, for the uninitiated, is a program where Topps issues cards highlighting specific games or events for a limited time. Topps Now has been around since 2016 and, while steady, is more of a niche product with a small, but dedicated fanbase. The cards are print-to-order meaning the print run is determined by the number of cards ordered. The cards are high quality and feature stellar photography that is Stadium Club adjacent. 

It’s a popular enough program but it is not unusual to see print runs under 1000. Other cards though sell substantially more, but very few have ever topped 20,000. Top sellers have been somewhat random and include Bernie Sanders and Anthony Fauci. Shohei Ohtani held the record for the highest printed card when he signed with the Dodgers. He was supplanted by Wemby’s ROY card which clocked in at 113,777. All that’s to say, selling 500,000 copies+ is far removed from the norm.

The program has its fans including the die-hard Platinum Club members who receive special perks throughout the year including early access to the autos. Still, it is largely overlooked with even better rookies selling for the price of a cup of coffee. Parallels tend to be available super cheap which is in part due to their bland appearance changing only minimal elements like Stadium Club parallels which are similarly ignored.  

Something has changed though. Topps Now is having a moment. That old record looks quaint compared to the massive 588,030 print run for the Curry/Durant/James Topps Now card commemorating their gold medal win in Paris. It’s not a sudden spike in Topps Now popularity though. Topps changed the game by including the chance for an auto. Not just any auto a 1/1 triple auto that is the talk of the hobby. 

Changes

Using the shot at autos to sell more Topps Now cards is a clever idea and this is not the first time Topps has tried this. A recent Jackson Holiday Topps Now card included the chance at autos and sold 53,003 copies compared to just 6379 for his next solo offering. Topps increased their sales by several hundreds of thousands dollars just by including 16 Holiday autos. With returns like that, expect to see a lot more autos being randomly inserted with Topps Now base cards 

Topps has brought new life to the program through the introduction of random autos but they also added a couple of other changes that increased the profile of the Topps Now brand. The key one to me is the inclusion of image variation foil parallels. Where the numbered parallels have been ignored for years, these have been popular since they’ve been introduced. The reason is clear. These are visually compelling, attractive cards that any player collector will want. There is finally a good reason to go parallel chasing with Topps Now. 

Topps Now autos were once my favorite place to look for discounts. Great quality, on-card autos, and largely overlooked, still these cards often ended with disappointing auction prices.  Topps changed the autos to a pack format this year where each pack contains an auto of the player but the numbering varies. That’s driven demand for the autos and prices have been strong for Topps Now autos recently. 

The packs have added excitement but the real benefit is that these cards hit the market much more frequently now. Before, they disappeared into personal collections. Now, people buy them looking for rare parallels and then dump the unwanted singles online or they cash in and sell. Either way, more autos are hitting eBay. This is an odd case of increased supply increasing demand as there is now a critical mass of cards in the market to increase collector awareness of the brand. Between more singles available online and increased buzz from packs, the days of discount Topps Now autos in auction look to be over. 

Wemby, Stroud, Ohtani, and Caitlin Clark have all seen their Topps Now autos regularly eclipse $1000. It’s not just the biggest names in the hobby hitting high prices. A 2022 Red Bobby Witt /10 went for $2500 recently and Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson have also hit four digits. Topps Now autos have always been sold at premium prices direct from Topps and now the cards are retaining that premium status.

A Caveat

I’ve noticed more speculation around Topps Now and unfortunately that brings with it all the bad that comes with that. Many Topps Now cards have lower print runs and even cards from 2020 with a print run under 400 can be difficult to find. That makes these cards ripe for market manipulation. I recently saw a rarer Ichiro/Pujols Topps Now card go for a stunning $150. It was a puzzlingly high sale in a market where even rarer cards rarely hit $20. The moderator of the Topps Now group on Facebook that I frequented booted any and all of their members who questioned the price at all and then offered a couple of other copies to the group for the “discount” of $120. 

He’s well within his rights to do that but the issue highlights the fact that Topps Now has gone from an oasis of the hobby untouched by flipping and dollars to being just like everything else. Beware of market manipulation but also beware of losing what make Topps Now special. So far, Topps has been able to retain the innocence of the program and the print-on-demand model helps avoid many troubles that plague the hobby like bots. 

Wrap Up

Topps Now has grown up a lot this year. It’s a fun program and I can’t wait to see NFL and NBA versions. That said, maybe take a step back and breath before listening to those touting it as the next big thing.