Been waiting all week to see the 2009 Topps 206 Blasters to hit retail store shelves, and when I found them Wednesday I was thrilled. Problem: The odds for any for the hits are off the charts. Autographs are EASIER to get in Blasters than relics. The easiest signature can be attained 1 in every 162 packs while the easiest relic falls 1 in every 672 packs. Autographs are almost five times easier to get than relics! There are two ways to interpret this: 1) Topps is giving Blaster Buyers a better shot at signatures; 2) Topps is milking Blaster Buyers for every penny.
These odds won’t make a difference to set collectors; Blasters offer an extra pack and cost a dollar less than buying seven random retail packs. But for basic collectors, Blasters may not be worth the money — the hits are at least three times harder to get. Is this fair?
The main problem with retail products is pack searchers are everywhere. Within 10 minutes of a retail box being placed on the shelf, someone has rifled through it and yanked the hits. So what are retail shoppers left to do? Buy blasters, which contain packs that are not searched. The problem here though is that Topps is making the collector work even harder for their hit.
There’s always the option to buy a hobby box, and given the stats that Cardboard Problem presented on Wednesday, that is looking like the best option for basic collectors.
Top packs is from a Blaster; bottom is basic retail. Check out the odds.
