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1997

Brews_and_Breaks

2 h

RIP affordable wax… I’m not even sure this hobby is for us anymore.

Sports Cards

football cards

Hobby Box

Hobby Love

Wax

Wave 1 MSRP:

Hobby → ~$350

Jumbo → ~$650

Wave 2 pricing:

Hobby → $1200

Jumbo → $1800

Let’s stop pretending this is normal.

This isn’t “demand.”

This isn’t “market growth.”

This is pricing strategy.

Topps watched boxes hit $900–$1800 on the secondary market…

and instead of fixing access, they moved the starting line.

Now YOU pay the flip price… upfront.

No chase.

No upside.

No margin for error.

Here’s who gets hit:

👉 Collectors

You’re not buying boxes anymore… you’re funding them.

👉 Breakers

You either overcharge your community… or eat the risk yourself.

👉 Secondary market

This only works if singles keep climbing…

and if they don’t?

Everything underneath collapses.

And here’s the real question nobody wants to ask:

If wax is priced like it’s already been flipped…

what exactly are you buying into?

Because this doesn’t feel like a product release.

It feels like Topps cutting themselves into the middle of every deal.

This isn’t the hobby getting bigger.

It’s the barrier to entry getting higher.

And eventually…

someone gets left holding it.

👍
🔝
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