Another Topps Hobby Rip Night has passed, and I thought I would give my overall thoughts on the event, but first, let’s discuss what Hobby Rip Night actually is.
Topps Hobby Rip Night comes in many shapes and sizes but is ultimately a specific day when card shops nationwide host events where people come in and rip packs of sports cards together. The events can contain special guests, trivia, raffles, giveaways, and, if you are lucky, discounted products. Topps supports the events by providing products like packs of cards and t-shirts, and the owner of Fanatics is also known to pop into some shops with his celebrity friends.
Overall, it’s like a holiday for sports cards, where collectors go to their local card shops to be together and celebrate the hobby.
It sounds great, but is Topps Hobby Rip Night truly a celebration that brings collectors together to celebrate the hobby in a safe and family-friendly environment? Or is it just an excuse for Topps to sell more products and for Michael Rubin to show off how cool he is with his A-list friends?
My answer to the first question is yes, it is a celebration that brings collectors together to celebrate the hobby in a safe and family-friendly environment, but each card shop celebrates the event differently. This means you will get a different experience at almost every card shop. I went to two locations of the Monmouth Card shops, and they were both different experiences. One shop had two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck show up with Michael Rubin. They also had trivia, giveaways, and random pack battles. The other store had no celebrity appearances but did have raffles that went on periodically and had pack battles after each raffle. They each had different things to offer, but they were both a lot of fun.
I had attended other Rip Nights before, but they were far less entertaining. I won’t name those shops because my goal isn’t to bring negativity to small businesses, but it’s worth noting that not every Hobby Rip Night is a thrilling experience. To be fair, it may not have been the stores' fault—they simply didn’t attract enough attendees to create the right atmosphere. And that brings me to Michael Rubin.
Does Rubin trotting around with an entourage of celebrities benefit anyone but himself? Is this a power move to show off his celebrity status? If he shows up at one card shop, is he taking business away from another?
Well, for me personally, what he is doing with Hobby Rip Night is much more positive than negative. This iteration of the event had him attending as many card shops as he could, and primarily by himself. Monmouth had Justin Tuck, but that was technically separate from Rubin’s appearance. My point is that he didn’t show up with an entourage to make himself look cool, and maybe his appearance did draw away from some other stores, but he tried his best to attend as many shops as he could.
He was boots on the ground, shaking hands, ripping packs, trading with kids, and answering questions. I attended an event where he appeared, and I attended an event where he did not, and both stores had lots of customers and looked to be benefitting from the event. Is this still a way for him to sell more Topps products? Yes, but it is also helping out local card shops by creating marketing for them and bringing in more customers (I do not have any data that backs up whether this benefitted shops or not, but from seeing the number of customers that it draws, I would expect that it did).
I do not know Michael Rubin’s true intention with Topps, what goes on in his personal life, or whether he is genuinely a good person. I can only speak about what I saw at Hobby Rip Night, and what I saw was positive.
Another positive aspect of Hobby Rip Night is how fun it is for the kids. I avidly believe that collecting sports cards is a hobby for all ages, but the foundation of the hobby is the children.
It was great seeing all the kids together, trading cards, discussing sports, and having fun. It took me back to when I was a child and the joy I had collecting. There was no talk of money or value or negative adult comments like, “This player is injured all the time, but I think he just fakes it because he only wants to play when he feels like it” (an actual conversation I heard by two adults at a Shake Shack that night). The whole event was pure fun for them, and although I do believe it is important for kids to know the value of something, it was a breath of fresh air to hear conversations that did not involve it.
In the end, Topps Hobby Rip Night does exactly what it’s supposed to: It creates a family-friendly event where collectors can get together and have a great time while generating more business for our local card shops that we all know and love.
*If you are ever near a Monmouth Cards store, be sure to check them out. I highly recommend them for their awesome aesthetic, friendly staff, and great inventory.
*Not a sponsored post
