Topps Sterling is one of the highest-end products the sports collectibles company puts out yearly. Prices range between $1,200 to $1,400 for the two-card box. As Topps put it, “Each box delivers on-card autograph relic cards from America’s Pastime’s favorite current stars, legends, and newly emerging rookies!” However, criticism is being leveled at the recently released 2024 Topps Sterling, where some collectors feel the product isn’t living up to its name.
In the latest Sports Card Nonsense podcast, host Mike Gioseffi says he’s “extremely disappointed” in this year’s Sterling product. In a one-week span, Sterling was released with other top-tier products like 2023 Topps Dynasty and 2024 Topps Tribute. Gioseffi was hoping Sterling would get a rub from Dynasty, where some single cards have already been selling in the thousands.
“My thought was, I wonder if [Topps] got the high-end stuff right this year,” says Gioseffi. “As good as Dynasty was, I thought maybe it’s going to spill over into Sterling. It has not.”
One of the biggest issues has been the over-abundance of single-colored jersey relic cards. If you’re paying big money for high-end cards, you expect multi-color patches.
“The amount of single-colored jersey cards in Sterling is disgusting to me. You can’t do that,” remarks Gioseffi. “Sterling is 12-hundred dollars a box. You get two cards, there shouldn’t be a single thing in there with a single color.”
Gioseffi also railed against a box he opened for a customer where the two autograph cards were J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner of the Philadelphia Phillies. If you’re spending upwards of $1,400 for a box of 2024 Topps Sterling, you’re expecting something more substantial.
“That can’t happen in that product. It just can’t,” says Gioseffi.
Social media users on Reddit also pointed out the lack of patch integrity for a 1/1 Randy Johnson card out of 2024 Topps Sterling. The dual relic card has one single-color patch and the other has one single pinstripe from Johnson’ Arizona Diamondbacks jersey.
“But the absolute worst was this: A Randy Johnson ‘1/1’ dual patch. Not dual patch auto. Dual patch. Isn’t this product supposed to be cut signatures or patch autos?” Reddit user loslosati wrote. “On top of that, the patches weren’t even that great, as you can see in the picture. This…is not special. It was ripped on Blowout and the guy ripping was like, ‘This looks like a Tier 1 hit.’ Yeah, Topps. That’s terrible.”
Loslosati also says Kansas City Royals legend George Brett appeared in a “500 Home Run Club” mini-box. The problem: Brett had 317 career home runs.
Reddit user Cardboard_Glory added, “It’s one of the worst checklists for high end product in recent years. $1,000+ for a box that could literally yield less than $100 worth of auto or relic cards. We are truly crossing some strange boundary in the card collecting world where I think manufacturers have finally got the gamblers over a barrel.”
But the most baffling aspect of the product might’ve happened during a case break on Blez Baseball. During a break of 2024 Topps Sterling on Thursday night, there were two “Yankees Greats” mini-boxes within the case. If you had the Yankees in the break and you were looking at the checklist, there are several names that popped out: Aaron Judge, Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford, among others. So, what legendary cards were inside these two boxes? Two Everson Pereira Dual Patch Autograph /25 rookie cards. This “Yankees Great,” who debuted in 2023, has played a grand total of 27 games. Across those 27 games, he hit .151 with zero home runs and ten runs batted in. To top it off, Pereira is currently in Triple A to begin the season.
Now, this isn’t to say that 2024 Topps Sterling is some terrible product. Far from it. They have some absolutely gorgeous cards, including Bat Knobs, Bat Nameplates, Letter Patches, Legendary Relics and Legendary Cut Signature Relics. What collectors are concerned about is that when they’re shelling out between $1,200 to $1,400 for a box of only two cards, they expect more bang for their buck, including better looking patch cards and “Yankees Great” mini-boxes not containing a player with a -0.6 wins above replacement.
Collectors know opening up high-end products comes with its fair share of risks. They just want the quality to be there when shelling out this type of money.
HobbyListings has reached out to Fanatics for comment.
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