Topps Joins Repack Game with 'Instant Rips'
Fanatics has officially entered the repack game, although in a more modern fashion. Packs, which can only be purchased through breakers on Fanatics Live, will be digital reveals. But the buyer has the option to request the physical card through the mail.
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The cost for one card will be $250, and according to multiple outlets the floor value will be $90 while buyers can hit a card with a max value of $3,800. Values will be based on reports and sales records from Card Ladder.
Collectors got a taste of the product with a sneak preview on the Sports Cards Nonsense Fanatics Live channel with a series of giveaways. When a pack is purchased, just like other NFT packs, a digital sealed pack is revealed. When the buyer or breaker decides to open, the graphic animation starts revealing the card.
Interestingly enough, that graphic animation is also a tell, it shows whether the card in the batch is a base pack, chase pack, or the top dog 'grail' pack. While breakers have the checklist, they don't know which card will be pulled when. Checklists will also be available to the public.
Ownership of the card is instantaneously transferred to the buyer, where they can store the card, put it up for sale on Fanatics Collect, or request to have it sent to them. No tax is paid until the buyer requests the card, similar to eBay Vault.
Reps from Fanatics have been seen buying PSA graded cards around the collecting community, in preparation for this launch.
Currently it's just baseball in these packs, but if Fanatics follows their own methodical way of expansion, buyers could eventually see other sports being offered.
The official launch of the Instant Rips will be at 6:45 EST with breaker Filthbomb on Fanatics Live.
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2008, Cole worked as an advertising copywriter until shifting to print journalism a few years later. Managing three weekly newspapers in the Dakotas, Cole won numerous awards from the North Dakota Newspaper Association including Best of the Dakotas and, their top award, General Excellence. He returned to collecting in 2021 and has since combined his passion for writing with his love of cards. Cole also writes for the Sports Cards Nonsense newsletter and has made guest appearances on multiple sports card collecting podcasts including Sports Cards Nonsense, and the Eephus Baseball Cards Podcast. IG: coleryan411 X: @colebenz