30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Maybe Sorting Doesn't Suck That Bad

Hey, remember the guy who said "sorting sucks"?  Well... he's sorting again.  And I've gotta admit... it doesn't suck that bad.  Well at least for today.

What's on today's sorting list?  It's this 2019 Topps Factory set that I picked up on Target's website last week:


I normally don't go out of my way to buy factory sets, but there were two reasons I grabbed this one.

#1:  I like the 2019 Topps flagship design.  It's my 2nd favorite of the decade right after the 2015 set.

#2:  The price was right.

Target originally sold these sets for $49.99, but they had it on sale for $37.49.  But I had a 20% off coupon.  Plus I got an additional 5% off because I used my Target RedCard.  The final price (w/tax included) for this set was around $31 shipped.  I couldn't pass that up.


Getting back to the sort, Topps has once again decided to give collectors the thrill of the sort.  Instead of having their factory sets presorted, they have it mixed up.  At least they split it up into Series 1 and Series 2.

As of right now, I've currently broken things down into stacks of 100:


The top row is Series 1 and the bottom row is Series 2.  That's why you'll notice two stacks for the 300's.

As soon as I'm finished writing this post, I'll break down each of these stacks into tens and then down to the ones.

But before that, I thought I'd give you a quick look at the five rookie card variations (along with the regular rookie cards) that were included with this set:

2019 Topps Factory Set Variation #475

2019 Topps #475

2019 Topps Factory Set Variation #670

2019 Topps #670

2019 Topps Factory Set Variation #632

2019 Topps #632

2019 Topps Factory Set Variation #410

2019 Topps #410


Topps had originally planned on including Kyle Tucker as part of the rookie image variations.  But I guess the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hype convinced them to tinker with the checklist.

Here's the fifth and final rookie image variation card:

2019 Topps Factory Set Variation #700a

Vladimir fans will be excited to know that they actually included an extra rookie card of him as well:

2019 Topps Factory Set Variation #700b

#700a is the one that came in the 5 card rookie image variation pack, while #700b was inserted right next to the pack.

This particular factory set also comes with a retail exclusive Chrome rookie variation.  I was hoping to find a Fernando Tatis sitting in my set.  Instead, I found...


2019 Topps Chrome Rookie Variation #700

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hot box.  I mean hot set.

Okay... that's all for today.  I've gotta get back to sorting.  Happy Saturday and sayonara!

11 comments:

The Shlabotnik Report said...

Wow, you can't beat that price for a current factory set, especially with those variations.

Thank you for sharing those, because now I know that the Pete Alonso variation is exactly the kind of card I've sworn off for 2020: Yes, it's different, but not different enough to worry about.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Your variations covered the cost, the rest is just bonuses.

gcrl said...

The last factory set i bought was in 2007 or 2008 when they had team specific 5 card packs. This is a pretty good purchase given the rookie crop this year. Of course the tatis variation is a double play card. I may see if I can find a single online.

Base Card Hero said...

I completely forget to look at Target for factory sets. Using the coupon + red card is a great idea.

Was the coupon specifically for baseball cards?

SumoMenkoMan said...

Wow, you piled on the discounts. Awesome! Didn’t realize there was so much fun to be had in factory sets.

Nick said...

I've never bought one of these factory sets myself, but looks like you got a good deal there. Gonna have to keep my eye out for an affordable copy of that Tatis variation since it's a double play card!

Jafronius said...

Haha all you needed was the 10% employee discount and you would have been golden! Hmm, perhaps that's why my wife conveniently misplaced our unused 20% off coupon (which was given to guests for shopping on Black Friday). They'll probably do the same deal again next year so be prepared!

Chris said...

I had no idea that you could get Chrome Refractors out of a factory set. Nice Vlads!

Collecting Cutch said...

I would buy the set just for the variant of the Tatis. That is a sweet looking card and so much better than the original.

Fuji said...

the shlabotnik report - yeah, topps dropped the ball on that variation. they should have had him fielding... and tatis batting on their variations.

johnnys trading spot - i'll use the money i saved to eventually buy me an update set

gcrl - i know. i want an extra one for my padres pc ;)

base card hero - no. i bought a chromebook for my classroom on black friday and they gave me a digital 20% off coupon. i actually used it for this set... as well as a buy 2 get 1 free ps4 game sale.

sumomenkoman - got the set sorted. now i just need to get it into a binder ;)

nick - looks like you have company. gcrl and i are looking for copies as well

jafronius - oh man... that would have been the trifecta. hope your wife used the coupon on some cards for your stocking ;)

chris - you only get one chrome. happy to get vlad... would have been happier had it been tatis ;)

collecting cutch - i actually like his base rookie card. don't get me wrong. i like the variant too.

Peter K Steinberg said...

Nice. This post has me thinking about trying to get the set. I'm not totally in love with the design but it is the best in recent years. If I do, and I land a Tatis: it's yours.