Etopps In Hand

As those of you who read this blog probably know, I am an advocate for eTopps.  My portfolio is not nearly what it used to be though- I sold a LOT of my cards on eBay and cardtarget.com to have funds for my re-entry into the cardboard part of the hobby.   My spending balance between eTopps and cardboard used to be about 90%/10% in favor of Etopps, but it’s completely reversed now, and I mostly buy cardboard as I try to catch up and complete a bunch of sets I started working on in the 90s and early 2000s.    But I digress…  

Even though I love all of the online features that come with eTopps, there still is no substitute for having the cards in hand.  So for those that have recently joined eTopps, but have not taken any cards for delivery, here are some images of cards I have had shipped over the years, and what they look like in real life:

One of my eTopps boxes.  Everytime I open this box I get excited.  I just want to spread these encased-and-sealed-in-lucite-beauties all over the bed and roll around on them.  But I don't.  Let's look at some cards.  Pardon the cruddy photography and scanning:

All eTopps cards come individually bagged, encased and sealed with an eTopps hologram sticker.

Etopps periodically issues special Allen and Ginter and T206 cards, which are very popular.  The cards are standard mini sized, and look like A&G and T206 cards, with a high tech style.  They are some of my favorite sets.   I liked them so much, I sold them all except this Jimmie Foxx card so I could spend more money on cardboard.   Eventually I'll get them back.   I do have a Allen & Ginter Football set I will show some other time.

All eTopps cards come individually bagged, encased and sealed with an eTopps hologram sticker. 

Most cards have serial numbers printed on the back.  The 2005 cards had a COA send with each card, which is kind of a hassle.  Glad that was short-lived.

Before doing the Allen and Ginter, Etopps issued a "Classic" set over the course of several years which was pretty nice.  I have almost completed the classic set. 

It's hard to take a half ass picture of these without getting a glare from the flash. 

 Here are some of the big names from the Classic set.   I enjoy all of the features associated with the eTopps but it's the end result- the cards themselves- that make this offshoot of the hobby a success in my book.