2019 Topps Chrome Sapphire is again an online exclusive, but if you weren’t on the company’s website at the right time Wednesday morning, your only shot to get it is on the secondary market.
Topps
had been teasing the product’s release earlier in the week but not the exact time, which turned out to be 11:30 AM Eastern. The price was right; just $50 for a box that included eight packs of four cards each along with one guaranteed rookie autograph. The limit was 40 boxes per order and with those parameters, it didn’t last long. By 11:37, some collectors who tried to buy it got the bad news at checkout: sold out.
Within a few more minutes, those boxes were on eBay–and selling quickly–at $170 or more.
Sapphire began its life in 2016 and ’17 as a pricey boxed set, one that included all of the cards from Series 1 and 2 but printed on a heavier, high-end stock with a limited production run. Last year, they switched to a 100 cards per box product that also held three autographs for a price of $199.99. Those boxes are now selling for over $1,000 each. This year’s price put it within range of just about every collector but the quick sellout was discouraging to those who simply wanted an inexpensive, higher-end product to open.
Topps did release a partial checklist, including the list of 39 rookies who signed for Sapphire. While most of the names on the base checklist mirror those in Series 1 and 2, there are a few changes. The late Tyler Skaggs was replaced by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on card #340; Nick Senzel became card #583 and Carter Kieboom is #379.
2019 Topps Chrome Sapphire Checklist
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