Back in June, Topps released a nine card set that was exclusive to Lids and only available to customers that purchased a New Era MLB hat. My original post explaining the promotion in further detail was highly read and the set became a pet project of mine. I check eBay listings daily for “topps new era” and the inserts/parallels from this limited set have been scarce, as in only four have been posted on eBay since June 4!
Topps announced that both inserts and parallels were produced for this set yet only relics had surfaced on eBay. I went so far as to contact someone at Topps and asked if the parallels were actually made or if they were scrapped at the last minute. But, no response was ever received from Topps.
But, today I have good news! Two parallels have been posted to eBay and they belong to the same seller (and no, it’s not a coincidence). One parallel is a Bryce Harper Blue #/99 and the other is a Buster Posey Red #d 1/1.
While I did say I had good news, the good news is only that the parallels have surfaced so their existence can be confirmed. There is also some bad news to go along with this update. The seller seems to have acquired these cards under less than reputable conditions.
Per the rules of the promotion, a customer would receive a four card pack for each New Era MLB hat purchased at Lids. I was also privy to some inside information because I still have some friends from my days as a Lids manager that still work at local stores. Packs were distributed to stores in 100ct boxes with some stores receiving one box at a time until they needed replenished.
Remember when I said that the seller having both parallels was no coincidence? That’s because he posted pictures of the five, yes FIVE, boxes of 100ct packs on his Instagram account (those pictures have since been removed). I contacted him and even sent him an email asking how he acquired so many packs….guess who hasn’t responded to my inquiry. Somehow this collector/seller was able to acquire 500 packs of these New Era cards and even though I’m a little upset because I know there’s no way it was on the up-and-up, I am happy to know that the parallels do exist.
If you’d like to listen to Kin and I talk more about this situation, you can do so here!