January 2024 Product Releases I'm Excited About
The new year is kicking off with quite a few exciting card releases. Here's a look at a few I'm interested in.
Here’s a look at some upcoming card release in January that have caught my eye. While I’m always going to lean towards buying singles (it’s just so much safer financially), for each product, I’ll also note how likely I am to rip, break or chase singles for each.
January 3rd: Prizm Football
Look…if we’re talking the visual appeal of base cards, Prizm is super low on my list personally. Like, very near the bottom.
But I do really like the cracked ice variations, and from a collectibility and investment standpoint, Prizm Silver rookie cards are the rookie cards to own.
Prizm also has some pretty nice inserts to chase…I’m a sucker for both the Color Blast’s and Manga’s.
I also like the look of whatever these are (if anyone knows, let me know and I’ll update the post).
Rip/Break/Singles?
Prizm Hobby boxes are not cheap, so there’s virtually no chance I get any of those to rip. I will definitely grab some retail when those come out (I have a few blasters pre-ordered) but for this release, my primary focus is going to be on grabbing singles, particularly of rookies like Richardson, Young, Levis, Bijan and, of course, Stroud.
January 17th: 2023-2024 Court Kings Basketball
Update: Panini has since pushed back the release on this product to February 16th.
As boring as I find Prizm base cards, Court Kings is the polar opposite. What a gorgeous product!
There are four “levels” of rookies, each level being increasingly rare. I’ll be honest, looking at the designs, my immediate bias is for the level 2 rookies despite the fact that they’re a bit easier to find, but we’ll see if that changes seeing them in person.
And how amazing are these State of the Art inserts!
Or these Blank Slate SSP inserts!
Rip/Break/Singles?
The boxes are pricey—looks like $250 for only 10 cards—and definitely not the kind I’m willing to rip personally because the risk is so high. There doesn’t appear to be any sort of more reasonably priced retail product either.
But I do keep thinking about how amazing a Wembanyama State of the Art, or Blank Slate would look (haven’t seen an official checklist, so don’t know if he’s in those inserts). I just love how different this set is compared to just about every other product out there. It’s fresh, artistic, creative…I wish there were more products with fresh designs like this.
This is going to be a product I’ll look at singles of, though Pick Your Team style breaks are always an option for me on every 2023-24 basketball release if the price is reasonable enough to provide a safe floor. I’m doubting that will be the case for this product, but here’s hoping I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
January 17th: 2023 Panini Absolute Football
Panini Absolute is the epitome of a set where the base cards couldn’t possibly matter less, but the insert chase game is very strong.
The Kaboom! is a staple chase in the hobby for good reason.
And I really liked the Explosive insert as well.
There’s a bunch of autographs and memorability to chase in here too, but of course you always have to tread a bit carefully with any set where the appeal is all in the case cards. Good fun, definitely, but also a quick way to set your wallet on fire if you’re not careful.
Rip/Break/Singles?
The hobby boxes look like they’re pre-selling around $425. Each box comes with a Rookie Premier Materials Autograph, 2 more autos and 2 memorabilia cards. That’s not a bad floor compared to a lot of other products out there. Toss in the upside of a Kaboom! and you’ve got a pretty high ceiling as well.
I’m probably not ripping this, though I’ll watch the retail release very closely. If they do anything like what Donruss did (a guaranteed auto per mega box) while still providing a shot at a Kaboom!, I think that’ll be the buy for me.
I’m probably not doing much for singles here though, unless it’s a great price on one of those case hit style inserts.
January 24th: 2023-24 Donruss Basketball
Update: Panini has since pushed back the release on this product two days until January 26th.
I’m all about the 2023-24 basketball releases this year. I’m a lifelong Spurs fan, and I’m having a blast chasing Wembanyama for both the PC and for investing.
Donruss is not one of the higher end basketball release to be sure, but in this year, that just means it has a really high and safe floor. Every new Wembanyama card is going to have a period of time where it’s going to sell at well, at a price that immediately recoups a good percentage of the cost of ripping a product.
Take Hoops for example. If you pulled one Wembanyma in a blaster and sold it raw, it paid for the price of the blaster. If you graded it and sold it, it paid for the blaster and probably 4-5 more.
Donruss, I think, will be similar.
The Rated Rookie’s are somewhat iconic (though Optic is the better bet for long-term value) and there are always some slick looking parallel’s.
Donruss also has some great looking inserts. I’ve really liked past versions of Net Marvels, so I’m expecting more goodness there. I’m also really curious to see what they do with this year’s version of Unleashed and Crunch Time.
The Animation hobby-only inserts are going to be fun and I’m watching for the official checklist release in hopes that I’ll see a Wembanyama in these.
I think it’s going to be a pretty fun rip and with Wembanyama rookie cards lurking about, it will offer a stronger floor than usual.
Rip/Break/Singles?
This is the one and only release this month where I might end up doing a little bit of everything.
I’ve already pre-ordered some of the mega boxes for when those come out, and I may grab a Hobby box or two depending on the final pricing and the final checklist.
I also plan on buying into a few of the larger (half or full case) Pick Your Team breaks to nab a bunch of Wembanyama’s, and will be keeping an eye on the singles of him as well. I went really aggressive on getting Wembanyama Hoops cards, and I don’t think I’ll go quite as aggressive with this set, but only because Prizm is coming up just a couple weeks after so I’ve got to pace it out a bit.
January 31: 2023 Stadium Club Baseball
This is one of the very rare releases where I’m all about that base. Stadium Club consistently showcases some incredible photography, and they mostly let the design get out of the way so the photo can do all the heavy lifting. I’m a big fan of that, personally.
Honestly, I find the parallels pretty boring and not worth chasing. None of their inserts are super impressive to me either. The Beam Team’s are ok but I think more interesting because of the history attached to the insert than due to their recent incarnations (though this year’s version does look like a step up from last year), and the Triumvirates are kind of fun to pair together, but not jaw-dropping or anything like that.
Outside of the base, the other big appeal for me with Stadium Club is all the on-card autographs. I don’t get too into the whole “on-card vs sticker” discussion, but I do think an on-card autograph hits different. Pair that with the big focus on high quality photography and you get a winning combination.
Rip/Break/Singles?
This one is a pretty affordable rip. Hobby boxes are pre-selling for $120 and each Hobby box comes with 2 autographs. There’s a solid autograph checklist with a mix of present players and legends (though someone somewhere needs to explain what Wander Franco’s name is still doing on that checklist).
They’re not the highest end product or most highly sought after, so I’m not going to chase the singles on this one. But there’s always a couple base cards that, when graded, sell pretty well simply because high quality photography on a card looks great in a slab, so I’ve had good success recouping any cost for ripping.