The uprising of retail

Is it just me, or has retail product become even more relevant than usual this year than in others?

I for one found this to be true in the simple fact that once was lucky to find any blaster boxes of 2017 Prizm basketball in a store. Anytime I walked into a Target and saw them sitting there, I grabbed as many as I could afford in that moment.

I think the trick is a careful balance of avoiding that retail itch when you're shopping for stuff you're actually supposed to buy (that retail box regret can be too real), but also taking advantage of blaster boxes/rack packs/etc when a player or players in that product gets hot, and you're seeing the price of boxes shoot up on places like eBay.

2017 Prizm basketball is a prime example of this, but we also see the value of retail in things like Gypsy Queen this year with the brilliant play of Ohtani.

I don't think you can argue that retail is ever better than a hobby box, but let's not pretend that you can't pull some pretty amazing stuff at a fraction of the price, and even retail exclusive items (Prizm's Green Refractors). And when a blaster box ends up selling for $35+ (Again, see 2017 prizm basketball) on eBay, you've gotta see the value in grabbing a box in a store that can't sell it for higher than $19.99.