Something unique is happening this week and the entire hobby is invited! A special online event is being hosted by StockX, a Detroit-based company that bills itself as the world’s first “Stock Market of Things.” In this case, an “initial product offering” (IPO) has been unveiled by The Topps Company, Inc., on https://stockX.com/news/topps. The “things” that are being offered via a three-day blind bid process – which started today at 10 a.m. EST and runs through 8 p.m. EST on Wed., Oct. 30 – are 35 exclusive 2019 Bowman Chrome Baseball rookie cards and 65 Bowman Chrome Prospects cards, all of which have been authenticated, graded and encapsulated by PSA. This will be the first offering of each of the crash-numbered (#/31) cards, so it’s a big deal. All the cards have earned grades of either PSA Mint 9 or PSA Gem Mint 10!
Collectors and investors alike will have the chance to bid on any or all the graded cards being sold by placing a “blind bid” for the most they are willing to pay for the items in question. The 3,100 total cards have been broken down into 1,500 different items consisting of 1,100 single-card boxes and 400 five-card cases. The 35-card lineup of Bowman Chrome RCs includes standouts like Fernando Tatis, Jr. (Padres), Pete Alonso (Mets), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays) and Carter Kieboom (Nationals), while the 65-card lineup of Bowman Chrome Prospects features up-and-comers like Royce Lewis (Twins), Joey Bart (Giants), Bo Bichette (Blue Jays) and Jo Adell (Angels). Here’s the catch: You will not know which player – or players, if you blind bid on the five-card cases – you will be getting, but the price will certainly be competitive. Read on.
Buyers can place their blind bids during the three-day window and StockX will then take 1,100 of the highest bids placed on the single-card boxes and 400 of the highest bids placed on the five-card cases. The lowest of the top bids in both categories will then be established as that item’s “clearing price.” The best part of this process is that every one of the top blind bidders will pay only the clearing price, which means all but one of the highest bidders for a single-card box or a five-card case will get the PSA-graded 2019 Bowman Chrome X Baseball product for less than what they bid. Pretty cool, huh?
So, what is a blind bid, you ask? Well, it’s a process where bidders simultaneously submit bids to the auctioneer – in this case, StockX – without any knowledge of the amounts being bid by the other participants. StockX has produced this video to help explain the blind bid process with this specific product offering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHVNglecX8U.
“We are very excited to be involved and to help spread the word about this special IPO from Topps,” said PSA President Steve Sloan. “It will fun to see what the clearing prices turn out to be.”
To get started, visit https://stockX.com/news/topps and create an account. and place a bid on the item you want. It will then redirect you to a page to create your own account. From there you will be able to finalize a buyer’s blind bid against the item you want. Good luck with placing your bids, collectors. Now, start your engines!
