Trading card manufacturer Topps is testing a new strategy to prevent the reselling of sealed products for a profit by shipping boxes without the plastic seal they’re normally wrapped in, the company announced Wednesday. Pre-orders for Mega Boxes (containing seven packs) of 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Basketball, which are scheduled to begin Friday through Topps’ website, will be the first products to ship in this format.
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“While cards and contents inside remain untouched, removing the factory seal helps discourage the immediate resale and gives more collectors an opportunity to purchase at retail,” Topps wrote in a social media post to the company’s official X account.
Boxes sold by third parties without a plastic seal have been viewed as risky purchases due to the potential for tampering, which can include removing the most valuable cards or replacing packs entirely. One of the most notable examples of a sealed box of trading cards being tampered with was when YouTuber and entrepreneur Logan Paul purchased a case of 1st Edition Pokémon cards for $3.5 million that ended up being filled with G.I. Joe cards instead.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Following unprecedented demand for yesterday’s 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Basketball pre-order, we’re working to provide collectors a chance to open packs at retail price.
For Friday’s Topps Chrome Update Basketball Mega Box pre-order on our website, all boxes… pic.twitter.com/dvsnBMldhD
— Topps (@Topps) July 8, 2026
According to Topps, these pre-orders are part of a “larger program working to ensure that more collectors can buy the products they love at retail prices.”
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Topps declined The Athletic’s request for a statement on the decision or additional details for the program.
The move from Topps arrives amid growing frustration from collectors over the affordability of trading cards. Though new products can be purchased at lower retail prices directly from the manufacturer or through major retailers, such as Target or Walmart, a significant amount of a production run is sold through card shops or secondary-market sellers at a substantial mark-up.
Hobbyists who are able to purchase popular products directly from Topps or retailers at suggested retail prices can often sell those sealed boxes on the secondary market for a profit right after release when demand is often highest. This creates a situation where people buy these products for the moneymaking opportunity rather than the desire to own them, squeezing out actual collectors.
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Confirmed pre-orders for Hobby Boxes of 2025-26 Topps Chrome Update Basketball, which originally retailed directly from Topps for $529.99 on Tuesday, have already sold for as much as $975 on eBay. Shortly after Topps regained the exclusive rights to make licensed NBA cards last year, pre-orders for 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball sold out within two minutes on the company’s website for $369.99 each but were reselling for as much as $580 on eBay within 24 hours.
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The chase for popular products at manufacturer suggested retail prices has resulted in a number of countermeasures from major manufacturers and their retail partners. Retail stores have resorted to limiting the number of items allowed per person or limiting the restocking and purchasing of products to specific timing windows. These windows can result in long lines accumulating outside retail stores, especially for popular drops from the Pokémon franchise.
Some individual shops have started removing the plastic seal at purchase to prevent resale for popular trading card games (TCG), including the One Piece card game based on the popular manga series. In January, the U.S. One Piece Card Game Official Shop announced it would begin removing the plastic wrap from booster boxes to “prevent resale and ensure the continued availability of our products.” Earlier this year, one electronics store in Tokyo appeared to use an even more creative method by asking customers to pass a Pokémon quiz before buying a new release. The quiz was meant to differentiate fans of the franchise from those hoping to flip the boxes for a profit.
Topps has also attempted to take on software programs designed to purchase popular products in bulk by partnering with the EQL platform. Using EQL, products are sold to customers with verified entries during a launch window rather than free-for-all drops that can be impacted by software “bots” purchasing large quantities within seconds.
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