So, product ideas, a mix of things discussed before and some newer things - I don't have a hard stance here, there's no product I absolutely love but none I really dislike either. Excluding things we have ripped recently.
2022 Topps Archives - 10 Boxes per Case - 24 Packs per Box - 2 Autos Per Box
This would be somewhat similar to Stadium Club except instead of focusing on photography it focuses more on throwback set designs. It's a fun, relatively inexpensive rip - even with only 20 people it's probably a bit over $50 a person and people could get multiple teams without it being too onerous. The checklist, IMO, necessitates shared team slots - there's some hitless teams and some that have one player or even just a box topper hit.
Pros: Fun throwback design, neat autograph subjects, a good variety of designs especially for old school collectors, 20 autos for this price point at the pro level isn't bad
Cons: Uneven checklist, Archives secondary market demand can be limited
2023 Topps Series 1 - Various Formats - My Recommended Would Be Jumbo (6 Boxes Per Case, 10 Packs Per Box, 1 Auto and 2 Relics per box Minimum)
This is the flagship - there's a slew of different formats but analyzing the odds, I still think Jumbo is the only way to go until that format is completely out of stock or pricing gets to a more reasonable level (I've watched enough Hobby Breaks to feel like it's a terrible idea). It's the flagship product and will pretty much always have a market - I think cost would be a bit more than Archives but there is a strong distribution of hits - I'd say our 25 entrant range is a bit more appropriate for this.
Pros: It's the flagship and will be pretty much guaranteed to have a reasonably strong market - even with massive overprinting - especially among parallels.
Cons: This was printed at very high rates and thus hitting parallels is tougher and the massive auto list can lead to some big "who" moments. Six autos in a case is easily the worst we're going to see here, and the relics are often not too impressive. I've watched and participated in a reasonable amount of Series 1 breaks and it can be a bummer if you don't get the luck.
2022 Bowman's Best - 8 Boxes Per Case, 12 Packs Per Box, 4 Autos Per Box
Best is perennially popular product and this year's version is fun - it includes all the great 2022 Rookies with potential for hits from all of them, a lot of fun color, some good insert series, and four autos per box (two per mini box and two mini boxes per box). It also has base, inserts, and autos of many of the premier prospects - which makes it one of a handful of products where you can get an Ohtani auto and an Elly De La Cruz auto in the same product. The downside is, and this is likely true in all products but feels more obvious here - some players signed more than others (and in some cases a lot more). Hitting those really exciting names is harder than it looks. Like the Red Sox have six auto subjects, but you're far more likely to hit an Eddinson Paulino or Niko Kavadas than a Marcelo Mayer or Mikey Romero for instance. Topps did a pretty good job with cases being even - it's rare that everyone gets a stinker but similarly rare to see a case just pump out huge hits like the Stadium Club one we did.
Pros: Good design, great checklist, fun rip, and Best tends to hold value reasonably well
Cons: Repeat auto subjects, cost is a bit high, a lot of the hits may not be that exciting now (as with most prospect products), doesn't hold its value as well as flaghship Bowman
2022 Topps Finest - 8 Boxes Per Case, 12 Packs Per Box, 2 Autos Per Box
This feels like the little brother of Bowman's Best this year - pros only checklist, similarish design/insert/format, half the autos. I think it's a fun rip but the value really isn't there IMO. There are a reasonable number of "three dollar autos" (autographs of low ceiling subjects without much hobby demand) without the prospect upside of, in three years, the player possibly being hugely desirable. Great cards and I love buying them as singles, but you need to get really lucky to really get that "wow" card. The checklist is really small so we would need paired teams if we did teams. With that said, it's a pretty reasonably priced product for what you do get (I think it's be 60-70 a slot even with some shared slots)...just a hard sled to get there without a big rookie hit or a rarer insert hit.
Pros: Sleek design, pretty good overall auto list and color parallels, given it cost as much as Archives or 2023 Topps Jumbo it isn't too onerous cost wise
Cons: It needs shared teams for a random, too many filler autos, market doesn't seem to appreciate some of the mid-tier names.
2022 Bowman Inception- 16 Boxes Per Case, 1 Pack Per Box, 2 Autos Per Box
If we want a quick break, I dig Ineception. They are artsy, thick stocked cards. Really solid auto checklist with many of the higher end prospects you want. It's a quick break - 16 packs and even if you milk it you can only go through seven cards so fast. Two autos per pack and the vast majority are on card and not redemptions. All autos are numbered from what I've seen. The downside is just that thought - it's a hit heavy product and there are some of those "three dollar autos" in there. This is also a prospect only product - you'll have some guys who will be in the league this year but it's still heavy in that realm.
Pros: Numbered on-card autos that are visually appealing, pretty strong and small checklist, 32 auto hits with 16 non-auto numbered cards is pretty good output for a case.
Cons: No MLB level guys, since it's not Flagship/Chrome it can suffer in the secondary market, easy to completely strike out even over a case (I did a few team breaks and only one of the four "teams" I got got more than one card in a half case break.
Mixed Box Break
There have been some one-off calls for products that could be fun but may not have the necessary support for a case of or may be too prohibitively expensive to run a case of. A lot of breakers will do mixers of product to get a taste of a lot of different products for people. It also can even out some of the checklist discrepancies if planned out. I am thinking products like Diamond Kings, Pro Debut, Triple Threads, Bowman Draft or Base etc. that could be pieced together at a reasonable cost and can mix in hit based products with more traditional products (so doing a one card box of a three card box doesn't feel so onerous). This could be a debate if people would agree to a break as to what it looks like and it may be a reasonable way to test drive a good handful of different products to see what we might want to do for breaks later.
Higher End Stuff
This is less of my expertise to be honest. I know there's some great licensed and unlicensed high end products that start pushing random slots into the 150+ range but I generally don't end up in high end unless it's a big treat to myself. I'd be more inclined to enjoy a high end mixer than a single product but finding and ensuring solo boxes where we know it hasn't been picked out of a case where any case hits were found is tougher.
And for items I'd be less enthused about for a variety of reasons but worth mentioning in case that strikes anyone as interesting. It would be rather tough to balance different boxes to relative value so it may be one we just have to accept 30 entries and someone(s) are getting skunked on quality.
2022 A&G Chrome and 2022 Stadium Club Chrome
Not gonna say much on these since the latter isn't out and we just did base Stadium Club and, as much as I LOVE A&G, I don't think it's a great breaking product for the cost (you're pretty much hard capped at a handful of slots "winning" and the non-baseball subjects require randoms or its own slot and it can be tough). If there is a groundswell I can break it down to what I can
2022 Gypsy Queen and 2022 Heritage and 2022 A&G and All Its Friends:
More of the baseish type products, Heritage is a hardcore set builder that doesn't do a ton for me as a breaking product (I'd much rather buy a box at that point) and some folks love Gypsy Queen and they have some really good autos, but it's a bit of an odd checklist and hard to really track.