Pre-orders for 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball sold out in just two minutes Wednesday and in some cases have resold for as much as double the retail price on the secondary market 24 hours later.
Hobby boxes, which originally retailed for $369.99, have since flipped for as much as $580 on eBay, according to sales confirmed by Terapeak, the marketplace’s research tool.
Hobby Jumbo boxes, which retailed for $699.99, have since sold for as much as $1,400, according to Terapeak.
The first licensed flagship Topps Chrome Basketball release since 2008, many collectors initially balked at prices for the set, which were higher than its most recent baseball counterpart. Hobby boxes of 2025 Topps Chrome Baseball retailed for $239.99 in July and currently average about $213 on the secondary market, according to data tool Waxstat.
Hobby boxes of last year’s 2024-25 Topps Chrome Basketball, which were unlicensed, retailed for $269.99.
As some collectors showed frustration over both retail and secondary-market pricing, others compared Topps Chrome to recent Panini Prizm sets as a more accurate comparison.
According to Waxstat, Hobby boxes of 2024-25 Prizm Basketball are currently averaging $567 on the secondary market despite what is considered a relatively weak rookie class.
Hobby boxes for 2023-24 Panini Prizm Basketball, which has a stronger class more comparable to the 2025 NBA Draft, are currently averaging $1,466 on the secondary market. Hobby boxes for 2022-23 Panini Prizm Basketball are currently averaging $750.
Collectors also pointed out the difference in SKUs, with Topps Chrome’s Hobby Jumbo configuration offering a similar number of total cards to Panini Prizm Hobby but delivering an additional autograph per box, on average.
Direct comparisons aren’t apples-to-apples, but have still resulted in interesting discussion in the hobby.
Wednesday’s release for Topps Chrome has been considered particularly important among collectors with Topps taking over the exclusive rights to make licensed NBA trading cards on Oct. 1.
Panini America had been the exclusive maker of licensed cards for the league since 2009 and currently holds the NFL license until early 2026 — when those rights will also transition to Topps and parent company Fanatics.
Considered Topps’ flagship basketball set, Topps Chrome offered an important data point for pricing both directly from the manufacturer and on the secondary market. Basketball and football sets from Panini America have traditionally been more expensive than comparable baseball sets from Topps, and Topps’ first premium release under its new licensing agreement has been expected to set the tone for pricing moving forward.
Want more stories like this? Subscribe to the cllct newsletter and follow cllct on X and Instagram.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the collectibles editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.