Topps released another round of sports NFTs on Thursday, porting its Inception baseball series to the company’s proprietary blockchain website that previously hosted drops for Bazooka Joe and Bundesliga products.
The ToppsNFTs.com website uses Avalanche (AVAX) to power its sports NFT drops, as opposed to the WAX-powered MLB Series 1 drop earlier this year.
Collectors frustrated by Topps NFT drop — again
The switch from WAX to AVAX concerned some collectors, as it left the status of their Series 1 NFTs uncertain. There’s plenty of debate over whether the move could make the Series 1 collectibles more valuable, or relegate them to forgotten, undesirable relics.
In any case, collectors hoped that the second Topps baseball NFT drop would be smoother than the Series 1 drop. In that release, prospective buyers saw their credit cards charged multiple times, even if they never actually successfully purchased packs. An overwhelmed site struggled to even process purchases, leaving many collectors frustrated and angry.
Was Thursday’s Inception drop any better? That question has become the subject of debate among collectors.
For the most part, people who appeared to make purchases actually got their packs – eventually. A queue system promised to remove much of the chaos from the proceedings, but many users (including myself) encountered errors when their turns to purchase came up, sending them to the back of the queue.
We are actively investigating the queue rejection issues with the #Inception21 release. We understand your frustration and apologize for the inconvenience.
— Topps NFTs (@ToppsNFTs) September 9, 2021
As buyers encountered those errors two or three times, frustration grew. Topps then adjusted the purchasing system, which appeared to eliminate those errors and send packs flying off the shelves.
Each user could now purchase up to three premium packs of NFTs at $100 each, or up to 10 standard packs at $15 apiece. But then, another problem emerged: users who managed to make a purchase could then make further buys after only a three-minute delay. That means that users in the queue now saw the 6,000 premium packs and 10,000 standard packs dry up within minutes, leaving some collectors with huge allotments and others empty-handed.
Eternal drops PogChamps collectibles for charity
Once users were finally able to open packs the next day, reviews of the product itself have been strong. Legendary, epic, and super rare NFTs of baseball’s biggest stars are commanding strong prices, and sealed packs have appreciated in value, with premium packs of 25 collectibles selling for over $300.
What a score! This Facsimile Signature Letter Booklet NFT featuring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from the 2021 @Topps @MLB Inception #NFT Collection just resold for $5000 on our Marketplace! Check out the latest activity here: https://t.co/NHH2Bb0jkA pic.twitter.com/WvntRddKp3
— Topps NFTs (@ToppsNFTs) September 13, 2021
The fourth PogChamps online streaming chess tournament wrapped up on Sunday. And with the conclusion, Eternal released a commemorative set of NFTs to celebrate some of the most famous and infamous moments of the event.
Eternal takes a slightly different approach to sports NFTs, releasing moments based on various streaming esports and Twitch creators. Sales on the platform benefit those creators, who earn 10% of each sale.
The PogChamps 4 release was limited to just 3,000 packs, with users able to buy just three each. One-hundred percent of all sales went to mental health non-profit Rise Above the Disorder, adding some charity to a set that mostly immortalized checkmates and blunders from popular Twitch streamers.
Hell Yeah!@eternalapp @MrBeast pic.twitter.com/NDRE8ch3GK
— Dor Almog (@dor_almog) September 13, 2021
The Eternal NFTs aren’t a joke, however. Rare moments are selling for around $20 each, while some mythic moments, numbered to just 30, have fetched more than $200 in the marketplace.
