One cannot deny the allure of Topps trading cards. The thrill of a pack draw, the anticipation of uncovering something rare or valuable, is part and parcel of the hobby for both seasoned collectors and enthusiastic novices. However, coupled with this excitement is an underlying murmur of apprehension in the community, a suspicion that the distribution of these prized possessions is not as random as it should be. The rumors prospered primarily on how certain prominent entities consistently pulled high-value cards, inciting an outcry for transparency and fairness.
But now, Fanatics, the parent company of Topps, is making an intrepid move to put these murmurs to rest, once and for all.
Demonstrating an unwavering commitment to transparency, Fanatics has decided to let an independent entity sift through its card distribution practices. The lucky winner isn’t a card collector, but the seasoned audit firm, KPMG. The company has asked KPMG to scrutinize its card distribution policies and practices, with an uncompromising focus on fairness and randomness.
The announcement came from Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan at the Industry Conference in Atlanta. The news was met with an upbeat response and a well-deserved sigh of relief from the collector community. After enduring months of rigorous review, the stamp of approval came from KPMG, which confirmed the effectiveness of Fanatics/Topps’ processes in preventing the willful placement of high-value cards to favored customers.
Adding to the discussion, Greg Abovsky, the CFO of Fanatics Collectibles, stepped in to explain away another point of contention. He pointed out that the frequency of high-value pulls by major breakers is a statistical likelihood due to the colossal volume they handle. The suggestion is clear – what appears to be suspicious is nothing more than mathematics in action.
But Fanatics was not content with just trigger-happy explanations. They opened their doors to KPMG all the way to the printing facility in Texas where the magic happens. The audit firm reviewed card production processes in meticulous detail, inspecting even the production logs for each job to ensure that randomness was the rule rather than the exception.
This step, the first of its kind in the industry is a bold and commendable initiative taken by Fanatics, to debunk myths and re-affirm the integrity of their distribution process to their treasured collector community.
Adding to the goodwill, Abovsky confirmed that Fanatics has never seeded boxes with valuable cards for promotional purposes, squashing yet another common suspicion that has been doing the rounds in the collector circuits.
The plans don’t stop there. Fanatics is looking to make this randomness audit an annual event, an enduring testament to their commitment towards ensuring fairness and transparency in their practices. It would seem that Fanatics has decided that the best defense against conspiracy theories and suspicion is an open book policy, and they’re flipping the pages hand-in-hand with KPMG.
