Part 1, discussing the first day of the release, can be found here.

Part 2, discussing the experience with the market and WAXP currency, can be found here.

Part 3, discussing the future of the platform and possibilities, can be found here.

Wrapping up this series, I wanted to take some time to walk through the last part of my journey with Topps NFT, as I feel the platform has a lot of interesting features and capabilities, but has been generally not attended to the way it needs to be. My initial $100 investment yielded quite a bit of entertainment and fun, as well as substantial return, but because of the challenges Topps is experiencing entering the NFT market, hasnt been the growth vehicle it looked like it was going to be up front.

Catching Up – The Experience After Week 1

After the packs started being opened and cards being traded, the market settled considerably. Once people realized that this was something that was going to have value, everything exploded. For about a week, cards were selling for huge numbers and everyone was excited for the potential long term craziness that has been in place with NBA Top Shot.

Unfortunately, even through the giant growth over the course of that second week, sellers still outnumbered buyers by 2 to 1 and the lack of volume sales were shrinking interest in the platform. By the end of week 4, most cards settled back down to about 30% of where they were during that first boom.

I had already pulled out my original money (ill get to that process in a second), so I was fine seeing the money evaporate to a certain degree. I was prepped for a long term hold and seeing what Topps was going to do with new sets and new products.

Along that path, I really changed my mind, as there was almost zero information provided to the public and very little communication from Topps Digital about future plans. Other collectors grew bored as well, and the sales transaction figures have tanked.

Although its only been about a month since the initial release, the sheer lack of planning is really showing here. Even if the internal planning is very flushed out and very detailed, the public knows nothing of it. As a result, we are left to wallow in our holds, or cash out.

Cashing Out

I decided it was time to move out of Topps Series 1 a few days ago, and started listing my cards on the market place. I did really well, all things considered, but it was still beyond disappointing that there wasnt more Topps was doing to keep interest high.

This is also where things get really complicated. I didnt really post about selling the NFTs and getting money back the first time around, as it isnt simple – at all. Because WAX does not have a platform to convert the currency to USD, there is a lot of steps to get the cards sold, currency converted to a readily transferrable crypto, which can then be sold and deposited to a bank.

Here are the steps needed:

1. Sell the cards
2. Take the currency and transfer it to KuCoin
3. Convert the currency to BTC
4. Send the BTC to Coinbase
5. Sell the BTC
6. Transfer the currency out to your bank or paypal

This is where I think this whole platform is going to be lost on a number of people. Although the process only took about 2 hours to complete, it takes a lot of steps. If you arent technically inclined, and dont really understand the way CryptoCurrency works, its going to be an exercise in futility. I think I got it to work by luck rather than skill, which is fine for 100 bucks, but not for amounts well above that.

There are a lot of places in the process where you can go completely off the rails, and it would be a disaster. There are step by step instructions posted on a number of different forums, but its treacherous at some points.

Looking Forward

If the question is would you do it all over again, the answer is yes, only because of the return. I was able to get a ton of money back compared to what I put in. If the second question pertains more to participation the future, that’s where things get complicated.

I think the technical difficulties during the first drop means that this could hinge on some improvements to the delivery method. Similarly, if its true that Topps isnt going to release more of Series 1, it will depend on a few things. First, is the product they choose to release, second is the pack price.

If they choose a set like Series 2, with the same basic format, Im in. Ill just do what I did here, or hold the packs until they dry up. If we are talking something like Tribute or Definitive, where packs will be 1000 bucks, time to find a new get rich quick scheme.

Similarly, Upper Deck is getting into the game with recent trademark applications pending for NFT related sets. Panini is already in the market to degree as well, which means true NFT sets like this are likely on the way for them too. Because it seems like everything will exist in different crypto universes, its going to be tough to trade or intermingle the way I would outline a utopian NFT collectible market to be set up. However, if eBay does start offering NFT auctions, things could change all together.

I think the volatility of these cards makes them tough for people to really dive into in any meaningful way. Topps’ lack of commitment to keeping the public informed is beyond problematic as well. Overall, Im happy to have had the experience, but overall glad to be rid of it.