Public Service Announcement: RIP cards

Brought to you by Andrew of Sports Card Info:

Topps recently released one of its most favored products of the year, Allen & Ginter. One of the reasons this product is so popular is because collectors are on the hunt for “rip cards” that are seeded one per 12 box case. If you are thinking of buying a Topps Allen & Ginter rip card off of eBay or somewhere else to rip open once you receive it, I would be very careful. People who have pulled these cards out have figured out a way to see what is inside of the card without even opening it. These people take a flashlight and place it behind the rip card and then they can see if there is a valuable card inside or not. Most of the valuable cards inside have a small hologram on the back of the mini card, and once that flashlight shines on the rip card you can see through to tell if one of those holograms is on the back of the mini card or not.

If you are going to buy a rip card from someone I would be careful, because that rip card could have been searched already and the seller knows that there is nothing really worth a lot inside without telling you. I think it’s fine if you want to buy one from someone and you plan not to open it. The only way that I think your safe opening your rip card is if you pull it out of a factory sealed box or pack. This information goes for all rip cards from 2006 to 2008. Below are two pictures of how people search the rip cards. I found these pictures on eBay when “rip cards” were new to the hobby. Some seller was trying to show potential buyers that there was a valuable mini card inside because of the triangle hologram.