In a move poised to reassure apprehensive collectors and dealers, Fanatics/Topps recently called in KPMG, one of the biggest audit firms in the world, to investigate its card distribution process. This audacious step from the sports merchandising giant aims to resolve the long-lived suspicion within the collector community about the fairness and randomness of high-value card distributions.
Fanatics took to the podium at the Industry Conference in Atlanta, where Fanatics Collectibles CEO, Mike Mahan shared the results after several months of exhaustive scrutiny. The review confirmed that Fanatics/Topps’ distribution procedures are devoid of any intentional placement of high-value cards for specific customers, dismissing the widely held belief that the company may be favoring large volume customers or high-profile breakers.
The nonstop hum of speculation within the collecting circles has been significantly amplified by social media chronicles showing these ubiquitous breakers unveiling multiple valuable cards. It fuelled pervasive conjecture about the pack contents randomness, however, Fanatics Collectibles CFO, Greg Abovsky cleared the air on this matter. He emphasized the high-value card pull frequency by the big-name breakers to be a simple probability game since they handle colossal volumes, and not a result of any packing process manipulation.
The thorough audit KPMG conducted gave a panoramic view of the Fanatics/Topps’ operations at their Texas-based printing facility where the cards come to life. The audit shed light on the collation process and minutely examined the production logs for each job. Ensuring the cards’ distribution is truly random, as Topps consistently claimed. The uniqueness of this initiative in the trading card industry is seen as Fanatics’ attempt to debunk any myths surrounding their distribution process and reassure the collector community of their integrity.
Alongside the reassuring findings of the audit, Abovsky didn’t leave a stone unturned to put to rest another rampant conjecture among collectors. He clarifies that Fanatics/Topps has never used valuable cards to seed boxes for promotional events or in a blatant attempt to mark up sales. Addressing these concerns, Fanatics plans to make the randomness audit an annual feast, a testament to their commitment to a fair and transparent distribution process.
While the trading card industry has seen its fair share of drama and debate, this proactive step by Fanatics/Topps is setting a new benchmark for transparency. As the starting gun sounds on more annual audits, collectors can rest assured that the high-value cards they covet are truly a result of random distribution and not manipulated in any manner. As they say in the world of collecting, “may the odds be ever in your favor!”
