How Many 2020 Garbage Pail Kids OS 3 Chrome Cards Were Produced?

It took six years for Topps to produce a new GPK Chrome set. They thought it wouldn’t sell. With collectibles at a higher popularity in a long time due to Covid-19, and this year being the 35th anniversary of GPKs, it was a perfect storm of events for Topps to give Chrome another try. Apparently selling it wasn’t a problem for them. Production, as you will see, is very high for this set, higher than Chrome OS 1, and the largest produced GPK product since odds started. Let’s dive in and see what the various numbers look like. Just how much Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 is out there…

First my disclaimer! Production numbers are never an exact science, and Topps makes it tough on us. In order to attempt to solve this riddle we need to look very closely at the clues in both the odds and the sell sheets. Some things to keep in mind for this post. 1) Topps doesn’t want the public to know exactly how much of each card was made. Why? No idea really, I think its dumb, but historically Topps only provides enough information to get close. 2) We need to make some assumptions. Those assumptions will be based on the clues we have, but still some guessing has to happen. 3) The odds never quite seem to come out completely equal. However, we can round and get pretty close to how much was produced. 4) Topps changes what is printed from what the sell sheet says all the time. This will throw off all our numbers. 5) Keep in mind Topps historically holds back up to 5% of the print run to cover missing hits, damaged cards, and their No Purchase Necessary program. These numbers would include that 5%. With all that in mind let’s get started…(Warning lots of math coming up. If you don’t want to read about the process, skip to the bottom for the answer sheet!)

Usually I do a two part production article for retail releases. This time everything is in one article. Most of the parallels are already numbered, and there aren’t really any inserts, so there isn’t as much to take a look at. However, there is still the big picture! First, we need to figure out how many packs were made for the entire print run. A note to collectors who are used to Topps printing incorrect odds on packs. For the most part, based on early breaks, the odds appears to be accurate. Second, usually to figure out total production run we need one card type with the same odds across all pack types. Well with Chrome OS 3, that doesn’t exist. So we will have to go in reverse to figure out production.

Hobby production is easy to figure out since there are two card types that are exclusive to Hobby, and we know the print run already, Gold and Black. Let’s take a look at those.

  • Gold borders – 100 cards in set * 50 made per card = 5000 total Gold borders * 112 odds = 560,000 total Hobby packs
  • Black borders – 100 cards in set * 99 made per card = 9900 total Black borders * 57 odds = 564,399 total Hobby packs

Two observations, 1) Those two numbers are very close, and 2) Holy smokes that’s a lot of hobby packs!!! Topps printed a lot of this set! The difference in  the numbers can be attributed to rounding by Topps. I’m confident in going with 560,000 as the Hobby pack number. Now we need to figure out retail packs. There isn’t anything exclusive to retail packs that’s numbered. However, since we know the Hobby pack number we can try to figure out how many of a parallel is available just in Hobby packs. Let’s look at Superfractors.

  • Superfractors 560,000 Hobby packs / 9,200 odds = 60 Supers in Hobby. 100 total Supers in set – 60 Supers in Hobby = 40 Supers in Retail.

We know there are 40 Supers inserted in all retail pack types. So let’s use the retail odds to figure out how many retail packs were made. First a note on Retail Fat Packs and odds. In order to figure out the odds we will assume Fat packs equal three Blaster packs. Why? Fat packs have 3 times the cards as a Blaster pack, and the odds are 1/3 for almost every parallel type. I’ll be using the Blaster odds for the retail calculations the rest of the article.

  • Superfractors in Retail 40 * 22,077 = 883,080 Total Retail packs.

That’s a big number! Topps did print a lot of Hobby packs, so it stands to reason there’s a lot of Retail packs as well. How can we be sure? We can double check the numbers by using other parallels where the Fat pack odds are 1/3 of Blaster odds. In this case we can use Green, Purple, Orange, Red, and Autos. Let’s first figure out how many of each are in Hobby vs. Retail.

  • Green Refractors 560,000 Hobby packs / 29 odds = 19,310 Greens in Hobby. 29,900 total Greens – 19,310 Greens in Hobby = 10,590 Greens in Retail * 71 odds in retail = 751,890 Total Retail packs.
  • Purple Refractors 560,000 Hobby packs / 34 odds = 16,470 Purples in Hobby. 25,000 total Purples – 16,470 Purples in Hobby = 8,530 Purples in Retail * 85 odds in retail = 725,050 Total Retail packs.
  • Orange Refractors 560,000 Hobby packs / 113 odds = 4,955 Oranges in Hobby. 7,500 total Oranges – 4,955 Oranges in Hobby = 2,545 Oranges in Retail * 282 odds in retail = 717,690 Total Retail packs.
  • Red Refractors 560,000 Hobby packs / 1,693 odds = 330 Reds in Hobby. 500 total Reds – 330 Reds in Hobby = 170 Reds in Retail * 4,404 odds in retail = 748,680 Total Retail packs.
  • Artist Autographs 560,000 Hobby packs / 2,432 odds = 230 Autos in Hobby. 500 total Autos – 230 Autos in Hobby = 270 Autos in Retail * 2,453 odds in retail = 662,310 Total Retail packs.

Uh oh, we have a problem. Take a look at the bold, total retail pack numbers above. The Green, Purple, Orange, and Red numbers all all fairly close. So why are the Super numbers so high, and the Auto numbers so low? Honestly, I have no idea. That’s too big of a different to just be rounding. The odds have to be off somewhere by Topps. So what number should we use for retail packs? I’d feel comfortable using something in the 700k range since the majority of parallels came out in that range. We are going to go with 750,000 for the retail pack number. Just know there’s a chance it’s anywhere between 660k and 880k. The 750,000 number remember, is counting Fat packs as 3 retail packs. Unfortunately, we are unable to breakout the Fat pack production from the Blaster production. We would have to have a card type exclusive to the pack type in order to do that. So all we can figure out is the total retail production.

Now we know the total production numbers. Let’s take a look and compare it to previous Chrome releases. While, I didn’t do a complete deep dive into Chrome 1 & 2 numbers, I did figure out production numbers using Superfractor and Gold Refractor odds.

  • Total Production
    • Chrome OS 1 – 1,096,370
    • Chrome OS 2 – 513,260
    • Chrome OS 3 – 1,310,000
  • Hobby Pack Production
    • Chrome OS 1 – 407,000
    • Chrome OS 2 – 71,500
    • Chrome OS 3 – 560,000
  • Retail Pack Production
    • Chrome OS 1 – 689,370
    • Chrome OS 2 – 441,760
    • Chrome OS 3 – 750,000

As you can see Chrome OS 3 easily tops both previous Chrome sets in all categories. The production rivals OS 1, which was grossly over produced at the time, as Topps misread demand for the product. The difference now could be as simple as demand for GPK is much higher than it was in 2013. We won’t know for sure until a few months down the road, and we can see if unopened product dries up, or prices tank. Chrome OS 3 pack production also passes pack production of the recently released 2020S2 35th Anniversary set.

Usually there is a second part to this production review going over unnumbered parallel and insert print runs. Sadly, because we can not break out the pack production between Fat Packs and Blasters with Chrome OS 3, we are unable to accurately determine the number of Atomic Refractors, regular Refractors, and C Name Variations. So let’s do some wild speculation, and try to get a roundabout idea how many of each there are. In the 35th Anniversary release the Blaster to Fat Pack ratio was roughly 3:1. So I’m going to use that same logic here. Our retail pack production number is 750,000. If we say there are 100,000 Fat packs, that’s equal to 300,000 of our production number. That leaves 450,000 Blaster packs. Historically, there are always significantly more Blasters than Fat packs, so I feel pretty good about the numbers. Just keep in mind, this is the wild speculation portion of the article. I normally wouldn’t try to go this far to guess production, but a number of collectors have inquired about C cards. Just know the numbers below are just getting us a ballpark number, but it shouldn’t be that far off of an actual number.

  • C Name Variation – 560,000 Hobby pack + 450,000 Blaster packs + 100,000 Fat packs / 101 odds = 10,990 total C cards / 50 cards in set = 219 each C Name Variation.
  • Refractors – (560,000 Hobby Packs / 3 odds) + (450,000 Blaster Packs / 5 odds) + (100,000 Fat pack Refractors @ 1 per pack = 376,666 Total Refractors / 100 cards in set = 3,766 each regular Refractor
  • Atomic Refractors – 450,000 Blaster packs / 5 per box = 90,000 total Blaster boxes * 3 Atomics per box = 270,000 total Atomics / 100 cards in set = 2,700 each Atomic Refractor.

The bottom line is Topps has been running the presses overtime for GPK the last few months. No wonder both recently released sets were delayed! Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 is the largest produced set since Topps began using odds and numbering cards for GPK. We can’t figure out production for OS, ANS, or Flashback sets. Since Flashback however, this is the largest produced set. Is this the new normal for GPK? The last two releases have seen production numbers unlike anything seen on over 10 years. However, 2020 has seen an increase for the collectibles market across the board. I saw a comment on the Blowout Card Message Boards from someone who was a seasoned card collector, but new to GPKs. He was impressed that GPK Chrome OS 3 wasn’t overproduced. So, its all a matter of perspective. GPK has for many years been a niche product for Topps, but is now starting to move up into the big boys category. The question is, can this demand continue into 2021 with the next retail release 2021S1 Food Fight?

Finally, can we figure out how many base cards were produced? Not really, but we can use what we know and give it our best guess! From breaks I’ve seen about 13-14 packs per hobby box have some sort of parallel. It seems retail is slightly less as often. So let’s use 3.5 base cards per pack as an average.

Base Cards – 1,310,000 total packs * 3.5 base cards per pack = 4,585,000 Total Base Cards produced / 100 cards per set = 45,850 Total of each base card.

That’s 10,000 more base sets than the 35th Anniversary set!!! Just how much are people trying to charge for sets?

2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 Explained

After six years, and a whole lot of begging, Topps finally gave in and released Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3. While it’s been just a few weeks since the 35th anniversary set was released, excitement is high for the new release. Topps has followed a similar formula as they have with recent chrome sets. The set highlights Original Series 3, first released in early 1986. All 82 base cards are in the base set, along with 18 new cards. The 18 new cards are comprised of 9 new pieces from David Gross (2), Joe Simko (2), Joe McWilliams (2), and Brent Engstrom (3). The gags on the new cards all relate to chrome items. Card backs for some reason do not included the original Tom Bunk backs, but instead new back artwork and writing done by Colin Walton. Checklist and puzzle pieces still appear on some card backs. Numbering for the set follows OS 3 numbering 84a/b-124a/b, with the new cards numbered AN1a/b – AN9a/b. In a change from the first two GPK Chrome sets, the base cards no longer have a white border. Instead the border is silver, making it harder to distinguish between a refractor and base card.

Topps also made a number of changes from the sell sheets to the parallels. They added Green, Green Wave, Purple, Purple Wave, Orange, and Red parallels to all pack types. Black Wave was added to Hobby. Unlike the first two sets, this time every card, including the new cards, have a “C” name variation. Artist Autographs will be harder to come by this time, as Topps was unable to get John Pound to sign cards for the set. However, Tom Bunk, David Gross, Joe Simko, Joe McWilliams, and Brent Engstrom all signed cards in the set. Bunk signed 11 of the 12 cards he painted for OS 3, there is no Blake Flake autographed card.

By all early indications, Topps printed a lot of this series. Odds are very long, and some of the parallels will be very hard to pull. I will have articles in the coming days going over production numbers. To see the official Topps checklist click here. For now here is what you can find and where you can find it in 2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3.

(Note: I will continue to update this post as new information comes to light and any new parallels/inserts are found.)

  • Base Set –  (100 Cards).
    • OS 3 84a/b – 124a/b (82 Cards)
    • New Art AN1a/b – AN9a/b (18 Cards)
  • Parallel Sets – Same exact cards from the Base set, except with a different color border or background pattern.
    • Refractor – 1:5 – Value Pack, 1:3 – Hobby, 1:1 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Green Refractor /299 – 1:71 – Value Pack, 1:29 – Hobby, 1:24 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Green Wave Refractor /299 – 1:71 – Value Pack, 1:29 – Hobby, 1:24 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Purple Refractor /250 – 1:85 – Value Pack, 1:34 – Hobby, 1:24 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Purple Wave Refractor /250 – 1:85 – Value Pack, 1:34 – Hobby, 1:24 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Prism Refractor /199 – 1:107 – Value Pack, 1:57 – Hobby, 1:48 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • X-Fractor /150 – 1:142 – Value Pack, 1:58 – Hobby, 1:32 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Black Refractor /99 – 1:57 – Hobby (100 Cards)
    • Black Wave Refractor /99 – 1:57 – Hobby (100 Cards)
    • Gold Refractor /50 – 1:112 – Hobby (100 Cards)
    • Orange Refractor /75 – 1:282 – Value Pack, 1:113 – Hobby, 1:95 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Red Refractor /5 – 1:4,404 – Value Pack, 1:1,683 – Hobby, 1:1,419 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Superfractor 1/1 – 1:22,077 – Value Pack, 1:9,200 – Hobby, 1:7,335 Fat Packs (100 Cards)
    • Printing Plates – 1:5,315 – Value Pack, 1:3,543 – Hobby, 1:1,761 Fat Packs (400 Total Plates – 4 per card A & B)
  • Insert Sets – All the various insert subsets that can be found in packs.
    • C Name Variations – 1:101 – Value Pack, 1:101 – Hobby, 1:101 Fat Packs (50 Cards)
    • Artist Autograph /25 – 1:2,453 – Value Pack, 1:2,432 – Hobby, 1:815 Fat Packs (20 Cards – 89a, 90a, 94a, 95a, 103a, 111a, 112a, 115a, 116a, 122a, 124a. AN1a-AN9a)

Hobby Pack Odds for Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3

After retail packs started hitting store shelves over the weekend, Hobby packs are now starting to surface. Thanks to eBay seller mfeather2006 for sending over pictures of the pack odds. Like with retail, Topps added some new content not advertised on the sell sheets. The same parallels found in retail also are in Hobby packs. In addition, there are exclusive Gold, Black, and Black Wave Refractors. Like with Retail, odds on Hobby packs are also long. At first look, production for this set is higher than Chrome OS 1. Collectors should start seeing shipments soon for preorders, officially release day still stands at 12/2/20.

2020 GPK Chrome OS 3 Hobby Pack Odds

  • Refractor 1:3
  • Green Refractor 1:29
  • Green Wave Refractor 1:29
  • Purple Refractor 1:34
  • Purple Wave Refractor 1:34
  • Black Refractor 1:57
  • Black Wave Refractor 1:57
  • Prism Refractor 1:57
  • X-Fractor 1:58
  • Orange Refractor 1:113
  • Gold 1:112
  • Red Refractor 1:1,693
  • Superfractor 1:9,200
  • Printing Plate 1:3,543
  • Artist Autograph 1:2,432
  • C Name Variation 1:101

Topps Releases Checklist for Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3

Better late than never! Despite cards showing up on store shelves this past weekend, today Topps finally released the checklist for the set. The base set contains the original 82 cards from OS 3, (41 with a/b versions). In addition there are 18 new cards, (9 with a/b versions). David Gross, Joe Simko, and Joe McWilliams did two new chrome themed paintings for the set, while Brent Engstrom did three. The checklist also shows there are 50 “C” name variations, one for each card, that can randomly be found in packs. There are also artist autographs from Tom Bunk, Gross, Simko, Engstrom, and McWilliams. Topps previously said they were unable to get John Pound to sign cards for the set. You can check out the complete checklist here. GPK Chrome 3 is set to officially release 12/2/20.

Retail Pack Odds for Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3

While we are still a few days away from the official release date, and Topps has yet to release the checklist, Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 has started showing up on store shelves. Wal-Mart was first to post blaster boxes for sale late Thursday night on their website. Then this morning GPK collector Kurt Parriott found some in his local Target. Thanks to Kurt for sending over images of the pack wrappers! Perhaps the biggest surprise is the addition of numerous parallels not mentioned on the sell sheet. Green (Wave), Purple (Wave), Orange, and Red have all been added to the production. Odds seem to be long at first glance, but without more information like numbering on various parallels, it’s tough to tell. I will have articles in the coming days going over production numbers. For now here are the retail odds for GPK Chrome OS 3.

2020 GPK Chrome OS 3 Fat Pack Odds

  • Green Refractor 1:24
  • Green Wave Refractor 1:24
  • Purple Refractor 1:29
  • Purple Wave Refractor 1:29
  • Prism Refractor 1:48
  • X-Fractor 1:32
  • Orange Refractor 1:95
  • Red Refractor 1:1,419
  • Superfractor 1:7,335
  • Printing Plate 1:1,761
  • Artist Autograph 1:815
  • C Name Variation 1:101

2020 GPK Chrome OS 3 Value Pack (Blaster) Odds

  • Refractor 1:5
  • Green Refractor 1:71
  • Green Wave Refractor 1:71
  • Purple Refractor 1:85
  • Purple Wave Refractor 1:85
  • Prism Refractor 1:107
  • X-Fractor 1:142
  • Orange Refractor 1:282
  • Red Refractor 1:4,404
  • Superfractor 1:22,077
  • Printing Plate 1:5,315
  • Artist Autograph 1:2,453
  • C Name Variation 1:101

Topps Shares Box/Pack Images of Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3

The long six year wait is almost over for collectors. In just over two weeks they should have in their hands Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3. Today Topps shared with GPKNews images of the pack art and Hobby box. As expected, green is the primary color on the box. Adam Bomb is featured prominently on the packs and boxes, with Joe Blow making an appearance on the side of the box. The Hobby box also features this year’s 35th anniversary logo, and advertises exclusive Black and Gold parallel cards. GPK Chrome OS 3 was delayed by a week recently by Topps. Collectors can expect to get their hands on Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 on 12/2/20.

Topps Delays Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3

It appears Topps has delayed Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 by one week. Online retail sellers and distributors Blowout Cards, Steel City, and GTS all updated their release date for the upcoming set ton12/2/20. GPKNews has reached out to Topps for confirmation and will update this article if they respond. Previously the set was scheduled to release on 11/25, the day before Thanksgiving. After waiting 6 years, collectors will have to add another week to their anticipation.

2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 Retail Sell Sheet

Fresh off this morning’s release of the Hobby sell sheet, the retail sheet for 2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 is out. Like its hobby counterpart the sell sheet advertises the base set will be comprised of OS 3 cards in addition to some “limited new art”. This set picks up where Chrome 2 left off, continuing the OS sets printed on shiny thicker chrome card stock.

Once again Topps will offer two different retail configurations. Value Boxes and Fat Packs. The popular chrome parallels are set to return. Prism Refractors /99 (This is a difference from what is listed on the Hobby sell sheet /199, however GPKNews has confirmed with Topps that Prisims will be /199), X-Fractors /150, Superfractors 1/1, and Printing plates 1/1 can be found in all pack types. Artist autographs and C name variations are also scheduled to be in all pack types. Regular refractors can be found in all pack types as well. According to the sell sheet each Fat Pack will have 1 refractor, while each value box will have 2 refractors. Atomic Refractors will also return exclusively to Value boxes. Each Value box will come with 3 Atomic Refractors wrapped separately.

Each Value box will contain 5 packs plus the pack of Atomic refractors. Continuing a recent trend, Value Box cases will have 40 boxes. Each Value box carries a MSRP of $20. Each Fat Pack will come with 11 chrome cards, and carry a MSRP of $10. There will be 108 Fat Packs in a case.

To view the retail sell sheet in PDF click here, or you can check out the pictures below. GPK collectors will be gobbling up more than just turkey at Thanksgiving as 2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3 is set to release on 11/25/20.

Topps Announces 2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3

Hell has frozen over, and yes, those are pigs flying. After years of being pestered by GPK collectors, Topps has finally made their dreams come true. Today Topps announced 2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 3. After two Chrome launches in 2013-14 Topps is back with the third set featuring GPKs on shiny chrome card stock. Topps has decided to continue on with the Chrome product picking up where it left off with OS 3. The base set will be comprised of the original series 3 cards. The sell sheet advertises some, “limited new art” in addition to the base set.

The popular parallels are scheduled to return. Refractors found 1:3 packs, Prisms Refractors /199, X-Fractor /150, Black Refractors /99, Gold Refractors /50, Superfractors 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1 are all set to be found in packs. Artists autographs and C Name variations are also set to return. Once again each pack will contain 4 cards, 24 packs to a box, and 12 packs to a case.

You can view the complete sell sheet here, or see pictures below. Collectors are being given a second chance by Topps to prove they can support a Chrome GPK product. They better start saving their money now, 2020 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome is set to hit store shelves 11/25/20.

Garbage Pail Kids Chrome Lives, Set Planned for 2020

Topps has big things lined up for next year’s 35th anniversary of the GPK brand. According to a 2020 retail sales product release calendar, Garbage Pail Kids Chrome is being planned for a Sept. 2020 release. GPKNews has heard from multiple sources who have seen the calendar and confirmed it’s legitimate. GPKNews has reached out to Topps for comment, and will update this article if they respond. There are no other details on the set available. Collectors have been clamoring for Chrome to return after the last chrome set, Chrome OS2, was launched in 2014.

GPK Chrome OS 1 was launched in 2013 to excitement from collectors. Topps and their retail partners overshot on the demand for OS1 Chrome, and the set was vastly overprinted. This caused hits, like Gold Refractors and Pound Autos to be tough pulls. Chrome comes with a higher retail price point, and the lack of hits caused major frustration with collectors. When Topps launched GPK Chrome OS2 the following year, the set was severely under ordered. After being burned with a lot of leftover stock from Chrome OS1, retail and hobby partners didn’t order very much of Chrome OS2. This led to a much lower production run, and plentiful hits. Collectors were happy, but Topps lost money on the set. Chrome OS3 never saw the light of day, as any plans for future Chrome GPK sets were scrapped. Soon later, the extra stock of Chrome OS 1 begun hitting the clearance isles of various online and retail card dealers. GPK collectors enjoyed $30 Chrome OS 1 hobby boxes, and hugely discounted retail chrome product. This led to a renewed excitement among collectors for the GPK Chrome product. Since that time, collectors have been asking Topps repeatedly for another GPK Chrome set. Despite being told, “no”, over and over from Topps, collectors have continued their insistence for GPK Chrome, even hijacking various Topps social media posts through the years.

It appears GPK collectors will be getting their wish. There are still a lot of questions to be answered over the next few months. Will the set be Chrome OS3? Or will Topps move in a different direction for content? Will there be any new colored refractors? Will Pound autos return? Will Topps add sketches this time to the product? In the past Chrome has come as a 12 box Hobby case, with a premium price point. Will the demand be there at launch for a more expensive product than collectors are use to? How will the pre-order demand result in drop rates for hits? These are all things collectors will be thinking about as excitement grows for the upcoming set.

Of course things could change at Topps. Until a sell sheet is released, there is no promise a set is coming out. There are times where a planned product is cancelled and not released. If the set does release in Sept., it will affect the 2020 Series 2 retail set. The calendar also shows 2020 Series 2 GPK releasing in Nov. 2020. Buckle in GPK collectors, 2020 will be an exciting ride.