Category Archives: 2018 Series 1

This is Part 2 of a two part series on the production of 2018S1 GPK We Hate the 80’s. If you missed Part 1 you can go here to catch up.

In the first post we looked at how many packs/boxes/cases were produced of 2018S1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s. Here’s a review of what we came up with.

• Total Production – 432,000 Packs
• Collector – 39,000 Collector Packs or about 1625 Hobby Boxes or about 203 Collector Cases
• Retail/Hobby – 393,000 Retail/Hobby Packs

I’ll be using these numbers to try to come up with an idea how many of each type of parallel and insert were created for the set. This will give you a good idea how rare a set is and how quickly you need to snap up that card for your rainbow! I’ll also compare some of this info to the previous sets for reference. As a reminder, in addition to using the sell sheet and odds, we will also have to make some assumptions and flat out guesses when trying to figure some of these out.

So how many of each type of card was made? We can’t figured it out for every type of insert or parallel. Some card types we don’t have enough information. Other times however, Topps is nice enough to tell us exactly how many of a card was produced. Like previous sets, Topps has continued to number many card types. This means we already know most of the parallel and insert numbers already! Makes this post a lot easier! We know Spit /99, Bloody /75, and Fool’s Gold /50 for the parallels, and Patches /50 and Autos /25 for the insert sets!

Still there are some things we just can’t determine. Topps has made it tough on us in recent releases. They no longer share a lot of information on the sell sheets for insertion numbers. This means we can not figure out each different retail pack type. Therefore, there are many retail items that we are unable to determine the production on. For example, the Yellow Phlegm borders. Since there is no way to break out the number of gravity feed packs from the other retail packs, we can not determine how many Phlegm borders were made. This also true for the various retail bonus sets; Classic 80’s (Jumbo Insert Set), Gross Bears, and Bathroom Buddies. However, with production being slightly down compared to Battle of the Bands, you should see similar numbers of those this series. The lack of retail breakdown also means we can not determine how many Loaded Sketches or Panoramic Sketches were inserted into packs.

Let’s discuss what we can figure out.

While we can’t figure out the Yellow Phlegm parallel, we can determine how many of the other two non-numbered parallels were made. We can also find out how many of the Wax Pack Parody bonus inserts were made.

• Bruised Borders – 39,000 Collector packs X 1 Odds (doh) = 39,000 total Bruised borders / 180 cards in set = 216 per card.
• Puke Borders – 393,000 Retail packs X 1 Odds (doh) = 393,000 total Puke borders / 180 cards in set = 2,183 per card.
• Concert Posters & Album Covers – 39,000 Collector packs  / 24 Odds = 1625 total cards / 10 in set = 162 of each card made.

How do these numbers compare to the previous set, Battle of the Bands? Everything is down compared to the previous set. Bruised parallels and the Wax Pack Parody inserts are just slightly down since there were 2,000 less Collector packs produced this series. Puke borders are also down as retail production was just a tad lower this time.

One thing I always find interesting is to determine what pack types the printing plates and artist autographs are hiding? Retail always has the majority of the plates because over 80% of the production is retail. This same thing holds true for the new Sitcom Autos. We know Topps inserted 360 plates, 2,250 autos, and 250 Sitcom autos into production so here is the breakdown of how many can be found in each pack type.

• Collector Plates – 39,000 packs / 1,190 odds = 32 plates in Collector packs
• Retail/Hobby Plates – 393,000 packs / 1,200 odds = 327 plates in Retail packs
• Collector Autos – 39,000 packs / 189 odds = 206 autos in Collector packs
• Retail/Hobby Autos – 393,000 packs / 188 odds = 2,090 in Retail/Hobby packs
• Collector Sitcom Autos – 39,000 packs / 1,844 odds = 21 autos in Collector packs
• Retail/Hobby Sitcom Autos – 393,000 packs / 1,890 odds = 207 in Retail/Hobby packs

There’s a lot of interesting information these numbers reveal. First an explanation on the odds I used above. If you remember from the previous article on production, the Jumbo odds are a little off that normal. Therefore, that indicates production is actually a little lower than what we came up with. In order to estimate the odds above I used an average for the Retail odds from the different pack types. The numbers come out pretty darn close to what it should be. We can use these numbers to help corroborate our total pack numbers. The Plates the odds above come out to 359, which is darn close to 360 we know were made. Artist autos and Sitcom Autos are also very close.

Topps has continued their practice of not revealing how many total sketches of each type are inserted into packs. While we can’t figure out all sketch types, there is a few we can determine based on odds.

Shaped Sketches – 39,000 Collector packs / 76 odds = 513 Shaped Sketches in Collector packs.
Regular Sketches – 393,000 Retail/Hobby packs / 256 odds = 1535 Regular Sketches in Retail/Hobby packs
Dial Artist Panoramic – 39,000 Collector packs / 376 odds = 103 Dual Artist Panoramic Sketches in Collector packs.

While production is down a bit, the odds are slightly easier on all the sketches. When you compare the number of sketches inserted the numbers are very similar to Battle of the Bands.

The production numbers of We Hate the 80’s continue to show consistent support for GPK, even though there continues to be slight decreases in production. More than likely we will get a nine month break before 2018S2. Both the long break and the subject matter of the set might affect production.

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! We know Collector packs have 6 base cards per pack now, except for packs containing patches, but that number is so small we will go with 6. Retail/Hobby packs 7 base cards per pack this time around, except for packs containing gold dust, autos, sketches, and plates, but again that number is so small I’m going to go with 7 per pack.

Base Cards – (39,000 Collector packs X 6 cards per pack) + (393,000 Retail/Hobby packs X 7 cards per pack) = 2,985,000 Total Base Cards produced / 180 cards per set = 16,583 Total of each base card.

While that’s a ton, its down just slightly compared to Battle of the Bands. Time to use a lot of hair spray, put on some baggy pants, and hop in your Delorean and get right down to Target and put together your set of We Hate the 80’s!

This is Part 2 of a two part series on the production of 2018S1 GPK We Hate the 80’s. If you missed Part 1 you can go here to catch up.

This is Part 1 of a two part series on the production of 2018 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s. Part 2 will be posting soon.

Topps had a solid 2017 when it came to retail sets. Both Adam-Geddon and Battle of the Bands were well received by collectors. Battle of the Bands was released just last October. After taking a 3 month break, Topps is back with the first set of the year, 2018 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s. Despite the short window of time between releases, collectors have been eagerly anticipating We Hate the 80’s. The majority of collectors grew up in the 80’s, and that’s when the GPK phenomenon took off. How does that anticipation affect production, if any? Let’s see what we can figure out. This time around however, as you will see, Topps threw us a curveball with the odds. Time to get down and dirty with numbers!

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 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!)

To start we need to determine how many packs were made for the entire print run. In order to do that we need a card type where all the odds are exactly the same in Collector and Retail/Hobby packs. In the past this was easy. Historically, Topps has used the same exact odds for both the Gold borders and the Artist autographs. For the most part that stays the same this set, with one exception. For the first time, Topps changed up the Jumbo Retail pack odds. Usually they are 1/2 of all the other packs, because there is double the amount of cards. So in the past we counted Jumbo packs as two packs. Now as you will see below the numbers are slightly off. The only way to possibly take a stab at this is to assume the Jumbo odds are 1/2 a regular pack. Just keep in mind the odds are slightly easier for the Jumbo Retail packs, making production numbers actually less than what I have stated in the article. Its not by a lot, but our numbers are off a bit.

One important thing Topps did fix this time around was the parallel odds, compared to Battle of the Bands. If you remember the odds printed on Battle of the Bands were overstated by double. Topps has corrected that with the new release, this should lead to less confusion.

Gold borders this time are set at 1:48 packs in Collector, Retail, Blaster, and Gravity packs. The exception is Jumbo retail packs, at 1:20, if we double those we still only get 1:40, which is slightly less that it should be. If we assume the odds were printed correctly by Topps, that will throw of our numbers just slightly. In order to come up with an estimate, we will use the 1:48 number. There are 180 base cards in the set, and Gold borders are /50 on the back. Therefore, 180 X 50 number of golds per card = 9000 total Gold borders X 48 odds = 432,000 total packs made for release. While very close to the previous release, this does indicate production is down.

Can we be sure about 432,000 packs being made? We can also check total pack production using the Artist Autographs. There are 90 different autos in the set X 25 autos per card = 2,250 total autos in the print run x 188 odds = 423,000. That number is pretty close to the number we got when using the Gold odds. Why the difference? A few reasons, the odds for autos in Collector is different by one, 1:189. Also remember Jumbo Retail pack odds are easier at 1:76. Double that we only have 1:152. This I think helps explain the difference in the numbers. I am going to use the 432,000 number for total packs made. Just keep in mind the production is actually a little less due to the Jumbo Retail odds.

Next we need to try to figure out how many of each pack type was created for the set. Collector packs are always easier to figure out because they have the cards that are exclusive to the set. We need card types that are only in Collector packs, and we know already how many were made. Once again there are three types, Patches, Bloody Red borders, and Spit Blue borders. Here’s what the math looks like on those:

• Patch Cards – 20 cards in set X 50 made per card = 1000 total patches x 39 odds = 39,000 Collector packs made
• Bloody Red borders – 180 cards in set X 75 made per card = 13,500 total Red borders X 3 odds = 40,500 Collector packs made
• Spit Blue borders – 180 cards in set X 99 made per card = 17,820 total Blue borders X 3 odds = 53,460 Collector packs made

Ok so what gives here? Why in the world are the numbers so different? You will notice that the numbers for the Patches and Red borders are pretty close, but the Blue borders are way off. Topps did something different for the first time on the Collector odds. Both the Red and Blue borders are listed with the same exact odds at 1:3. In the past, every set has had the odds listed as 1:3 for Reds and 1:2 for Blues. We also know from previous sets that those weren’t the true odds. Topps usually rounds the odds up or down to the nearest whole number. I have no idea why Topps changed the Blue odds to 1:3. In real world box busting the number of actual blues and reds pulled has remained the same. Collector boxes are averaging 8 Reds and 11 Blues per box. This is consistent with previous releases. I believe the Blue Spit odds are the one thing Topps incorrectly printed on the packs, and the actual odds are closer to 1:2. This would put the total pack numbers more in line with the other two cards types. I’m confident using 39,000 as the number for total Collector packs produced.

How about other pack types? Once again Hobby boxes are nonexistent, and exist in name only. Starting with Adam-Geddon Topps has made Hobby boxes the same as Regular Retail boxes. There are no longer any marks on the packs or boxes that distinguish a Hobby box vs. a Retail box. Also, the odds are exactly the same. Since all cards types are the same there is no way to tell how many Hobby/Retail boxes were produced. Sadly the same holds true for retail packs. In order to determine how many different types of retail packs were made, we would need a card type that is only in one type of retail pack, and we know how many were made. The only cards types that are individual to retail packs are Loaded Sketches and Panoramic Sketches. Topps no longer releases how many sketches are inserted into each pack type. So just like with Battle of the Bands the rest of our discussion will combine all Hobby/Retail pack types into one number. Keep in mind a Jumbo Retail packs counts as 2 packs in our numbers.

We know there are 39,000 Collector packs. How many Retail/Hobby packs to we have? 432,000 total packs – 39,000 Collector packs = 393,000 Retail/Hobby packs. That sounds like a whole lot of packs, but in reality, We Hate the 80’s is the lowest produced GPK set in the last three years, barely beating out the previous set, Battle of the Bands.

Here’s what I believe the total production numbers to be for We Hate the 80’s:

• Total Production – 432,000 Packs
• Collector – 39,000 Collector Packs or about 1625 Hobby Boxes or about 203 Collector Cases
• Retail/Hobby – 393,000 Retail/Hobby Packs

(Once again our numbers are slightly off due to the easier Jumbo Retail odds. So in reality there is even less production of We Hate the 80’s than stated. However, I’m confident these numbers are really close.)

So what does this all mean? Once again the trend of production numbers being down continues. I’m a little surprised as Battle of the Bands was well like by collectors.  Maybe the quick turnaround between sets affected how many cases were ordered by distributors. In looking at the numbers, while Collector box production is down compared to the last set its still the second highest by Collector box. Take a look at the last five sets and the production numbers:

• Total Pack Production
  • Apple Pie – 484,000
  • Trashy TV – 638,000
  • Adam-Geddon – 459,000
  • Battle of the Bands – 441,000
  • We Hate the 80’s – 439,000 (<.1% decrease in total overall production vs. Battle of the Bands)
• Collector Pack Production
  • Apple Pie – 36,500
  • Trashy TV – 35,000
  • Adam-Geddon – 36,000
  • Battle of the Bands – 41,000
  • We Hate the 80’s – 39,000 (5% decrease vs. Battle of the Bands)
• Retail Pack Production
  • Apple Pie – 408,500
  • Trashy TV – 550,000
  • Adam-Geddon (Includes Hobby packs) – 423,000
  • Battle of the Bands (Includes Hobby packs) – 400,000
  • We Hate the 80’s (Includes Hobby packs) – 393,000 (2% decrease vs. Battle of the Bands)

Topps prints to order their product. Which means based on distributor pre-orders, Topps decides how much product to produce. The numbers show for the most part this set was printed in very similar quantities as both Adam-Geddon and Battle of the Bands. Collectors continue to gravitate to purchasing Collector boxes. More than likely collectors have stop purchasing “Hobby” boxes, since they have figured out now they are the same as Retail. With production numbers trending downwards just slightly, it will be interesting to see if Topps changes anything up in the formula for the new retail series.

Always interesting stuff to consider. Let me know your thoughts on the numbers in the comments!

This is Part 1 of a two part series on the production of 2018S1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s. In Part 2 we will look at production numbers for all parallel and insert sets. Part 2 will be posted soon.

It seems like only yesterday when the last retail set of 2017 was released. 2017S2 Battle of the Bands was a hit with collectors. A number of cards were very sought after as collectors focused on collecting their favorite bands. Its time for 2018 to get started with another complete shift in theme material. 2018 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s is trying to hit collectors right in their childhood. Many collectors grew up in the 80’s, and this set’s focus is completely for them. While sticking with the same subset formula, Topps made it a bit easier this time around. The 180 cards set is broken down in to 10 equal subsets. Topps remains committed to the same formula they used for a number of years now. The cards continue to lack card back artwork, sticker die-cuts, checklists, and numbering is on the back. I will have articles looking at production numbers in the coming days. To see the official Topps checklist click here. Here is what you can find, and where you can find it in 2018 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s.

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

• Base Set – 180 total cards made up of 10 different subsets.
  • 80’s Toys Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s Cartoons Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s Video Games Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s TV Shows & Ads Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s Movies Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s Celebrities Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s Fashion & Fads Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s Culture Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s History Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)
  • 80’s Sitcom Sticker (9a/b – 18 Total Cards)

• Parallel Sets – Same exact cards from the Base set, except with a different speckled color border.
  • Bruised Border (Dark Blue/Black) – 1:1 – Collector (180 Cards)
  • Spit Border (Light Blue) /99 – 1:3 – Collector (180 Cards)
  • Bloody Nose Border (Red) /75 – 1:3 – Collector (180 Cards)
  • Fool’s Gold Border (Gold) /50 – 1:48 – Retail/Hobby/Collector, 1:20 Retail Jumbo (180 Cards)
  • Puke Border (Green) – 1:1 – Retail/Hobby (180 Cards)
  • Phlegm Border (Yellow) – 1:4 – Target Retail Gravity Feed (180 Cards)
  • Printing Plates – 1:1190 Collector, 1:1211 Blaster, 1:1196 Hobby/Retail, 1:1207 Gravity, 1:482 Retail Jumbo (360 Total Plates – 4 per card artwork)

• Insert Sets – All the various insert subsets that can be found in packs.
  • 80’s Wax Pack Parodies – 1:24 – Collector (10 Cards)
  • Classic 80’s Stickers – 2 Per Jumbo Retail (10a/b – 20 Total Cards)
  • Gross Bears – 3 Per SE Blaster Box (21-28 – 8 Total Cards)
  • Bathroom Buddies – 3 Per EA Blaster Box (13-15a/b – 6 Total Cards)
  • Patch Card /50 – 1:39 – Collector (10a/b – 20 Total Cards)
  • Artist Autograph /25 – 1:189 Collector, 1:188 Hobby/Retail, 1:76 Jumbo Retail (90 Total Cards – 1 per card artwork)
  • 80’s Sitcom Autograph Cards /25 – 1:1844 Collector, 1:1926 Blaster, 1:1890 Hobby/Retail, 1:1866 Gravity, 1:755 Retail Jumbo (9 Total Cards)
  • Sketch Card – 1:256 Blaster/Hobby/Retail, 1:257 Gravity, 1:103 Jumbo Retail (55 Artists)
  • Shaped Sketch – 1:76 – Collector (55 Artists)
  • Double Artist Panoramic Sketch – 1:376 – Collector (?? Artists)
  • Loaded Sketch – 1:79 – Blaster Box (55 Artists)
  • Panoramic Sketch Cards – 1:532 – Jumbo Retail (55 Artists)

While its still one day before the official release, packs of 2018 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We hate the 80’s has started to show up in the wild. Thanks to GPK collector Ke We for sending over the odds for the Collector Packs. After overstating the odds by double on the last series, 2017S2, Topps has appeared to fix the problem with the new release. The odds look vary familiar to what collectors are used to seeing. A few interesting things to point out. The odds to Blue and Red borders are listed as the same at 1:3. However, keep in mind these are probably averages. More than likely boxes will yield similar number of parallels as previously releases. For the special cards like sketches, autos, and plates, the odds across the board are just slightly easier than 2017S2 Battle of the Bands. That would seem to indicate a slight decrease in production. However, overall breaks of collector boxes should look vary similar to the previous series. Finally odds for the Sitcom Autos are very tough, those will be hard to come by. Hobby/Retail box odds are posted below. Like the other types of packs the odds are slightly different for the various hits. Here are the odds for Collector and Hobby/Retail packs.

2017S2 GPK Battle of the Bands Collector Pack Odds

• Spit (Blue) 1:3
• Bloody Nose (Red) 1:3
• Fools Gold 1:48
• Printing Plate 1:1190
• Artist Autograph 1:189
• Sitcom Autograph 1:1844
• Concert Posters & Album Covers 1:24
• Shaped Sketch 1:76
• Dual Artist Panoramic Sketch 1:376
• Patch Card 1:39

2017S2 GPK Battle of the Bands Hobby/Retail Pack Odds

• Fools Gold 1:48
• Printing Plate 1:1,196
• Artist Autograph 1:188
• Sitcom Autograph 1:1890
• Sketch Card 1:256

2018 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s is set to officially tomorrow, 1/17. However, that hasn’t stopped boxes from getting out early. Odds for Gravity Feeds, Blasters, and Jumbo Retail packs are below. Blaster odds are just slightly better for all pack hits, indicating a slightly less number of Blasters were made compared to the last set. However Loaded sketch odds are higher. Coupled with better odds for other types, it would appear less Loaded Sketches were inserted into Blasters. The Jumbo odds are generally half of the retail pack odds. That is not the case with this release. All card types shared with retail are easier, in some cases much easier especially with plates and sketches. Odds also indicate quite a bit less Jumbo packs were made of this set than the previous Battle of the Bands. Gravity feed odds closely resemble the odds on Blaster packs, which just a couple of small insignificant differences. It would also appear less Gravity feed packs were created. Sitcom Autographs can be found in every pack type, which helps explain the long odds. Once we get regular retail odds we will post them below. Here are all the retail pack odds.

2017S2 GPK Battle of the Bands Blaster Pack/Box Odds

• Fools Gold 1:48
• Printing Plate 1:1211
• Artist Autograph 1:188
• Sitcom Autograph 1:1926
• Regular Sketch 1:256
• Loaded Puzzle Sketch 1:79 (Blaster Boxes)

2017S2 GPK Battle of the Bands Jumbo Retail Pack Odds

• Fools Gold 1:20
• Printing Plate 1:482
• Artist Autograph 1:76
• Sitcom Autograph 1:755
• Regular Sketch 1:103
• Panoramic Sketch 1:532

2017S2 GPK Battle of the Bands Gravity Feed Pack Odds

• Phlegm 1:4
• Fools Gold 1:48
• Printing Plate 1:1207
• Artist Autograph 1:188
• Sitcom Autograph 1:1886
• Regular Sketch 1:257