Category Archives:

This is Part 2 of a two part series on the production of 2020S2 GPK 35th Anniversary. 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 2020S2 Garbage Pail Kids 35th Anniversary. Here’s a review of what we came up with.

• Total Production – 1,113,000 Packs
• Collector – 130,000 Collector Packs or about 5,416 Collector Boxes or about 677 Collector Cases
• Retail Display – 237,600 Retail Display Packs or about 9,900 RD Boxes or about 1,237 RD Cases
• Blaster – 404,040 Blaster Packs or 80,808 Blaster boxes or 2,020 Blaster Cases
• Fat Packs – 113,786 Fat Packs or 1,094 Fat Pack Cases

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 figure 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 Blue /99, Red /75, and Gold /35 for the parallels, and Relics /250 and Autos /50! You’ll notice some changes in this set compared to previous sets for some of these. Relics and Autos have been raised, while Gold parallels have a lower print run this time.

First let’s figure out production for the various parallels.

• Black Borders – 130,000 Collector packs / 1 Odds (doh) = 130,000 total Black borders / 200 cards in set = 650 per card.
• Yellow Borders – 404,040 Retail Display packs / 5 Odds = 80,808 total Yellow borders / 200 cards in set = 404 per card
• Purple Borders – 113,786 Fat Packs / 1 Odds (doh) = 113,786 total Purple Borders / 200 cards in set = 568 per card
• Green Borders – 237,600 RD Green Borders + 404,040 Blaster Green Borders + 2(113,786) Fat Pack Green Borders = 869,212 Total Green borders / 200 cards in set = 4,346 per card

A lot of information here, and none of it should be surprising considering how high the production was. Black borders are nearly twice as many as before. Yellow borders are at an all time high of over 400 per card! Just two sets ago there were only approx. 30 of each yellow border card. Purples borders just 164 more than each yellow border is surprising. Finally, looking at Greens, at over 4000 of each! Collectors should have very little problem putting together any of these sets. There will be plenty of green, purple, and yellow borders out there. Where collectors will have a harder time is finding Reds, Blues, and Golds. Those always have a fixed production, so the higher the print run, the more boxes that need to be opened for them to surface. It will take some time for collectors to open enough boxes to see a good supple of those on the market.

Now let’s take a look at the various insert sets.

• GPK Wacky Package – 130,000 Collector packs / 24 odds = 5,416 total GPK Wacky Package / 10 cards in set = 541 per card
• Midlife Crisis – 80,808 Blaster Boxes * 3 per box = 242,424 total Midlife Crisis / 20 cards in set = 12,122 per card
• Fan Favorites – 113,786 Fat Packs * 2 = 227,572 total Fan Savories / 20 cards in set = 11,378 per card
• No Regerts Tattoos – 237,600 Retail Display Packs / 3 odds = 79,200 total Tattoos / 10 cards in set = 7,920 per card
• Base Trash Bins – 677 Collector Cases * 6 per case on avg = 4,062 Base Trash Bins
• Limited Trash Bins – 677 Collector Cases * 2 per case on avg = 1,353 Limited Trash Bins

More interesting numbers on the inserts. GPK Wacky Packages have increased in line with the production increases, this is the highest Collector insert set print run so far. Believe it or not, the insert sets in the Blasters and Fat packs are not all time highs. By raising the set size of the Blaster insert to 20, Topps was able to keep the total print run down on those a bit. On the Fan Favorites, the number of Fat Packs produced for this set is actually not an all time high. Don’t get me wrong, collectors will have no problem putting together those inserts sets with well over 10,000 of each! With nearly 8,000 tattoo sets out there, collectors also should have no problem putting that one together. Collector cases seem to be averaging 6 base trash bins and 2 limited trash bins per case. As long as boxes get busted, collectors should be able to get the bin of their choice.

Once again you’ll notice a theme, the production is high, therefore the parallels and inserts sets are as well! Now let’s discus some of the things that are very rare in this series. Topps inserted two redemption cards into packs, one for a OS1 or OS2 pack, and another to Be a GPK card. The odds on those are very long, but since we know the pack numbers we can try to determine how many of each there are.

• OS 1 or OS 2 Pack Redemption
  • Collector – 130,000 total Collector packs / 124200 = 1.04 per card
  • Retail Display – 237,600 total RD packs / 123,888 = 1.91 per card
  • Blaster – 404,040 total Blaster packs / 120,888 = 3.26 per card
  • Fat Packs – 113,786 total Fat Packs / 112,655 = 1.01 per card
• Be a GPK Redemption
  • Collector – 130,000 total Collector packs / 124200 = 1.04 per card
  • Retail Display – 237,600 total RD packs / 123,888 = 1.91 per card
  • Blaster – 404,040 total Blaster packs / 120,888 = 3.26 per card

Finally, something that’s not overproduced! When talking about both of these, it’s important to note that Fat Packs don’t have odds listed for the Be a GPK Redemption. This explains why I went with the number I did on Blaster packs. In order for the odds to even come out to at least 1 card on Fat Packs, I had to use the lower Blaster number, to get enough Fat Packs. It wouldn’t have made sense to list odds if there were no cards inserted. Looking at the odds it would appear there should be 7 Pack Redemption, and 6 Be a GPK redemption cards. Now as we know, our numbers are never just right on, and often times the odds are rounded by Topps anyway. If I had to guess, there are probably 5 Be a GPK cards out there, and maybe 6 Pack redemptions, 3 of each OS 1 & OS 2. But again, that’s just a guess on my part. Regardless, there are very few, and they are very hard to come by. One tough insert we can not figure out are the unannounced Artist & Employee cards. There are 9 in the set, but there are no odds listed on packs. So, unfortunately, there is no way to figure out the print runs. However, just from the number that have surfaced for sale, they are very rare.

The production on this set shows it was very successful for Topps. This explains why we are seeing the number of licensed merchandise items we are. When the demand is there, Topps will print and produce all they can. Garbage Pail Kids are certainly becoming a larger part of the Topps portfolio. How will Topps capitalize on this momentum in 2021 is the big question. There are already a lot of plans in motion for licensed merchandise and animated shorts.

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 or 7 base cards per pack, except for packs containing patches, but that number is so small we will go with 7 this time since blues moved to retail display and reds are only 2-3 per box. Retail and Blaster packs have 7 base cards, except for packs containing gold, autos, sketches, and plates, but again that number is so small I’m going to go with 7 per pack. Finally, Fat packs have 17 per pack when there aren’t any special hits.

Base Cards – (130,000 Collector packs * 7 cards per pack) + (641,640 RD/Blaster packs * 7 cards per pack) + (113,786 Fat packs * 17 = 7,205,842 Total Base Cards produced / 200 cards per set = 36,029 Total of each base card.

Over 7 million base cards printed!!! This is the highest total of each base card since BNS 1, which was considerably higher due to the lower number of cards in the set. How long will it be until we have another set surpass this print run?

This is Part 2 of a two part series on the production of 2020S2 GPK 35th Anniversary. If you missed Part 1 you can go here to catch up.

This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on the production of 2020 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids 35th Anniversary. Part 2 will be posting soon.

2020 has been defined by one thing, Covid-19. The collectibles market overall has responded huge during the pandemic. This is also true with Garbage Pail Kids. Secondary market demand for older sets and merchandise has reached heights previously unknown. So has demand for new product. 2020 also happens to be the 35th anniversary of GPKs. When you combine these two things, you get huge demand. How huge? Well, Topps delayed the set by a month. If I had to guess why, its because the printing presses had to run longer! There will be a theme in these production articles…production is up, up, up! As you’ll see, this is the highest produced set by Topps in 10 years. You have to go back to the BNS 1 days of 2010 to see production this high. Just how much was printed, and what does that mean for collectors? Let’s find out…

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!)

First thing we need to do is figure out how many packs were made for the entire print run. In order to do that we need a card type where the odds are exactly the same in all pack types. Once again, that holds true with the Gold parallels. However, there is one important thing to keep in mind. Once again, Topps has overstated the odds on the parallels by double. This happens almost every retail release. Topps even put Green odds on retail packs at 1:2, those come 1 per pack, always have, always well. Also after see many breaks, its obvious based on how many blues, reds, yellows, etc. are being pulled from boxes. I have a plea for Topps, get the odds right! Just keep in mind that going forward for this article the odds I quote for parallels will be the actual odds, which are 1/2 of what is printed on the packs. Another thing Topps has been consistent on the past couple releases is Fat Pack odds are once again 1/3 of retail packs. So for some of our calculations I’ll be counting Fat Packs as 3 retail packs.

Gold borders this time are listed at 1:317 packs for Collector, Retail, and Blaster. Fat packs have them at 1:106. Again, since the odds are overstated by double. I’ll be using 1:159 as the more realistic odds. There are 200 base cards in the set, and this release Gold parallels are /35 on the back. Therefore, 200 * 35 number of golds per card = 7,500 total Gold borders * 159 odds = 1,113,000 total packs made for release. Wait, what?!?! There’s over 1 million packs!?!?!?! Holy crap that’s a lot of cards. That’s can’t be right, can it?

It’s right. Now, its hard for us to completely confirm this number because there are no other card type that has similar odds across all pack types. So let’s try to figure out how many of each pack type there are. Collector packs are always the easiest to figure out because there are certain exclusive numbered cards in Collector. We can check out Red borders and Relics.

• Relic Cards – 10 cards in set X 250 made per card = 2,500 total patches x 52 odds = 130,000 Collector packs made
• Bloody Red borders – 200 cards in set X 75 made per card = 15,000 total Red borders X 9 odds = 135,000 Collector packs made

Both of those numbers are pretty darn close, and give us a good starting point. I’m going to use the 130,000 number because I’ve noticed that a few breaks collectors pull 3 or 4 reds. Due to rounding, the odds might be slightly off on the reds. So I think it’s safe to use the 130,000 number for Collector packs made. Here’s our first clue production is up big, Collector production is up nearly double over the previous release! Was it the addition of the Garbage Can Tins? Just demand for the 35th set? A note on Collector production. The week before release, GTS Distribution, the largest card distribution company in the US, confirmed with GPKNews that Topps cut production on Collector boxes by 60%. E-mails to Topps for confirmation went unanswered. I only heard orders from one seller get cut. All other card companies were able to fulfill their orders as far as I can tell. I’ll let the readers draw their own conclusions. If production was cut we don’t know if the odds on the Collector packs were before or after the cut. I’m going to assume it was after the cut for our production discussion.

How about other pack types? In order to figure out the production of retail pack types we need a card type that is only offered in one retail pack type, and we need to know how many were made. Topps made some changes, and fix some problems from last release. So its actually easier than ever to figure out the various retail pack types. The easiest is the Retail Display box, (also sold a “Hobby” boxes). Topps moved the Blue borders to the Retail Display box for the first time this release, and we know those are numbered to /99.

• Spit Blue borders – 200 cards in set X 99 made per card = 19,800 total Blue borders X 12 odds = 237,600 Retail Display packs made

Wow that’s a lot of Retail Display packs. Now let’s work on Blaster and Fat packs. Topps appears to have gotten it right this time. Both Loaded sketches and Panoramic sketches show up in Blaster boxes. We know there were 52 sketch artists complete sketches for this set. We also know how many of each sketch type Topps asked artists to complete.

• Loaded sketches – 52 artists * 6 sketches each = 312 total Loaded sketches * 314 odds per box = 97,968 Blaster boxes * 5 packs per box = 489,840 blaster packs
• Pano sketches – 52 artists * 3 sketches each = 156 total Loaded sketches * 2,590 odds per box = 404,040 Blaster packs

So again, wow that’s a lot of Blaster boxes! But given production is up so much, the numbers made sense. However, if you notice the two amounts are 85,000 apart if packs. Why is this, and which number should be use? Once thing to keep in mind on every release. There are some artists that don’t complete all their sketches, and only turn in some. There are also some that get destroyed in the process. In addition, the odds are always rounded, so that could account for some of the difference. Regardless there are a lot of Blaster boxes. So, what number should be go with? That takes some guess work, but for reasons that will be clear in Part 2 of the production article, I’ll be using the 404,040 number from the pano sketches. In a nut shell, using the lower number is the only way the Pack redemption odds on Fat packs makes any sense, see Part 2 for a longer explanation.

We know there are 130,000 Collector packs. If total packs are 1,113,000 – 130,000 Collector packs = 983,000 retail packs. Let’s take it even further. 983,000 retail packs – 237,600 Retail Display packs – 404,040 blaster packs = 341,360 / 3 = 113,786 Fat packs. With this release we can get a good idea how many packs of each different retail type there is. That will make figuring out the number of inserts in Part 2 a lot easier!

What do the numbers tell us? Quite simply Topps printed a ton of this set. There was a large demand from distributors and collectors for this set.

Here’s what I believe the total production numbers to be for Late to School:

• Total Production – 1,113,000 Packs
• Collector – 130,000 Collector Packs or about 5,416 Collector Boxes or about 677 Collector Cases
• Retail Display – 237,600 Retail Display Packs or about 9,900 RD Boxes or about 1,237 RD Cases
• Blaster – 404,040 Blaster Packs or 80,808 Blaster boxes or 2,020 Blaster Cases
• Fat Packs – 113,786 Fat Packs or 1,094 Fat Pack Cases

Production is way up for this set. when you compare it to anything released recently, there is nothing close. I went back quickly through all past sets where Topps printed odds and we can figure out production. This set is the second highest produced set, since BNS 1 in 2010, and the pack numbers are only a few thousand off of BNS 1. This is even bigger than Chrome OS1 or the 30th Anniversary sets. Let’s look at how production compares to other recent sets.

• Total Pack Production
  • We Hate the 90’s – 473,000
  • Revenge of Oh the Horror-ible – 748,000
  • Late to School – 670,000
  • 35th Anniversary – 1,113,000 (66% increase in production vs. LTS)
• Collector Pack Production
  • We Hate the 90’s – 50,000
  • Revenge of Oh the Horror-ible – 69,000
  • Late to School – 74,000
  • 35th Anniversary – 130,000 (76% increase in production vs. LTS)
• Retail Pack Production
  • We Hate the 90’s – 423,000
  • Revenge of Oh the Horror-ible – 679,000
  • Late to School – 596,000
  • 35th Anniversary – 983,000 (65% increase in production vs. LTS)

Its hard to put in perspective just how much was printed of 2020S2 35th Anniversary. Collectors opening packs will find longer odds than they’ve even seen when searching for sketches, plates and autos. At the same time these numbers are great for Topps and the GPK brand. Walmart and Target are both carrying the product. Demand is at a high that hasn’t been seen in years. This will lead to more GPK products in the coming months and into 2021. Chrome OS 3 is less than a month away. Collectors have shown a huge demand for that set. How will the success of the 35th Anniversary set play into the numbers for the Chrome set? We won’t have long to find out!

This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on the production of 2020 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids 35th Anniversary. In Part 2 we will look at production numbers for all parallel and insert sets. Part 2 will be posted soon.

Updated 10/31 – Artist & Employee insert card set updated to 9 total cards in set.

GPK collectors have gone 9 months without a retail release. While that would seem like a lot, Topps has kept them busy with a long year dedicated to the 35th anniversary of GPKs. The retail set celebrating that anniversary is now out. 2020 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids 35th Anniversary is filled with a number of changes compared to recent sets. Subsets return once again to retail. However, Topps has tempered that with keeping numbering 1-100a/b, and incorporating puzzles, back card art, and checklists. Once again all the artwork for the set was done by David Gross, Brent Engstrom, Joe Simko, and Joe McWilliams. Also, former GPK Brand Manager Colin Walton returns on the set with back card artwork. As usual, Topps struggles with listing correct odds on packs. Once again odds on the parallels are overstated by double. Perhaps the biggest shock collectors will find is the massive increase in production. I’ll be running the numbers in a few days, but all indications are this is the largest printed set by Topps since they started using odds. The current pandemic has caused a huge increase in demand for both sports and non-sports cards, and GPK is no exception. The levels of production here are unmatched. A lot of the same formula Topps has been using, is repeated in this set with parallels, inserts, and hits.

There are a few notable changes. The higher production, means Topps has had to increase the print run on hits. Artist Autographs are /50, while the Location Relics are /250. However, the Fool’s Gold parallels moved back to /35, perhaps to match the anniversary. Blue Spit borders have moved to Retail display boxes from Collector boxes with this series. There are also some surprise goodies inserted in the packs both listed on the odds, and unannounced. There are redemption cards for OS1 & OS2 packs, along with Be a GPK redemption cards. This is the first time since BNS 3 that Topps has done the Be a GPK contest. Topps also has inserted an unannounced insert set, Artist & Employee cards. Each of the final card artists completed two cards, one of themselves and another of a Topps employee. These cards are numbered SP-#, and are rare inserts in packs. There is also a RL Stine promo card to help promote the recently released Welcome to Smellville book. There are no odds listed on packs for the artist/employee and RL Stine cards.

I will have articles in the coming days looking at production numbers in more detail. To see the official Topps checklist click here. For now here is what you can find, and where you can find it in 2020 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids 35th Anniversary.

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

• Base Set – 5 Subsets/100a/b (200 Cards).
  • All Grown Up (1-20a/b)
  • Snot Another Anniversary (21-30a/b)
  • 135th Anniversary Flash Forward (31-55a/b)
  • 35 Years of GPK (56-90a/b)
  • Battle of the Decades (91-100a/b)

• Parallel Sets – Same exact cards from the Base set, except with a different speckled color border. (Note: Odds on parallels are overstated by double.)
  • Bruised Black Border (Black)) – 1:2 – Collector (200 Cards)
  • Spit Blue Border (Light Blue) /99 – 1:24 – Retail Display (200 Cards)
  • Blood Nose Red Border (Red) /75 – 1:18– Collector (200 Cards)
  • Fool’s Gold Border (Gold) /35 – 1:317 – Retail Display/Value, 1:317 – Collector, 1:106 Fat Packs (200 Cards)
  • Booger Green Border (Green) – 1:2 – Retail (200 Cards)
  • Jelly Purple Border (Purple) – 1:2 – Fat Packs (200 Cards)
  • Phlegm Yellow Border (Yellow) – 1:10 – Value Box Packs (200 Cards)
  • Printing Plates – 1:1,281 Collector, 1:3,184 Value, 1:3,184 Retail Display, 1:1,053 Fat Packs (400 Total Plates – 4 per card artwork)

• Insert Sets – All the various insert subsets that can be found in packs.
  • GPK Wacky Packages – 1:24 – Collector (10 cards)
  • Fan Favorites – 2 Per Fat Pack (10a/b – 20 Cards)
  • No Regerts Tattoo – 1:3 – Retail Display (5a/b – 10 Cards))
  • Midlife Crisis – 3 Per Value Box (10a/b – 20 Total Cards)
  • Location Relic Cards /250 – 1:52 – Collector (10 Total Cards)
  • Artist & Employee Cards – No odds listed on packs (9 Total Cards)
  • RL Stine Promo Card – No odds listed on packs (1 Card)
  • Collectible Garbage Bin – 1 Per Collector Box (2 Total Garbage Bins)
  • Artist Autograph /50 – 1:111 Collector, 1:249 Retail Display, 1:249 Value, 1:83 Fat Packs (100 Total Cards – 1 per card artwork)
  • OS1 & OS2 Pack Redemption Card – 1:124,200 Collector, 1:123,888 Retail Display/Value, 1:112,655 Fat Packs (?? Total Printed)
  • Be a GPK Redemption Card – 1:124,200 Collector, 1:123,888 Retail Display/Value (?? Total Printed)
  • Sketch Card – 1:481 Retail Display/Value, 1:160 Fat Packs (52 Artists)
  • Shaped Sketch – 1:127 – Collector (52 Artists)
  • Triptych Sketch – 1:1,268 – Collector (52 Artists)
  • Loaded Sketch – 1:314 – Value Box (52 Artists)
  • Panoramic Sketch Cards – 1:2,590 – Value (52 Artists)