In their weekly email update to distributors today, Topps made a release date update to one of the upcoming announced retail sets. After moving to June TBD just a week prior, 2021 GPK Chrome OS 4 was moved to July TBD. Maybe the most interesting thing to note is 2021S2 GPK Vacation remained TBD June. Could that mean there’s some hope for a June release for Vacation? 2022S1 GPK Book Worms remains with a 7/27/22 release date. There are now only three sets from 2021 that don’t have a release date, OT Elite Basketball and the two GPK sets. Trading card products industry wide have been delayed due to paper and printer shortages. As always it should be noted that dates from online sellers should be ignored as they typical use the last Wednesday as a placeholder date.
Tag Archives: 2021 Chrome
Topps Updates on Upcoming GPK Retail Set Release Dates
Garbage Pail Kids collectors are going to need to continue to show more patience this summer on the release of upcoming retail sets. In their regular email to distributors today on release dates for upcoming products, Topps has updated the date for 2021S2 GPK Vacation and 2021 Chrome OS 4 to “June TBD”. 2022S1 GPK Book Worms remains with its original 7/27/22 release date. The sets continue to see delays due to paper shortages and printer demands for trading cards. Topps continues to show four total products from 2021 with TBD dates. Just because Topps mentions June, doesn’t mean collectors should necessarily expect the sets to release in June. For products that are TBD, Topps hasn’t started the printing process yet. GPK artist David Gross has been telling collectors for months now that despite Topps only moving the dates a month at a time, the sets really are in an indefinite delay until Topps can address shortages. Many online sellers continue to use the last Wed. of the month as a placeholder date, so collectors should not depend on those dates from sellers. Artwork for all three sets, including artists autographs has been completed, and work continues on future retail releases.
More Delays for Garbage Pail Kids 2021S2 Vacation and Chrome OS 4
As has been anticipated, Topps today issued further delays for both 2021S2 Garbage Pail Kids GPK Goes on Vacation and 2022 Chrome OS 4. Both sets have been changed to “May TBD” on their release calendar. Topps is down to six sets left from 2021 without release dates, two of those being the GPK sets. The sets have seen continues delays caused first by the Covid pandemic, and then high customer demand for trading cards. All companies industry wide have had trouble finding enough printers and materials to keep up with demand. Collectors should not follow distributor or online website release dates as most sellers are setting filler dates on “TBD” sets to the last Wednesday of each month. Stick to GPKNews for the latest updates.
Topps Further Delays 2021S2 GPK Vacation & GPK Chrome 4
Topps updated distributors today with their latest product release date updates. Sadly for Garbage Pail Kids collectors, once again the sets that were scheduled to release last year, were moved back. Both 2021 Series 2 GPK Vacation and GPK Chrome OS 4 are now listed as “April TBD” on the official Topps calendar. The Topps calendar still shows 11 products from 2021 that haven’t been shipped yet. Topps has seen delays in printing due to demand and the Covid pandemic. Other licensed brands have taken priority over the Fanatics/Topps owned GPK brand. Collectors should not trust any dates from online box sellers or distributors as many of them add placeholder dates for the products that are TBD. GPKNews will have the latest updates when available.
Topps Updates Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 4 Release Date
Topps made a change in release dates this morning for one of their highly anticipated GPK products. Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 4 has been updated now to March “TBD”. Originally set for release in November 2021, the set has seen a number of delays. Topps I continued to work through a backlog of sets due to printing delays. What is notable is 2021S2 GPK on Vacation was not changed, and remains February TBD. That could mean good news for collectors as Topps might be more confident that set will release in February. Collectors are slowly inching towards the release of the next sets.
Garbage Pail Kids 2021S2 and Chrome 4 Seeing Additional Delays
The more things change the more they stay the same? Topps updated their release schedule today for distributors and the news isn’t good for Garbage Pail Kids collectors. After being previously listed as January TBD, both the 2021S2 GPK Vacation and Chrome 4 sets have been officially updated by Topps to February TBD. The “TBD” means Topps really doesn’t know when the sets will release. With the update to February, collectors now know they won’t see them in January. Topps continues to see printing delays across all their brands into 2022. Topps only has so many slots available at the printers, unfortunately contracts and other more profitable sets are taking precedence. Some work does continue on the sets as artists have now signed their autographs for both 2021S2 and Chrome 4. After multiple delays for both sets, collectors must continue to exercise patience for the next releases.
2021 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 4 Retail Sell Sheet
Late last week Topps released Hobby information for 2021 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 4. Today the retail information is out, and there are quite a few changes this time around. With this release Topps will only be offering Value (Blaster) Boxes for the retail store SKUs. The previously offered Fat Packs in Chrome OS 3 are no more. There will be two versions of the Blasters, a pre-priced and non pre-priced Blaster. Each Blaster this time around will contain 6 of the 4-card packs. Each blaster is guaranteed 3 Atomic Refractors. Blasters will carry the usual $20 MSRP, and once again will come 40 to a case. The distributor GPKNews spoke with also mentioned sales of Blasters from Topps will be heavily allocated. It wasn’t clear if the allocations are limited to non big box retailers or if the product as a whole will be allocated.
The retail sell sheet once again describes the set as a 100 card base set featuring the 42 original OS 4 characters, along with 6 new paintings done by David Gross, Joe Simko, and Brent Engstrom. C Name variations will also be available in retail, scheduled to fall 1:100 packs. Artist autographs of Tom Bunk and David Burke will also be inserted, with those limited to /50 per card. For the first time in a GPK chrome release, Gold and Black Refractors will be Value Box exclusives. In previous releases those were Hobby only parallels. Atomic Refractors will also return, but this time instead of being wrapped separately in a 3 per box pack, they are advertised as being inserted 1:2 packs. Here is a complete rundown of parallels that can be found in Value boxes.
- Refractors – 1:3
- Atomic Refractor – 1:2
- Green Refractor – /299
- Green Wave – /299
- Yellow Refractor – /275
- Yellow Wave – /275
- Purple Refractor – /250
- Purple Wave – /250
- Prism – /199
- Aqua Prism – /199
- X-Fractor – /150
- Black Refractor – /99 (Value Box Only)
- Gold Refractor – /50 (Value Box Only)
- Rose Gold Refractor – /25
- Superfractor – 1/1
- Printing Plates – 1/1
GPKNews was able to obtain come clarifying information on the release date for the product. Topps had sent out conflicting information with the sell sheets advertising the release date as “November 2021”, and the case SKU form showing “Week of December 31 2021”. Topps told GPKNews the the set was planned for November, but after the sell sheets were approved to send out, the date had already slipped due to production issues. Right now Topps is planning for a December release for GPK Chrome OS 4, with an exact date to come at a later time. The retail sell sheet for 2021 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome OS 4 can be seen below or in PDF form here.
Chrome Highlights Garbage Pail Kids Retail Releases for 2021
Of course Topps will continue Chrome Garbage Pail Kids in 2021. According to the yearly internal sales calendar for 2021, Topps is planning for their 4th GPK Chrome retail release. The calendar is the yearly production plan by Topps for 2021. While things can change, and there are no guarantees the set will be made, Topps has every intention of continuing with the GPK brand in Chrome form. After making Chrome OS 1 & OS 2 in 2013–14, Topps refused to make anymore GPK Chrome sets due to low demand. However, after intense collector support and a resurgence in the GPK brand, Topps came back with Chrome OS 3 in 2020. With production of Chrome OS 3 being the highest GPK set in more than a decade, the demand is there for Chrome to continue. Not much is revealed on the calendar for the set. It’s listed as “GPK Chrome” with a release date of 11/10/21. There is no reference to “OS 4”. So it’s not known if Topps will continue the yearly reprints or move in a different direction.
GPK Chrome isn’t the only thing on the calendar of interest to collectors. Garbage Pail Kids 2021 Series 1 Food Fight shows the planned release date of 2/24/21 remains in tact. “GPK Series 2” also appears on the calendar with a planned release date of 9/29/21. Again, no details of 2021S2, including theme, are shown on the calendar. However, artists are already in the planning stages of the set. Once again, collectors won’t have much time between the second retail release and 2021 Chrome. Collectors however, will be excited that Chrome will remain for at least another year. Thanks to Jeff Pellegrino of Garbage Pail Kids Superstore at Hilltop Auctions for passing along the calendar. Be sure to check out their Facebook page!