Heading to Toys R Us for purple parallels

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Once upon a time I had to make excuses to go to Toys R Us. These days, I’m hit up the combo Toys R Us/Babies R Us more often than I would like to admit. But having a baby is ever so convienant for “needing” a TRU run.

In this case, there was something we actually needed. So we took the long way around the store to pass the trading card kiosk. 2018 Topps Baseball Series 1 packs were in stock. Each of $3.49 blister packs comes with one pack and two exclusive Purple parallel cards – yep, that means the only place to get a Purple parallel is at Toys R Us (when not using an intermediary like EBay).

I generally like these parallels. Part of the appeal of the Purple parallels is knowing that you can’t get them in any other type of packs. They are specific to the Toys R Us blister packs.

I picked up three (though only two are shown). The six purple cards were:

– Wil Myers
– Scott Feldman
– CC Sabathia
– Matt Barnes
– Texas Rangers team card (now in my hsband’s possession)
– Houston Astros combo card

The Purple parallels do carry a small premium on the secondary market. Although there is no numbering on the cards, they tend to be a little tougher to get for some collectors since they are only found at TRU, which not everyone has access to.

Currently, the lower-end players are selling for $5-$6 while more popular players and rookies are closer to $20.

An Amed Rosario rookie sold for $28.

The asking price for Rhys Hoskins right now is pretty steep.

These prices will likely come down a bit as more of them enter the market, but these parallels always seem to do well in holding value.