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eTopps has spawned it's own jargon. We've defined most of these new terms for you below. If we missed something or made an error, e-mail us and let us know!
Adopting
The act of accumulating a large amount of a specific eTopps card, usually by setting a floor for the card's price. The minimum price for the card is established by the adopter bidding at least a certain amount on every auction for the particular eTopps card. This accumulation drives the price up due to a lack of supply of the card to other eTopps collectors. Related: PapaTony, Tony Banks.
Allocation
The process by which IPO's are distributed to collectors. If the issue quantity is less than the amount of cards ordered, cards are distributed based on a number of factors. These factors can include the number of orders received, the amount ordered by the collector, and the date/time each order was placed. Related: Sellout.
CardTarget.com
The most comprehensive supplemental eTopps website. Created by eTopps enthusiasts Jason Barden and Mike Masinick. The website features an eTopps price guide, portfolio tracking, trading services, charting options, investment competitions, eBay historical data and many other eTopps analysis tools. Related: Vote.
Cartel
When eTopps allowed collectors to vote on which players they wanted as part of the 2002 baseball set, a number of collectors with substantial voting power pooled their votes to determine whether or not certain players would receive a card. Related: Vote.
Celebrity Portfolios
Public eTopps portfolios managed by celebrities such as Keith Olbermann and Ernie Banks for entertainment purposes. Profits generated from their portfolios are donated to charity. Related: Portfolio.
Classics
A 60-card set of eTopps IPO's featuring Hall-of-Fame baseball players. Two cards are released each week for ten weeks during the latter half of the baseball season over a 3-year period. Classics sets for other sports will likely follow.
eBay Trading Floor
A section of eBay devoted exclusively to the buying and selling of eTopps cards that are held in portfolio. The only way to list a card on the Trading Floor is through the eTopps portfolio screen.
eFellas
Members of the eTopps Mesage Boards who have posted over 500 times.
eVent Card
IPO offered soon after a significant achievement in the sports world to commemorate the event. The first eVent card commemorated Mike Cameron's 4-home run game. Related: War Emblem.
Flipping
Selling a new eTopps card on eBay shortly after it has been allocated.
Fuzzetopps.com
A group of volunteers who investigate suspicious activity relating to eTopps on eBay. Related: Shill Bidding.
Grading
Collector send sports cards to impartial grading services such as PSA or Beckett Grading Services. These services judge the condition of the card (based on centering, coloring, condition of the edges, etc.) and issue a grade for the card which serves to standardize the trading of the card. Graded sports cards are traded on ThePit.com's exchange. eTopps "in-hand" cards are rarely submitted for grading because eTopps strives to only issue cards that are in "mint condition". eTopps cards held in portfolio are not graded because they are automatically deemed to be in "uncirculated mint" condition and can therefore be traded as commodities on the eBay Trading Floor. Related: ThePit.com.
In-Hand
eTopps cards that have been shipped to the collector and are now in that collector's physical possession. Once a card is taken "in-hand" and removed from the collector's online portfolio it cannot be returned to their portfolio.
IPO
Initial Player Offering. IPO's are purchased directly from eTopps. This may be the only time each a can be purchased at their original IPO price. The cards are subsequently bought and sold on the eBay Trading Floor.
NARU
Abbreviation for "Not A Registered User". The status of an eBay user whose membership has been suspended by eBay. In regards to eTopps, this is often due to suspect activity such as shilling. Related: Shill Bidding.
PapaTony
noun - An eTopps collector who accumulated large quantities of short-printed 2001 football cards propelling their values to high levels. Related: Tony Banks.
verb - To accumulate a large percentage of the available cards for a specific issue, thus increasing the value of the card.
PayPal
The online payment service used to complete most eTopps transactions. Through the use of PayPal, eTopps transactions can be consummated entirely online without the need to ship payment or the card. Additionally, performance bonuses are paid to card holders via PayPal.
Performance Bonus
A monetary amount equal to 20% of the IPO price of the card. If the player equals or exceeds all of the statistical performance targets eTopps sets for that season the owner of that card will receive the performance bonus. Performance bonuses are paid to the card owner via PayPal. Performance targets are customized for each player. Performance bonuses were initiated in the 2002 eTopps sets.
Portfolio
Your individual account displaying the eTopps cards in your collection that are held by eTopps. Cards can be added to your portfolio via IPO purchases or purchases from the eBay Trading Floor. Cards in your portfolio can be seamlessly listed for sale on the eBay Trading Floor or be taken "in-hand". Related: Celebrity Portfolios.
Private Auction
The only way to transfer cards between portfolio is via the eBay Trading Floor. Therefore, when two collectors agree to trade eTopps cards a private auction can be set up enabling the seller to allow only that person to bid on their eTopps card. The cards are transferred to complete the trade after the auction ends. Also: How to Set Up a Private Auction. Related: Trading.
Prospect Set
Special sets of baseball prospects given away to certain members during the 2001 and 2002 baseball seasons. 5,000 of each card were produced and a portion of the sets were held back by eTopps for use in various future promotions.
Secondary Market
See: eBay Trading Floor.
Sellout
An IPO for which the number of cards ordered equaled or exceeded the issue quantity for the card. Related: Allocation.
Shill Bidding
Using multiple eBay accounts (or the accounts of friends or family members) to bid up the price of your own auction. This is a violation of eBay's rules and will result in suspension by eBay if caught. Fuzzetopps.com investigates these offenses when they relate to eTopps auctions. Related: Fuzzetopps.com.
SP / Short Print
IPO's that are issued in small quantities (due to a lack of initial demand). Different quantities constitute "short prints" for different sets. For 2001 sets, 500 cards generally is considered a "short print".
Steve O
"stevo47" - moderator of the official eTopps message boards. Also: Message Board Shorthand.
Test Set
The 2000 football IPO's which were made available online to a select group of collectors during beta testing.
ThePit.com
A website that serves as an exchange for collectors to trade graded sports cards. All cards are traded on ThePit.com are held in storage at the company (much the same way eTopps cards are held in storage). ThePit.com Topps purchased ThePit.com in 2001. ThePit.com places IPO orders and received allocations directly from eTopps the same way other customers do. They then create their own market for trading those cards via their website. Related: Grading.
Tony Banks
The rarest eTopps card ever produced. Due to a lack of demand, only 186 of this 2001 football card were printed. Related: PapaTony.
Trading
The only way to trade cards that are held in portfolio is via a private auction on eBay. Related: Private Auction.
Vote
On June 6th eTopps allowed past buyers of 2002 baseball IPO's to vote on which 14 players should be added to the 2002 baseball series. The number of votes each collector had was determined by the amount of IPO's they had purchased that year. The following players were selected to be included in the set: Mark Prior (14,662 votes), Rickey Henderson (8,494), Austin Kearns (8,289), Tom Glavine (5,824), Manny Ramirez (5,351), Shea Hillenbrand (5,097), Junior Spivey (4,954), Derek Lowe (4,944), Torii Hunter (4,817), Juan Rivera (4,698), Eric Hinske (4,688), Bobby Hill (4,688), Rafael Soriano (4,687), Jim Edmonds (4,687). "Pick 'em" votes were subsequently help for sets from other sports. Related: Cartel.
War Emblem
Racehorse which was contending for the 2002 triple crown. eTopps had prepared a special eVent card in the case of it winning the triple crown. The horse failed to win the triple crown but eTopps mistakenly e-mailed members about the issuance of an eVent card commemorating the achievement. Related: eVent Card.
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