To the Topps Team,

I’m writing to you today not just as a Marvel card collector, but as someone who represents a large, passionate, and generous community that feels increasingly ignored and sidelined by your current distribution practices.

Since acquiring the Marvel trading card license, Topps has had the power to revitalize a fan base that has waited patiently for years for the kind of thoughtful, well-distributed, and artistically powerful releases you’ve brought to other franchises like Star Wars. Instead, we’re watching a slow erosion of hope and enthusiasm—because Marvel collectors and breakers simply can’t get product.

We are not the same crowd that screams into microphones during sports breaks. We are people who teach each other, support each other, and often raise thousands for charity without fanfare. We’re community-builders. Educators. Fans who know the storylines, the characters, and yes, how to pronounce their names.

But the current model rewards existing relationships with large sports breakers—who in many cases lack the reverence or even the basic knowledge of what they’re ripping. They’re receiving massive allocations while long-standing Marvel-focused breakers are getting shut out. Even the EQL system feels like a performative gesture; “lotteries” that favor bots or resale giants. Your breaker application process? It often goes unanswered for months—if at all.

This has opened the door for price gouging from vendors like Dave & Adam’s, who buy out allocations only to mark up Marvel product far beyond what most fans can afford. And the result? Marvel fans are left empty-handed, and you’re losing not only their trust—but their business.

Meanwhile, product after product gets released with recycled art, uninspired inserts, and no clear commitment to innovation. You’ve proven what’s possible with Star Wars Galaxy—a set that resonated because it showcased the artistic and storytelling potential of the IP. Imagine what that could do for Marvel, if given the same creative freedom and distributed into the hands of fans who truly care.

It’s not too late. You still have a chance to make this right. But it starts with distributing to Marvel breakers and collectors first—not sports flippers. Expand your reach. Make your allocation process transparent. Fix the application bottlenecks. Invest in original art. And most of all—listen to the community that wants to love what you make.

We’re not here to complain. We’re here because we care. Please show us that you do too.