eTopps is a revolutionary

Revolutionary

A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...

 type of trading card

Trading card

A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text...

 originally launched by the Topps

Topps

The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...

 company in 2000.

Each week a limited number of sports cards, called IPOs, are offered for sale exclusively through Etopps.com. This method of distribution contrasts with the traditional sale of sports cards through packs at retail stores. Collectors are then allocated a number of cards based on the number of orders for each particular card.

Card owners can then hold their cards in an online portfolio, while Topps retains physical possession of their cards in a climate-controlled warehouse in Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

. If collectors would rather take delivery of their cards, etopps will ship them the cards for a fee. Card values are tracked from actual sales on the eBay

EBay

eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

 trading floor, giving each collector an up-to-the-minute portfolio value. This facet of the program has attracted investor

Investor

An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...

s in addition to sports card collectors.