So you've finally tracked down that last elusive card to complete your favorite childhood Topps baseball set. Maybe it's the 660th card from 1975 or 792nd from 1983. Either way, there's nothing quite like checking that final card off your list.

Mission accomplished, right? Right??

Well….not so fast.

Because as any longtime collector knows, there's often a whole lot more to a particular year's Topps release than the cards on the regular checklist. And some of that stuff is pretty darn cool.

I'm talking Traded sets, All-Star cards, sticker sets, wax wrappers, dealer promotional materials, and even things you probably never knew existed.

None of them is necessary to call your set complete. But they can surely make collecting it a lot more fun.

Remember Those Rack-Pack All-Stars?

Growing up in Arizona, I bought an absolutely ridiculous number of packs of baseball cardz. Thousands, probably. And I have particularly fond memories of digging through boxes of rack packs at Yellow Front (anybody remember that place?) and Kay Bee Toys.

One of the things I was hunting for was the special All-Star cards Topps included in rack packs during the 1980s.

I'd rummage through the box, looking at the bonus cards, trying to find the players I still needed. Finding one I didn't have was almost as exciting as pulling a good card from the packs themselves.

Then there were the glossy All-Star cards you could send away for. Topps promoted those offers right on the wax packs, and every so often I'd mail in for a set.

Looking back, those promotions were a pretty clever way to keep us engaged with the product. At the time, though, I wasn't thinking about marketing. I just wanted the cards!

Today, those All-Star releases are terrific additions to their base sets. They're colorful reminders of the previous season’s all-star game and they bring back some great memories.

The Obvious Extras (And a Few Not So Obvious)

For collectors looking to go beyond the regular checklist, Traded sets are probably the most natural place to start.

Take 1985 Topps, for example. The regular set contains 792 cards, but there's the 132-card Traded set featuring players who changed teams, rookies, and others who weren't included in the original release.

It's a logical companion to the base set, and one that many collectors already consider part of their collecting goals.

But why stop there?

Topps also produced sticker sets, the previously-mentioned special All-Star releases, and other companion issues throughout the 1980s. Some were available in packs, others through special promotions or mail-in offers.

And then there's the humble wax wrapper.

I love the idea of keeping an original wrapper from the year alongside the cards. It's such a simple addition, but there's something about that colorful packaging that instantly takes you back to the days of tearing open packs and hoping for something good.

You don't have to spend a fortune to add some of these things, either. Many can be found pretty easily on eBay, and sometimes the hunt is half the fun.

The Stuff You Never Knew Existed

This is where things get especially interesting to me.

Years ago, I stumbled across an original Topps dealer sell sheet. I'm pretty sure it was on eBay, although I honestly don't remember.

For those unfamiliar, sell sheets were promotional materials Topps provided to dealers to advertise upcoming products and/or so they could reorder stock. They featured product images, occasional selling points, and information intended to get retailers excited about stocking the latest cards.

I thought it was pretty neat. So naturally, I started looking for sell sheets from other years.

And wouldn't you know it? There were plenty more to find. I’ll even find sell sheets for 1970s sets now and again. Heads up - the price on those are significantly more than their 80s counterparts.

I've since picked up dealer materials promoting wax boxes and rack packs, along with a 1983 Topps dealer sneak preview featuring League Leaders.

As someone who works in marketing, I find these especially fascinating. It's fun seeing how Topps presented its products to retailers 40 years ago, what they emphasized, and how they tried to generate excitement around the upcoming baseball card season.

But even without that professional interest, they're just cool pieces of hobby history.

And then there are the Topps Baseball Achievement Awards programs.

Yes, Topps actually held awards events honoring baseball players and their accomplishments, and produced printed programs for the occasion. I've acquired programs from 1985 and 1986, complete with colorful covers featuring vintage Topps card designs.

How many collectors even know those exist?

That's probably my favorite part of collecting these extras. Just when you think you've seen everything associated with a particular year, something else turns up that you had absolutely no idea Topps ever produced.

So Where Does All This Stuff Go?

Well, that's entirely up to you.

Personally, I like keeping as much of it as practical alongside the regular set. Traded cards, All-Star cards, original wax wrappers, and appropriately sized dealer materials can all make terrific additions to a binder.

In fact, that philosophy is part of why we designed our Throwback Binders Vintage Set collection with generous 3-inch rings. There's room for more than just the base checklist, and I like having the flexibility to include some of these extras.

Of course, there's a limit. A full sticker set, multiple All-Star releases, and every promotional item from a particular year can add up pretty quickly. And larger memorabilia may need to be stored or displayed separately.

But that's not really the point.

The point is that a collection can be more than a stack of numbered cards, regardless of where you keep everything.

There's Always Something Else to Discover

One of the great things about collecting vintage baseball cards is that there's no single right way to do it. For some collectors, completing the original checklist is the goal, and that's plenty satisfying all by itself.

But if you're like me, part of the enjoyment comes from discovering things you never knew were out there. And Topps certainly gave us plenty to discover over the years.

So the next time you're browsing eBay, try searching for promotional materials, special issues, or other oddball items associated with your favorite Topps year.

You might be surprised at what turns up.

After all, the fun of completing a set is knowing you've found every card on the checklist.

The fun of collecting is discovering how much more there is beyond it.