The Topps Merlin UEFA Club Competitions 2025/26 hobby box went up for presale on Topps.com on November 2 at $219.99 and sold out. Each box has 18 packs of 4 cards and 1 autograph, and the release date is December 3, 2026. Completed US eBay sales so far run $284.99 to $300, roughly 30% to 36% over retail before fees. Topps doesn't publish a print run, so there's no rarity number to quote.
How much is a Topps Merlin UEFA 2025/26 box?
- Hobby box: $219.99 presale (Sports Illustrated and Checklist Insider both report it). Sports Illustrated calls that a 10% increase on last year's release.
- Contents: 18 packs per box, 4 cards per pack, 1 autograph card per box, and 4 or more sequentially numbered parallels per box (Topps)
- Value box: 7 packs per box, with 1 sequentially numbered parallel (Topps). Topps shows it sold out; we didn't find a price we could confirm.
- Sealed case: 12 hobby boxes per case. It also shows sold out.
- Limit: 6 per cart on Topps.com
- Release date: December 3, 2026. Presale orders are meant to ship ahead of that date, but Topps says it can't guarantee delivery by release day, and dates can change.
Topps' UK arm lists hobby boxes at £200, so US buyers are not alone in paying more this year.
What's in it, and what to chase
Topps pitches the set as Merlin's 1990s sticker heritage mixed with Chrome. It covers the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
- A 200-card base set, including exclusive rookies not found in other UCC collections
- Renaissance stained-glass cards, with Renaissance Stained Glass versions numbered 1/1
- Eye of the Dragon, The Shiny, rookie image variations and the Merlin 1996 30th Anniversary Card
- Autograph cards, plus Mystic Nights, Ageless Alchemy and Superpowered Synergies dual autographs
- Hobby-exclusive Merlin's Match Ball Signatures, which pair an autograph with a match-ball relic, and Speckle and Vintage Merlin Refractors
Pull rates haven't been published. With one auto per box, the box value rides on whose name you hit and on the numbered parallels.
Topps Merlin UEFA 2025/26 eBay price: what it's selling for
We checked eBay sold listings on November 3, 2026. Exact box matches only.
- US hobby box presales: 4 sales, $284.99 to $300, middle about $293, plus $6.65 to $10.99 shipping. They sold on November 2 and 3.
- UK and German sellers: $335 to $390 plus heavy shipping and import fees. We left these out of the range because buyers pay extra to import.
- Sealed 12-box hobby case: one listing sold on November 2 at $6,249.99, with Best Offer enabled. We can't tell whether it sold at the asking price, so don't use it as a case price.
- Comparable, 2024-25 Merlin UEFA hobby box: one sale at $254.99 on October 25.
Four sales are a thin sample, and these are presales. Expect prices to change when boxes ship and the first hits post.
The flip math
eBay's trading card fee is 13.25% plus $0.40 per order, charged on item price, shipping and tax.
- At a typical $293 sale plus about $8 shipping: fees are about $40, so you keep about $261, or roughly $253 after paying postage.
- Against $219.99 retail: that's about $33 profit, before sales tax on your purchase.
- Break-even: you need to sell for roughly $255 to clear retail after fees and postage. The low sale at $284.99 still clears it, but not by much.
The margin is small. It disappears if the price slips toward retail once supply lands.
Flip, hold or pass? Our take
Flip if you secured a box at $219.99. About $30 a box is modest, and it exists only while presale demand is high.
Hold only if you like soccer cards. One auto at $220 is a gamble on the player.
Pass on buying above retail. At $290 you need a further rise just to break even after fees.
We haven't documented a team call on this one, so treat this as our read of the numbers, not a member alert. We'll refresh the eBay figures after the December 3 release.
What to watch
- More US sold listings. Sales under about $255 mean the flip stops paying.
- Release week. Presale shipments and in-hand boxes will show whether supply catches demand.
- Big hits. Stars and the 1/1 Renaissance Stained Glass cards move values more than the base cards.
- Related coverage. See more sports card guides, and our 2026 Bowman U Signature Football price breakdown for another sold-out presale.
New to flipping cards? Start with how to flip sports cards.
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Sources
- Topps: Topps Merlin UEFA Club Competitions 2025/26 hobby box and the product page (contents, release date, limit)
- Sports Illustrated: "The Magic Returns with 2025-26 Merlin Chrome UCC" (si.com) (presale price, 10% increase)
- Checklist Insider: 2025-26 Topps Merlin UEFA Club Competitions guide (presale price, case size)
- eBay: sold listings for 2025-26 Topps Merlin UEFA hobby box (checked November 3, 2026)
- eBay: Seller fees