A dealer's take on Stadium Club

In this hobby, it's rare when a product's most in demand cards aren't autos or game used. Instead, it's the inserts and base cards which are the driving forces.

This perfectly sums up 2014 Stadium Club baseball.

Each master box contains 3 mini boxes, each including six packs and an autograph card.

What's particularly interesting is that the parallels are not all numbered yet are extremely limited due to a small print run on the product, especially the "members only" parallels.

The autographs are generally all low end but there is a very nice selection of legendary autos.

But it's the base card photographs which stand out.

Topps is known for using the same photos in multiple products over the years, but not here.

For instance, there's one of Willie Mays where he is signing autographs at the outfield wall while fans are grabbing his arm.

Or the Lou Gehrig card which pictures him with some guy named Babe.

My personal favorite card shows the Yankees "core four" taken early this season, possibly at opening day.

Despite all of this, box prices have taken a nose dive suggesting that the initial SRP of $40 a mini and $120 a master box is too much.

Stadium Club is synonymous with quality card stock, inserts, photography and collector friendly pack prices, each of which are present in this issue EXCEPT the cost.

Because of this, if Stadium Club returns next year, it should return to it's roots (plus 2 autos) which means quality card stock, nice inserts, awesome photography, regular box configuration and a pack price of $5 or less.

I think it's a great product. It's just grossly overpriced

Exactly. Best photos in a set in a very long time. It might challenge 1999 Fleer as my top pick for best photos throughout a set. Of course, the Fleer set was much larger.

I want to see them push a product like this WITHOUT guaranteed hits per box and make the autographs extremely rare.

I think they would be surprised with the results.


It's just easier to push out products with the hits per box model.

cgilmo said:

I want to see them push a product like this WITHOUT guaranteed hits per box and make the autographs extremely rare.

I think they would be surprised with the results.


It's just easier to push out products with the hits per box model.

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I tend to agree with you on stuff Chris, but not on this one.

Topps and distributors would have a horrible time trying to pre sell this product which doesn't guarantee any game used or autos a box, especially a product which will cost several dollars a pack.

I certainly wouldn't pre order it.

Opening day? Sure, but that's really it.



Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app

I really enjoyed the one box that I opened, but it would have been more enjoyable if it was a little cheaper. I paid right around $100 from the LCS, and it was the Friday of release week so I wasn't going to get it much cheaper elsewhere. The autos were brutal for the price point, but I really enjoyed the inserts and the photography on the base set. I decided to slowly assemble the set, but I feel its going to take me some time since I'm still working on my 2012 Ginter mini set :lol:

With that said, the inserts are great. Some don't sell that well, but they do have eye appeal. The best card I pulled in my box was a Derek Jeter Triumvirate Luminous. The Legends die-cuts look great as well, as do the Future Stars inserts. The Field Access weren't as great to me, as they have too much of the same feel and look as a base card. The foil variations are a little confusing at first, and I wish there was a little more difference to them than the plain base cards. For those curious, my autos were Luis Sardinas, Andrew Heaney, and Taijuan Walker

clarkzac said:

I really enjoyed the one box that I opened, but it would have been more enjoyable if it was a little cheaper. I paid right around $100 from the LCS, and it was the Friday of release week so I wasn't going to get it much cheaper elsewhere. The autos were brutal for the price point, but I really enjoyed the inserts and the photography on the base set. I decided to slowly assemble the set, but I feel its going to take me some time since I'm still working on my 2012 Ginter mini set :lol:

With that said, the inserts are great. Some don't sell that well, but they do have eye appeal. The best card I pulled in my box was a Derek Jeter Triumvirate Luminous. The Legends die-cuts look great as well, as do the Future Stars inserts. The Field Access weren't as great to me, as they have too much of the same feel and look as a base card. The foil variations are a little confusing at first, and I wish there was a little more difference to them than the plain base cards. For those curious, my autos were Luis Sardinas, Andrew Heaney, and Taijuan Walker

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Aren't Heaney and Walker good autographs to pull?

Let me echo a lot of this.

Pros:
- beautiful cards, great photo selection, nice checklist of players from multiple eras
- inserts are great and in high demand
- lots of autos in a case

Cons:
- price is way too high
- in one case i got NINE duplicate autos. NINE. And not of Willie Mays either


Basically, after the first eBay run on a break, I'm barely over 50% on the return and that's not including fees. And in that case I pulled a Willie Mays Lone Star auto redemption.

I told Andrew, this does it for me and Topps breaks. I lost over 50% on Topps Chrome, last year's Finest was a horror show (only did well on this year due to a huge Koufax Greats gold auto, and still was under 100% return after fees). And don't get me started on the Bowman stuff. Topps clearly doesn't care about the secondary market as they've clearly stated.

Best return I've had consistently is Leaf, followed by Panini. Consistently make back the case or close without the need for that huge hit.

cgilmo said:

I want to see them push a product like this WITHOUT guaranteed hits per box and make the autographs extremely rare.

I think they would be surprised with the results.

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But at about Half the price! Then it'd do Gangbusters...

D-Lite said:

Let me echo a lot of this.

Pros:
- beautiful cards, great photo selection, nice checklist of players from multiple eras
- inserts are great and in high demand
- lots of autos in a case

Cons:
- price is way too high
- in one case i got NINE duplicate autos. NINE. And not of Willie Mays either


Basically, after the first eBay run on a break, I'm barely over 50% on the return and that's not including fees. And in that case I pulled a Willie Mays Lone Star auto redemption.

I told Andrew, this does it for me and Topps breaks. I lost over 50% on Topps Chrome, last year's Finest was a horror show (only did well on this year due to a huge Koufax Greats gold auto, and still was under 100% return after fees). And don't get me started on the Bowman stuff. Topps clearly doesn't care about the secondary market as they've clearly stated.

Best return I've had consistently is Leaf, followed by Panini. Consistently make back the case or close without the need for that huge hit.

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Ouch.Did you redeem the Mays?

I did a case in a group break and opened a case myself...
The autos in the product do not constitute $110+ a box (SRP)...
1 old timer auto and 35 scrubs per case...

That is pitiful..

This product the way it is should not be more than $60 a box.

Put 1 auto per master box and its a $60 box and the ****** autos are not worth $50 more ...

Why do two guaranteed autos mean so much if you know they'll be garbage?

I just highly doubt that customers want more autos of Yonder Alonso.

Create a auto set that has a great clean design, a mix of legends, retired stars, and current stars. Make the autos /100 (Some SPs just to mess with set guys) and roll with that.

That set will be huge and remain collectible while keeping the price point lower.

SINFULONE said:

Aren't Heaney and Walker good autographs to pull?

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If $3-10 autos are good to pull, then yes. Stadium Club is late in the season, after many of the rookie centered products are released. To me, I think Stadium Club would do better if it had less RC autos, and more vets and retired guys. That doesn't mean that they all have to be Willie Mays and Miguel Cabrera type autos, but veterans and retired guys that have few autos put out. The rookies got saturated way before Stadium Club was released

clarkzac said:

If $3-10 autos are good to pull, then yes. Stadium Club is late in the season, after many of the rookie centered products are released. To me, I think Stadium Club would do better if it had less RC autos, and more vets and retired guys. That doesn't mean that they all have to be Willie Mays and Miguel Cabrera type autos, but veterans and retired guys that have few autos put out. The rookies got saturated way before Stadium Club was released

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+10000

The Terry Pendleton and Omar Vizquel autos I pulled did very well. Guys like Sonny Gray and a few other non rookies are also ok. BUT I agree, the RC autos are stale by now and done in EVERY product. I love Archives for this reason: lots of autos of those Fan Favorites that kick up the dust with both player and team collectors.

To be blunt, Topps needs to focus on cutting products and releasing less autographs per product.

If products are truly hard to find, they will be desirable. This decision will NEVER be implemented because it won't help TOPPS right now. However if they continue to put Koufax, Mays and Aaron in everything until their death those names will no longer have the luster that they have now.

Topps needs to not focus on manufactured scarcity (parallels, refractors) and focus on actual scarcity. If they do, they will create a market that can be sustained for another 60 years.

They can make BASE cards desirable if they want to. Look at 2012 Heritage High Sets.

SINFULONE said:

Ouch.Did you redeem the Mays?

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Sold it unredeemed. Waiting on selling the bigger ticket cards never works on these breaks I've learned. Value is always highest at release.

Dude, I was ok with 50% on this considering how bad Chrome was. I don't get it with Topps. Overpriced. **** autos that are way way more common than the desirables. If you're going to have auto tiers, it better damn well be specified on the wrapper like they used to. Now they just SP or SSP cards and it's all very vague. Don't know how that's legal.

D-Lite said:

Sold it unredeemed. Waiting on selling the bigger ticket cards never works on these breaks I've learned. Value is always highest at release.

Dude, I was ok with 50% on this considering how back Chrome was. I don't get it with Topps. Overpriced. **** autos that are way way more common than the desirables. If you're going to have auto tiers, it better damn well be specified on the wrapper like they used to. Now they just SP or SSP cards and it's all very vague. Don't know how that's legal.

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Is the Mays on card or sticker?Someday I would love to have an on card Mays autograph.When did Topps stop putting odds on the wrapper?

SINFULONE said:

Is the Mays on card or sticker?Someday I would love to have an on card Mays autograph.When did Topps stop putting odds on the wrapper?

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No idea on the sticker/on card. Redemption.

Topps puts odds but they don't break it into tiers like they did in the past. Some of the older Archives boxes for sure had different tiers of autos, corresponding to SP/SSP. Now all autos are together, short-printed or not. So in a case with 36 autos, you get mostly crap and duplicates of the crap. It's a joke and it's too bad because Stadium Club is a beautiful product. One that will lose money for all the sellers for sure.

To me, this is how it should be done.

18 packs a box
5 (or 6) cards a pack
2 autos a box
$5 per pack srp
Around $80 a box

Similar mix of inserts (maybe amp it up a bit) like this year's but
Make the base cards exactly like the inaugural '91 issue (complete with the "topps RC" photo on the back).

Obviously, make sure the base set photos are outstanding, just like this year's.

And to make us feel even more nostalgic, do "sample" variations just like the the originals had (3 gold foil lines on front and a generic back) as rare inserts in packs. These would be labeled as variations in today's hobby.

I think this would work. And I think a $3 retail pack product would too, especially since it brings back that nostalgic feeling which is a great way to hook former collectors.

Stadium Club SHOULD have a presence in this hobby and I think this year's issue is on the right track, just needs a bit of retooling.

All this makes me miss those early Fleer Ultra releases. Wow those were sexy.