Is it just me or are baseball cards ridiculous now?

linuxabuser · Aug 17, 2014

How many parallels does Bowman have now? In addition to base refractor, blue, black, green, gold, orange, red and super, chromes, there are blue, black, red and silver waves, and purple, blue, orange, gold, black, green, red and super minis. That's like 23 parallels counting the two basic paper and chrome cards. Oh, and I forgot the paper variations too. That is too damn many.

In addition to all of the parallels, why must everything be a mini now? Let Ginter and T206 have minis. Heritage and Bowman do not need minis. ******* mini cards have minis of their own now! What are they, micro cards? 1993 Topps Micro was not a hit. Stop trying to bring it back. See: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-ALLEN-...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

How in the hell is anyone supposed to complete a rainbow or master set with all of this BS? My run of Heritage sets will end at 2012. End of story. I have no desire to collect new cards with all of these recent changes, so as far as Topps is concerned, they have lost a customer.

Brewer Andy · Aug 17, 2014

They're desperate and poorly run

RandomH · Aug 17, 2014

When there's no competition, there's no need to try.

OscarOne · Aug 17, 2014

Its a bummer. And the shame is its not hard. People love the heritage sets...but that will only last so long. Take a clue. People love the look and feel of those cards. Why not really put some effort into making a legit, modern issue that captures the spirit of cards from the 50's and 60's but still using the best of today's technology? And most importantly, run it out as your base set. Make some shortprints. Have some inserts. And get as much of each team as you can in the set. Dont make them glossy!

DeliciousBacon · Aug 17, 2014

For every person who complains about it, there are several more who enjoy the challenge and the chase. I have zero problems whatsoever with all the parallels and minis; I enjoy hunting them down, and I enjoy the variety it gives my player collections. There's never a time when I feel like I'm running out of new things to find, and of course, there's the thrill of pulling (or finding in a discount box) a low #'ed parallel of the exact player you want.

wlalocal71 · Aug 17, 2014

one of the main reasons why i dont waste my time/$ on cards anymore

predatorkj · Aug 17, 2014

I enjoy them I suppose. But I don't feel the value is really there anymore. People say it adds value but I don't think it does. There are way too many now and it actually kills the value. You get cards nowadays that might not be auto'd, gu, or even serial numbered, but they may be a case hit. So they should still hold value. And they don't. Then the argument would be that once certain collectors get their fill, of course the value drops. But that's an understatement. The value doesn't just drop, it damn near dies. That has to do with things like eBay being around and there being too much stuff out there. But either way, no matter how "rare" a card is now, it's not necessarily worth much.

IMO I think it would be good if autos were 1 or 2 per case. And inserts were 1 or 2 per box. At that point the autos would have a chance to be worth something and so would normal inserts. Even the base cards might make a comeback. And prices could be lowered.

predatorkj · Aug 17, 2014

Sorry dp.

OscarOne · Aug 17, 2014

I don't know. For me, its about feeling like I have something that is really collectible...and I don't feel that way about base cards. [Note: I am talking about Topps base here]

I like that they are accessible and reasonably priced. As a team set collector, my biggest issue is that once I have the team set together I feel like I still don't have a real representation of the organization, nor anything with any real value. Its a double whammy. The checklists are always the same, and many of the key role players never get proper representation. It would be great if having a set of Topps cards really were a good representation of the team that you love. I think also going a little more retro on the cards--less gloss, cheaper stock--might help since cards would be more condition sensitive.

I have a dream. A card set that, instead of players, represents teams. So one card is the 1957 Boston Red Sox line-up. Another would be the 1949 Cleveland Indians starting rotation. Another would be the bullpen of the 2002 Oakland Athletics. Another could be the utility players on the 1982 Kansas City Royals. Heck, make it a game or something, where you can mix and match into teams and play each other online of something. Man, as an Indians fan: the 1966 Indians Rotation with the 1998 Lineup, 2014 pen and 2013 bench. Fun on a bun.

Designing those cards would be tough, but fun.

Well, I know that I will do when I win the lottery!

BBCgalaxee · Aug 17, 2014

Topps is trying to make box breaking more enjoyable by adding all these new refractors.

Ty Hope · Aug 17, 2014

I have lost all interest and have pretty much left the sports side of the hobby. It has been killed, *****, beaten and buried by all the piss poor, half assed companies.

Non-sports and IP autos for me all the way now. See my sig for example. Sketch card commissions signed IP at shows. These are the types of items that actually mean something to me in my PC these days. F Topps, F Panini, F UD, etc.

bobthewondercat77 · Aug 17, 2014

There's lots of choices of what and how to collect cards. Personally I like the over-complicated ridiculous state of card parallels and minis and whatnot, I think it's silly and fun. But if you don't like it there's plenty of other stuff to collect. You don't have to collect all the parallels to collect Heritage sets, for example.

DiebytheCubs · Aug 17, 2014

I kind of like it to an extent. I tend to stay away from autos and jersey cards now, mostly putting together sets. With the different variations, I think it's cool that it's possible to add variety to the sets or make a variation set if you want to. But at the same time it is ridiculous just how many colors there are.

Crewfan82 · Aug 17, 2014

BBCgalaxee said:
Bowman chrome products are just a mess of confusion in every way shape and form, but I don't totally blame topps (yeah I actually said that).

More parallels have become necessary since base prospect cards have become nearly worthless. But it's gotten out of hand.

Topps is trying to make box breaking more enjoyable but there's too much color now.

Yes, BC is a cluster F. It has gotten to the point where even nice parallels of a player are worthless. Prospects have autos in multiple releases of BC as well as non-auto releases. Seems like these days if it isn't auto'd no one wants it.

I do think it has gotten way out of hand with all the colors and minis. I used to love BC back in the day, but now have move my focus to my Gallardo PC and older stuff.

cgilmo · Aug 17, 2014

The good news for those of you that don't like the new stuff, there is alway old stuff to chase.

u2me57 · Aug 18, 2014

That's true. I always try to remind myself about getting more vintage Topps.

I don't really care for the mini cards, unless it's one of Jim Thome or maybe a 1975 Topps Phillies mini. I do like all the different colored parallels, as they are usually #ed cards.

predatorkj · Aug 18, 2014

BBCgalaxee said:
Bowman chrome products are just a mess of confusion in every way shape and form, but I don't totally blame topps (yeah I actually said that).

More parallels have become necessary since base prospect cards have become nearly worthless. But it's gotten out of hand.

Topps is trying to make box breaking more enjoyable but there's too much color now.

Well the parallels still aren't going to make or break your box or case unless you get really lucky. Actually, overdoing them might make them worth even less. And it's certainly not doing anything to help the base cards.

Brewer Andy · Aug 18, 2014

cgilmo said:
The good news for those of you that don't like the new stuff, there is alway old stuff to chase.

Not if you collect current players. Another area that may be hurting young/new collectors

finestkind · Aug 18, 2014

It all started to be ridiculous buying new cards around 1995. Too many inserts. I only build Topps sets before 1995.

r2d2 · Aug 19, 2014

As a player collectors I love the parallels, the chase is what it is about for me. No problem with today's cards

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