A 2010 USA Year In Review - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

I finally returned from a much needed holiday vacation and decided to do a USA product year in review. Feel free to share your thoughts on the 2010 Topps USA product line and how it can be made better for 2011.

USA Year In Review

Also, feel free to take part in the poll above. You can vote TWICE -- choosing one as the BEST and one as the WORST.

Note: The Relic/Autographs and Patch/Autographs were not included in the poll because they are 100% awesome. They save the box set from being a complete dud and everyone would likely choose them as best.

It's fair to say that the prices that the 16U BCDP Autos are selling for is disappointing, but I see these as having major upside at these buy-ins, so it's hard to call them the worst. Clearly though the BC 18U Auto set was a great addition to that product...unfortunately it was buried inside an otherwise horrible product.

BowmanChromeAddict said:

It's fair to say that the prices that the 16U BCDP Autos are selling for is disappointing, but I see these as having major upside at these buy-ins, so it's hard to call them the worst. Clearly though the BC 18U Auto set was a great addition to that product...unfortunately it was buried inside an otherwise horrible product.

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Couldn't agree more with both points. With BChrome, you're opening on a longshot Stras bid, and a longshot bid on decent auto color. Both are far from guranteed. The USAs are a GREAT add and gurantee to probably the most hit or miss break of the year.

I agree on the 16U set too. The buy ins are great and these aren't likely to be these guys' last USA auto before they are drafted, but it will be their first.

And I don't know how you can call the Topps Chrome USA autos the worst....the resale on them is nice. They do look terrible tho.

I actually like the BP patch autos; I've picked up a few already and am watching a few more of the guy I collect hit eBay and on here. The base ones /740 aren't anything to get excited about, but the colored parallels look really nice to me, especially when you see a 3-4 color patch.

BowmanChromeAddict said:

It's fair to say that the prices that the 16U BCDP Autos are selling for is disappointing, but I see these as having major upside at these buy-ins, so it's hard to call them the worst. Clearly though the BC 18U Auto set was a great addition to that product...unfortunately it was buried inside an otherwise horrible product.

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This is not an argumentative post, so don't take it as such. I love it that these guys are selling cheap. That's how it should be. Nobody knows who these guys are (okay, they do, but there aren't numerical lists ranking them, there aren't articles dedicated to one exclusive player. They are treated like any other 16 year old should be treated, as a kid). I'm one of the biggest USA fans out there but have yet to buy a single 16U card because it's like playing roulette.

As for the USA in review, it's hard to pick one concept and say it stands out over the other, especially saying that one series of Bowman Chrome USA autos are better than the other. Desgin wise? Sure the 16U are a lot better with the background. Player wise, the 18U team is more desirable. But how about the concept of including them into Chrome products? That is an all around winner. Does it suck that Bowman Platinum has over 700 base autos of every player? Yeah. But aren't the blue and red refractor patches gorgeous, absolutely. Does the boxed set kind of suck? Yeah. But the patches are the best looking USA cards produced to date IMO.

My vote would go:

-Good idea to incorporate USA guys into Chrome products. Great idea on the Topps patches. Good idea to keep it simple with the boxed sets (despite me missing gold ink USA autos)

-Bad idea to overproduce in Bowman Platinum and the Boxed Sets. Boxed sets were popular due to scarcity. Throw that out the window.

Overall, Topps has blown massive donkey **** in 2010, but I think they have taken the USA brand a step forward despite putting everything else 3 steps back. Don't forget though. We still have Bowman Sterling around the corner.

I haven't a clue what the best of the cards will be with the addition of the Bowman Chrome autographs.

In previous years, the Bowman Chrome singles have dominated the USA branded cards but that could be in part to the MLB uniform. The patch cards are strong again this year and I like the design/layout even though I prefer last year's vertical patch autograph variations #/99.

I've decided to change my vote. I'd like to vote for the "buyback" autos that were supposed to be in Bowman Chrome as the "Best" of 2010. They're so good that empty wrappers are worth money!

BowmanChromeAddict said:

I've decided to change my vote. I'd like to vote for the "buyback" autos that were supposed to be in Bowman Chrome as the "Best" of 2010. They're so good that empty wrappers are worth money!

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Have you seen one yet?

Can't include what doesn't exist!

Since you didn't give any non-auto options for the poll, I'm going to go with the USA cards in the initial 2010 Bowman. You had Harper's first chrome card and the ability to get color. Plus, they MAY end up coming back again as the signed buy-backs.

NECpilgrims8 said:

BowmanChromeAddict said:

I've decided to change my vote. I'd like to vote for the "buyback" autos that were supposed to be in Bowman Chrome as the "Best" of 2010. They're so good that empty wrappers are worth money!

Click to expand...

Have you seen one yet?

Can't include what doesn't exist!

Click to expand...

Darn, I forgot the sarcasm marks...

hive17 said:

Since you didn't give any non-auto options for the poll, I'm going to go with the USA cards in the initial 2010 Bowman. You had Harper's first chrome card and the ability to get color. Plus, they MAY end up coming back again as the signed buy-backs.

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I really wanted to include just the autographed cards for the year.

It's safe to say that a majority of the sales and market data relates to autographs, so they are the focal point.

Bump