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Worst card company ideas

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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
4,091
I think most gimmicky (bad) ideas have been mentioned already. Micro sized cards are one that might not have been mentioned yet though. Those 90s Topps and Donruss cards that were 1/4 the size of the regular card. They made for a few more unique cards for collectors, but why? If you didn't need a magnifying glass to read the backs then, you definitely will eventually.

I will also bring up the multiplayer jersey and auto cards that have no player images on them, mostly the SP signature series and ITG stuff issued in the last couple of years. Some folks like them and I have a bunch for a couple of reasons, but they are just boring and ugly to me.
 

cardcop05

New member
Nov 15, 2018
64
0
NYC
My BEST ideas

-Topps/Panini/UD (whomever has the license) form a partnership with Nike/adidas/UA and insert a pack within shoe boxes. If you can get those collectors on board, you've got a whole new base. Plus I LOVE the idea of cards inserted into products. That's our origin and should get back to that.

You mean like the fairly new MICHAEL JORDAN ugly cards in Hanes underwear packs I've already seen on eBay asking $50 for a pack of (4) underwear and a 3-card Jordan pack?
The TV commercial had the audacity to say that (10) TEN Michael Jordan autographs are randomly inserted. He's their sports spokesman and even Hanes couldn't get him to sign more than TEN autographs??? You know they made at least 100,000+ Hanes underwear packs with Jordan cards (is it 3 cards per pack?).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I HATE STICKER AUTOGRAPHS, THAT WAS THE WORST CREATION IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS CARDS! :cry:

Brian Gray was the second dumbest thing created by the sports card hobby for sure!

T.J. Schwartz was the third dumbest thing created by the sports card hobby.

Mainly Topps/Upper Deck Baseball factory sets with special Inserts, or Cereal promotions that are easily opened so people open the sets/boxes with BASEBALL INSERT CARDS (or the Post Cereal card, 2002 Post mini bobble-heads, and so many others) and stick them in their pockets after opening every set/box in the store (and then making a nice free little fortune on eBay) like:

Every time I went into my local Albertson's grocery store in early to mid-2002; kids were opening Post Cereal boxes and pulling out the mini bobble-head figures that were right on top of the boxes in plastic packages. Then I looked on eBay & sellers were getting $100 for the (10) figure set!!! I bought the same exact full set on eBay 3-years ago for $10.00 + $3.00 S&H??? Now knuckleheads want $10 each for some of the same figures again, but you can still find FULL SETS for $10.00. Go figure.

1994 & 1995 Collector's Choice Factory Sealed Sets with (5) Gold cards or (15) gold cards respectively. Dealers wanted $50.00-$80.00 each for the 1994 Gold- Griffey, F. Thomas, and Cal Ripken back then and $3-$5 for COMMONS! I knew at least a dozen local collectors/dealers who were making Gold sets. These were just laying on top of the cards in a cellophane pack. So people just ripped off the thin plastic Topps shrink wrap seal & they had easy access to the packs, dumb!

Topps did the same thing with very easy access to the special cards:
1993 Topps Baseball with (10) ToppsGold, (3) ToppsBlackGold, and (9) '94 Pre-Production cards, 1994 Topps Retail Factory Sets with a 1995 Topps Finest pre-production, '95 Bowman pre-production & regular '95 Topps pre-production, 1994 Topps Hobby Factory sets with (9) '95 pre-production cards, (3) card Superstar Samplers, (1) ToppsGold AND (3) ToppsBlackGold, 1995 Topps sets with (10) Opening Day cards & (7) card Cyberstat set, 1996 Topps Baseball Factory sets with "Tri-Cards" OR pack of (5) Mickey Mantle B&W cards, etc. etc, Then the 2000's Topps Factory sets with the (5) card ROOKIES packs. 2008-2012 Mantle Gold Chrome Reprints, 2007 Topps with the Mantle RELIC cards, and on & on.

Almost no one were buying the factory sets by 1994 in retail stores in Florida. They had already been opened by someone who stole only the bonus card packs or special cards!

SO THESE WERE ONE OF THE WORST IDEAS ANY CARD COMPANY EVER CAME UP WITH!
 

Randy Shields

Well-known member
Aug 20, 2008
2,224
441
OH-IO
Hanes gives you a bonus pair of skibbies in these $15 underwear packs so it's 5 pair at $3 each. I feel that this is a very fair price to pay for brand new, skidmark-free ball sacks. Considering this you may very well want to rethink your position on going commando James as it appears to be rubbing you the wrong way.
You also get 2 free packs of Fleer containing 5 cards per pack and not 3, so I am very disappointed in your detective work here as you've been a cop for a very long time now.
I really hope for your sake that Hanes doesn't see this post because it could clearly be perceived as slanderous and they could use you as an example saying "Look who we've got our Hanes on now."

Sent from my SM-G960U using Freedom Card Board mobile app
 

cgilmo

Well-known member
Administrator
Aug 6, 2008
37,213
35
Alpharetta, Georgia, United States
You mean like the fairly new MICHAEL JORDAN ugly cards in Hanes underwear packs I've already seen on eBay asking $50 for a pack of (4) underwear and a 3-card Jordan pack?
The TV commercial had the audacity to say that (10) TEN Michael Jordan autographs are randomly inserted. He's their sports spokesman and even Hanes couldn't get him to sign more than TEN autographs??? You know they made at least 100,000+ Hanes underwear packs with Jordan cards (is it 3 cards per pack?).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I HATE STICKER AUTOGRAPHS, THAT WAS THE WORST CREATION IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS CARDS! :cry:

Brian Gray was the second dumbest thing created by the sports card hobby for sure!

T.J. Schwartz was the third dumbest thing created by the sports card hobby.

Mainly Topps/Upper Deck Baseball factory sets with special Inserts, or Cereal promotions that are easily opened so people open the sets/boxes with BASEBALL INSERT CARDS (or the Post Cereal card, 2002 Post mini bobble-heads, and so many others) and stick them in their pockets after opening every set/box in the store (and then making a nice free little fortune on eBay) like:

Every time I went into my local Albertson's grocery store in early to mid-2002; kids were opening Post Cereal boxes and pulling out the mini bobble-head figures that were right on top of the boxes in plastic packages. Then I looked on eBay & sellers were getting $100 for the (10) figure set!!! I bought the same exact full set on eBay 3-years ago for $10.00 + $3.00 S&H??? Now knuckleheads want $10 each for some of the same figures again, but you can still find FULL SETS for $10.00. Go figure.

1994 & 1995 Collector's Choice Factory Sealed Sets with (5) Gold cards or (15) gold cards respectively. Dealers wanted $50.00-$80.00 each for the 1994 Gold- Griffey, F. Thomas, and Cal Ripken back then and $3-$5 for COMMONS! I knew at least a dozen local collectors/dealers who were making Gold sets. These were just laying on top of the cards in a cellophane pack. So people just ripped off the thin plastic Topps shrink wrap seal & they had easy access to the packs, dumb!

Topps did the same thing with very easy access to the special cards:
1993 Topps Baseball with (10) ToppsGold, (3) ToppsBlackGold, and (9) '94 Pre-Production cards, 1994 Topps Retail Factory Sets with a 1995 Topps Finest pre-production, '95 Bowman pre-production & regular '95 Topps pre-production, 1994 Topps Hobby Factory sets with (9) '95 pre-production cards, (3) card Superstar Samplers, (1) ToppsGold AND (3) ToppsBlackGold, 1995 Topps sets with (10) Opening Day cards & (7) card Cyberstat set, 1996 Topps Baseball Factory sets with "Tri-Cards" OR pack of (5) Mickey Mantle B&W cards, etc. etc, Then the 2000's Topps Factory sets with the (5) card ROOKIES packs. 2008-2012 Mantle Gold Chrome Reprints, 2007 Topps with the Mantle RELIC cards, and on & on.

Almost no one were buying the factory sets by 1994 in retail stores in Florida. They had already been opened by someone who stole only the bonus card packs or special cards!

SO THESE WERE ONE OF THE WORST IDEAS ANY CARD COMPANY EVER CAME UP WITH!

I think Brian has been an overwhelming positive for the industry. He's pushed other companies to get better.

If you don't wanna deal with his products they are easy enough to ignore.



I don't know who TJ Schwartz is.
 

bstanwood

Well-known member
Sep 24, 2016
3,666
332
Mystic, CT
I think Brian has been an overwhelming positive for the industry. He's pushed other companies to get better.

If you don't wanna deal with his products they are easy enough to ignore.



I don't know who TJ Schwartz is.

I think tj Schwartz was a consultant on the movie Spaceballs, I hear he's pretty strong, some kind of unknown force...
 

cgilmo

Well-known member
Administrator
Aug 6, 2008
37,213
35
Alpharetta, Georgia, United States
I think tj Schwartz was a consultant on the movie Spaceballs, I hear he's pretty strong, some kind of unknown force...

He’s just a dealer. Cardcop likes to make a big deal out of things that are only important to him.

Hey I don’t like how you did that and you wouldn’t listen to me so obviously you’re a blight on the industry.


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app
 

gamecockfanatic

Active member
Jun 17, 2009
945
25
Gamecock Country
You also get 2 free packs of Fleer containing 5 cards per pack and not 3, so I am very disappointed in your detective work here as you've been a cop for a very long time now.
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i actually typed out a to him last night but when i hit submit it vanished...i just wanted to let him know he was also incorrect on his info regarding the 1994 and 1995 collector's choice factory sets...the bonus gold signature cards were NOT sealed in a cellophane pack left on top of the cards in the box...the sets were issued with the cards in numerical order with the gold signatures included at the end of the set and the entire row of cards was packed TIGHTLY...many of the cards came from sets with dinged corners due to the box taking a blow along an edge near the end...i can also promise you that there was never ANY topps shrink-wrap on these upper deck products (and i'm almost certain the 1995 choice sets - and MAYBE the 1994's as well) did not come with shrink wrap on the outside at all...i'm actually inclined to say that if they did have wraps on them they were resealed...if they were truly sealed sets , they were actually a bit difficult to open , remove the cards , and reseal without detection
 

bmx807

Member
Aug 7, 2008
98
1
My favorite was Fleer inserting a redemption back in 2001 for an Albert Pujols rookie auto. I do not remember the exact product it was. I pulled one and was sent a base card unsigned and numbered to I think 2000. I was just a teenager back then and thought I just misread the redemption. Fast forward 6 or 7 years I get an email with phone number from Fleer's lawyer saying that they are sending out 3 auto cards to make up for their mistake but they cannot guarantee any value. The cards sent were a Hunter Pence Fleer Hot Prospects Auto, some NBA guy /25 and I do not remember the 3rd card. The Pence auto I sold for $60 the other 2 cards were not even worth selling when paying for shipping. At the time of me pulling the redemption, a Pujols rookie auto would cost around $500. When the lawyer contacted me, his rookie autos could esaily sell for at least $1000.
 

Randy Shields

Well-known member
Aug 20, 2008
2,224
441
OH-IO
You did great work.


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

I know, but it's all in the past. Everything I do currently is total crap.

Sorry Mike, but I concur with Chris here. You did an awesome job and I still have that set floating around here somewhere..
I happen to think that you still have it in you so let's focus on the positive and not the negative mmkay my friend? ;)

Btw way it's nice to see you make an appearance. So many of us have gone our separate ways to a degree over the years.. :sad:

And speaking of which, I suggest we all try and pick a day that would work out for most of our long lost friends to get back together for an Online FCB Cookout! It would have to be BYOB of course and maybe Chris could hand out some virtual prize giveaways as well!! :cool:
 

cgilmo

Well-known member
Administrator
Aug 6, 2008
37,213
35
Alpharetta, Georgia, United States
Sorry Mike, but I concur with Chris here. You did an awesome job and I still have that set floating around here somewhere..
I happen to think that you still have it in you so let's focus on the positive and not the negative mmkay my friend? ;)

Btw way it's nice to see you make an appearance. So many of us have gone our separate ways to a degree over the years.. :sad:

And speaking of which, I suggest we all try and pick a day that would work out for most of our long lost friends to get back together for an Online FCB Cookout! It would have to be BYOB of course and maybe Chris could hand out some virtual prize giveaways as well!! :cool:

Re: virtual cookout

Maybe not a virtual cookout but Tim and I have some stuff we are cooking up.
 
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