Erich
Active member
011873 said:Here are the highlights from Monday followed by some pics.
PANINIPanini will be bringing back "90s style" inserts in Basketball. No other info except they did mention Jambalaya.
EEE will be produced in December, even without a full collegiate license. They are allowed to show players in college uniforms as long as certain logos, numbers, etc are not shown.
They couldnt mention it specifically, but they WILL BE issuing Baseball products. They were hoping to have full info for this Summit and I heard they were awarded a retired player contract.
Many dealers were asking for HOBBY type blaster boxes, $20-$25 boxes similar to retail but with Hobby content.
THERE WILL BE LESS REDEMPTIONS FROM PANINI in 2010. They said the reason for the abundance in 2010 was because of the transistion the comapny went through.
Panini will also improve product content and they talked about their new distributor contract, as highlighted above.
TOPPS
"Topps Hobby Express" was introduced, and it looks really good.
It is designed for Hobby Stores and their customers to get missing (not damaged) cards fast.
Stores have to be HTA and prove they bought from a Topps dist or direct.
Cards which could be replaced are GU, autos and NUMBERED Refractors (again, not damaged) which were missing from the box.
The process is simple as the dealer only has to send an email with the box serial number (inside the box), Hobby shop's ID number, its phone number, the customers name and where the store bought the box.
There will be 21 Baseball products this year and only one of the two axed retro products (Chicle/206) will be replaced with another retro (Gypsy Queen).
Topps Sterling is most likely getting the axe as well, PERHAPS to be replaced by Five Star.
All but THREE Baseball products will be released by the World Series with one release issued every other week starting mid June- end November.
Topps has also partnered with MLBN and will be releasing a "Prime 9" promotion which will be rolled out in July.
I wasnt able to get all the info on this but from what I have, I THINK....THINK.....they will be redemptions (2 per box) which can be redeemed at Hobby Stores for Chrome die cut cards, prizes, etc.
There will be more on card autos for the NFL and "100%" there will be a draft and rookie photo shoot.
The reason why Topps Chrome had horrible quality was because their previous supplier of Chrome stock went out of business and Topps had to scramble to find another company.
They have since sent empoyees out to perspective companies to make sure their chrome stuff meet their standards.
Topps also said that the last part of 2010 was "one of the worst times in Topps history." and the reason why TC, BC and TUH were over produced was because they tried to forcast demand.
They also said that the 2011 calendar is shaping up to be their best schedule and that the Hobby is the vast majority of sales, not retail.
Lastly, they told us that despite what most think, they didnt "relax" because of the exlusivity.
Ok, so thats all the serious, conference meeting stuff.
Below are some pictures you will all enjoy.
Thanks for the update. I look forward to Wednesday's update.