The final word on the 2010 Bowman Wrapper Redemption

[mancini79]

Eisner if your are not aware does not see Topps as a "trading card" company,,,, and his managing partners don't either,,,, one look at the Topps Attax program should tell the inquiring mind exactly how the new owners are running the show,,, their development of the Topps 3-D interactive experience is another warning shot,,,,,, to them trading cards are now "entertainment" experiences,,,,, this is radically different than "trading" cards of the past,,,, DO NOT EXPECT IT TO CHANGE while Eisner & crew are in charge,,,,,,

Jeff

I agree with a lot of what you mentioned, except with the part above. The industry has been trying to get kids back into the hobby. Kids love card games like pokemon, yugi-oh, etc, so Topps Attax is targeting that demographic. They are just trying to bridge the gap to baseball. It's the same idea with Topps 3D. These products are cheap or are included in the cheaper products for a reason, to get them in the hands of kids. So I can't fault Topps for trying to think outside the box to promote the hobby.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Between the 1970s and 1984, Topps printed just a few products -- in the early to mid 70s, their base brand broken up in series, then 75 the Minis, then nothing except base Topps from 76-81 when the brought out the Traded boxed set, through 1984.

So what did they do to earn your ire back then?

Take the below with a grain of salt,,,, its one mans view on what I see happening in the market,,,, other people will see things differently of course,,,,

The feeling Topps misled people on the redemption program is nothing new to me,,,,,,, its a game Topps has been playing for 50 years,,,,, tell people something "might" be included in the product, have them buy, buy, buy,,,,, then tell them it was too late to include,,,, but hey look for stage 2 and we are trying to solve it,,,,,,, Stage 2 comes along and "oh, problem with the distribution" but hang in we are developing something to fix it,,,,,,,, and finally in Stage 3 either it finally hits the show,,,,, or they openly admit it could never happen due to X reason and here is our best effort at making it up to people,,,,,,

Topps has been playing this trash since the 70's with a regularity that caused me to stop buying their products in 1984,,,,, still wont buy any cases from them at release,,,,,, I'll let distributors take the financial hits thanks and clean up the leftovers,,,,, ever wonder why so many mass distributors have come & gone when they concentrate solely on a Topps distribution system? Its not for the faint of heart or the poor,,,,,,

Eisner if your are not aware does not see Topps as a "trading card" company,,,, and his managing partners don't either,,,, one look at the Topps Attax program should tell the inquiring mind exactly how the new owners are running the show,,, their development of the Topps 3-D interactive experience is another warning shot,,,,,, to them trading cards are now "entertainment" experiences,,,,, this is radically different than "trading" cards of the past,,,, DO NOT EXPECT IT TO CHANGE while Eisner & crew are in charge,,,,,,

Anyone willing to invest in a one pony show while the market is currently in an exclusivity stage and not in an openly competitive market---- well thats not for the faint of heart and do not expect sympathy if one take sa bloodbath,,,,, there will be more misses than hits in the product lines and deciphering which will be winners separates the money makers from the soon to be poor,,,,,,,,,,

One mans opinion,,,,
Jeff

 

[AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR]

What if Topps decided it was no longer financially feasible to produce sports cards and packed that aspect of their business up. They would still have the exclusive MLB contract, but chose to not exercise it (or sell it to another manufacturer). What would happen to the card market? Would we all be sitting with closets full of Pogs, Beanie Babies, Webkinz, and Topps cards??? There is only value in cards because we as a group say there is. When it all boils down, all we have is a few dollars in cardboard....

::facepalm::

 

[SportsCardMojo]

I think most of us can agree that this situation is a royal screw up. Even without putting the blame on a single entity.

My question to the community is, now that we know things suck, what can be done about it?

You and every other collector love baseball and love baseball cards. Yet Topps has the exclusive license to the MLB regarding our beloved cards. And they are screwing things up.

How can we, the collectors, get our hobby back?!?!? And please don't say "Don't buy Topps products." With Harper cards coming out next year, it's not going to happen.

Someone must know the hobby well enough to organize some course of action. Petition? Does anyone regulate the card industry? If not, maybe we should?

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Someone ask Chumlee over at Beckett to write a scathing editorial.

Don't hold your breath.

 

[craftysouthpaw]

I do not see any law firm devoting any serious resources to this. The damages, if any, are unlikely to make it worthwhile. For those who might want to know, I am a lawyer, though I don't care to tout that fact on these boards.

I don't disagree with this but didn't want to end up writing 8 paragraphs qualifying my claim - you did it much more concisely than I would have. I can get a bit long-winded when I write.

I still think there are damages there but the costs to pursue them for the consumer would make it a risky proposition even if damages are proved and awarded. And as you said, the dollars probably aren't big enough for a law firm.

If only we had a loser's pay system . . .

 

[Crash Davis]

I think most of us can agree that this situation is a royal screw up. Even without putting the blame on a single entity.

My question to the community is, now that we know things suck, what can be done about it?

You and every other collector love baseball and love baseball cards. Yet Topps has the exclusive license to the MLB regarding our beloved cards. And they are screwing things up.

How can we, the collectors, get our hobby back?!?!? And please don't say "Don't buy Topps products." With Harper cards coming out next year, it's not going to happen.

Someone must know the hobby well enough to organize some course of action. Petition? Does anyone regulate the card industry? If not, maybe we should?

Wow! Um...I'm not sure where your hobby went, but my hobby is still here.

Please. You all have short memories. UD screwed everybody by not fulfilling redemptions for years. They put out extremely overpriced products with extremely awful checklists. They changed the subject lists, too, just like Topps did. In fact, Topps has always changed subject lists, as has Panini and UD and Fleer and all the card companies before it.

A petition? A petition for what? Course of action? You can't be serious.

Regulate the card industry? Please stop. You are speaking out of both sides of your mouth. Regulation is for businesses and not hobbies. People don't invest in the stock market as a hobby - it's an investment.

You have to decide whether baseball cards are a HOBBY or an INVESTMENT.

 

[SportsCardMojo]

I think most of us can agree that this situation is a royal screw up. Even without putting the blame on a single entity.

My question to the community is, now that we know things suck, what can be done about it?

You and every other collector love baseball and love baseball cards. Yet Topps has the exclusive license to the MLB regarding our beloved cards. And they are screwing things up.

How can we, the collectors, get our hobby back?!?!? And please don't say "Don't buy Topps products." With Harper cards coming out next year, it's not going to happen.

Someone must know the hobby well enough to organize some course of action. Petition? Does anyone regulate the card industry? If not, maybe we should?

Wow! Um...I'm not sure where your hobby went, but my hobby is still here.

Please. You all have short memories. UD screwed everybody by not fulfilling redemptions for years. They put out extremely overpriced products with extremely awful checklists. They changed the subject lists, too, just like Topps did. In fact, Topps has always changed subject lists, as has Panini and UD and Fleer and all the card companies before it.

A petition? A petition for what? Course of action? You can't be serious.

Regulate the card industry? Please stop. You are speaking out of both sides of your mouth. Regulation is for businesses and not hobbies. People don't invest in the stock market as a hobby - it's an investment.

You have to decide whether baseball cards are a HOBBY or an INVESTMENT.

That's pretty short sighted for you to say these things. The "Hobby" are the people who buy these products. The "Products" are goods sold by a "Business". A "Business" and it's practices can be regulated. A "Petition" shows everyone's distain for a product. All of these things are normal practices. Not sure how they apply to a card company, but they are used all the time when people want change.

So essentially, what you are saying, is just bend over and keep taking it up the ...

Let's just continue to whine and complain about it and watch nothing happen. Great approach.

 

[saferseas]

Regulation is for businesses and not hobbies.

hahaha ::facepalm:: yeah, sports memorabilia is not a business........because it's a hobby. :shock:

 

[Crash Davis]

Regulation is for businesses and not hobbies.

hahaha ::facepalm:: yeah, sports memorabilia is not a business........because it's a hobby. :shock:

Clearly you all have missed my point.

Maybe I should have said: The Better Business Bureau regulates all businesses.

What more do you want? Do you want an SEC-type organization?

That's what I was getting at.

 

[Mahoody]

Regulation is for businesses and not hobbies.

hahaha ::facepalm:: yeah, sports memorabilia is not a business........because it's a hobby. :shock:

Clearly you all have missed my point.

Maybe I should have said: The Better Business Bureau regulates all businesses.
What more do you want? Do you want an SEC-type organization?

That's what I was getting at.

The Better Business Bureau does not regulate businesses

 

[A_Pharis]

My hobby is still here.

I say this, because I realize that if I don't like a product... then I don't buy it or act like I was forced to buy it.

All of this "Wah, I didn't make money" is countered by the simple claim made on every product that Topps does not guarantee future value of any of its product.

Good luck with the lawsuit, though. I'm sure it wouldn't be considered frivolous at all.

 

[SportsCardMojo]

My hobby is still here.

I say this, because I realize that if I don't like a product... then I don't buy it or act like I was forced to buy it.

All of this "Wah, I didn't make money" is countered by the simple claim made on every product that Topps does not guarantee future value of any of its product.

Good luck with the lawsuit, though. I'm sure it wouldn't be considered frivolous at all.

This is not all about the money. Let's ignore anything having to do with financial gain for a second. Let's focus on production runs, checklist, release dates, quality control, product design, etc...the "Hobby". Can all of you who say that "the hobby is still here", honestly say you are happy with what has happened this year? You're happy with how Topps has handled their exclusive license to the MLB and how they handled Strasburg. And you have no concerns about how they will handle Harper?

If so, please share with us your insight, because I'm not happy with what I've seen this year, and I'm worried about what's going to happen next year with Harper.

 

[gogosox40]

My hobby is still here.

I say this, because I realize that if I don't like a product... then I don't buy it or act like I was forced to buy it.

All of this "Wah, I didn't make money" is countered by the simple claim made on every product that Topps does not guarantee future value of any of its product.

Good luck with the lawsuit, though. I'm sure it wouldn't be considered frivolous at all.

This is not all about the money. Let's ignore anything having to do with financial gain for a second. Let's focus on production runs, checklist, release dates, quality control, product design, etc...the "Hobby". Can all of you who say that "the hobby is still here", honestly say you are happy with what has happened this year? You're happy with how Topps has handled their exclusive license to the MLB and how they handled Strasburg. And you have no concerns about how they will handle Harper?

If so, please share with us your insight, because I'm not happy with what I've seen this year, and I'm worried about what's going to happen next year with Harper.

I believe alot of the answers/discussions you are looking for are already posted in this 20 page thread.
THere is always going to be monetary thinking when it comes to this hobby.

 

[BowmanChromeAddict]

Regulation is for businesses and not hobbies.

hahaha ::facepalm:: yeah, sports memorabilia is not a business........because it's a hobby. :shock:

Clearly you all have missed my point.

Maybe I should have said: The Better Business Bureau regulates all businesses.
What more do you want? Do you want an SEC-type organization?

That's what I was getting at.

The Better Business Bureau does not regulate businesses

LOL. So true. The BBB regulates nothing. It's just a feedback system designed to scare businesses to act on one person's complaints for fear of being exposed on the internet to the couple people that actually look at the BBB before buying. If the BBB actually regulated, wouldn't they being regulating Topps over their F rating?