The issue that finally does me in as a "completist" player collector, 2019 Leaf ITG Used Sports

[mrmopar]

The issue that finally does me in as a "completist" player collector, 2019 Leaf ITG Used Sports

https://1978theyearitallbegan.blogspot.com/2019/08/flipping-giant-bird-to-leaf-i-am-done.html

It actually pains me to see people buying this stuff up, as i know it will continue the cycle. But I can feel good that I am not going to be a part of that any longer and it is refreshing and a bit of a relief, a long time coming.

 

[MrMet]

Link doesn’t work for me


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[mrmopar]

I think link is fixed. I believe it was my edit/log-in page so I linked just a basic page view now.

 

[bstanwood]

What's the issue? I checked the sell sheet, looks pricey but the names look pretty decent. I know lots of people have issues with Leaf/Brian Gray but the product looks ok, not amazing but decent.

 

[mrmopar]

Read the post, it spells out my issues pretty clearly. I have nothing personally against Leaf as a company or it's owner. It is a post directed only at Leaf specifically in that they created the product in question. Any other company doing the same thing would elicit the same response.

 

[Pinbreaker]

I picked up a couple of boxes just to see what they look like..

 

[CollectingCutch]

Great post. It's insane how many cards are produced of certain players in a year. I am actually grateful that Cutch got traded (twice) then signed with a same state rival. It has made me not chase EVERY one of his 1200+ cards a year being produced with such a degree of obsessive compulsion collecting. I am still picking up certain brands that I love, but am definitely going after everything anymore because the money to collect am all is just crazy.

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[banjar]

I'm not in love with this set, but in terms of desigh, I've seen worse. Topps has their designers, and every one of the yearly 15,000 Topps sets is identifiable as Topps. And same with Panini and Leaf. But with Leaf, I really do like their designs. Except for their annoying habit of making baseball cards without pictures of the player on the card. Brian Gray, in the 0.001% chance you're reading this thread....STOP IT! Baseball cards without photos of the baseball players are not baseball cards.

But to your point about not being a completist, and frustration with the glut of new releases and zillions of parallels, I can definitely relate. I abandoned the foolish idea of being a completist long ago, but for a while I was still chasing a lot of new stuff. Not anymore. Every year there is just an endless, endless stream of new issues - especially this mid- to high-end stuff.

Alomar has 36 cards in this Leaf set, which is insane, but that's a far cry from the 71 in the Topps flagship set. Overall he's got 297 new cards released in 2019 - and the guy's been retired for 15 years for chrissakes. So for my PC, I have drastically reduced what I spend on new releases and mostly focus on the playing career. I pick up new base issues and other low-end stuff just for fun, but I almost never buy stuff like this Leaf product. I also add all new cards to my master checklist, just to keep it complete, but after I do that I almost never think about them again. Topps Luminaries? Topps Diamond Icons? Panini Immaculate? Leaf ITG? Whatever. It's all just a big shiny gray smear to me. It's exhausting and I'm over it.



PS - I admit that on rare occasion I'll chase a rainbow or buy a high end card, but only if I really REALLY like the card design or the card is really unique. For example I might pick up a copy of the one with Alomar and Mike Tyson on it. Yes, Iron Mike! The card also includes Dennis Rodman and Deion Sanders. I wonder if this is Leaf's passive aggressive tribute to head cases (sorry Robbie, I love you but facts are facts).

 

[Musial Collector]

IMO, unless the jerseys pictured on the card are the actual jerseys inserted in the card (it pretty obvious looking at the above they are not), having pictures of random player jerseys featured on these cards is pointless.

 

[r2d2]

Saw Vinny Castilla is in this product and I thought of picking one because it'd be cheap. Boy, I was wrong he is paired with Juan Gonzalez and Manny Ramirez and I think they are going very pricey for a card without a photo of the players.

 

[Doerrcollector]

These cards are giving me flashbacks to 2005 Absolute Memorabilia, except that was done amazing and this was not.

The lack of photos is astounding on this...

Thanks,
Jeff


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[mrmopar]

View attachment 91386

I breezed by and didn't notice you had pulled one with Garvey. is that /2 or /3. I am documenting the different types still, although not trying to buy any.

 

[Pinbreaker]

I breezed by and didn't notice you had pulled one with Garvey. is that /2 or /3. I am documenting the different types still, although not trying to buy any.

It was 1/3.. and sold for $137

 

[jszczech]

Although I've bought a couple I decided to limit myself to one of each type for my Puckett pc. Prices have been surprisingly high in my opinion.

 

[K34PuckettAddict]

I couldn’t agree more Josh and am taking the same approach with these. That cheesy jersey image detracts from an otherwise decent concept imo.


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[banjar]

I still like the "Leafy" designs on most of these cards - at least the ones with pics of the players. Leaf's habit of producing cards with no picture, or just a picture of a jersey, is one of the worst modern card trends.

I agree that overall the prices are surprisingly high. I might pick one up if I can get it for a reasonable price. Still eyeing that one with Iron Mike on it!

 

[mouschi]

This release is definitely not for me, but I'm glad that it may be the catalyst for others to draw the line. Once you say no to a certain product, it is easier to say no to others. I would imagine that Leaf used the jersey pictures because of licensing limitations, though I could be wrong. The design is certainly not bad at all, but yeah - jersey pictures don't do it for me personally. I can certainly see how others wouldn't mind buying them, though.

 

[mrmopar]

Just in the days since I posted this, I have watched a dozen or more of these cards get snapped up quickly with BIN/BO, all overpayments in my opinion. I even let one go that was 6/30. I am one that has paid a premium for the uniform number serial number, but in this case I really didn't care AT ALL! It has allowed me to feel better about buying a couple non Garvey things I might normally not even think about or consider, which is not a trend I plan to keep following. I want to say that I am winding down my buying career and I don't want to open up more opportunity to start buying other stuff that took a back seat to my Garvey sickness. However, just landed a 1973 Pedro Guerrero Topps contract that I think is pretty neat.

 

[Brewer Andy]

Just in the days since I posted this, I have watched a dozen or more of these cards get snapped up quickly with BIN/BO, all overpayments in my opinion. I even let one go that was 6/30. I am one that has paid a premium for the uniform number serial number, but in this case I really didn't care AT ALL! It has allowed me to feel better about buying a couple non Garvey things I might normally not even think about or consider, which is not a trend I plan to keep following. I want to say that I am winding down my buying career and I don't want to open up more opportunity to start buying other stuff that took a back seat to my Garvey sickness. However, just landed a 1973 Pedro Guerrero Topps contract that I think is pretty neat.

Good for you. It’s crap. I look at it like custom cards: might find a cool one worth picking up but it’s still amateur


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[banjar]

Liberating isn't it? There is serious theraputic power in not giving a f*ck.

Just in the days since I posted this, I have watched a dozen or more of these cards get snapped up quickly with BIN/BO, all overpayments in my opinion. I even let one go that was 6/30. I am one that has paid a premium for the uniform number serial number, but in this case I really didn't care AT ALL! It has allowed me to feel better about buying a couple non Garvey things I might normally not even think about or consider, which is not a trend I plan to keep following. I want to say that I am winding down my buying career and I don't want to open up more opportunity to start buying other stuff that took a back seat to my Garvey sickness. However, just landed a 1973 Pedro Guerrero Topps contract that I think is pretty neat.