Triple Threads time (2011 info)

[Therion]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Oh please. Have you considered that the industry has "much less money in it now than previous years" because they've watered down their quality?

I will buy boxes and boxes of stuff with on card autographs. I have not bought a single box of a product with sticker autographs.

And no one makes you do that.

But if they put out less and jack up the prices they will have even less money to pay the athletes. And when you have guys charging less for Stickers and consumers spending less because of the economy or cards ending up damaged, you end up having to make decisions.

I think you missed my point. I do not put money into products that have sticker autographs. That means less money for the card company. That means they have less money to spend on the quality of their product.

Cycle of life, baby. You give me quality and I give you my money. You cut down on the quality and I start looking backwards at old stuff I can buy instead of pumping money into the new product.

 

[cgilmo]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Oh please. Have you considered that the industry has "much less money in it now than previous years" because they've watered down their quality?

I will buy boxes and boxes of stuff with on card autographs. I have not bought a single box of a product with sticker autographs.

I'm just explaining why stickers are here to stay.

 

[ljw29]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Oh please. Have you considered that the industry has "much less money in it now than previous years" because they've watered down their quality?

I will buy boxes and boxes of stuff with on card autographs. I have not bought a single box of a product with sticker autographs.

And no one makes you do that.

But if they put out less and jack up the prices they will have even less money to pay the athletes. And when you have guys charging less for Stickers and consumers spending less because of the economy or cards ending up damaged, you end up having to make decisions.

I think you missed my point. I do not put money into products that have sticker autographs. That means less money for the card company. That means they have less money to spend on the quality of their product.

Cycle of life, baby. You give me quality and I give you my money. You cut down on the quality and I start looking backwards at old stuff I can buy instead of pumping money into the new product.

And I respect that just saying you need to stop blaming the companies, as athletes are behind this as well. And it is easier for them to lose your money, then to jack products up 15-20% and lose a larger percentage of business.

 

[Therion]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Oh please. Have you considered that the industry has "much less money in it now than previous years" because they've watered down their quality?

I will buy boxes and boxes of stuff with on card autographs. I have not bought a single box of a product with sticker autographs.

I'm just explaining why stickers are here to stay.

Oh, I'm very aware they are here to stay. I'm just saying it will ultimately cost companies far more money than they save.

Look at the prices on autographed books for a comparison. Books signed directly by an author are considered FAR more valuable than books with signed bookplates in them.

 

[Therion]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Oh please. Have you considered that the industry has "much less money in it now than previous years" because they've watered down their quality?

I will buy boxes and boxes of stuff with on card autographs. I have not bought a single box of a product with sticker autographs.

And no one makes you do that.

But if they put out less and jack up the prices they will have even less money to pay the athletes. And when you have guys charging less for Stickers and consumers spending less because of the economy or cards ending up damaged, you end up having to make decisions.

I think you missed my point. I do not put money into products that have sticker autographs. That means less money for the card company. That means they have less money to spend on the quality of their product.

Cycle of life, baby. You give me quality and I give you my money. You cut down on the quality and I start looking backwards at old stuff I can buy instead of pumping money into the new product.

And I respect that just saying you need to stop blaming the companies, as athletes are behind this as well. And it is easier for them to lose your money, then to jack products up 15-20% and lose a larger percentage of business.

Why would I blame athletes for their baseball cards? It is ultimately up to Topps to give me quality or crap. But continuously jacking up prices to make up for loss in sales results in a bell curve. At a certain point you can't maintain it and you nosedive.

I understand athletes might not be incredibly cooperative, but as a consumer that is not my problem. As the manufacturer, it is Topps problem.

One day I hope to enjoy modern cards again. I just wonder which companies will still be standing when that happens.

 

[ljw29]

[quote="cgilmo":4y8grq09]have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Oh please. Have you considered that the industry has "much less money in it now than previous years" because they've watered down their quality?

I will buy boxes and boxes of stuff with on card autographs. I have not bought a single box of a product with sticker autographs.

And no one makes you do that.

But if they put out less and jack up the prices they will have even less money to pay the athletes. And when you have guys charging less for Stickers and consumers spending less because of the economy or cards ending up damaged, you end up having to make decisions.

I think you missed my point. I do not put money into products that have sticker autographs. That means less money for the card company. That means they have less money to spend on the quality of their product.

Cycle of life, baby. You give me quality and I give you my money. You cut down on the quality and I start looking backwards at old stuff I can buy instead of pumping money into the new product.

And I respect that just saying you need to stop blaming the companies, as athletes are behind this as well. And it is easier for them to lose your money, then to jack products up 15-20% and lose a larger percentage of business.

Why would I blame athletes for their baseball cards? It is ultimately up to Topps to give me quality or crap. But continuously jacking up prices to make up for loss in sales results in a bell curve. At a certain point you can't maintain it and you nosedive.

I understand athletes might not be incredibly cooperative, but as a consumer that is not my problem. As the manufacturer, it is Topps problem.

One day I hope to enjoy modern cards again. I just wonder which companies will still be standing when that happens.[/quote:4y8grq09]

So you think fact athletes charge less for Stickers is Topp's fault or that an athlete damages the cards causing them to have to be replaced is Panini's fault?

Topps can fix it but then they will pass the cost on to you.

You probably will never enjoy them again, as stickers are here to stay and are what helping keeping the companies in business and helping them able to make more cards.

 

[cgilmo]

[quote="cgilmo":98pxn7yf]have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Oh please. Have you considered that the industry has "much less money in it now than previous years" because they've watered down their quality?

I will buy boxes and boxes of stuff with on card autographs. I have not bought a single box of a product with sticker autographs.

And no one makes you do that.

But if they put out less and jack up the prices they will have even less money to pay the athletes. And when you have guys charging less for Stickers and consumers spending less because of the economy or cards ending up damaged, you end up having to make decisions.

I think you missed my point. I do not put money into products that have sticker autographs. That means less money for the card company. That means they have less money to spend on the quality of their product.

Cycle of life, baby. You give me quality and I give you my money. You cut down on the quality and I start looking backwards at old stuff I can buy instead of pumping money into the new product.

And I respect that just saying you need to stop blaming the companies, as athletes are behind this as well. And it is easier for them to lose your money, then to jack products up 15-20% and lose a larger percentage of business.

Why would I blame athletes for their baseball cards? It is ultimately up to Topps to give me quality or crap. But continuously jacking up prices to make up for loss in sales results in a bell curve. At a certain point you can't maintain it and you nosedive.

I understand athletes might not be incredibly cooperative, but as a consumer that is not my problem. As the manufacturer, it is Topps problem.

One day I hope to enjoy modern cards again. I just wonder which companies will still be standing when that happens.[/quote:98pxn7yf]


none, because those days can't happen anymore

 

[George_Calfas]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Companies could always lessen the amount of autographs making the pull and the card both worth something.

Cut out players not willing to accommodate the signings.......DONE! Players make the money they do on and off of the field due to fans and they need to remember that.

 

[ljw29]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Companies could always lessen the amount of autographs making the pull and the card both worth something.

Cut out players not willing to accommodate the signings.......DONE! Players make the money they do on and off of the field due to fans and they need to remember that.

Thats a funny one, the players will skip them and wont sweat it for the most part.

And definitely agree to less the amount of autographs at times, but stickers make it easier to ship to a local shop and say get this signed for us, than shipping cards out and them being damaged/lost/stolen shown on here or Ebay too early.

Dealer in Ohio supposedly lost few hundred Exquisite football cards unsigned that ended up on Ebay over time.

It is sad that stickers have to be used but it works more effectively.

 

[George_Calfas]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Companies could always lessen the amount of autographs making the pull and the card both worth something.

Cut out players not willing to accommodate the signings.......DONE! Players make the money they do on and off of the field due to fans and they need to remember that.

Thats a funny one, the players will skip them and wont sweat it for the most part.

And definitely agree to less the amount of autographs at times, but stickers make it easier to ship to a local shop and say get this signed for us, than shipping cards out and them being damaged/lost/stolen shown on here or Ebay too early.

Dealer in Ohio supposedly lost few hundred Exquisite football cards unsigned that ended up on Ebay over time.

It is sad that stickers have to be used but it works more effectively.

So if player "X" decides not to sign his autos good.......I dont want to collect them.....pretty simple.

Why would you want to collect a player that is a dick and wont sign autos?

 

[ljw29]

[quote="George_Calfas":126fw8q5]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Companies could always lessen the amount of autographs making the pull and the card both worth something.

Cut out players not willing to accommodate the signings.......DONE! Players make the money they do on and off of the field due to fans and they need to remember that.

Thats a funny one, the players will skip them and wont sweat it for the most part.

And definitely agree to less the amount of autographs at times, but stickers make it easier to ship to a local shop and say get this signed for us, than shipping cards out and them being damaged/lost/stolen shown on here or Ebay too early.

Dealer in Ohio supposedly lost few hundred Exquisite football cards unsigned that ended up on Ebay over time.

It is sad that stickers have to be used but it works more effectively.

So if player "X" decides not to sign his autos good.......I dont want to collect them.....pretty simple.

Why would you want to collect a player that is a dick and wont sign autos?[/quote:126fw8q5]

Bc sometimes people dont meet the player and dont realize things about them

Or maybe the guy is a great guy like Ripken is and its easier for him to not sign cards.

Or Pujols or Howard can easily have boxes of stickers Fedexed to them and are nice guys, but are busy.

People collect for lots of reasons and more people will buy autos of people even with stickers, instead of saying will that so and so is a hall of famer and on my favorite team and has had an amazing career top 100 player of all time but he prefers stickers so I must not collect him

 

[George_Calfas]

[quote="George_Calfas":3fub95iw]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Companies could always lessen the amount of autographs making the pull and the card both worth something.

Cut out players not willing to accommodate the signings.......DONE! Players make the money they do on and off of the field due to fans and they need to remember that.

Thats a funny one, the players will skip them and wont sweat it for the most part.

And definitely agree to less the amount of autographs at times, but stickers make it easier to ship to a local shop and say get this signed for us, than shipping cards out and them being damaged/lost/stolen shown on here or Ebay too early.

Dealer in Ohio supposedly lost few hundred Exquisite football cards unsigned that ended up on Ebay over time.

It is sad that stickers have to be used but it works more effectively.

So if player "X" decides not to sign his autos good.......I dont want to collect them.....pretty simple.

Why would you want to collect a player that is a dick and wont sign autos?

Bc sometimes people dont meet the player and dont realize things about them

Or maybe the guy is a great guy like Ripken is and its easier for him to not sign cards.

Or Pujols or Howard can easily have boxes of stickers Fedexed to them and are nice guys, but are busy.

People collect for lots of reasons and more people will buy autos of people even with stickers, instead of saying will that so and so is a hall of famer and on my favorite team and has had an amazing career top 100 player of all time but he prefers stickers so I must not collect him[/quote:3fub95iw]

The point is you tell Albert or Howard or anyone else the following.

We will hand deliver cards to you 4 times a year. This will limit bad sigs half way through. Plenty of products are on-card last year, it can be more.

Players that refuse to sign are left off the set. in 2009 Cat Osterman refused to sign her cards and collector/fan outrage was a publicity nightmare for her. The fans put pressure and she signed. The consumer/collector/fan needs to take control of the hobby not these high price athletes.

Topps and others need to give the collectors what they want. But I mean if everyone likes stickers so much all cards to go to stickers, ie Chrome.

 

[RiceLynnEvans75]

If the sticker fits the design of the card and is incorporated nicely, I don't see what the big deal is. I always like the look of Triple Threads. Granted, I think I own no more than two cards total from Triple Threads but I always think they look nice.

 

[scottagibson]

Wow, I just saw this for the first time. As much as I dislike sticker autographs compared to on-card, I absolutely love the look of this product year in and year out. That Hank Aaron/ Jason Heyward book card looks amazing!! I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Unity cards. How in the world can people complain about this addition, especially after Gilmore said factory costs is the same?? 2 extra hits per box including an extra autograph... I think Topps Is actually doing a good job by adding those.

 

[ljw29]

[quote="George_Calfas":aelchzkf]

[quote="George_Calfas":aelchzkf]

have you anti sticker guys ever considered that times have changed, and athletes are no longer willing to bend to the demands of an industry that now pays them less than ever?

The industry has much less money in it now than previous years, and as a consequence there is less motivation for the athletes to accomidate it.

Companies could always lessen the amount of autographs making the pull and the card both worth something.

Cut out players not willing to accommodate the signings.......DONE! Players make the money they do on and off of the field due to fans and they need to remember that.

Thats a funny one, the players will skip them and wont sweat it for the most part.

And definitely agree to less the amount of autographs at times, but stickers make it easier to ship to a local shop and say get this signed for us, than shipping cards out and them being damaged/lost/stolen shown on here or Ebay too early.

Dealer in Ohio supposedly lost few hundred Exquisite football cards unsigned that ended up on Ebay over time.

It is sad that stickers have to be used but it works more effectively.

So if player "X" decides not to sign his autos good.......I dont want to collect them.....pretty simple.

Why would you want to collect a player that is a dick and wont sign autos?

Bc sometimes people dont meet the player and dont realize things about them

Or maybe the guy is a great guy like Ripken is and its easier for him to not sign cards.

Or Pujols or Howard can easily have boxes of stickers Fedexed to them and are nice guys, but are busy.

People collect for lots of reasons and more people will buy autos of people even with stickers, instead of saying will that so and so is a hall of famer and on my favorite team and has had an amazing career top 100 player of all time but he prefers stickers so I must not collect him[/quote:aelchzkf]

The point is you tell Albert or Howard or anyone else the following.

We will hand deliver cards to you 4 times a year. This will limit bad sigs half way through. Plenty of products are on-card last year, it can be more.

Players that refuse to sign are left off the set. in 2009 Cat Osterman refused to sign her cards and collector/fan outrage was a publicity nightmare for her. The fans put pressure and she signed. The consumer/collector/fan needs to take control of the hobby not these high price athletes.

Topps and others need to give the collectors what they want. But I mean if everyone likes stickers so much all cards to go to stickers, ie Chrome.[/quote:aelchzkf]

Keeps prices down and makes it easier to get products out on time then do it.

And big difference between Albert and Howard and Cat

 

[Zambrano38]

I would like to see Topps have no stickers on their high-end products. On cheaper products, stickers are understandable.

 

[ChasHawk]

I would like to see Topps have no stickers on their high-end products. On cheaper products, stickers are understandable.

THIS

None of us are saying that everything needs to be on-card.

BUT...TTT is $180+ per box, and Sterling is $200+ per box. EVERY autograph in those two products should be ON-CARD.

No excuses, no ********. You want my money, make your product better.

Myself, George, Ty, and many others would even be willing to pay a little more for a better, ALL ON-CARD product, I'm quite sure.

 

[George_Calfas]

I would like to see Topps have no stickers on their high-end products. On cheaper products, stickers are understandable.

THIS

None of us are saying that everything needs to be on-card.

BUT...TTT is $180+ per box, and Sterling is $200+ per box. EVERY autograph in those two products should be ON-CARD.

No excuses, no ********. You want my money, make your product better.

Myself, George, Ty, and many others would even be willing to pay a little more for a better, ALL ON-CARD product, I'm quite sure.

QFT

 

[ljw29]

I would like to see Topps have no stickers on their high-end products. On cheaper products, stickers are understandable.

THIS

None of us are saying that everything needs to be on-card.

BUT...TTT is $180+ per box, and Sterling is $200+ per box. EVERY autograph in those two products should be ON-CARD.

No excuses, no ********. You want my money, make your product better.

Myself, George, Ty, and many others would even be willing to pay a little more for a better, ALL ON-CARD product, I'm quite sure.

Question is and I dont know the answer would the hobby as a whole pay more or are you a small portion. If the price went up 15-20% on those products

 

[George_Calfas]

I would like to see Topps have no stickers on their high-end products. On cheaper products, stickers are understandable.

THIS

None of us are saying that everything needs to be on-card.

BUT...TTT is $180+ per box, and Sterling is $200+ per box. EVERY autograph in those two products should be ON-CARD.

No excuses, no ********. You want my money, make your product better.

Myself, George, Ty, and many others would even be willing to pay a little more for a better, ALL ON-CARD product, I'm quite sure.

Question is and I dont know the answer would the hobby as a whole pay more or are you a small portion. If the price went up 15-20% on those products

The fact is for $175-225 per box they should be on-card. Why should the quality be the same when low/mid range products are compared to high end. The consumer is paying for high end already; Topps is cleaning house on these.