WTH! More "Creativity" from Panini....

[rymflaherty]

First off - the informative portion of the post......just found a sell-sheet for "Panini Platinum", had not heard of it until today, so figured I'd post it up in case others haven't seen it either...

http://magazine-exchange.com/index.php? ... c9ba0a593f


Now the rant - WTF!!! This is seriously getting ridiculous. I know a lot of people have already criticized Panini for a lot of their releases being indistinguishable and I've been one of the people that's continued to support them.....but think this release is the last straw. Did they even try on these base cards? I wonder if they even bothered to use different photos, because these mine as well be Threads, or Classics, or Prestige, or F' it it mine as well just be one set - just call them "Panini April" and "Panini May", etc.

I admit the insert auto's look nice, but there's really no innovation - and that was what was promised - INNOVATION! Who would have figured a company would make these types of promises, then when they have a monopoly on the b-ball card market, not bother to deliver. Not to mention the cards that someone would point out as being quality are most likely rehashes of football cards designed by Donruss earlier in the year, if not years ago.

Why I really think I was bugged by seeing this is because it is called "Platinum". I kid you not, I saw that and became excited - I figured here we go, finally a high-end release, maybe the last release of the year - this HAS to be the product that I can't help but waste my money on........then I click the link and see the same freaking thing I've seen all year.

And I'll shut up now lol......Maybe I'm completely off base, so you guys can check it out for yourself....personally it looks like I'm just going to have more money to spend on baseball/football.

 

[maxpower]

I don't think you're off base. Card design has definitely not been Panini's strong suit, but I'm willing to give them a year or two to iron the kinks out.

The fact that they do so many things right earns them a lot of leeway in my book. First, their products offer pretty good value. You won't make money busting boxes, but so far, I haven't had any "kick in the nuts" moments that were so common with Upper Deck. Add to the fact the Kodak patch authentication and the honoring of expired redemptions, and I'm almost willing to give them a pass on card design.

Also, it's not like the designs are horrible... just somewhat similar. =)

 

[rymflaherty]

^

I do agree with you on the variety/player selection per box being better/more fun than typical UD boxes from the past. That has always been a strong suit in Donruss football products - which was why I was excited for Panini basketball. At least to me most UD products the past few years were nearly identical breaks (box to box per product) and it all came down to which players you hit, which took the fun away as the break came down to the 2-3 hits and it was boom or bust. I can't hold Panini responsible that the "value" may not be there, as it's not their fault that the basketball market seems to be down.

I have settled down a bit since the initial post. :lol: Though I still am a bit disappointed.
Was hoping for at least a couple mid-high end products that offered something new. Hopefully you're right and they'll continue with the positives I mentioned and add to that next year and beyond.

 

[cstmleather]

I can't wait for Absolute, loved breaking that stuff in 05 baseball. Timeless Treasures looks nice also.

 

[maxpower]

^

I do agree with you on the variety/player selection per box being better/more fun than typical UD boxes from the past. That has always been a strong suit in Donruss football products - which was why I was excited for Panini basketball. At least to me most UD products the past few years were nearly identical breaks (box to box per product) and it all came down to which players you hit, which took the fun away as the break came down to the 2-3 hits and it was boom or bust. I can't hold Panini responsible that the "value" may not be there, as it's not their fault that the basketball market seems to be down.

I have settled down a bit since the initial post. :lol: Though I still am a bit disappointed.
Was hoping for at least a couple mid-high end products that offered something new. Hopefully you're right and they'll continue with the positives I mentioned and add to that next year and beyond.

Like I said, you definitely have a legitimate complaint. They'll have to mix things up a bit if they want to differentiate their brands. =)

However, after dealing with Upper Deck's craptastic value proposition and Topps' poor customer service, I'm just thrilled that Panini does most of the stuff right.

 

[rymflaherty]

I can't wait for Absolute, loved breaking that stuff in 05 baseball. Timeless Treasures looks nice also.

Hopefully it will be like this year's absolute football - there were great breaks of that and it was filled with great patches.

If I have the cash - the one product left that I may try is the Crown Royale one.
I know it's another retread product - but I'm a sucker for die-cut cards, so it's the type of cards where even the base cards stand out and seem cool to me.