Its been seven long days for a lot of breakers out there, and seven longer days for the collectors who have been looking to pick up any of the main National Treasures rookie cards of Odell Beckham and Teddy Bridgewater. Although both players have had autographs in the product that have surfaced as early as the day before release, it took this long for the least rare examples to pop up.
So far, at least 3 of the missing cards were uncovered last night, with two pulled in the same batch on a large group break site.
Here is the first of the auctions to be posted:
2014 National Treasures Odell Beckham Rookie Auto Patch
As I have been saying this whole time, none of this comes as a surprise. My stance from the first mention of this debacle was that was likely that a pack out or collation issue. Based on what everyone on every message board and every social media outlet has guessed, the floodgates will open, the cards will show up, and Panini’s spin doctors will go to work.
Well @TheUBB hit a @teddyb_h2o NT RPA #TheyAreOutThere – even better ready to redeem! https://t.co/jMkxqTqgVI
— Panini America (@PaniniAmerica) April 16, 2015
Although they crafted a carefully worded response on facebook a while ago that offered zero insight into the issue, it only took them a matter of hours to get the hype train a rollin’ on addressing the concerns.
Stupid hashtags aside, its borderline irresponsible to continue the charade that the cards were in circulation from day one. Although they were probably not lying in saying the cards were packed out, I have stood by the assertion that “packed out” and “in circulation” are two very different situations.
My prediction is that these cards will serve as the lightning rod for their response mechanism. They will point mercilessly in this direction, hoping that the cards’ eventual appearance shows that they were right all along. However, that is about as far from the issue at hand as it can be. Its not about whether or not the cards eventually show up, its how long it took. Panini may want you to think its about missing cards eventually surfacing and how they were right, but we cant forget the true situation.
The best part about this is that Panini’s blog cant trot these cards out as much as they want, as Redemptions dont have the same pull with collectors. Imagine if Teddy and OBJ were live and how much more potential those have to be lauded to the world. A redemption card just doesnt have that same appeal. They also know that the Beckham cards have the potential to turn into another Russell Wilson situation from 2012, where it took ages for the cards to finally get done. They would be ill advised to get people’s hopes up without knowing the cards will be done in a short timeframe.
Now, Panini’s team finally got tired of my coverage of the event and let their emotions get in the way of following best practices discussed in entry level Marketing classes. Seeing comments like this should show you how they are perceiving their place in this fiasco, as well as how they feel about criticism brought by their customer base. Best part is, I bet the words I used are half as tame as the emails they have been getting from other people. Yet, they chose to use their time in this fashion. Its just the cherry on their shit sundae when they have to stoop to my level, right?
@SCUncensored we actually responded 2 wks ago saying they were out in product #findanewconspiracy #thanksforplaying #howmuchdoyoubillTopps
— Jason Howarth (@sportsmktgguy) April 16, 2015
Over the next few days, I would expect 5-10 more of the cards to show up as wave 2 boxes from the distributors finally make their way into the hands of the breakers. Panini’s favorite group break sites will likely feel the benefit immediately, even if they are not looking for that kind of treatment. I have talked to a number of people who have all been as surprised as I am that it took this long.
Prepare yourself for the blitz. It will come hard and it will come fast. Just keep all of this at the back of your mind when reading their posts.
Just so you can see how “transparent” Panini wants to be about this, here is an email that was sent to a user who reached out to them for a response. Pretty clear narrative is being established, and I am loving every minute of it.
Not a good look for a marketing VP to be barking at a blogger on Twitter, especially with such witty hashtags. You’d thing somebody with “18+ yr vet w/domestic/int’l consumer brand exp.” would know better.
I am truly disgusted by the way panini handled this situation. I will not forget this Panini. Such a pathetic company
Although the Bridgewater RPS and Beckham RPS cards have taken time to surface, the hobby world consensus is that all advertised cards are in fact packed out and included in the product. While the number of cases opened to date would lead one to believe these cards were not proportional/randomly distributed in the cases shipped out to all outlets, no one can logically conclude that any wrong doing has transpired.
I have been in the business for many years and have seen all kinds of unusual distribution of highly chased huge hits. When I and my customers are the beneficiary of getting more than our share of these huge hits, everything is good. When we don’t get these huge hits, we’re disappointed.
Having been in the business for a long, long time, I can say without a doubt, no company has done more for the collecting public and retailers than Panini America. Their customer support and retailer support are second to none. Even though it took seven days for a Bridgewater RPS or Beckham RPS to show up on the internet, the cases opened to date have supplied many football collectors with many desirable and valuable cards. A check of eBay and internet trading sites will support this fact.
Most of this negative chatter aimed at Panini America comes from the NFL Exclusive License going to Panini America in 2016. In a perfect world, I would like to see Panini, Topps, Upper Deck, and Leaf all with an NFL License. But, business is business. Without going into a long explanation of the business state of the hobby, the NFL decided it was best to go with one manufacturer. Such is the case with baseball, basketball and hockey. And, until the financial state of the hobby changes, exclusive licenses will continue for the foreseeable future.
Topps Football lovers, and I am one of you, don’t jump off the ship. It is not 2016 just yet. Enjoy Topps football products in 2015. At the 2015 Las Vegas Industry Summit, Topps management said they will continue to produce Topps football products for 2016 in some form or fashion. I know, it won’t be the same; but don’t worry. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised with what Panini America comes up with in the 2016 football season.
2014-15 Panini Select Basketball has been my customer’s favorite product (of any sport) of all time. We are into our 23rd case and Select Basketball is receiving rave reviews from collectors everywhere. You will see this same winning formula and design in 2015 Panini Select Football. I have seen Panini products improve every year. Look for more great products to come in 2015 and 2016.
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