2014 National Treasures Update: New Cards Start to Show Up

Since the beginning of this train wreck, Panini has been very quiet on the enormous mistake that was made in the collation of 2014 National Treasures. As predicted, they have used the eventual surfacing of the cards to wash their hands of the issue, despite the fact that its very clear that they are painfully aware of how much damage it did to the original boxes in circulation. Now that a “second wave” of cases has hit, the cards have started to hit ebay in a slow trickle, as more of the boxes that were unsold from Panini eventually make their way into collectors’ hands.

Here are the Odell cards up so far (still not many even to this day):

2014 National Treasures Odell Beckham Rookie Auto Patch /99

2014 National Treasures Odell Beckham Rookie Auto Patch /99 #2

2014 National Treasures Odell Beckham Booklet Jumbo Patch Auto

Here are the Teddy cards:

2014 National Treasures Teddy Bridgewater Auto Vertical Booklet /99

2014 National Treasures Teddy Bridgewater Rookie Auto Patch Gold /10

2014 National Treasures Teddy Bridgewater Rookie Auto Patch Silver /25

As expected, many collectors have already moved past their frustration over the cards not showing up. They just want the hits and they want them now. In fact, a collector from New Jersey already posted a live redeemed Teddy Bridgewater rookie patch auto /99, a card that literally took a day or two from redemption to being in the mailbox. That type of fast is what we call “GET THIS SHIT OUT THE DOOR TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE FUCKING SEE IT!” fast. Panini wants visibility, and they will milk every last connection they can to make sure collectors see that the cards do exist.

That being said, there has been no addressing this debacle in a public manner, at least in a way that addresses how long it took for the cards to finally show up. All Panini is willing to offer is that the cards are “rare to find!” and “are in the product.” Fucking perfect right there. It doesnt help that every last distributor is calling their clients and offering “BRAND NEW cases from Panini’s floor”, including a few that have tacked on a few more dollars for the service of getting “wave 2.” I talked to a west coast shop that received no less than 3 calls in one day from different distributors trying to unload their brand new cases.

All things considered – it should be mentioned that not every “wave 2” case will have these missing cards in them. After talking through it on some of the message boards, its likely that one in every three or four cases will have one of the Bridgewater or Beckham cards. Because collation is already a huge issue, its possible that concentrated pockets of the cards will show up, so people may get lucky.

I talked to a collector that purchased two cases from the new wave, and ended up with nothing worth mentioning. He actually said he did much better on the first boxes he opened, and that the two cases were far less loaded with better quality hits. Eric Ebron, he said, is all over these boxes, which isnt necessarily the best thing to have.

By this point, I dont expect Panini to address the issue, and I do not expect them to take responsibility for the problems. That would actually be doing the right thing, and we know how that works around here. Collectors will be left to search out the cards on the secondary market, especially if their shop has refused to order more until they can move the first batch. Panini has a huge black eye already from the “misprinted” Flawless cards, and this just makes it worse. However, until the collectors actually start to speak with their wallets, and stop buying boxes and stop buying into group breaks, Panini has no reason to say anything.

4 thoughts on “2014 National Treasures Update: New Cards Start to Show Up

  1. Sucks for them to screw up a major product. Sucks worse for the buyers. I’m curious how you think Panini could rectify the problem. Do they just release a statement apologizing for bad collation? After admitting they screwed up is it all over?

    Bad flawless patches they can try to replace. This affects every case made. I think Panini can’t afford to admit anything, so they’ll just let it blow over. You’re right though, people need to speak with their wallets.

    Assuming Panini has nothing to hide and are completely clean in the matter they sure have missed an opportunity to get ahead of the issue and clearly explain/demonstrate why the collation in this situation is not different than any other product. And that these cards not showing up initially are just crazy bad luck.

  2. I remember a few years back about how Upper Deck hand-collated Exquisite Basketball. I’m not sure if that’s how Exquisite/The Cup are still done, but it always made me feel like if I could ever afford to buy an Exquisite box, the variety was there. This $500 product has an average of 2-4 stickers and 1-2 Pro Bowl relics. The breaks I’ve seen frighten me compared to how much better a box and product Immaculate was at a lower price point. At least their GU cards didn’t look completely forced.

  3. I am baffled by the fact that Panini has had no response to this. In what world does that makes sense?

    Sure, I know everyone says, “people will still keep buying so why would they change?” But, come on, man!

    I think it’s time we all face it–the company that now has a monopoly on the hobby we love doesn’t give a rip. This isn’t your standard ‘poor customer service’ type company or even your standard ‘we make a crappy product company’. Panini has a complete and utter lack of pride in their product or passion for the hobby. They laugh at all of us who care about cardboard. They don’t consider us customers, they consider us addicts. And as any drug dealer knows, when you are selling to addicts, it’s not about the product, it’s about how much you can wring out of them before they OD.

  4. Pingback: Around the Carding Blogosphere for May 1, 2015 : The Baseball Card Store

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