I remember back in 2007, whenever one of the rookies had an NFL logo card pulled, it was like the world had stopped turning to take notice of the event. Because there were so few logo cards even then, having one in your collection put you above rock star status among player collectors. Now, especially with the release of the craptastic Absolute product for 2010, logos have lost their zeal, with some not even being numbered 1/1
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In fact, in 2010 Absolute, there are so many logo cards, this Tebow one ended slightly above the cost of one of his autographs. Yes, if you pull the once coveted NFL logo of your favorite rookie, you wont even make back the cost of a box. I counted in upwards of 5-10 different parallels featuring some sort of logo patch, and that is exactly why Panini has taken 1/1s to a level that was previously populated only by Topps sets like Moments and Milestones. Absolute is known for having a million parallels of everything, just like most Panini sets, but when you factor in that each rookie has a non-auto NFL logo (I couldn’t believe these are /5), a non-auto reebok logo, a non auto laundry tag logo, as well as autographed parallels of all three, it makes you wonder where Panini is hoping to take this set.
Because each rookie wears up to 20 different jerseys at the rookie premiere per the schedule from this year, there are a lot of different logos they can use. However, I have to make the case that with a lot of the sets this year from both Topps and Panini, overkill is an understatement, especially after seeing the previews coming down the pipeline. I can bet that the amount of different logo cards in 2010 National Treasures will make Absolute look like child’s play, and its really too bad that we have gotten to this point.
The bottom line is this. Its one thing if you can justify the cost of your box with cards that bring something amazing to the table, but when the top rookie auto cant even get you back your money, there is a major problem. You cant expect people to forgive TERRIBLE design work and retina burning rainbow foil stock just because you put 1407 logo cards in the product. It shouldn’t work that way, and yet we still have product after product that try to exploit the aura created years ago by cards that were once the unicorns of the hobby. The result is that the market for the cards drops, and then you have a bunch angry collectors who just want to find a product that wont mean taking a match to their paycheck.
Because the hobby has moved away from well designed and well proportioned cards towards ones with giant patches that look awkwardly placed or even disgustingly bad, I can see why people love products like Absolute. It says a lot about the makeup of the collecing demographic. As a whole, people have widely disregarded the fact that these cards are some of the worst looking crap in recent memory because they have 8 colors in their patches. The legacy of cards that were once valued above all else is being soiled by Panini’s terrible concept work. Where products used to justify their cost by having awesome cards, Absolute relies on gimmicks, unnecessary jumbo patch cards, and ridiculous amounts of logo cards that have have no meaning any more.
Do these companies even have focus groups of collectors who have been in the hobby for more than 10 years? Maybe if they stop basing their set designs and pack outs on the suggestions of 8 year olds they might figure something out.
Why the hell can’t these companies run a design contest for collectors, voted on by collectors? I’d sign away all rights to my design if it meant I wouldn’t have to put up with unending shit like this trash.
I hate panini and their horrible rainbow foil, overused logo cards and horribly designed cards. We need upper deck to get their nfl license again. Until then, I will have to keep buying the UD ultimate, exquisite, and spa autograph cards on ebay.
lol. bro. where have tou been? they have done this for 3 years in a row. since 2008 they had nfl logo’s for the rc’s #’d to 5 and the auto is a 1/1. same with the reebok logos.
Well, this is what happens when collectors start chasing stupider and stupider stuff.
Way back when, the reason game-used stuff was cool was because IT HAD ACTUALLY BEEN WORN IN A GAME!
Now you’ve got manufacturers getting players to change in and out of jerseys as fast as they can at non-game events so that they can claim that a player “wore” 100 jerseys, even though they probably didn’t touch the player’s body for more than five seconds each.
The only people stupider than the manufacturers making this stuff are the collectors who actually think this stuff is unique or cool.
Funny that the 2010 Absolute Sam Bradford RPM Auto /299 sold for $71.00, while a 2010 Sam Bradford Topps Platinum Red Refractor non-Auto /25 just sold for $76.00 on E-Bay. I was lucky enough to pull one from a retail box. Mine is 22/25, has 2 days left 50 plus views, 19 watchers and is currently going for $46.00. I am assuming it will sell in the range of $70-$75. The 2010 Panini Football products, aside from, Elite, have been terrible in everyway, design, price, the pulls you get. I am not a high-end buyer, I just can’t put up $150-$300 for a box of football cards, each year I look forward to Topps Flagship, Topps Chrome, Topps Platinum and Upper Deck Flagship products. I love collecting the Upper Deck football set every year. In 2009 UD Retail Blasters had those 5-card packs of Americas Team, E-Bay’ers and Cowboy fans ate those up, plus in addition each Blaster had a 301-325 SP. So I made a bit. I have hand collected (2) 2009 Upper Deck complete sets, one is 1-300, which I sold, the other is the complete set 1-325. I really miss Upper Deck Football cards. My favorite football products are 1.Topps Chrome 2.Upper Deck Flagship 3.Topps Platinum 4.Topps Flagship. I very rarely go outside that area, aside from this year i bought a few boxes of 2010 Elite, 2 Hobby Boxes and 4 of the $30 Blaster Boxes from Wal-Mart and Target. I actually found some solid success from those $30.00 Blaster Boxes. Anyway just my .02