Now that Black Friday has come and gone, we are finally getting a full picture of what was really in the packs. Panini did do an incredible job, as usual, with this promotion, and I think it is something that both of the other main companies should look at doing. After hearing the feedback from the individual shop owners I talked with, they all said it brought more people into their store, even though they had to stock up on product that already had issues selling in the first place. Overall, thanks to their own intuitive approach, they made it work in spades, and the collectors came away happy.
Although it was easy to search out the thicker packs with the relics in them, I believe the thinner packs still had some good stuff. Here are some of the big hits:
2012 Black Friday Anthony Davis NBA Logo Hat Relic Auto
2012 Black Friday Robert Griffin III Auto Cracked Ice 1/1
2012 Black Friday Ahmad Bradshaw SB Football Auto Relic
2012 Black Friday Russell Wilson Hat Relic Logo Auto
Panini is really going all out with this cracked ice stuff that was first offered in their stuff over the national convention giveaway. As when Topps did it for Chrome in 2010, I really disliked the busy nature of the look of the cards. I also think that they need to work on the decision making over some of the cards, as I cannot understand some of the choices made over pictures or swatches.
I mean, do people REALLY want a swatch from a freaking SANTA hat worn at the premiere? I guess so, but I find it tacky and lame. Right in line with the manu-patch autos and the rest of the normal stuff.
Overall, I still believe that free stuff is free stuff, but I also believe there is still room for improvement. As I said before, it looks like Panini took the situation as this is free so they shouldnt complain about content or design, but I feel the need to speak my mind as usual.
Forgive me for looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Ok so maybe im a sick person but the first thing I thought when I saw the Luck card was Yeti pubes.
One of the things that always makes me pause on the promo cards is they aren’t part of a normal set and I think that takes away from long term value. Whenever I’m looking for singles to buy, the Panini BF autos and Topps Kickoff autos never seem exciting because they aren’t part of a normal set. How cool would it be if the BF promotion included cards from Panini’s upcoming Black release or if Topp’s Kickoff Promotion scored you a Topps Chrome auto? It seems like that type of giveaway would draw a lot more attention from the hobby because it’s essentially a preview of the coming releases and those cards would hold value because they’re part of a standard issue set.
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