Tag Archives: 2014

SCU Go-Live Report: 2014 Topps Five Star Football Review

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Every year, Five Star is one of my favorite sets released. 100% on card content didnt exist outside of this product until Flawless came around, but you dont need to spend over a grand for a better looking design. This year’s checklist looks to be one of the stronger ones since 2010, and I think that as people rip into boxes, they will see how loaded it really is.

Here are some of the bigger hits up so far:

2014 Topps Five Star Tom Brady Auto

2014 Topps Five Star Andrew Luck Auto

2014 Topps Five Star Brett Favre Auto

2014 Topps Five Star Russell Wilson Silver Signature Auto

2014 Topps Five Star Odell Beckham Auto RC

That being said, configuration wise, there are some major changes. Structures that havent existed in Five Star are new this year, and it could undermine the potential of competition between the other sets. First off, signed relic card content in this product is minimal. Where in 2013 and 2014 there were almost an auto patch per box, this year, they are exceedingly rare. They have added some awesome looking new booklet parallels, but the basic auto patch is gone.

Booklet content is severely reduced as well, focusing more on delivering autographs for top signers in other parts of the product. For me, this makes perfect sense, and I support the decision 100%. I DONT CARE ABOUT EVENT USED JERSEYS. That being said, very few other people feel this way. Because rookie auto patches are so common elsewhere, people will raise an eyebrow when they see how this is built.

Here is the thing we need to consider. Topps has packed Five Star year after year with the best looking rookie auto patches in the game. People dont care, as they still want to go and pay that much more for Treasures ONLY because the patches are bigger and have more logos. Customers are choosing something that looks worse but has larger patches, rather than the cards that look beautiful, and have all on card autographs. Instead, Topps has tried to help the other complaint about high end products, adding more top autographs per case.

So few people understand that the event used jerseys arent even put all the way on at the Premiere/Pro Bowl. They are worn for 1 second, taken off, and loaded into a plastic bag to be flown back. Its become so happenstance, that Panini and Topps havent even bothered to get the actual player's jersey due to cost. If it mattered to collectors, they would spend the money. It doesnt, so they use old model jerseys and ones that will never be worn by the player in a game.

Instead of speaking with their wallets, the general base is ignorant or indifferent. They always choose Treasures over the better looking Five Star, so why even try to play that game? In that type of a situation, I understand WHY the decision was made to forgo that cost and focus on delivering better autographs.

On the other hand, I REALLY dont agree with removing the inscriptions from the checklist. They were the heart and soul of what made Five Star special, and now that they are gone, I am left feeling empty. They were always the best cards of the product, and it wasnt even close. If this is truly an autograph collectors’ main set, Inscriptions needed to stay. Big mistake.

Similarly, Im reading that collectors are pretty frustrated with unnumbered base autographs, all of which were numbered in previous years. Again, collectors oddly value rarity over look and presentation, and this decision doesnt really do much to help things.

Loving Five Star as much as I do, I almost feel like that guy who is sitting in the indie theater and loving that great movie that only the real movie fans like. People will line up around the block to see Fast and the Furious, but others that deserve the attention dont really get it. That’s the competition between Five Star and Treasures.

Ill give Panini credit because they press all the right buttons in catering to the type of collector that loves their crap. Big swatches, tons of logos, and TONS OF MOJOSZOZ! They dont care about stickers, they dont care about design, and they only care about pumping the market full of stuff that makes group breakers use those animated logos I cant stand.

The issue is that the substance doesnt match the flash in the slightest. Treasures wraps a 100 dollar bill around a wad of ones to make it look like a fat roll of cash. Instead its just pocket change.

Dont get me wrong, Treasures offers some really nice looking cards every year. However, in comparing side by side with Five Star, Ill stick to my under-appreciated indie film. Transformers 4 may sell the most tickets, but it never wins any awards.

The booklets in Five Star look like finely crafted pieces of sports art. The booklets in Treasures look good, but its not the same. Guess what collectors will want? The one with the bigger patch, even though it is only worn for a few seconds. No one will even miss that there are no longer any non-rookies on the checklist like 2013.

Sadly, Five Star will only have one more year under the NFL umbrella, and Panini will be able to continue on. Im going to sit here and appreciate my fine wine, and watch as the bubble bursts eventually. Collectors can only take so much of the gristle before they start to want a real steak.

SCU Go-Live Report: 2014 National Treasures Football

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Today is quite the day for product releases, and judging by the level of hype surrounding all three products, I think we are in for an interesting go of it. National Treasures is the first of the big releases to hit eBay in mass, so I am going to start there. From what we have seen in the previews, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about it, but there are some massive reasons to be beyond frightened as well.

Here are some of the big hits so far:

2014 National Treasures Odell Beckham Colossal Auto Patch

2014 National Treasures Tom Brady Auto 5/5

2014 National Treasures Kelvin Benjamin Panther Head Rookie Patch Auto /10

2014 National Treasures Blake Bortles Rookie Auto Patch /99

2014 National Treasures Brett Favre Auto Patch

First off, the design is better than it has ever been. The cards look great, the design of the main hits is really nice looking, and for the most part, the enormous dud designs that have plagued this product in the past are less of a focus this year. Dont get me wrong, there are some horrendously designed cards that are still a part of NT, but it wouldnt be a Panini product without those.

Considering how fucking awful some of the main sets have been (Contenders is at the top of that list), I consider it a relief that NT isnt in that same vein. I love the rookie auto patch design this year, which in the past, has been one of the weakest parts of the product. The simple design, with big area to sign, coupled with a large player picture, all play to what I love.

My other favorite part of this set – the notable nicknames inscriptions also look pretty good, despite being a vertical card with a separated area for the signature. Some how, some way, Panini made it work, and it looks better than expected.

The booklets are back again, this time with a twist, and I think this is where the set starts to become a bit tenuous in the way it looks. The normal horizontal booklets look great, but the new vertical booklet look forced, and have those shitty pictures where the player is literally sliced off at the waist. Its funny how something so simple can derail a card.

All this under consideration has one tremendous fucking drawback, and it is a big one. A BIG ONE. Where Exquisite and Five Star are both all on card in the same price arena, Treasures remains littered with stickers. Not just stickers of players that are hard to get autographs from, but rookie stickers – a lot of rookie stickers from guys with on card other places in the set. To say this is inexcusable isnt giving the correct amount of gravitas to the situation, especially when you see how much a box of NT still costs. Im also not sure I agree with this as a choice for the checklist of Green Bay Greats.

Add in that there could be a brewing Russell Wilson scenario with Odell Beckham Jr being a redemption, that might not be filled in the near future, and this product gets murky at best. Teddy Bridgewater looks to be a redemption as well, but his cards have already been posted on their blog as completed and in house. Not sure why Topps was able to get their stuff done, but Panini has not for the last two sets.

If you are satisfied with the risk of opening a box, and not coming even close to your investment, pulling a Asa Watson or Michael Sam as your main hit, then have at it. This type of risk is inherent to all products of this nature, but at least with Five Star and Exquisite, there are no stickers from the first few looks we have gotten. I think Five Star is the better looking product, but its obvious that Treasures has the legs. Its really unfortunate that we dont reward the product that does it the right way. Sad really.

Kris Bryant Superfractor Pulled – Repack Products Target Pull?

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Every so often, a player comes along that people absolutely go nuts over. Last year it was Jose Abreu, the year before that it was Yasiel Puig, so on and so forth. It happens frequently. None more than Stephen Strasburg back during his rookie season, but that time has come and gone.

This year it will be Cubs prospect Kris Bryant, who put on a show during Spring Training, adding fuel to an already red hot fire. Recently, his RC superfractor from 2013 Bowman Chrome was pulled, and naturally graded 9.5 by BGS (who would have guessed, right?). It has now been listed for a staggering price, likely trying to attract the big fish:

2013 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant Superfractor Auto 1/1 BGS 9.5

Bryant’s other cards, as discussed previously are similarly insane, and could go higher depending on his potential call up:

2014 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant Orange Refractor Auto /25

2014 National Treasures Kris Bryant Silhouette Auto Patch /25

2014 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant Social Media Auto /10

Its clear that Bryant has talent, but without an official at bat in the bigs, can anyone in their right mind justify spending anywhere close to the asking price? The same could be said about other huge Bryant pulls. The idea is pretty simple – the answer is no. However, with repack products often gaining more traction in the marketplace by buying up these cards for their runs, things could get pretty competitive between the few that are out there.

Last year’s Jose Abreu Superfractor auto was bought in this manner, soemthing that didnt come as a surprise. Yasiel Puig's biggest pulls were also a repack target all year. This practice, a great marketing tool, was started by Brian Gray’s purchase of the Strasburg Superfractor for his Best of Baseball type products. It helps to move product when collectors can potentially get a card that could pay off their car or part of their mortgage.

I dont see a regular collector buying in at this point, unless this type of money is pocket change to them. Yes, those people still exist. At the same time, this chase by the repack companies is something that should be interesting. It rarely used to happen that big pulls could be moved without fear of having some sort of buyers remorse, but with Repack companies involved, that element is likely removed. Its quite a good thing.

Kris Bryant may or may not have the career people are expecting, but items like this rarely come around. Savor it while you can.

Big Week Ahead – Releases of 2014 National Treasures and 2014 Five Star

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This is one of the biggest weeks in the hobby coming up, with two of the biggest products of the year coming out this coming Wednesday. These two products have become the biggest releases for the high end space, with each having some massive hits in the course of the breaks.

Five Star

I love the look of the product this year, with the first time that baseball and football have had the same look. Baseball had some really nice looking cards, and I cannot wait to see what Five Star has in order. Last year's product looked similarly great despite a horrible RC class, and continues the long standing tradition of Five Star being the best looking product in the tier.

It does not come without disappointment this year, as the non-rookie checklist does not look like it matches what it has been in the last few years. This comes as a bit of a surprise considering how star studded the on card checklist was for Museum Collection. Not only that, but my favorite cards of the year, are no longer part of the checklist. Previously, the inscription cards have always been the gem, but they have been seemingly left off the checklist for 2014. This is borderline blasphemy for me, and I cannot express how disappointed I am that none of them are part of the set.

Check out what I mean:

2014 Five Star Bo Jackson Auto Inscription Quotables

2010 Five Star Adrian Peterosn Auto Inscription Quotables

2012 Five Star Andrew Luck Auto Inscription Quotables

2011 Five Star Peyton Manning Auto Inscription Quotables

Overall, I think that this product will still be on par, and the rookie content will still make the product worth checking out. This year’s single logo autographs are the first time that Five Star has offered cards like this (usually dual logos), and I am quite interested to see how they perform. Because Topps does not offer many logo cards over the course of the year, hopefully they will be special, unlike Panini who puts out 10 per rookie per product.

National Treasures

Over the last two years, I think the design for Treasures has been better than it has been in the previous years combined. I have often said that it does not deserve the fanfare it has relished over its run, as the cards have been so ugly to describe with normal adjectives most years.

One of the biggest factors that I see making treasures such a disaster each year is that it uses sticker autographs in a product that costs as much as NT does. Additionally, this year they are using stickers for the rookies more than I have seen in previous years, which makes me question why an ultra high end product cant have 100% hard signed rookie content, but other products from Panini can? That makes no sense. Maybe Panini should spend less time putting together horse shit products like Spectra and Black Gold and focus on delivering for their biggest release of the year.

That being said about the stickers, I am a huge fan of the rookie auto patch design and a bigger fan of the cards that are on card. This year’s design is EASILY the best design treasures has ever had, and its sad that wax breakers will have to endure the sticker embarrassment just to get at the good stuff. Similar things could be said about the shitty throwaway relics that have plagued this product for so many years. Dear Panini, THE JUNK RELIC IS DEAD. Let it rest in peace, instead of annually digging it out of the shallow grave you are responsible for putting it in.

Despite collecting the hell out of Teddy Bridgewater all year, this is likely the first year I will not be buying any boxes of either product. I will be picking up singles from both, but I just cant see spending a ton on this year’s stuff – especially when we havent seen any previews that showcase a reason to buy either set.

Upper Deck Scores Major Win With Long Term Deal for Michael Jordan

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Over the last few years, Upper Deck has done pretty well creating products under their exclusive for the NCAA. Since 2010, most of their success in basketball has been tied to one of two things – the first is their brand names, which are the best in sports, and the second is their long standing exclusive deal with Michael Jordan. Even though Panini has held the exclusive in the NBA for years, they cannot reach their full potential without the biggest name in all of Sports Cards.

Here is what Michael Jordan is capable of:

2009-10 Exquisite Michael Jordan Auto Patch /15

2005-06 Exquisite Michael Jordan Auto Dual Patch /23

2006-07 Exquisite Michael Jordan Auto Patch

2007- 08 UD Black Michael Jordan NBA 50 Greatest Auto

It doesnt stop with cards, as UD Authentic can still sell Bulls Jerseys and other licensed gear:

UD Authentic Michael Jordan Signed Jersey

UD Authentic Michael Jordan Signed Game Used Floor Piece

The Industry Summit has a deserved reputation as a colossal waste of time, but Upper Deck did make the most of it this time around. Today, they announced that they have managed to complete a new long term deal with Michael Jordan, something that I was personally shocked to see. Rumors had been flying around that Jordan hated signing autographs, and that he was ready to put down the pen and not sign for anyone any longer. Now that Upper Deck has found a way to keep him around, what does that mean now that Panini has taken away their exclusive?

Upper Deck has overused Jordan in recent years, mainly because he was worth so much to the success of their products. Coupling Jordan with their concurrent exclusive deal with Lebron James, and using them ad nauseum in their products is going to be a winning formula, especially considering how enormously unsuccessful Panini has been in cultivating brands of their own in the basketball space compared to UD.

Now that Jordan is back in the mix with autograph content, Im curious if this is a way to get the fish back on the hook in a potential sale of the company and its assets to Panini. Right now, Panini has only managed a few marginally profitable years in their run as the exclusive NBAlicensed trading card company, and it has a lot to do with collectors choosing to stick with Upper Deck, even if it means buying and selling only older products.

If Jordan is part of Upper Deck’s assets, getting him, the Exquisite brand (among others), and Lebron James in a deal for the company would be a humongous addition to the over-payment they have committed to the NBA for the exclusive deal in the first place. Jordan has not had an officially licensed new NBA card for almost 7 years, and collectors are literally foaming at the mouth for new stuff. If Panini could make that happen, all of a sudden they become much more able to market to people who have since sworn off their terrible looking and horribly conceived basketball products. Even existing Panini collectors would kill for officially licensed Jordan cards, and that makes this long term deal even more important.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Upper Deck has found a way to keep themselves relevant in a new era without any licensing. For as long as I can remember, Upper Deck has always produced some sort of licensed card during the year, but this is now a different era. Even though Panini does not produce the best cards in any sport, they will soon own the exclusive in all but 2. Now thanks to this deal, they will have to do it without their biggest target.

I am someone that despises exclusive licenses, and I still think part of the solutions to the hobby’s woes is encouraged competition among all brands for all players. But I completely understand why this deal is important for UD.