The Redemption Game – How Do You Play?

Over the last few years, redemptions have become an inevitablity, seemingly for every product with few exceptions. The problem I want to address has nothing to do with the time frame it takes to redeem them, or the fact that they have to be replaced if not produced. I want to look at the prospects of redeeming one, and what that could mean for your initial investment.

No longer are redemptions solely for cards that have little meaning, and if Panini is any indicator, some of the best players have acutally been more redemptions than not. The issue with this is that a player’s signature, especially on a tiny sticker, can be both great or horrible, and there is nothing you can do to choose which you get. When you buy a redemption or pull one out of a pack, the card usually has not been produced, and you wont see it until it shows up at your door. This means you could easily end up with a shitty autograph from the run, and your options to change that become slim to none. Players like Adrian Peterson, who are known for their erratic signatures, have brought this issue to the forefront of many people who invest in the redemptions before the cards go live. You could get a card that looks great, has a clear signature with no run-offs, or you could get a card where the auto is halfway off the sticker, bubbly on the card, or just poor quality. You pay the same for the redemption either way, so what is the solution?

Well, this is simple and complicated at the same time, as stupid as that sounds. The practical thing would be to wait for the cards to go live and pick your poison, however that may mean two things. First, the price for a live card will be more (especially when they first hit), and secondly, it may be too rare to wait for again. At this point, paying 20% less for a redemption may be worth your while, unless the card is known to have autograph problems like the ones out of 2009 Contenders. At that point you HAVE to wait because there is no reason to risk it, knowing your card has a good chance of coming out like a bubbly mess.

The second issue is the pieces of memorabilia, as it is always a chance that you could end up with a bad swatch instead of a good one. A great example of this double whammy is 2009 Limited, where the patch cards of 80% of the top players were redemptions. A three color is always going to get you more money than a one color, and when you factor in that a player like Percy Harvin has a signature that varies from okay to horrible, it may be better to wait. I took the chance and ended up with a great card, but there are just as many people out there who should have waited to choose.

You also have to make sure that you can wait before sinking your money into a card that isnt (and may never end up in) your hands. I have had to wait anywhere from a week to 12 months for a redemption, and I am the least patient person on the planet. During that timeframe, you also run the risk of the card losing value due to performance or other things, so that is also an argument for waiting. Then again, if the card is already pretty cheap, this may not matter.

Overall, there is no clear cut answer as to whether it is better to wait or jump. I have jumped more times than not, and have had good results, however, it easily could have gone the other way. I guess it depends on how much money you are willing to part with, as well as how much patience you have stored up.

Exquisite Black And Gold Redemptions Are Coming…

Thanks to Jeff over at New Card Smell, and Upper Deck’s facebook page, we have finally gotten confirmation that the cards are starting to come through. These have taken ABSOLUTELY forever, but the result seems to be pretty good. My only complaint is the “Black and Gold” lettering looking the way it does, but other than that, they are cool. Per UD these should start coming around the holidays, but we all know that predictions are just that.

Here are some pics:


A Look At Redemptions

I have never been scared by a redemption, let me say that right from the start. I don’t know why, but I never really had too much of a problem with my patience in waiting for a card I wanted. However, I know for a lot of people that isnt the case, and most have very ill feelings towards the companies they patronize who have redemption problems.

Back in the early part of this decade, Upper Deck became notorious for failed attempts at getting their redemptions out in a timely fashion. Months would pass between updates, sometimes years, and a good portion of the time, you would get stuck with replacements. Although they have improved dramatically from those days, sometimes a dramatic improvement from crap is just a bridge to poor. Upper Deck has made strides in the way redemptions are handled, being the first to institute an online redemption program. This made a lot of people optimistic about the times they feared their submissions were being lost in the mail, but most of the time it caused as many problems as it solved.

Other companies have latched on to the online redemption program, most recently Panini, followed slowly, as always, by Topps. These programs have brought about sweeping changes in the ways old redemptions are handled as well as brought newfound confidence to the floundering redemption programs of each company.

Recently, I decided to take another chance on a redemption, this time with Panini for the first time. I have had huge amounts of success with Upper Deck, getting all of my Adrian Peterson cards filled in a very short time, so I thought it was worth a shot on a Percy Harvin that I liked. I redeemed the card about a month ago, hoping to get a nice auto and nice patch on the Limited Phenoms card I thought was the best of the year so far from Panini. Lucky for me, it came yesterday, and I am very pleased with the results (pic below).

This led me to go through a discussion of the different pros and cons of each, under the auspices that I could maybe inform a few of you about everything I have experienced.

Upper Deck

Cards Redeemed: Adrian Peterson National Chicle Auto, Adrian Peterson Exquisite Auto, Adrian Peterson Sunday Stars Signatures, Sidney Rice SPA RPA, Adrian Peterson SPA SP Authentics, Joe Mauer SPA By The Letter Auto

My Experiences: As you can see, I have had a lot of redemptions that I have bought through eBay. I did not pull any of these cards in packs, and I knew there would be a wait on some of them. When I first was introduced to the Upper Deck Redemption system, I was pretty impressed. Create your account, enter the code, see the card and updates right there on the screen. For the Mauer, a card that was the first redemption I worked with, I didn’t understand that it would take so ridiculously long. It took about seven months, only because I redeemed it at the beginning of the season, and we know that players have a tough time signing during the season. The problem was not that it took so long, but because I had no clue. That was the only time I had a problem. The other cards got to me in less than a month, sometimes in less than a week if they were already in stock. None of the cards were damaged, though it was annoying to have to trek to the fedex office to get the signature on the package.

Others Experiences: Im sure you have heard of the stories. The horrors, the horrors! Redemptions taking years upon years, awful replacements, everything that one could imagine. The worst I have heard was someone getting a five dollar card for a card that sold for over 150 due to equal book value or some crap like that. Upper Deck has said to me that they have switched to using what cards sell for in addition to the guide, as well as collector requests and rarity. It doesn’t always work out, but I have seen people get Flacco RPAs from SPA as well as a Chris Johnson for a card that didn’t sell for much. I guess it works both ways. In all reality, I think the horror stories create very vocal people, while the success stories do not. However, I do think that Upper Deck did earn their stigma pretty early on, and much of it is still sticking, rightfully so in some cases.

Topps

Cards Redeemed: Harry Douglas Bowman Chrome Auto

My Experiences: I loved when Topps switched to online, and decided to try out the Douglas as a test. At most I was losing ten bucks, so I didn’t really think of it as too much of a risk. Again, a very user friendly site, and the design of the cards you pull is very helpful with name in big bold letters. You don’t need a magnifying glass or a checklist, which is clutch. As for the card itself, it came in about four months, and didn’t have any big problems. Again, I was pissed that a guy at the rookie premiere had to have a redemption, but at least I got the card I redeemed, even though others have had a lot of issues.

Others Experiences: I have stood by the fact that you shouldn’t spend any significant money on any Topps redemption because there is a good chance that any replacement you get will be total and utter fucking poop. I have heard of people getting low end packs as replacements for a redemption, and that just isnt right. I have also seen that Topps’ track record on filling redemptions, despite using all stickers, is quite a bit lower than I expected, with some major cards going unfufilled. Having unfufilled redemptions is just as much a player problem as a company problem, but any replacement problems are all on their shoulders. Topps is notorious for that, no doubt. One addition recently has been redemption updates on Twitter, and that is beyond awesome. I applaud Topps for that part of this whole thing.

Panini

Cards Redeemed: Adrian Peterson Limited RPA, Percy Harvin Limited RPA, Shawn Nelson Base Auto

My Experiences: I wont talk much about the Peterson RPA, because it was a write in before the new online system was started, and it turned out pretty well. The Harvin and the Nelson are newer ones. Starting with the actual redemption cards themselves, they could be the most annoying things in history. You always will need a checklist, and that can be problematic if you are opening them in a shop from loose packs, when they threw the sheet away. I don’t understand why they cant print the names of the players on the cards like everyone else, just seems completely useless. The site itself is a little more complicated than the others, especially if you have multiples going at once. I had two at once, and I couldn’t tell which was which without clicking through a few menus. Also, they call everything a “request” so your files may not be redemptions, as damage and missing card replacements are filed under “open requests” as well. The Nelson hasn’t come yet, but the Harvin showed up yesterday as I explained above, packaged nicely. It came via USPS which may cause more problems if there was damage. With Fedex like UD uses, there is much more accountability for damage because of national policies, which is very helpful. USPS is practically nothing in terms of those types of policies. There was not even insurance on the card.

Others Experiences: Other people have had generally normal experiences with both good and bad replacements and fufillment stuff. Since Panini is pretty much all stickers as well, they have a luxury that on card st
uff doesn’t have, however, that doesn’t always mean you get what you paid for. There were a lot of problems last year with Chris Johnson’s Contenders cards, with some people getting shafted. However, most of them were able to work it out with customer service, which is a good sign. I wonder what happened for those collectors who didn’t know what to do, though. Panini is generally regarded to have a mid range wait time, with some being quick and others taking forever, but their strength is in expired cards. They are notorious for keeping back stock of expired cards, and will usually fufill something, even if the card is years old.

I don’t really think that there is a clear cut best company here, as each has their strengths. I would just advise you to ask people before purchasing redemptions, especially old ones, and really see if past ones have been fufilled for that player. If there is documented success, it may be worth a chance to try with one. Otherwise, stick to the live cards, as a bird in hand is much better than two in the bush.

UD Tries To Make Good On Favre Icons Redemption Foul

Early in 2008’s card year, Upper Deck released their version of Brett Favre’s first Jets card. For 2008 Icons, they inserted redemptions for the non-autoed “Broadway Brett” letters that have made Icons such a popular product over the last two years. Since the release, UD has had major problems getting the cards built and sent out, so its been a long wait for the collectors that redeemed them.

To help make up for their late return, UD created two limited edition Brett Favre Vikings cards that will be included with each Letter redemption that are on the verge of being shipped out.
I think its too little too late with these, as the cards shouldnt have taken as long as they have. Regardless, people arent walking away empty handed.
Click to enlarge:

The Trouble With Redemptions And Player Collecting

Over the last two years, Peterson has become a 100% redemption player due to his unwillingness to adhere to the normal signing schedule that card companies require. There will always be stickers that can be reused from as far back as the offseason from 2007, but, for the true on card sweetness, its a waiting game for the new shit. This leads to a problem when you see a card that you know is going to be ridiculously amazing, but you know that its going to be six months before the package shows up at your door.

Such is my dilemma, and I know a lot of you out there have similarly experienced the months that are necessary to get a card you have wanted. The question remains as to whether or not the wait is worth the end result. I say yes and no, but it also has a lot to do with your connection to the card and your connection to the player.
For a player collector, sometimes redemptions are a necessary evil, especially if you are waiting on some of the cards that will be the best of the year. Since my favorite products are always SPA and Exquisite, I have to come to terms with the fact that I will have to wait for Peterson to sign his stuff. Since UD cant produce these cards far enough ahead of time, the cards need to be redemptions – I get that. But do I risk my money under the auspices that at any time he can just decide not to sign any more?
I have risked it before, at least twice, once with great results, once with a replacement outcome. This time, I think I may risk it again and buy a card out of Philadelphia that should be one of the best auto cards until SPA in January. Thats the impatience in me, despite the fact that the card probably wont be signed until SPA actually hits shelves. Thats me, though, and I am positive that the card is something I need to buy. Yet, if I had pulled it out of a pack of a player I didnt collect, it would be on ebay faster than you could say boo.
The problem is, that redemptions are practically only there for the player collectors around to begin with. People who pull the redemptions rarely ever hold them if they dont collect the player in some way, and I believe that is why so many of them end up on eBay. Now that its also very easy to do it online instead of sending them in, its even easier to just throw it up there as an incentive for the people out there that like it. Hell, you dont even need to ship the card most of the time.
Call me a junkie for hard signed cards now that I am spoiled enough by UD’s great commitment to those sets, but I wonder if others out there are willing to take the same chance on some of these as I am. I realize that most collectors blame UD and their replacements for the redemption dilemma, but there have to be other addicts out there like me looking for their next fix. Otherwise the market for these redemptions wouldnt be what it is.