I was wondering if Topps would ever cut back the production of jersey cards so that they will be more of a rare pull than an "insert" type card. Just wondering...
C'mon, now. Do you know the estimate street value of coke? A pound or two would cost us waaaaaaay more than a game-worn jersey! As for DNA, I always thought we should make relic cards with pieces of hair, skin flakes, etc., so that obsessed fans could clone their very own athlete. tierre_brown: Ha! Relic cards are a good way to provide somewhat high-end cards at a relatively low value. Great for meeting insert rates. In order to make them rare, we do a couple of things: 1) sequentially number it 2) add a parallel "rare" version 3) make it a dual or triple relic card 4) add an autograph to it (a production nightmare) Just depends on the product, really. Relics are becoming commonplace now, but that doesn't mean they're gonna die off anytime soon (much to my chagrin).
VesceySux, I know what you mean about the relic cards. You can barely get anything on Ebay for them unless they're autographed or numbered. Has any card company done anything like taking all the sports from 1 city and making relic/autograph cards? Being a Philly fan in all the major sports,I'd love to pull a dual autograph card of ,say Charles Barkley and Mike Schmidt or a quad relic card of Steve Carlton/Julius Erving/Ron Hextall/Randall Cunningham. The possibilities are endless and you could put them in baseball/basketball/football/hockey packs!!!
Absolutely talked about. Positively NO way it'll happen. The different sports leagues don't play well with each other. For example, the NBA would not approve any card that featured a baseball player, even if paired with a basketball player. The NBA is not out to promote other leagues. Same with the NFL and most likely MLB (which is more lax). If we weren't official licensees of the respective 3 major sports, then we could do anything we wanted. However, there are major advantages to having a license (that I won't go into now), and to opt out of having a license would almost be a death blow to the sports card side of the business (i.e not gonna happen unless the league drops us for some odd reason).
Well that explains it. Damn, we need some interleague cards. I've got some new ideas for you. A. Actual minature Letters written by players inserted into clear card or printed on back of card. Letter can be reproduced. But make it interesting. Reading the cards used to be fun. Make it fun again. B. This At Bat is for you. The card awards you an official future at bat from Barry Bonds or whomever. Whatever happens in that at bat happens. You can either make it redeemable for "the at bat card" you will produce that describes what happened or you can let the card holder register for ownership of the at bat on line. If Bonds doesn't bat that day tuff luck. Imagine if it's a historical at bat. Cha Ching. C. Cards with game ticket barcodes printed on them. D. Players at play cards. Photos given by the player of themself are inserted into card. Makes each card very unique.
I know you work for Topps, but I thought Upper Deck had a line called UD Superstars that had Carr and Yao on the same card. I could be mistaken though... As for the jersey cards, it used to be a real big thrill whenever I pulled one (got a VC auto jersey in 2000 out of a Fleer Force box...it was at $200 for a while, now only $100...), but now it's pretty passe. I really like the "sequentially numbered" cards, although the 1/1's that they sell on ebay (the first card produced, the last card produced, and the player's jersey #) really piss me off. I do like PSJ's ideas, especially the at-bat idea and the letter. I think in general, the insert (like in the mid 90s) should become more popular somehow, probably with some cool card designs (clear plastic like the old E-x cards) along with low odds of pulling with sequential numbers will bring back just regular enthusiasts like me into the hobby. I took a hiatus because it was becoming a business, not a hobby, but I still buy some cards of my fave players now and then.
Yea, those "1/1" where they are the jersey or 1 or X is funny to me. I've thought about putting some cards out there stating that it's 27/50 where if you subtract 22 (a repeating number) from 27 you get the jersey number! And how many 27 of 50 are there for this card? JUST 1! I haven't seen sport cards by city but I did bid (I was sniped at the last second) on a Bird/DiMaggio/Gretzky jersey card (Upper Deck).
Hmmmm. I have no idea how Upper Deck is getting away with cross-sports cards. We've been rebuffed time and time again with that very same idea. It's entirely possible that UD is able to make their cross-sports cards due to their EXCLUSIVE autograph subjects. Perhaps they spin it with the notion that these exclusive players (like Jordan, Matsui, Kobe, LeBron, etc.) are indeed paid SPOKESMEN of the company (unlike others who just get a deal to sign cards) and are therefore exempt from league mandates. But that could just be me talking out of my ass. I just asked my pseudo-boss, and he said that UD just "got away" with it once. He didn't have an answer as to WHY they did. Also, regarding "1 of 1" cards, BE CAREFUL on the internet. A good deal of those cards are fakes. "Knowing is half the battle..."
Drat,was hoping maybe something like that was possible. You'd think that an arrangement like that would benefit all parties,but what do I know.... All this talk has me in the mood to open a box!! Maybe I'll check out Ebay+see what a box of Topps Baseball is selling for
The brand is 2003 Upper Deck Superstars. I did see a few pa jersey cards: Jeremy Roenick(Flyers)/Allen Iverson(76ers)/Donovan McNabb(Eagles) Duce Staley(Eagles)/John LeClair(Flyers) Keith Primeau(Flyers)/Bob Abreu(Phillies) Kordell Stewart(Steelers)/Alexei Kovalev(Penguins)/Jason Kendall(Pirates) and for you Houston fans: Jeff Bagwell(Astros)/David Carr(Texans)/Yao Ming(Rockets)
