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I cannot believe I am seeing people bust boxes of Topps Tribute. It could be one of the most yawn worthy products I have seen since the last time it came out. Yes, I know, people love the original because it was one of the first products to really go after the market for older player swatch and signature cards. As of now, in todays market, this concept has been done to fucking death, and there is no longer a reason to even think about crap like this at over 200 a box.
Here is a break of 14 boxes of this poop. 14 boxes! For that price you might as well buy something that actually delivers more than just the same cards over and over again. Look at his hits, you either get 1, 2, or 3 swatches of one color material, or if you are lucky, AN AUTO! Wow. Im sold. Buy me 15 boxes.
Yes, this product has Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, and Babe Ruth, but who fucking cares when the cards make Triple Threads look subtle? I mean, having bright fucking rainbow foilboard is one thing, but this is ridiculous!
Then you factor in that this is still chock full of sticker autos and meaningless and needless swatches, and it makes you wonder who green lighted this turd of a product? It costs more than a half case of Topps or Bowman Chrome for one god damn box! I am completely shocked. Hell, you could pay 45 a pack and come away with a Josh Hamilton bat relic. That, and I am not even sure that these old timer jerseys are actually game used. Remember when there was that shortage of Mickey Mantle swatches? Well, he's back in Tribute, and you know what that means. Probably some exhibition game, post-retirement, with nothing but a few jogs down the base paths.
I am dead serious, if this is what Topps is going to use its exlusive license for, I will be waiting to see what the other companies can come up with. I sincerely hope that a full season of Triple Shits and Tribute is not what is in store.
*Looks at Calendar and sees Topps Sterling is coming soon*
Fuck. Me.
This post is brought to you by the Golden Rule of Topps, where if its over 100 bucks a box, dont buy it.
I agree. I said last night on Twitter the game-used cards remind of the kiddie thing when you have to find the block the matches that shape.
ReplyDeleteI really think that swatches and autos are done. Or they should at least be scaled back. Companies need to go back and focus good old fashioned photography and card design. I have more fun chasing down SP's of lower end cards than I do of autos and relics.
ReplyDeleteA strole down San Francisco maybe? Trolley train anyone??
ReplyDeleteStill one of the best rules in collecting.
ReplyDeleteI saw a guy open a pack of this yesterday and his hit was a single swatch Ichiro, no auto or nothing. Talk about a waste of $50. I agree with TJ, ditch all the ridiculous swatches and autos and just focus on really well designed inserts.
ReplyDeleteRemember when pulling a game-used or autograph card meant something 10 years ago because it was fresh at the time and it WASN'T stickered? I do. Now its garbage.
ReplyDeleteI like them, but the checklist is a bit weak and not broad enough. Too many players who should be in it aren't, and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. This product coulda been awesome and well it ended up in epic fail. This product is loaded with parrallels and will not hold and value. so your babe ruth bat that is #'d to 99 is actually #'d to 1000. 2003-04 is awesome but 2009 is fail. They need to go back to limited cases produced and less memorbilia/autos per box. This stuff made me cry. I bust a pack and got a Josh Hamilton Bat card /99 ... Really? Really? I'm done with this crap
ReplyDeleteI'm finding those fold-out books with huge swatches of just jersey even more laughable. I actually like the way the base cards look, but the checklist is pretty poor. I've also seen a couple of case breaks of this stuff which have had multiple "old guy" hits and coupled with Topps disclosure on the back of the cards leads me to believe you're probably right on where they come from.
ReplyDeleteI still don't think relics are all that bad, but then again I don't spend big money to acquire them. Anyone who spends $200 for the same pictures on the same card stock as cheaper products that has been arbitrarily numbered is a sucker. Why would a sticker auto on a card #d out of 25 be worth more than a sticker auto from the same player from the same damn sheet on a card with perhaps no number at all???
ReplyDeleteI understand why some are tired of relic cards, and I understand why on-card autos are preferred over sticker, but I will NEVER get the appeal of serial numbering.
Sorry for the jumbled rambling.
It sure looks better than Upper Deck Black football - $200 for 2 commons with a crappy manufactured patch and 2 no-name rookie autos - and I don't even like baseball.
ReplyDelete