HUGE Announcement Coming Tomorrow

I am literally shaking right now, yes its that big of an announcement, at least for me. Although I cant say anything until the official report has been "declassified" if you will, I will say that it is something that has never happened on any card blog in history. I was just given the details a few hours ago, and I literally could not be more excited.

Be sure to check back as I will post as soon as I can.

Jared Allen At The Sun Times Show: Results Are Just As Awesome

Along with Percy Harvin, I also commissioned someone to get me Jared Allen, who was also signing at the show. Eric did a great job with helping me out, and I now have a second piece to add to my collection that I absolutely love. Although the price turned out to be a little more expensive than I had originally hoped, I still think it was well worth the money.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Thanks again to Eric!

Percy Harvin At The Sun Times Show: Results Are AWESOME

First off, I want to thank James for doing this for me. He was nice, communicative, and incredibly easy to work with. You have made me very happy.

Secondly, I discussed a few days ago how much I loved autographs, and this one is definitely a new centerpiece to my Percy Harvin collection. From the pics it looks absolutely amazing, and very much worth the money I spent to have it taken care of.

I cant wait to have it in hand, should be perfect next to my Peterson one.

What a rush!

Talk About A Ridiculous Price For A Ridiculous Pull!

Over the last few years, SP Authentic has offered a cool chase card for the buyers of the product. Basically, for each of the last few sets, there has been one or two redemptions per year that offer a complete set of low numbered rookie patch autos for the lucky person that pulls the card.

This year, the person wisely put it up for auction and let it run. To say that the ending price is a little surprising is like saying the Happening was just "a bad movie."

After getting news of Upper Deck's settlement yesterday, I have been assured that all will remain the same, however, investing thousands in a redemption is still risky regardless. I would maybe have thought twice about this one, just because of the shear price of it.

Oddly enough, many people are speculating that the hand numbered "platinum" rookie patch autos numbered to five, were actually supposed to be this redemption's reward. Im not sure if that is actually the case, but it seems like that would have been the case for previous incarnations of this chase.

Here is the auction, see for yourself. Wow.

An Ode to My New Favorite Card

It has become exceedingly rare that a card is released and I go fucking nuts trying to get it. Last week, Ultimate Football was released, and I was scrambling to find one of the Peterson Patch autos right off the bat. Because they were only numbered to 10, popular from the past few years, and I had money to spend at that point, I started watching eBay like a hawk.

Each day, I would refresh and refresh, looking for more of the cards to pop up. Although some of the Peterson non-autoed patches were being listed, no one had listed an auto patch. When the first Peterson one made it up on eBay, I freaked out and tried to figure out ways to avoid the 5 day listing that he had put on the auction. It looked like it had a buy it now on it before, but some idiot had bid the minimum and taken that out of the equation. I resolved to offer him some money to end early because I would save him fees and give him more than double the cost of the pack. I carefully worded the email to the seller and sent it off. I waited, and waited, and waited for a response. I never got anything back.

Meanwhile I bought a Harvin rookie auto /399 for a minimal price and was happy to get one for my redemption experiment. The guy responded fast to every email that I sent regarding emailing the code versus shipping the worthless card, which would come in very handy later on. I kept scowering the site for more of the Peterson patches, but eventually settled that I would have to wait for the auction to end in three plus days. The price was creeping up, but still hadnt reached my offer price, so I figured there was still a chance he would contact me.

Then I saw something that shocked me. I saw the guy I just bought the Harvin from had listed another one of the Peterson cards with better patches, a better picture, and a better auto. To avoid the risk of losing another, I offered him more than I did the other seller. Being the quick responding guy that he was, he accepted my offer right away, and I had my card. I was fucking excited to say the least.

On a side note, while waiting for my new favorite card to arrive, I saw the other auction had ended. It ended very much below what I paid for mine, but more importantly, it ended below my offer price as well. Instead of getting my money with no strings attached, he now had to pay seller fees and all sorts of stuff. I may have paid more for mine, but I also had two nice patches, while his had none. In the words of Canadian Nelson, "hoo-hoo!"

Yesterday I got home to my mailbox and got my card via insured mail, which I loved. The card is better in person, I am happier than a pig in shit. I am debating whether or not to go for the set because I think the cards look that good, but the cost far outweighs the benefits of collecting these extremely rare cards.

Regardless of how I feel about my new card, I think my experience speaks to how buying singles can be just as fufilling as buying wax. Rather than spending 300 bucks on boxes with 50 dollars worth of cards, I got one card for much less that I love. Im not saying you should all avoid wax forever, maybe just be a little more conscious of how you spend your money.

Looking at Ultimate From Different Perspectives

First off, Im sure you are all expecting me to rant and rave about how awesome Ultimate is, but I am not going to do it in the way you expect. Ultimate has some ridiculously great elements to it, but there are parts that need to be examined from a perspective outside of my usual way. Its rare that a product like this comes out, where some of the cards can be as awesome as they are, and other can be as problematic. Although they all look good, some spell disaster for some while being great for others.

The first perspective is from me, the singles buyer, rather than someone who buys wax. Right now, there are no less than 10 cards I would purchase in a heartbeat if I didn’t have a baby on the way. These cards are easily the coolest ones of the year in some cases, and in others they go far above my expectations. I think Ultimate's good cards are borderline what some were getting in baseball, which says a lot about the effort that was put into this product.

Much like last year, the Ultimate Patch autos are the best of the set. These cards just look cooler than anything that has been released this year. I like these ones better than a lot of the ones from the Exquisite previews, so that says something. I also like all the inscriptions that have made their way into the product, as they add a lot to a normal auto card that cant be duplicated by stickers. Im not going to go buy any of the Personal Touch ones, but I would definitely buy some of the others that relate to the player's accomplishments.

I am also a huge fan of the duals, triples and quads, as it looks like they really got their shit right on these. The dual jersey autos are just amazing, and I could understand if someone wants to do a victory lap if they pulled some of the ones that have been posted.

Lastly, the UD Legends cards are always a treat. They definitely added some great players to the growing set, and though they may not always recoup a box price, the cards look as great as they did back in 1997. Its too bad we cant do a similar product with a new design and similar focus.

Moving on to the second perspective of me, the wax breaker, Ultimate takes on a very different feel than someone who buys singles. Most importantly, if you are busting a case of this, expect a lot of non-auto jersey cards. Too many for most people to justify busting this product. Although the jerseys are six piece, eight piece, or jumbo patches, its not going to be enough to make anyone crazy like they did in baseball. At 80+ per box, to pull one of these cards is pretty much a death sentence to the box with very few exceptions, which is why I can understand the feelings of some of the people who were buying and complaining.

Its pretty much impossible to put out a product where every pack is a winner, that’s obvious. But, to include half a case worth of junk in a product that costs as much as Ultimate does, people are going to be pissed. Limited faced some of this criticism as well because of its dud boxes, but Limited does offer more hits. Those extra hits are usually poop, but for the general public who likes both quantity and quality at the same time, its not going to be as much of a problem.

Basically, when busting Ultimate you are either going to win big, come out of it with cool cards that arent worth a lot, or get some jerseys that you can sell for 10 bucks. I think this structure of returns is what makes Ultimate such a love it/hate it product. I think its cool that some of the duds can be as cool as they are,but I also get that people want to get their money's worth. Im saying its probably a good idea to buy singles on this one, but if you must bust, buy more than one box to protect yourself from the dud.

Overall, I really like the look of this set, as I really didn’t think I would. When the preview came out, I was pretty disappointed, yet now my tune has changed thanks to the un-previewed part of the set. Despite the fact that it wont live up to baseball, I think its definitely a great product to have fun with if you have the money.

Countdown to 2009 SP Authentic Football - ONE FREAKING DAY.

Man I am excited, because tomorrow, 2009 SP Authentic Football goes live per numerous reports. Although the quality of the final product is still very much up in the air due to recent lawsuits against Upper Deck (as well as numerous delays), my level of anticipation is still in the stratosphere.

Personally, I wasn’t too excited about the design when it came out a few months ago, but now, thanks to the lack of good products, its prospects have me raring to go bust a case and a half. The product is slated to feature 100% on card autos, which is a breath of fresh air from Panini/Topps sticker city, though again, quality is yet to be determined on what is going to be in the actual boxes. The autos could be tons of redemptions which I will not waste my time on, or they could be mostly packed out, to which I will be making my paypal account cry.

My favorite new additions to the set are definitely the jumbo patch autos, and if we have gotten any clues from Ultimate Baseball, these could turn out to be the best cards of the year. I am one of those people that loves signed memorabilia cards, and to have a shot at some in this product is ridiculously cool. We already know they are going to be a big part of Exquisite, and these look to be the precursor to everything.

Most importantly are the rookie super patch autos, which look great for the umpteenth year in a row. If you want to see consistency, run through my retrospective I did over on the UD blog. There isnt a bad year, and that is INCREDIBLY tough to accomplish. The only other product that comes close is Topps Chrome, which I raved similarly about earlier this year.

Regardless of how you feel about the actual company, its hard to argue against a product that produces the way SPA does every year. Although it hasn’t been without problems in the past, the cards that people covet run rampant through this set because of the awesome designs and concepts that have graced the cardboard since its inception.

You may be pissed that SPA has been delayed for multiple weeks, but to that I say that quality is quality. If it indeed lives up to the billing, which is at about 50/50 odds right now, this could be one of the best products in a long time. If it falls short due to recent problems with the company, I am going to be one pissed off motherfucker. You don’t fuck up SPA, it’s the one final bright spots in the year, and right now things arent looking promising. It will only take a matter of days to get a true grasp, and I am praying for a rain of awesomeness.

HO-LEE-CRAP - This is What Ultimate is All About

This was posted on FCB earlier today, Im continually shocked by what is being pulled out of this product. I can only imagine what is going to happen once the fakers get their hands on these.

Just looking at this eBay search is getting me half staff. Wow.

This one was sent in by a reader who stumbled upon the Ultimate Break and bought some of his own. Lucky he did!

This Is Beyond Cool

I love painted memorabilia. Jerseys, Canvases, whatever it may be, they all catch my eye whenever I see them on eBay. This one is a little bit different, because the Painted memorabilia is the floor Jordan played on while in Chicago.

Last year, Upper Deck purchased a good part of that United Center floor, and took six pieces to turn into art like this. Oh yeah, its signed by Jordan too.

I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I were a baller, I wish I had the money to buy this.

Via UD Blog

I Am Shocked By 2009 Ultimate Collection Baseball - Logos or No Logos

2009 Ultimate Collection Baseball has hit with a vengence and it is glorious so far. Not every box has been great, but many of them are seemingly packed with goodness. I have seen a few boxes broken, seen the boxes on blowout, and I am continually shocked by what is coming out of them. Jumbo patches with ridiculous swatches, great looking cards with on card signatures, and a seemingly blatant disregard for the logos that Topps paid so dearly for. I love it.

The best cards that have hit eBay are the amazing HOFer jersey and autos, but they arent the only ones that look shocking. There have been just as many cards of current stars that are making collectors salivate, from a product that has actually been pretty uneventful over the last few years.

I have said on a few occasions that Ultimate Collection is the one product, hobby wide, that could greatly benefit from a revamp. It costs a bunch for what you get, the cards arent THAT cool, and there is only one hit per box. Your one hit used to be something like this, but now it is something like this.

I guess Upper Deck has found some sort of loophole in the licensing because there sure are a lot of things on these cards that shouldnt be there. That means they are either A) giving the middle finger to Topps, B) filing this under the 2009 Product calendar, or C) really stupid.

We should find out pretty soon.

I Miss Cards Like This...

I have mentioned a few times that innovation is the one thing that has fallen by the wayside as the industry has plowed forward. These cards from 2005 Exquisite were only produced once and I think are some of the coolest ideas for a card in a long, long time. They feature signed, game used pieces of shoulder pads and helmets, and they are VERY rare. The idea of using signed equipment had never been done before and has yet to be repeated, much to my dismay. The checklist was also pretty good to boot, but the concept was the best of all. The problem was that these were some of the most difficult and expensive cards to produce in the history of the modern era, which left this idea on the cutting room floor for 2006.

A notice to Topps and Panini: these cards feature HUGE windows for the signature equipment, yet still have enough room for a full size player picture and a nice and simple design. If only these would start coming back, I would be first in line.

Product Review: 2009 Upper Deck Black Football

When I first saw the announcement that UD black football was coming, my mind jumped at the possibilities as to what they could work with. Now that we have seen what the product was, to say that there are mixed reviews is an understatement. The people who busted the boxes are angry at the content of what they paid for, while the singles buyers are salivating at the top pulls from the set. Although I fall under the latter part of the divide, I see the merits of all the complaints that have been lodged.

Design/Creativity

Off the bat, I want to say that I absolutely love the design of this product. I love the looks of the cards, especially some of the more creative ones like the film strips, and I think that it could be the best of the year so far. My favorites of the set are probably a tie between the Lustrous patch autos, and the quad patch autos, though many of the cooler ideas are threads among all the cards. The black background makes everything that much brighter and cooler, and it reminded me of the Vizio commercial where they put blacker blacks on their TVs to make the colors more vivid. At the time I thought that was crap, but it is present here I believe.

As for another major point of contention in the set, the rookie autos, I love the look of them, but I see the validity of the complaints for why they don’t work. First off, College Unis in this type of product is a problem, and a lot of people have a right to complain, especially with pro logos for team designation. I think if this product was a few months later, it would have been great to have a rookie style Lustrous patch auto. Then you march into the territory of SPA and Ultimate, so I see why they went with it the way they did. At least the cards look good enough in most of the cases to look past the short comings to a cool little card, but again, I am not missing the forest for the trees.

Another great example of a cool idea is the signed swatches that are sparsely included in the sets. They look beyond awesome, and though the autos arent as clear as they should be at points, the design and look of the cards are awesome. Its been years since we have had signed GU stuff in football sets, and I am glad to see it back. From what I remember, it should be making a comeback in Exquisite as well.

Moving on to the flag base cards and signed parallels, I have no complaints, though I have heard mixed reviews. Some people love them from their Basketball black collections were happy to see them included, others just thought they were dumb and unnecessary. I think it’s a cool idea, and would maybe even buy a few of the unsigned ones. The signed ones are crap shoots, as there usually isnt enough room for the players to sign. Some are good, some are bad, and that’s where things get dicey. I think moving the name would have been a good idea, and expanding the space to sign is essential.

Lastly, the cuts in this set are awful. Plain and simple. No pictures, high numbering, bad checklist, poor design. I would say that they are some of the better ones of the horrible cuts we have had this year in Classics, Limited and otherwise, but lipstick on a pig don’t make it a woman.

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Autograph Cards

The signed portion of this product I like a lot because I am a sucker for on card signatures, and because the design looks great. I think better pens were needed in some cases, but in most, they look fine. As said above, the Lustrous cards are some of the cooler cards I have seen in a long time, and the film strip cards are a gimmick that actually works. The dual auto jersey cards are awesome, and the quad jersey cards are even better. That being said, the flag autos are mostly bad, the cuts suck, and the rookies are college style. A weighted scale for sure.

The part that may offset the rookie college unis are the duals, triples, and quads that look amazing. The pairings are pretty good for the most part, and having quad signed cards are awesome additions to a set that lacked in its rookie element. I got a very distinct feeling that the Pen Pals cards are not going to be that good looking this year after seeing some of the previews, and these multisigned cards make the Pen Pals look like prestige junk.

Overall, I think the autographs live up to black potential, but there are no shortage of bad parts for sure.

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Relic Cards

There are no relic only cards in this set

Value To The Collector

First off, let me say that there is no way in hell I would ever buy a box of this unless it was a drastically reduced price. Those people who were complaining have it mostly right. Unless you get lucky, you are going to pull two rookies and two flags and be done with your 175 bucks. To have a shot at the good stuff, you have to break multiple boxes, and for this price, it almost isnt possible.

However, if you do manage to pull something besides a rookie auto, there is a lot of potential in some of the cards. Many of the Adrian Peterson, Peyton Manning, and others are selling above the cost of a box, which is good, and there are a few cuts that people do want. The good rookie autos are selling reasonably higher than most of the others out there, and the Lustrous cards do very well. You shouldn’t be buying these boxes to make money anyways, and I think if you go into it with those expectations, you could come out happy.

The cards themselves will hold their value, especially some of the rarer subsets, which will be good for the singles buyers, but the drawback of busting a box is still going to prevent a lot of people from enjoying this product.

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Overall Impressions

I would say this set is the first in about 3 months where I want multiple cards from multiple players. The others I just buy the Harvins or the Petersons and be done with it. This one is different. For that I think there are a lot of other people out there like me. However, there are just as many people who got a swift kick in the baby maker when busting this product, and they are out for blood.

Personally, I don’t see how this product is performing any different than past years, yet for some reason, the stigma is definitely poor. I would say that if we got pro uniform rookies and some guarantees on case content, you would have seen a much different reaction.

Also, considering this set is all live with no redemptions is particularly awesome. That is an accomplishment unlike anything we have ever seen before, and I think that bears repeating. When was the last time that a set with all hard signed stuff was put out with no wait on any of the cards? Never.

Average Rating =

2009 Product Leaderboard (SO FAR)

1. Topps Chrome (4/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Black (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Donruss Limited (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Bowman Chrome (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Donruss Certified (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Upper Deck Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Philadelphia (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Topps Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Icons (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Heroes (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Draft Edition (3/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Topps Finest (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Upper Deck SP Threads (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Upper Deck SPX (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Playoff Absolute Memorabilia (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Bowman Sterling Football (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Donruss Threads (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Donruss Classics (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Donruss Elite (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Playoff Prestige (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Bowman Draft Picks (2/5 GELLMANS)
12(t). Topps Mayo (2/5 GELLMANS)
22(t). Score Inscriptions (1/5 GELLMANS)
22(t). SP Signature Edition (1/5 GELLMANS)
24. Leaf Rookies and Stars (0/5 GELLMANS - NR)