2016 Topps Now Jung Ho Kang
I really liked the idea of Topps Now. When I first heard about it I was excited about the possibilities. As collectors we are all up for something new that doesn't involve an ultra premium $400 type of purchase. When they announced the price of $9.99 my initial response was a little skeptical, but I held out hope.
The Pirates actually had the first card of the set, but I didn't pull the trigger on the Francisco Liriano card. I waited for other bloggers to be the guinea pigs. I was a little upset when the reviews were lukewarm. Consensus was that for 9.99 the cards weren't really that special. No special design, serial number or card stock. It left people wanting a little more. Add in some curious choices for the checklist and you have another failed opportunity to take advantage of a great idea.
I pretty much told myself I was going to avoid it unless something really cool happens with the Pirates....let's just hope it is not on the same day David Ortiz hits a homerun.
With all that being said we are already beginning to see secondary market prices fall well below the $9.99 retail price. Being the opportunist that I am I went ahead and purchased the Kang at a discounted price. I'm happy to own the card, but these are definitely not special enough for the 9.99 price tag. I think the only exceptions are cool rookie moments and obscure baseball moments. Triple plays, Bartolo Colon homeruns and perfect games are nice examples.
Did you know that the Francisco Liriano sells for around $45 on eBay. That is some crazy stuff. I could buy every good Franky card for that amount. People are weird.
Thanks for reading.
Thus far nothing has been worthy of me dishing out the money to buy these. Mainly because these cards are made in the hundreds. Who pays $10 for modern non-autographed cards with confirmed x-hundred print runs?
ReplyDeleteLove the idea and hope to find the other Pirates on eBay. I just don't see a reason to pay 9.99 when you can almost guarantee that it will be cheaper on eBay.
DeleteI just can't get on board with these, mostly for the reasons you mentioned. I would consider watching the secondary markets for the Cardinals/PC guys, but I actually have a huge problem with the no serial number things. Print runs are just a magical number that no one can actually verify. This is something I'd buy for a buck or two, but no more.
ReplyDeleteI'm really only interested if the Pirates do something extremely cool. Now if the price was around $5 I would probably be more on board from buying directly from Topps. Hopefully some tweaks will be made.
DeleteThe nice thing about the hobby is that you can collect whatever you want in any way you want. I like Topps NOW. I hope they tweak it some it they continue into 2017. But I like the idea and I think it has potential. I use the example of the first year of Stadium Club's return. The first year, the stock was crap. The second year, the stock was much better. SC is a mid-price card, not a high end one, so they didn't really have to do that. But I do think they listen and do try to keep collectors happy. To a point, at least.
ReplyDeleteSerial numbers. Truthfully, even if the cards were serial number stamped, how do you *really* know there aren't multiple cards with the same serial number? Sure, it would be embarrassing for Topps if two cards with the same number turned up on eBay or something. There's a high probability of that happening with autographs, but not so much with other cards. With NOW, I think the idea is to get the cards to people as fast as possible so that they're reasonably "Now"-ish. Judging from the ones I've bought, it takes at least 4 days from the "event" to the mailing--more for the larger print runs. That's not bad when you consider that the first day is a loss because they have to wait to see how many to print. Stamping each card would probably add days to that. Maybe they decided that wasn't worth delaying the NOW. Maybe they'll change their minds next year, since it seems to be a common complaint.
I do think those who will wait for the secondary prices to drop to basement levels are probably the smart ones. Give or take a Kris Bryant, these aren't going to hold a $10 value for long. I liked eTopps, too. And those cards were extremely cool and "special" looking and they were serial number stamped. And yet there are only a couple that are worth, today, what they cost originally (or more).
Still, I like them. At the end of the year, I'll have all my team's highlights from the season. I like that. And, because the hobby allows me to collect what I like in whatever way I like, I'll pay the "primary market" price. Your mileage may most certainly vary. And that's why this hobby is pretty cool.
You are probably right about adding the extras like stamping and card stock. This would likely delay the cards and take away from the NOW aspect. I wonder if they'll tweak the pricing a little next. Maybe offer a discount if you buy more than one. I really only see the big time stars holding value like Trout and Harper.
DeleteI like the concept. But don't think I will buy any. I prefer to spend $10 elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea and hope they can improve. The secondary market is the way to go if you want to buy them. I would say 90% of them will be below the 9.99 retail cost.
DeleteI've got all the dodgers so far. Some from topps and some from eBay. Improvements can be made, but I'm with Stubby here.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the thought process is a little different when you collect a big market team like the Dodgers. A nice Cory Seager moment is worth the 9.99. Did they make one of Urias's debut? That would be worth 9.99 too. The Pirates haven't had that moment yet where it justifies the cost.
DeleteTwo maeda cards, a trayce thompson, one for urias, and three or four kershaw already. I am really hopeful that there will be a scully related card at the end of the season but he may not grant the use of his likeness.
DeleteI'd say I've bought half on eBay for 7 or less shipped.
The Scully will probably be a hot one. Probably will have to the 9.99 way on that one. That is a lot of Dodgers! I think the Pirates have only had 3.
DeleteI haven't bought any yet, but if I did I knew I'd likely get them through eBay. I'm not in a rush for them, so maybe in a couple years they'll be under a buck on COMC.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if they go that cheap.
DeleteI won't say more than I've said before other than to say that it seems as if they recently stretched to try to find a way to get to all 30 teams by the end of the second month of the season or thereabouts.
ReplyDeleteStill no Arizona though. I'm thinking, though, that they probably have a contractual obligation to include every team at least once.
I know the Red Sox and Dodgers have had a ton. Not too surprising as they will probably always sale better than a Paul Goldschmidt.
DeleteI agree. People who are paying $45 for that Francisco Liriano card are definitely weird. Well... maybe not weird... since people buy what they want to buy. Maybe crazy is a better word to describe them ; )
ReplyDeleteI guess since it was the very first Topps Now card it is more collectible. To each their own.
DeleteI pulled the trigger on the Cutch three home run card. Personally, I like cards that tie to one specific moment. And I wish Topps had something like this for the 2013 wild card game.
ReplyDeleteYeah I almost pulled the trigger on that one. Cutch cards are strong on the secondary market so I'm not sure if it will be cheaper than 9.99 on eBay.
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