Hail Sabin Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Yeah unless you hit certain people those printing plates go for lower then you would think because they are ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 It's called "monetizing junk". It's done in book and comic book publishing too... A printing plate is not a card (or a book or a comic) it is an item used in the color separation process and has no real value save to those who like collecting ugly stuff that no one else wants. People buy strange stuff. I had a guy buy the paper plates used in printing one of the early chapbooks I published. (For short runs, lots of printers prefer paper plates rather then metal). The item is 32 pages pasted up onto cardboard backing, so it's as unwieldy as it is unattractive, but technically it IS the very first "state" of the book and unique thus. (In short, it's the kind of thing I would have bought in my pre-publishing days when I thought that sort of thing was cool and collectible.) Over the years, familiarity has bred contempt, what used to be cool and collectible is now "stuff taking up valuable storage space". ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Yea, I mean there is no harm in it since they just put them into packs but its definitely stretching the limits of what I'd consider collectible. I actively don't like them. Since I had uploaded them for Twitter anyway, and since it is a wrestling forum, these were the best 36 autograph cards I got in my case (all on card autographs, great design): Spoiler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grilledcheese Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 What is the deal on the mail-in/redemption cards? Guaranteed 1/1's or just a chase that for whatever reason doesn't get inserted into packs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 10 hours ago, grilledcheese said: What is the deal on the mail-in/redemption cards? Guaranteed 1/1's or just a chase that for whatever reason doesn't get inserted into packs? Redemptions are usually for one of two reasons - cards that were too big to fit into packs (like cut autographs) or cards that simply weren't signed in time to put into the packs. Usually this happens when players are sent cards to sign but don't return them before the packs are made, sometimes the player never signs them which is when you get situations where you pull a redemption and six months later the company gives up and sends you a random replacement. 99% of the time a redemption card will tell you exactly the player/card type/rarity, only exception is if they run out of one variant so you get a slightly more rare version instead. In this case, I assume the cards were signed when Harper was out with an injury so he wasn't around, and Hart wasn't around/hasn't returned them yet to Topps (or hadn't at the time of release). There is always that chance that they will never be signed, which is why I hate getting redemptions, sometimes you end up waiting months and never get that card but some other random card instead. I know someone that put a Hart and Harper redemption into the system 10 days ago and it is still showing as 'pending' which isn't a great sign, usually when the company has them on site ready to go it doesn't take that long to get them processed. The card companies don't like it either, as this way they need someone to sort the redemptions and then they have to pay shipping to send it to you, so its really not ideal for anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I know I'm gonna get called an asshole here...but y'all are seriously wasting your money. I blew tens of thousands of dollars on sports cards growing up. Some went up in value, very few did. I regret not getting on the Magic trend earlier because those cards actually went up in value...why, because they serve a purpose. They have a replay value and they are rare. These massed produced cards, will never go up in any real value, they serve no function beyond marketing - this is a lesson I learned the very hard way (sports cards, comic cards, tv cards, etc), and I implore you people to be smart about spending money on these things because they never go up in value much. Look at all those 80's WWF cards. Sure they're worth a little bit, but no one is going to give you $10,000+ for a single card that was printed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 It isn't a waste of money if people enjoy it. I may think a car that is 100K is a waste of money when my car cost 5K and gets me around, but if the person that drives it enjoys it then it isn't a waste. I don't buy cards for my own collection because they will go up in value, I buy them because I like them. Sounds like you went into the hobby for the wrong reasons. Wrestling cards aren't art pieces or bars of gold, most things purchased in life don't appreciate in value. My flat screen TV is worth less now than two years ago also, but I got enjoyment out of it which is what matters. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 4 hours ago, Kevin Wilson said: It isn't a waste of money if people enjoy it. I may think a car that is 100K is a waste of money when my car cost 5K and gets me around, but if the person that drives it enjoys it then it isn't a waste. I don't buy cards for my own collection because they will go up in value, I buy them because I like them. Sounds like you went into the hobby for the wrong reasons. Wrestling cards aren't art pieces or bars of gold, most things purchased in life don't appreciate in value. My flat screen TV is worth less now than two years ago also, but I got enjoyment out of it which is what matters. That's right, they are of no real value, and hence, are a waste of money. I was in the hobby to enjoy it (it was from around the ages of 3-15)...and then I realized one day, I blew a lot of money on something that was pretty much a total waste of time and money and all it did was pay for the local card shop owners retirement fund. They did nothing, didn't appreciate in value, and all I had to show for it was a bunch of pieces of paper that weren't worth the paper they were printed on. I understand the enjoyment factor, but as an adult, I find this marketing material disguised as a hobby a very disgusting tactic. And again, as an adult, I can find nearly 95% of the stuff I paid full price for readily available for pennies for what I paid for them. In 5-10 years I'm sure these WWE cards will probably be the exact same way since there is no replay value to them and they are mass produced. If you want to spend your money on this, hey free country, but as someone who went through it and now realizes how bad, and utterly foolish, spending all that money was, I employer you to not make the same mistake I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 I've been collecting for twenty years and know what I am doing, but thanks for the advice dad. Speaking of which, look at all these pretty wrestling cards I got! These were the relic/autos from the case. Spoiler The Balor is the best of the bunch of course, should get around $100 for it. The next set for WWE is the Topps Heritage set which comes out August 3rd... personally, I don't like the design of the Heritage set across the board, to me it doesn't look retro but fake-retro and kinda ugly. So I am skipping that one, even though it does have one card that will sell really really scarily well on Ebay: Spoiler That is Asuka's first kiss card (while in WWE), which are the most valuable cards in these sets anyway (yes people are weird). They will fix the name, the early 'example' cards often have words misspelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 I have absolutely no problem with people who collect cards as a hobby or for fun because that was the intended purpose of this. Hell that is why I collected them as a kid. and still do for a particular niche like WVU stars and the occasion wrestling cards. But if you are doing this in terms of an investment that shipped sailed at least 20 years ago. The problem with today's product (actually the problem with the last 10 - 15 years) is that you have to spend hundreds and hundreds to get that actual investment. Sure you might pull a card that is worth $100 dollars now but you will probably have to spend $80-$150 in order to do it. That was the moment I tapped out when there were $75 packs of cards and the average value of them was maybe $20 - $30 but people went nuts because there could be a $1000 Jeter or $2000 Lebron jersey card in them Unless you are willing to hoard them for a long time and then they will be a huge investment. If you go to card shows the most popular thing is the person who has thousands of 1975 TOPPS baseball commons and semi stars for example and people are trying to fill sets. Although I say all this but wrestling cards actually hold value pretty well. Probably because there isn't 10 different places selling WWE cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail Sabin Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 The Kiss cards are super hard to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 Going in a different tangent a bit, the latest set of KinPuro cards was released by New Japan Pro Wrestling! King of Pro Wrestling (aka KinPuro) is an online card game but it is only in Japanese and not easy to learn how to play. Even without playing online however they made the cards super appealing looking and are priced reasonably. They release a new set about every two months, this one's theme was the G1 Climax. Here are some of the ones I got in my two boxes: Spoiler It is hard to tell in the scan, but all of those cards are foil. The first card is the most rare, it is a SP card, meaning it has a gold facsimile autograph. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grilledcheese Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Holy shit, that Naito card is a thing of beauty. If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for the two boxes? And are we talking about a 36 count box of wax pack type box? Or like a Magic: The Gathering starter deck type box? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 10 minutes ago, grilledcheese said: Holy shit, that Naito card is a thing of beauty. If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for the two boxes? And are we talking about a 36 count box of wax pack type box? Or like a Magic: The Gathering starter deck type box? Each box has ten packs and a PR card, three random cards per pack. For this set, each pack had one G1 Foil card (like the Naito one), and each box has a total five other foil cards as well. They retail in Japan for 2,800 yen, which is about $27 at the moment before shipping. I got a whole case since I also sell them so my price isn't exactly that, but that is the retail for one box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 On 7/16/2016 at 9:43 PM, Kevin Wilson said: I've been collecting for twenty years and know what I am doing, but thanks for the advice dad. Whatever son, just trying to warn others of the pitfalls I've seen happen and personally experienced. Nothing like seeing 40-year-old adults at flea markets trying to get people to spend $40 for a single card or tons boxes of cards people couldn't give away, to make you wonder what in life you did right to avoid becoming those people when you were on the path to that life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I used to collect cards, mostly football and baseball with some basketball thrown in, little bit of hockey. I have some wrestling cards but not much. I used to collect the rookie cards of all of the players from the 80s and then the 90s when I was growing up, the Griffeys, Bonds, Jerry Rice, etc.. I never sold any of them, I just like to hang on to stuff. I haven't bought a pack of cards now in quite a while. My favorite experience collecting cards was when in one pack I had a Dan Marino relic AND a John Elway relic. Both were pretty rare for that set. It was an amazing day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Fun moment for me: getting a Greg Maddux jersey card - in a pack of football cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Another one: getting two John Elway CD "cards" in the same pack. They were something like a 1:3000 packs pull - for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivpvideos Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 I wasted a ton of money on X-Men cards back in the day that aren't worth anything. I don't see it as a waste of money though because I honestly enjoyed the collecting and hanging out with like minded people setting up trades and the thrill of getting a new pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Okay, I'll say this as a former cardshop owner that has two closets full of mostly baseball. Other than my attempt to build a set of autographed cards of the 300-HR Club (Yes, kids, once upon a time 300 career taters meant something), and my individual player files most of it is junk that isn't worth my time to sort through. I keep meaning to whittle it down to a set a year going by my tastes until the advent of Fleer Ultra (which was everything I wanted in a baseball card), but it just seems overwhelming. I know it represents thousands of dollars and many hours but if someone were to show up and offer me $1000 to haul it all away, I'd be cool with that. I had fun until the hobby ruined itself. I have to chuckle about someone decrying the cynical marketing of sports cards on one hand and defending Magic the Gathering on the other hand. That was what made me tap out of the business, I gave in and sold the lesser sports like basketball, football, and (God forgive me) hockey; because my partner was throwing a fit about it. However, when he showed up with a case of Magic, I pulled some stuff out of the display case, handed him my keys and said "Good luck with that." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Rip cards...to rip or not? Picked up a couple boxes of Allen & Ginter today and the first one yielded a 36/50 Jose Reyes rip card. The box was largely a dud, the only other pulls were relic cards of Dwier Brown (this year's set has a Field of Dreams theme) and Leigh Steinberg. As a history dork, I'm hoping for a Roman coin card in the next box. Edit: Second box was better. Nothing that blew me away, but actual baseball player hits (though we all love sports agents). Relic cards for Adam Wainwright, Brian McCann and Xander Bogaerts and a Matt Kemp cloth mini parallel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Forgive my ignorance, but what is a "rip card"? Is this new lingo for "chase cards" or "insert cards"? Anyway, we used to say that we never lost money opening wax, but that was with the advantage of a store front and some customers who wanted sets but were too lazy to build them and other customers who were just gaga for bright, shiny things (insert cards). So with those demographics, it was easy to make your money back on just selling the insert cards and (usually half to two thirds would hit break even) and everything else was gravy. It was also helpful to have a bunch of guys that would come in to play pack wars and leave everything but the insert cards on the counter when they left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 A rip card is a card that you literally rip open and it has another, rarer card inside. I'll probably end up ripping it, because I'm not in it to sell, just to collect the actual set and I'm sure curiosity will get the better of me eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 3 minutes ago, elizium said: A rip card is a card that you literally rip open and it has another, rarer card inside. I'll probably end up ripping it, because I'm not in it to sell, just to collect the actual set and I'm sure curiosity will get the better of me eventually. Nothing quite like saying "our regular product is garbage". Sorry, but with most of my adult life spent in marketing, that has to be one of the stupidest concepts I've ever heard of (and believe me, I've heard of some really asinine concepts.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Jose Reyes is trash so it's only right to rip his rip card. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now