I am currently in the process of working on a couple of giveaway ideas and a marketing program in conjunction with a trading card publisher.  Other websites will be involved in this.  One of the things that the publish would like is for me to send out an email blast to my readers informing them of the contest information.  Personally, I hate mass mailings with a passion for obvious reasons.

That being said, I do have the email addresses for a number of fellow bloggers and (of course) everyone who has posted a comment on my blog.  Here’s what I’m asking you:  If you have commented before, and do not want any email from me, leave a comment saying so.  If you have not left a comment, and are willing to receive this email, please leave a comment, although you don’t have to put your email in the comment itself.

Things I will not use your email address for:

• Selling or giving to others
• Sending out alerts of eBay auctions or any other marketing purpose.
• Nothing without posting on the blog first and giving you an option to opt out.

In other words, you’ll never get a blind mail from me unless it’s something like, “hey guys, I’m changing my email / website / the end of the world is coming”.  I do, however, reserve the right to possibly use your email address to possibly randomly go at some point via email “First X people to respond win something.”  I’m not saying I will, I’m just leaving myself an out.

Thanks!

Release Date: October 13, 2010
Price Point: Approximately $4-5 per pack, $77 per box from Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 4 cards per pack, 18 packs per box and 12 boxes per case.
Hit Ratios: One chrome autograph per box, one Team USA autograph per every 5 boxes, 7 inserts and 7 parallels per box.

Product Information:

• 180 veteran cards (1-180)
• 40 rookie cards (181-220)
• 220 prospect cards (BCP1-BCP-220)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 (20 cards, 1:4.5 packs)
• Topps 100 Prospects (100 cards, 1:6 packs)

Autographs, Relics and Parallels:

• Bowman Chrome Autograph Cards (25 cards, 1:18 packs)
• Bowman Chrome Autograph Blue Refractor (#’d to 150)
• Bowman Chrome Autograph Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Bowman Chrome Autograph Orange Refractor (#’d to 25)
• Bowman Chrome Autograph Red Refractor (#’d ot 50)
• Bowman Chrome Autograph Superfractor (1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Bowman Chrome Autograph Printing Plates (4 each, 1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Bowman Chrome Prospect Refractor (#’d to 500)
• Bowman Chrome Prospect Blue Refractor (#’d to 199)
• Bowman Chrome Prospect Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Bowman Chrome Prospect Orange Refractor (#’d to 25)
• Bowman Chrome Prospect Red Refractor (#’d to 5)
• Bowman Chrome Prospect Superfractor (1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Bowman Chrome Printing Plates (4 each, 1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Bowman Chrome Refractor (#’d to 550)
• Bowman Chrome Blue Refractor (#’d to 150)
• Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor (#’d to 25)
• Bowman Chrome Red Refractor (#’d to 5)
• Bowman Chrome Superfractor (1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Autographs (20 cards, 1:5 boxes)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Autograph Refractor (#’d to 199)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Autograph Blue Refractor (#’d to 99)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Autograph Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Autograph Orange Refractor (#’d to 25)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Autograph Red Refractor (#’d to 5)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Autograph Superfractor (1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Printing Plates (4 each, 1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Team USA Baseball Dual Autograph Cards (10 cards, #’d to 500)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Refractor (#’d to 500)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Blue Refractor (#’d to 150)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Orange Refractor (#’d to 25)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Red Refractor (#’d to 5)
• Team USA Baseball Under 18 Superfractor (1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• Topps 100 Prospects Refractor (#’d to 499)
• Topps 100 Prospects Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Topps 100 Prospects Superfractor (1/1, Hobby Exclusive)
• MLB Logoman Patch Cards (5 cards, #’d to 50, Hobby Exclusive)

Of course, the Prospects, autographs and parallels are what’s going to drive this product.  I honestly feel that Topps needs to shake up Topps/Bowman Chrome and add a second autograph to the product, however since the product seems to sell solidly every year, I don’t foresee that changing at all.  I’m going to be chasing prospect autos of Brett Wallace, as well as my standard set of base cards.  Strasburg, Austin Jackson, Starlin Castro, Aroldis Chapman and others will be all over this product and there will probably be some huge prospects.  We’ll see more once the checklist is finalized, and we’ll see this product around the middle of next month.

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For the most part, Artifacts has had a decent, classic design without any strange graphical oddities, featuring short-printed rookie cards and a healthy amount of memorabilia inserts.  2010-11 Artifacts appears to continue this trend.

Release Date: October 12, 2010
Price Point: Approximately $10/pack or $80 per box from Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 4 cards per pack, 10 packs per box, 16 boxes per case.
Hit Ratios: Each box will contain 3 memorabilia cards with at least one being of two or three players, one Auto-Facts signature card, two rookie cards, one rookie redemption, two legend or star cards and one parallel.

Product Information:

• 100 card base set (1-100)
• Artifacts Rookies (1:5 packs, #’d to 999)
• Artifacts Rookie Redemption Cards (1:10 packs)
• Short-printed Legends/Stars (1:5 packs, #’d to 999)

Autographs, Relics and Parallels:

• Base Gold Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Base Silver Rainbow Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Base Gold Rainbow Parallel (#’d to 10)
• Base Black Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Base Black Auto Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Legends Gold Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Legends Silver Rainbow Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Legends Gold Rainbow Paralle (#’d to 10)
• Legends Black Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Legends Black Autograph Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Stars Gold Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Stars Silver Rainbow Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Stars Gold Rainbow Parallel (#’d to 10)
• Stars Black Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Stars Black Autograph Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Artifacts Rookies Gold Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Artifacts Rookies Silver Rainbow Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Artifacts Rookies Gold Rainbow Parallel (#’d to 10)
• Artifacts Rookies Black Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Artifacts Rookies Black Autograph Parallel (#’d to 5)
• Treasured Swatches (#’d to 150)
• Treasured Swatches Copper (#’d to 50)
• Treasured Swatches Blue (#’d to 35)
• Treasured Swatches Red (#’d to 15)
• Treasured Swatches Gold (#’d to 5)
• Treasured Swatches Black (1/1)
• Treasured Swatches Patch Blue (#’d to 50)
• Treasured Swatches Patch Red (#’d to 25)
• Treasured Swatches Patch Gold (#’d to 15)
• Treasured Swatches Tag Black (#’d to 5)
• Frozen Artifacts (#’d to 150)
• Frozen Artifacts Copper (#’d to 50)
• Frozen Artifacts Blue (#’d to 35)
• Frozen Artifacts Red (#’d to 15)
• Frozen Artifacts Black (1/1)
• Frozen Artifacts Patch Blue (#’d to 50)
• Frozen Artifacts Patch Red (#’d to 25)
• Frozen Artifacts Patch Gold (#’d to 15)
• Frozen Artifacts Tag Black (#’d to 5)
• Tundra Tandems Dual Jerseys (#’d to 65)
• Tundra Tandems Dual Jerseys Silver (#’d to 35)
• Tundra Tandems Dual Jerseys Gold (#’d to 10)
• Tundra Tandems Dual Jerseys Blue (1/1)
• Tundra Tandems Dual Patches Bronze (#’d to 35)
• Tundra Tandems Dual Patches Silver (#’d to 15)
• Tundra Tandems Dual Patches Gold (#’d to 5)
• Tundra Trios Triple Jerseys (#’d to 50)
• Tundra Trios Triple Jerseys Silver (#’d to 15)
• Tundra Trios Triple Jerseys Gold (#’d to 5)
• Tundra Trios Triple Jerseys Blue (1/1)
• Tundra Trios Triple Patches Bronze (#’d to 35)
• Tundra Trios Triple Patches Silver (#’d to 15)
• Tundra Trios Triple Patches Gold (#’d to 5)
• Auto-Facts (1:10 packs)
• Auto-Facts Black Parallel (#’d to 5)

At $10 per pack and something in every pack, be it a relic, autograph short-printed rookie, legend, star or parallel, this product has some pretty solid value, similar to how Panini Certified does things.  I like how the relic cards have the player photo to one side and the relics on the other side, giving the card some balance.  I’m not sure how the base card autograph parallels are going to look, but overall I like how this set is designed.

Of course, as with any set, we’ll have to see how it looks at least, and how it sits on the secondary market in order to get a true sense of its value.  However, so far, so good.

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Release Date: October 10, 2010
Price Point: Approximately $3.50-4/pack, $59 per box at Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 4 cards per pack, 24 packs per box, 12 boxes per case.
Hit Ratios: 1 Rookie Autograph per box.

Product Information:

• 220 card base set (110 veterans and 110 rookies)
• Topps Reprints (20 cards)
• Gridiron Lineage (20 cards)
• Bowman Chrome Rookies (30 cards)

Autographs, Relics and Parallels:

• Base Refractor (1:3 packs)
• Blue Refractor (#’d to 199)
• Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Red Refractor (#’d to 25, Hobby Only)
• Printing Plate (1/1, Hobby Only)
• Superfractor (1/1, Hobby Only)
• Topps Reprints Refractors (#’d to 99)
• Topps Reprints Refractor Autograph (#’d to 10)
• Gridiron Lineage Refractors (#’d to 99)
• Gridiron Lineage Dual Refractor Autographs (#’d to 5)
• Rookie Red Zone On-Card Autographs (35 cards, Hobby Only)
• Bowman Chrome Rookie Refractors (#’d to 99)
• Bowman Chrome Rookie Autograph Refractors (#’d to 25)
• Rookie Autographs (40 cards, 1:24 packs)
• Rookie Autograph Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Rookie Autograph Black Refractor (#’d to 25)
• Rookie Autograph Gold Refractor (#’d to 10)
• Rookie Autograph Superfractor (1/1, hobby only)
• Rookie Autograph Patches (#’d to 25, hobby only)
• Dual Rookie Autographs (5 cards, #’d to 25)
• Triple Rookie Autographs (1 card, #’d to 10)

As I said, I really like Topps Chrome in general.  The cards always look fairly good and they’re fun to open.  I like the retail because of the parallels that are only there (X-Fractors and before 2010 Blue Refractors).  Also, almost every pack has either a rookie card, insert, or a parallel in the retail format.  It may be that they’ve adjusted 2010 so that Hobby and Retail have (mostly) the same pool of cards to select from.

While I’m slightly upset that Bowman Chrome isn’t a standalone set this year, I am glad that Topps added it to the set.  Personally, I would have liked to see the rainbow of refractors for the Bowman Chrome inserts, but we can live without them.   The only thing that jumps out at me as something that really isn’t needed are the patch autographs.  Patches + Chrome rarely work well, as we saw in Finest.   I’ll probably be picking up quite a bit of this for trade bait.  Welcome back, Topps.

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Release Date: October 6, 2010
Price Point: $5/pack, $43/box at Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 5 cards/pack, 10 packs/box, 20 boxes/case.
Hit Ratios: 3 autographs or memorabilia, 2 parallels, 6 rookies and 2 other inserts or parallels per box.

Product Information:

• 165 card base set (1-165)
• 135 card short-printed rookie set (166-300, 1:1.6 packs)
• Prime Cuts (10 cards)
• Crosstraining (35 cards)
• Studio Rookies (35 cards)
• Studio Combo Rookies (10 cards)
• Gold Stars (15 cards)

Parallels and GU/AU info:

• Longevity (#’d to 249)
• Longevity Holofoil (#’d to 99)
• Longevity Gold (#’d to 49)
• Longevity Platinum (#’d to 25)
• Emerald Materials Prime Longevity (#’d to 50 or less)
• Black Prime Materials Longevity (#’d to 25 or less)
• Signatures (#’d to 100)
• Team Chemistry Signatures (10 cards)
• Prime Cuts Signatures (#’d to 25 or less)
• Prime Cuts Combos (#’d to 50 or less)
• Prime Cuts Combos Signatures (#’d to 25 or less)
• Statistical Standouts Materials (15 cards)
• Statistical Standouts Signature Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Statistical Standouts Prime Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Statistical Standouts Signature Prime Materials (#’d to 10 or less)
• Crosstraining Gold (#’d to 500)
• Crosstraining Black (#’d to 100)
• Crosstraining Materials (#’d to 299 or less)
• Crosstraining Prime Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Studio Rookies Gold (#’d to 500)
• Studio Rookies Black (#’d to 100)
• Studio Rookies Materials (#’d to 299 or less)
• Studio Rookies Prime Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Studio Combo Rookies Gold (#’d to 500)
• Studio Combo Rookies Black (#’d to 100)
• Studio Combo Rookies Materials (#’d to 299 or less)
• Studio Combo Rookies Prime Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Gold Stars Gold (#’d to 500)
• Gold Stars Black (#’d to 100)
• Gold Stars Signatures (#’d to 50 or less)
• Gold Stars Materials (#’d to 299 or less)
• Gold Stars Prime Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Dress for Success Jerseys (35 cards)
• Dress for Success Jerseys Signatures (#’d to 100 or less)
• Dress for Success Prime Jerseys (#’d to 50 or less)
• Dress for Success Prime Jerseys Signatures (#’d to 10 or less)
• Freshman Orientation Jerseys (35 cards)
• Freshman Orientation Jerseys Signatures (#’d to 100 or less)
• Freshman Orientation Prime Jerseys (#’d to 50 or less)
• Freshman Orientation Prime Jerseys Signatures (#’d to 10 or less)

You have to presume that these will be parallels to the original release.  If they’re not, however, these boxes are going to be a solid product.  Why spend $80+ for 4 hits and 4 rookies when you can spend a bit over half of that amount and get three hits and 6 rookies?  My gut instinct tells me that these are going to be parallels but the sales sheet really doesn’t help.  Still, three hits for $40 is nothing to really sneeze at.  I still don’t really like the design of the cards, but the value may definitely be there.

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Panini has released information on their 2010 version of the product, so let’s get to the preview and see what they have in store for us.

Release Date: October 6, 2010.
Price Point: $40/pack or $140/box at Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 4 cards per pack, 4 packs per box, 18 boxes per case.
Hit Ratios: Each box will contain:  1 autographed rookie or veteran #’d to 299 or less, 1 rookie NFL die-cut material auto #’d to 299 or less, 2 memorabilia #’d to 100 or less, 2 rookies #’d to 299 or less and 2 inserts or parallels.

Product Information:

• Base card set (1-100)
• Short-printed rookies (101-200, #’d to 299 or less)
• Ground Hoggs Spectrum (25 cards)
• Gridiron Force Spectrum (25 cards)
• Marks of Fame Spectrum (25 cards)
• Absolute Heroes spectrum (25 cards)
• Canton Absolutes Spectrum (25 cards)
• Star Gazing Spectrum (35 cards)
• NFL Icons Spectrum (30 cards)
• War Room Spectrum (35 cards)

Autographs, Relics and Parallels:

• Spectrum Silver Base parallel (#’d to 25)
• Spectrum Gold Base parallel (#’d to 10)
• Spectrum Platinum Base parallel (#’d to 5)
• Spectrum Gold Autograph (#’d to 299 or less)
• Spectrum Platinum Autograph (#’d to 25 or less)
• Ground Hoggs Signature Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Ground Hoggs Signature Prime Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Ground Hoggs Signature Materials Jersey Number (#’d to 50 or less)
• Ground Hoggs Signature Prime Materials Jersey Number (#’d to 25 or less)
• Ground Hoggs Prime Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Gridiron Force Signature Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Gridiron Force Signature Prime Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Gridiron Force Signature Materials Jersey Number (#’d to 50 or less)
• Gridiron Force Signature Prime Materials Jersey Number (#’d to 25 or less)
• Gridiron Force Prime Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Marks of Fame Signature Materials (#’d to 100 or less)
• Marks of Fame Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Marks of Fame Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 50 or less)
• Absolute Heroes Signature Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Absolute Heroes Signature Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 10 or less)
• Absolute Heroes Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 50 or less)
• Canton Absolutes Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 50 or less)
• Star Gazing Signature Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Star Gazing Signature Prime Materials (#’d to 10 or less)
• Star Gazing Jumbo Jersey Number (#’d to 10 or less)
• Star Gazing Prime Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Star Gazing Jumbo Jersey Number Prime (#’d to 25 or less)
• Star Gazing Jumbo Prime Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• NFL Icons Signature Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• NFL Icons Signature Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 10 or less)
• NFL Icons Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• War Room Signature Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• War Room Signature Prime Materials (#’d to 10 or less)
• War Room Jumbo Jersey Number (#’d to 10 or less)
• War Room Prime Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• War Room Jumbo Jersey Number Prime (#’d to 25 or less)
• War Room Jumbo Prime Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Rookie Premiere Materials (35 cards, #’d to 299 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Prime Materials Spectrum (50 cards, #’d to 100 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Prime Materials Signature Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Prime Materials Spectrum Jumbo (#’d to 50 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Prime Materials Jumbo Jersey Number (#’d to 25 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Double Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 50 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Double Prime Materials Signature Spectrum (#’d to 50 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Green Signature Triple Materials (#’d to 50 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Triple Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 50 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black Triple Prime Materials Signature Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Tools of the Trade Black NFL Shield (1/1)
• Tools of the Trade Black NFL Shield Signatures (1/1)
• Team Tandems Materials (20 cards, #’d to 100 or less)
• Team Tandems Materials Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Team Trios NFL Materials (20 cards, #’d to 100 or less)
• Team Trios NFL Materials Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Team Quads Team Die Cut Materials (10 cards, #’d to 100 or less)
• Team Quads Team Die Cut Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Canton Absolutes Signature Materials (#’d to 25 or less)
• Canton Absolutes Signature Prime Materials Spectrum (#’d to 10 or less)
• Absolute Patches Jumbo Prime Spectrum (40 cards, #’d to 100 or less)

As I said, I have a love/hate relationship with this product.  There’s no doubt that it has some very nice hits, and I do like my Mario Williams card from the 2006 set in my collection.  That said, 16 cards for $140+ really just …. doesn’t sit well with me.  I’m not saying it’s a bad set, but it’s definitely a gamble and that needs to be known going into the set.

Having the memorabilia cards to 100 or less and the autographs to 299 or less (and the rookies) is definitely a plus.  I don’t know if the RPMs are to 299 or less (or 100 or less) or if they’ll be the standard 849 that they’ve been recently.  Cutting the amount of numbered card definitely will help the product in my mind, although part of me really thinks that Absolute Memorabilia needs a revamp to drop it to a 18-24 pack/box product, but that’s a fight for another day.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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12►

You’ve already seen the video, and I’ve had some time to do some research and really think about how I feel about this product, so let’s hit the review, shall we?

Release Date: July 21, 2010
Price Point: Approximately $50/pack or $250 per box at Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 5 cards per pack, 6 packs per box, 4 boxes per mini-case, 2 mini-cases per master case.
Hit Ratios: 1 auto/relic per pack, at least three autographs per box, and at least one parallel per pack.

Product Information:

• 75 veterans & retired players (1-75)
• 15 A Tribute to the Stars (T205 style, 76-90)
• 10 Greatest Rivalries Revisited (91-100)

Autographs, Relics and Parallels:

• Blue Refractor (#’d to 399)
• Black Refractor (#’d to 99)
• Black & White Refractor (#’d to 99)
• Gold Refractor (#’d to 50)
• Red Refractor (1/1)
• Printing Plate (4 1/1s)
• Franchise Feats Relic (10 cards, #’d to 25)
• Franchise Feats Relic Red (1/1)
• MLB Logo Patch (5 cards, #’d to 50)
• Tribute Autographed Relics (100 cards, #’d to 99)
• Tribute Autographed Dual Relics (20 cards, #’d to 99)
• Tribute Autographed Triple Relics (14 cards, #’d to 99)
• Franchise Tributes Autograph Cuts (10 cards, 1/1)
• Tribute Relics (100 cards, #’d to 99)
• Tribute Dual Relics (21 cards, #’d to 99)
• Tribute Triple Relics (11 cards, #’d to 99)
• Rivalries Revisited Autograph Cuts (10 cards, 1/1)
• Legendary Lineups (5 cards, 1/1)
• Blue Relic Parallel (#’d to 75)
• Black Relic Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Gold Relic Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Red Relic Parallel (1/1)
• Blue Dual Relic Parallel (#’d to 75)
• Black Dual Relic Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Gold Dual Relic Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Red Dual Relic Parallel (1/1)
• Blue Triple Relic Parallel (#’d to 75)
• Black Triple Relic Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Gold Triple Relic Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Red Triple Relic Parallel (1/1)
• Blue Autographed Relic Parallel (#’d to 75)
• Black Autographed Relic Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Gold Autographed Relic Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Red Autographed Relic Parallel (1/1)
• Blue Autographed Dual Relic Parallel (#’d to 75)
• Black Autographed Dual Relic Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Gold Autographed Dual Relic Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Red Autographed Dual Relic Parallel (1/1)
• Blue Autographed Triple Relic Parallel (#’d to 75)
• Black Autographed Triple Relic Parallel (#’d to 50)
• Gold Autographed Triple Relic Parallel (#’d to 25)
• Red Autographed Triple Relic Parallel (1/1)

Box Contents:

• 30 total cards
• 18/100 base cards (0 duplicates)
• 3 blue parallels (Barack Obama vs. John McCain 394/399, Adrian Gonzalez 64/399 and Stan Musial 191/399)
• 1 Black parallel (Moby Dick vs. Captain Ahab 23/99)
• 1 Black and White parallel (Red Schoendienst 53/99)
• 1 Gold parallel (John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon 50/50)
• 1 Tribute Relic (Rod Carew 49/99)
• 1 Blue Relic (Stan Musial 34/75)
• 1 Black Relic (Dennis Eckersley 13/50)
• 2 Tribute Autographed Relics (Bengie Molina 27/99 and Chone Figgins 88/99)
• 1 Blue Autographed Relic (Clayton Kershaw 4/75)

For the most part, I really like the base card design.  They’re similar to 2009′s product and are using the refractor technology that Topps uses so well.  The cards are thick with good heft and have blurbs on the back for the players.  the T205 cards later in the set are especially nice and have even more data.  The one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb here, though, are the Rivalry cards.  For one thing, they have nothing to do with baseball.  This would be fine in a low end product, but at about $10 per card (retail cost), this is insane and a waste of space.  Just off the top of my head I can think of 10 rivalry cards which would fit:  Yankees vs. Red Sox.  Mantle vs. Maris.  McGwire vs. Sosa.  Cubs vs. White Sox.  Yankees vs. Mets.  Giants vs. Athletics.  Astros vs. Cardinals.  Nolan Ryan vs. Steve Carlton.  Hank Aaron vs. Babe Ruth.  Barry Bonds vs. Hank Aaron.  No card in a high end product should be about something other than the sport the set is designed around.  This is a huge design failure from Topps.

The collation for the base cards is fine, but when you’re only getting about 1/6 of the base set per box, it’s hard to screw that up.  The parallels, on the other hand, seem to be heavily skewed in this box towards the final ten cards in the set, as three of the six parallels were from those.   There aren’t any inserts in this product, which is honestly a good thing, as they aren’t needed.

Finding the value of a product is very difficult, especially when it’s a higher end product aimed at gamblers such as Topps Tribute tends to be.  For one, some of the hits could have great sentimental value, as you’ve got a paralell and relic of Stan Musial as well as relics of Rod Carew and Dennis Eckersley.  While two of the autographs are perhaps iffy, Clayton Kershaw is a solid player and his autograph isn’t a bad thing.  The overabundance of rivalry parallels water down things on that end.  Now, for those who go by Beckett Value, this actually isn’t a bad value box, coming in at about $200 through their price guide.  On eBay, though, you can get a different picture.  Base cards of most players fetch a dollar (when they sell at all).  The parallels don’t do much better with only the Musial and JFK parallels really getting anything on eBay:  a combined $21.  The relic prices on eBay paint a very clear picture:  Single-color relics are dead.  The fact that a $50/pack product contains these is ludicrous in the extreme.  While I can understand it for some of the older Hall of Famers, any player from the 80s through the present shouldn’t feature single color (especially white) swatches on a high end product.  Ever.  Yes, they cost more to produce, but when you’re buying high end, don’t you expect to actually get a high end product as opposed to a swatch that could have come from just any card? The relics in this box have sold recently on eBay for anywhere from $2-15 each, all but one commonly going for under $10.

The one thing that probably drives sales is the fun factor.  Let’s be honest, paying money for a pack of cards, especially at this price, is a gamble.  You get ecstatic when you hit it big, and you can crash when you get packs or boxes with nothing of any real value in them.  I’m not saying that it’s wrong to have products with the gamble.  People love them and love to gamble in general.  Most of my issues with the product revolve around the checklist itself and the use of single-color swatches in a high-end product.  You can’t expect to hit it big every time as this box plainly shows.  I like the base card design in this, as well as some of the background on the relic cards.  I don’t like the use of the gaudy silver stickers for the autographs, but I’ve said that every time I’ve seen them, so that’s really no surprise.

The biggest problem is that this is marketed and sold as a high end product, and the hits in it simply aren’t high end.  They’re mid-range at best, and that’s being generous.  If you saw any other card without the shiny refractor tech that had a silver sticker auto of Bengie Molina and a  piece of bat, or Clayton Kershaw and a single white swatch of fabric, you’d expect it out of a lower end product.  That’s the true failure of Topps Tribute.

Grades:

• Base Set:  8/10
• Collation:  9/10
• Inserts:  N/A
• Value:  6/10
• Fun Factor:  7/10
• Overall:  7/10

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* Gold parallels (#’d to 2010)
* Black parallels (#’d to 55; Hobby/Jumbo only)
* Printing Plates (1/1; Hobby/Jumbo only)
* Platinum parallels (1/1)
* 75th Anniversary NFL Draft Cut Signatures (75 cards, 1/1)
* 75th Anniversary NFL Draft Autographs (50 cards, #’d to 10)
* Sketch Cards (1/1, Hobby/Jumbo only)
* NFL Rookie Premiere Autographs (35 cards, #’d to 90)
* NFL Rookie Premiere Red Autographs (#’d to 10)
* NFL Rookie Premiere Dual Autographs (5 cards, #’d to 25)
* NFL Rookie Premiere Dual Red Autographs (#’d to 5)
* NFL Rookie Premiere Quad Autographs (1 card, #’d to 10)
* Gridiron Lineage Dual Relics (10 cards, #’d to 50)
* Gridiron Lineage Dual Autographs (15 cards, #’d to 25)
* Peak Performance Autographs (58 cards)
* Peak Performance Autograph Relics (15 cards, #’d to 50, hobby/jumbo only)
* Peak Performance Jumbo Relics (20 cards, #’d to 20, hobby/jumbo only)
* Peak Performance Relics (42 cards)
* In the Name Relics (25 cards, 1/1, hobby/jumbo only)
* Rookie Red Zone on-card autographs (35 cards, jumbo only)

Release Date: September 29, 2010
Price Point: $4/pack or $75 per box at Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 8 cards per pack, 24 packs per box, 12 boxes per case.
Hit Ratios: Each box will contain one autograph and one NBA Auto Draft Class #’d to 499 and two memorabilia cards per box.  Each pack will contain one rookie.

Product Information:

• 150 card base set (1-150)
• 100 card rookie set (151-250, 1 per pack)
• Stars of the NBA (15 cards)
• Inside the Numbers (10 cards)
• Old School (20 cards)
• Playmakers (20 cards)
• NBA Draft Class (35 cards)
• Prestigious Pros Green (65 cards)
• Prestigious Picks Green (35 cards)

Autographs, Relics and Parallels:

• Bonus Shots Gold (#’d to 249)
• Bonus Shots Purple (#’d to 49)
• Bonus Shots Green (#’d to 25)
• Bonus Shots Black (#’d to 10)
• Draft Picks Rights (#’d to 199 or less)
• Bonus Shots Black Signatures (#’d to 99 or less)
• Draft Picks Light Blue (#’d to 999)
• Stars of the NBA Materials (#’d to 249 or less)
• Stars of the NBA Materials Prime (#’d to 49 or less)
• Stars of the NBA Signatures (#’d to 25 or less)
• Inside the Numbers Materials (#’d to 249 or less)
• Inside the Numbers Prime (#’d to 49 or less)
• Inside the Numbers (#’d to 25 or less)
• Old School Materials (#’d to 249 or less)
• Old School Materials Prime (#’d to 49 or less)
• Old School Signatures (#’d to 49 or less)
• Playmakers Materials (#’d to 249 or less)
• Playmakers Materials Prime (#’d to 49 or less)
• Playmakers Signatures (#’d to 49 or less)
• NBA Draft Class Signatures (#’d to 249 or less)
• NBA Draft Class Draft Logo (#’d to 349 or less)
• NBA Draft Class NBA Logoman (#’d to 10 or less)
• Prestigious Pros Gold (#’d to 99)
• Prestigious Pros Black (#’d to 25)
• Prestigious Pros Platinum (#’d to 10)
• Prestigious Pros Materials Green (#’d to 499 or less)
• Prestigious Pros Materials Gold (#’d to 99 or less)
• Prestigious Pros Materials Black (#’d to 25 or less)
• Prestigious Pros Patches Platinum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Prestigious Pros Signatures Black (#’d to 49 or less)
• Prestigious Picks Gold (#’d to 99)
• Prestigious Picks Black (#’d to 25)
• Prestigious Picks Platinum (#’d to 10)
• Prestigious Picks Materials Green (#’d to 499 or less)
• Prestigious Picks Materials Gold (#’d to 99 or less)
• Prestigious Picks Materials Black (#’d to 25 or less)
• Prestigious Picks Patches Platinum (#’d to 25 or less)
• Prestigious Picks Signatures Black (#’d to 49 or less)

Some of the things that Panini is promising with this product is the first NBA Licensed rookie cards of John Wall, over 20,000 on-card autographs and the first on-card autographs of the NBA Rookie Class including exclusive athletes Evan Turner and Wesley Johnson.  They’re also promising the first autographs of Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer with their new teams, except that as these are likely sticker autographs, this just means that they’re the first cards of those players that they’ve put the autograph stickers on.  If these are on-card, I’ll be highly surprised.

Still, as the first NBA product of the 2010-2011 trading card season, these will likely do very well, as we’ll see at the end of September.

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Release Date: September 8, 2010.
Price Point: Approximately $4 per pack or $78 per box at Blowout Cards.
Product Loadout: 8 cards per pack, 24 packs per box, 12 boxes per case.
Hit Ratios: Each box will contain:  4 autographs or memorabilia card with at least one guaranteed autograph, 6 rookies, 4 parallels, 2 Generations, 3 Century Stars, 2 Century Legends, 1 Triple Threat, 1 Pro Gridiron Kings and one other insert of parallel.  

Product Information:

• 150 card base set (1-150)
• 50 card short-printed rookie set (151-200, 1:4 packs, #’d to 999 presumably)
• Generations (15 cards, 1:12 packs)
• Century Stars (25 cards, 1:8 packs)
• Century Legends (15 cards, 1:12 packs)
• Triple Threat (10 cards, 1:24 packs)
• Pro Gridiron Kings (50 cards, 1:24 packs)
• 2009 All-Rookie Team (5 cards)

Autographs, Relics and Parallels:

So, let’s take a look at the cards.  I didn’t buy very much of the 2009 product for a number of reasons.  The base cards look similar to 2009′s, except they actually removed half of the ‘slanted line design’ to give more of the card over to the photos.  This is a vast improvement, although the diagonal line / graffiti thing that’s going through Panini’s products has gotten extremely old.  The All-Rookie Team cards are new this year, and the base version will actually look fairly good, as will the auto/relic version.  The relic-only version will have a floating swatch, but it’s not in the middle of the player so I can live with it.

Century Legends is similar to last year’s card except horizontal instead of vertical.  I’m not sure if there’s really a good way to do a swatch on a horizontal card, but without the swatches, these cards also don’t look half bad, really.  The only real change in the Rookie Class cards is using pro uniforms photos instead of college photos. I like the change in the border on the Pro Gridiron Kings, but the placement of the dual swatches and autograph on the Prime Signature variations is horrid, blocking the view of the player himself.  These either need to scale back on the auto/relic variations (since they already have like four parallels alone), or find a better way of designing these.

Game Day Jerseys appears to be a new relic-based insert, and I think it needs to go.  Why on earth you’d call an insert after jerseys, and not design said insert around the jersey I’ll never know.  This needs bigger swatches and needs to have the swatch be the focus of the card, otherwise it’s ‘just another card’.  Franchise Fabrics may be new as well and suffers from the exact same design problem as Game Day Jerseys.  Small swatches that aren’t really the focal point of the card.

The Triple Threat cards look much nicer than the diagonal mess from last year although I’m less certain about the borders around the relic pieces.  The Rookie Collection cards don’t look half-bad.  As with many of Panini’s products, expect a lot of stickers simply due to the sheer volume of autographs in the product.

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