Hello all...just some random thoughts that pop into my head during the week that I thought would be worth sharing.
- Please somebody tell me what the reasoning is behind Topps numbering system for their Update set last year. Every time I read a "US-000" number on the card, I feel like I should be reading a road map looking for the nearest state route. Maybe Topps can't count as high as 990?
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| Anyone know where US-8 is? |
- Personally, I'm tired of the Sidney Crosby "saga". Every day here in western PA all I hear is "there's no change in Sid's condition". Please update me when there is a change!! Yes, he's good for hockey blah blah blah, but again, much like the football lockout, the drama just gets too much exposure and I'll be ready for Luke Schenn to take Crosby out again with a clean body check.
- I'm sitting here thinking to myself , boy I wish there was a decent minor league team close by that I could go watch for cheap. Then I chuckle and think to myself....the Pirates are only an hour away..
- I am very curious to see what happens to Topps baseball products next year if Panini makes as big a splash as everybody hopes they will. If Panini is a hit, does Topps have the lead time to make changes to their products? I mean, if Topps has already released the design for their 2012 baseball products (base set and Heritage are pretty much set right now..) what are they going to do to respond?
- Your Thursday music is from a band that I didn't even know was Dutch...I learn more and more as I continue blogging..... Golden Earring...Radar love
I wish Topps would just call Update what it really is - Series 3 and number to 990. Maybe marketing the set as "Update" gets more sales. And I suppose this way the full factory set can be released in time for the All-Star game.
ReplyDeleteIf Panini is successful, Topps will probably make real changes with the 2013 products. They might try some stuff with Update, or a release or two at the end of the year, but they probably won't do too much to start the year. They may toss some additional promotions out, like wrapper redemptions or in-store deals like Panini's player of the day.
Ryan, do you think they have any kind of chance to make changes to the 2012 lineup? A whole year of what some people consider a tired product line may sway them to move completely to Panini...just curious
ReplyDeleteI don't see Topps changing much of its flagship or legacy product lines. Most of what Topps issues is what's expected, and Topps is proud of that. I was thinking about this last night after reading that Finest is nearly 2 decades old and Chrome is 15 years old, plus Bowman is over 20 years old. They've worked hard to develop those product lines into brands that people look forward to every year.
ReplyDeleteThey could tweak the sets a bit, and they will probably do just that. There might be more or better hits in the boxes, an improved insert or parallel offering, etc. There could be some new or returning issues that are different from the usual throwback sets.
I don't think people are going to move completely to Panini. Too many people put together the flagship Topps and won't abandon it. The Bowman line is "the" place to get rookies, and none of the other unlicensed issues like Just and TriStar have done anything to change that. Ginter wasn't hurt by Goodwin Champions (just crappy hits). If Panini issues some great high-end sets, Topps will take a hit on those. Panini's mid-range sets (~$5 a pack) could affect Topps' sales of sets like Chrome and Finest. But I don't see total abandonment from the collecting core.