Really enjoyed my read of the June/July edition. Thought Roxanne's article (title above) was first class and something that does need to be looked at Certainly the number of inserts puts me off buying a box or 2

I enjoyed this article as well but I came up with a couple of other problems/realities as well.

1. I think that film and TV card collectors over 30 remember a time when buying cards was about the closest you were ever going to get to owning a piece of your favorite title. We didnt have the promise of TV Land, Nicolodean, DVD's, PPV and the internet to provide us with permanant copies or re-runs of our top flicks. I remember wondering if Star Wars was ever going to be on Network TV just so I could see it again. Anyone remember the short 8mm film you could buy??? Today's kids are hammered with a title so much that by the time six months has past they dont even like it anymore and they are looking for something new. I think this current trend hurts things like card collecting.
Personally, collecting the instert autographs, sketches and costumes has the same impact on me now that collecting regular cards did back then for the exact same reasons.


2. The "cheaper" retail packs that were designed to interest kids into collecting cost just as much as the hobby packs in many of the department stores I go into. Also, you usually cant get a buy by the box discount so the check out person just mulitiplies number of packs times price per pack. You can buy the movie for cheaper than a hand full of card packs and honestly....if we had that opition when we were kids....wouldnt you have taken it???


Anyway...just my two cents worth.

I agree and have to add that the card companies are pricing people out of the hobby let alone the kids who only have their pocket money. Over here in the UK Toyrus had Star Wars Heritage for something like £3.50 a packet I think it was way over the top and if the child gets £10 a week 2 packets and their money is more or less gone, and they lose interest as by the time they get near to a full set the shop has stocked something else.

Now as for the new Star Wars Evolution Update some of the odds there are again up there in fantasy land.
1/1 CUT SIGNATURES (ODDS 1:124,992 packs)
AUTOGRAPH CARDS (1:24 packs)
LEVEL A - 1:2,005 packs
Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker)
James Earl Jones (Darth Vader)

LEVEL B - 1:231 packs
Wayne Pygram (Governor Tarkin)
David Barclay (Jabba the Hutt)
Bob Keen (Jabba the Hutt)
John Coppinger (Jabba the Hutt)
Mike Edmonds (Jabba the Hutt)
Mike Quinn (Jabba the Hutt)
Toby Philpott (Jabba the Hutt)

LEVEL C - 1:81 packs
Sandi Finlay (Sly Moore)
Michael Kingma (Tarfful)
Michonne Bourriague (Aurra Sing)
Maria de Aragon (Greedo)
Richard LeParmentier (Admiral Motti)

LEVEL D - 1:259 packs
Nalini Krishan (Barriss Offee)

LEVEL E - 1:48 packs
Matt Sloan (Plo Koon)
Jesse Jensen (Saesee Tiin)
Zach Jensen (Kit Fisto)
Garrick Hagon (Biggs Darklighter)

SEQUENTIALLY NUMBERED LUKE AND LEIA CARDS (ODDS 1:1,975 packs)

GALAXY CRYSTAL CARDS (ODDS 1:4 packs)
PLUS RARE "EVOLUTION" INSERTS (EVOLUTION A ODDS 1:6 packs; EVOLUTION B ODDS 1:12 packs) AND CONNECTIONS CHECKLIST (ODDS 1:4 packs)

Now I see no reason with the cut cards and the Level A autos why Topps felt the need to make the odds so high on the Luke and Leia chase cards. These should have been a higher end chase that most people could have got a lot easier that 1 in 83 boxes. They are going down the slippery slope of sports cards and can only turn more people away from collecting that set and cards in general. I know many collectors that have looked at this set and said thanks but no thanks, I will pass on this. When will producers learn if you make things too hard and too expensive you will lose customers and collectors and in the long term that means profits. Will they listen probably not, will collectors walk away some probably and that will be the biggest shame of all.

Tat I know you are a big Star Wars fan, and its hard to turn your back on things you love.

I am very similar, in that I am a Star Wars fan too. Heritage made me mad with two difficult to obtain autos, but this set is a whole new ball game. If anything is going to put people off collecting this is. I am not going to bother buying any of this set as a protest. I have not obtained the promos. With this one you could buy 6 cases and still be way off getting a master set.

The purpose of collecting is to complete. Why oh why are Topps doing this?

I buy 90% Topps because of LOTR and Star Wars, the ROTS set was superb, lots of chase, and great for the collector.

Sorry I'm babbling now.....its time to go

I was put off getting Star Trek Arts and Images because the first level of chase was almost as big as the basic set, 61 Comic book art cards with 6 per box. Way to many.

Not that I intended my post to be a discussion on solely Star Wars cards...I personally think that the evolution 2 line up isnt that bad. If I dont pull a level A or Cut Sig I would rather have a level C or E. The level B autos are just flat out stupid (who would want them?) and I met Nalini Krishan and already have her autograph. And with as cheap as boxes are....its all good from my perspective.

Roxanne - thank you for the article in the current issue, I feel it's about time that these issues were raised.

I've certainly cut down on the number of cards I collect (recently, it's been the new Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids sets that I've been interested in, and I'm getting back into milkcaps). Maybe it's just me, but it feels as though there is less variety in the industry than there used to be, with individual licenses spawning a huge number of card sets. Here's what I currently find frustrating about the hobby:

- Retail pricing. This may just be a problem in the UK, but as TAT stated above, prices on some packs are ridiculous.
- Sketch cards in sets that don't warrant them. Sketch cards, I feel, belong in art, comic and animation sets. And they should be drawn by those involved in the production of the comic or cartoon. Why do we now have them in film and sci-fi sets, drawn by artists who have no connection with the licence? I'm not questioning the talent of some of these artists (many are extremely good) but I just feel that these cards seem out of place.
- The huge number of 'spin-off' card sets for particular licences (The quotable, the woman of, the art of...etc etc). Manufacturers, please give collectors something new!
- Cards that are sold individually as 'limited editions'. We're told these are collectable, and they do attract high prices. I find items that are sold cheaply and become collectable later on for whatever reason more interesting.
- The industry thinking too much about dealers and not collectors (for example, providing information and promos to dealers, not collectors and producing dealer-incentive cards)

I feel better now that's off my chest

Best,
Christopher

quote:

Originally posted by cdread:

- Retail pricing. This may just be a problem in the UK, but as TAT stated above, prices on some packs are ridiculous.

Harris has first hand knowledge of this and a photo to prove it.
James Bond 40th anniversary. £ 4.50 per pack.

Star Wars was the first cards I collect as a kid, and have been collecting ever since. But I now find myself buying those older cards rather than the new stuff just because of all the gimmicks that go with it. I cannot afford to put together a complete set of cards anymore with all the chases, so I can only imagine the impossibility of a kid today doing that.

I have also run into the case of Dad and Junior at the shop buying individual packs and going through them in store looking for chase cards. When they found a Battlestar Galactica costume card they got really excited and the kid asked how much it was worth. He planned to sell it on eBay. THAT has ruined the new cards for me.

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
Really enjoyed my read of the June/July edition. Thought Roxanne's article (title above) was first class and something that does need to be looked at Certainly the number of inserts puts me off buying a box or 2

I really liked this article as well. It makes me wonder if topps or inkworks or rittenhouse can indeed make a 99 cent pack with 10 cards and 1 sticker, on old school cardboard, just like the vintage star wars cards. Rittenhouse did that with the Colonial Warriors cards, it was an expansion set. To be honest, that expansion set, is the reason why I wanted to collect that set in the first place.

Think the card companies would give it a shot?

quote:

Originally posted by Lara7320:

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
Really enjoyed my read of the June/July edition. Thought Roxanne's article (title above) was first class and something that does need to be looked at Certainly the number of inserts puts me off buying a box or 2

I really liked this article as well. It makes me wonder if topps or inkworks or rittenhouse can indeed make a 99 cent pack with 10 cards and 1 sticker, on old school cardboard, just like the vintage star wars cards. Rittenhouse did that with the Colonial Warriors cards, it was an expansion set. To be honest, that expansion set, is the reason why I wanted to collect that set in the first place.

Think the card companies would give it a shot?

I would be very surprised if they did

I think you're probably right. The days of 72 cards and 11 stickers are over!

Maybe but why?

Is it down to profits?

It's indeed probably down to profits. But how many collectors would wanna have a simple pack with cards and stickers now that everybody is spoiled with pieceworks, autographs, ...

I always love to open an old box with the cards, stickers and gum. I usually buy some at the bay.

quote:

Originally posted by cdread:
- Sketch cards in sets that don't warrant them. Sketch cards, I feel, belong in art, comic and animation sets. And they should be drawn by those involved in the production of the comic or cartoon. Why do we now have them in film and sci-fi sets, drawn by artists who have no connection with the licence? I'm not questioning the talent of some of these artists (many are extremely good) but I just feel that these cards seem out of place.

I used to be one that thought that way too. But after seeing the LOTR Evolution sketches, I completely changed my mind. Those guys even got me to buy a case!

I sometimes long for the "good old days" of card collecting when base cards were the neatest thing in the world. If you got a sticker or a hologram it was just icing on the cake.

One of my first trading card box was Buffy Evolution in 2002, a creative successful set with very little inserts. The design of the base set is always the first thing I think about when a set is announced. I prefered the early boxes with pw and autos over those now, with little cards but quality ones. Too much repetitive signers or not really interesting extras. Always more autos, more pws, more x per sets, feels like the titanic.

I prefer those good old sets and very early auto/pw inserts, with no garantee in a box.

There are several simple pack sets out there though ususally only of stickers ( Pannini and Merlin mostly ) and the occasional cards and stickers set ( Cards Inc's Wallace and Grommit ) and of course the upcoming ( tomorrow! ) Doctor Who - Battles in Time

the old cards arent as good as the new inserts