I found the list on Beckett

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
I also didn't like him calling out signers that are unwell or saying some people will never sign again. There will be lots of excess stickers and you can never say who won't sign again, and get them while they are still alive is about as good a line as "Hubba Hubba".

Looks like there are still some in the vault for James Caan and Ray Liotta. Amanda Bynes' life is such a mess right it seems low to approach her. But I could be wrong.

Unfortunately Eastwood is going to sky rocket case prices. Will be interesting to see what his bold sig is going to look like jammed into a sticker.

Looks like my want list is at the usual 10 or so. Eastwood will most likely price me out immediately. A few I have been hoping would sign for quite some time now.

Lorraine Bracco
Jon Cryer
Macaulay Culkin
Harvey Keitel
Joe Pesci
Marisa Tomei (Duo card?)
and
Jean-Claude

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Dastick Jr.:
Eastwood recently did a private signing. Gray jumps on these for his own content. Cut signatures come from book signings, or music autos come from signed CDs. I'm sure they have their own means of procuring autos, but for many bigger names they go about obtaining them the same way anybody else can.

Interesting, at least from books and CD's the acquisition is cheap for him. I often laugh at his cut cards and ebay prices especially when the source material is still available. Paying full price at a private signing sounds more like he is purchasing advertising carrots for the new product. I'm sure there was no mention of how many Clints there would be?

If this is the case it sort makes me wonder about Tomei and Pesci as they have had recent signings as well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mykdude,

Wow! You can make a drinking game out of this video. Drink every time he shows you the rarest autograph in the world or says "real value" or "phenomenal".

This guy is full of ....!

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

Interesting, at least from books and CD's the acquisition is cheap for him. I often laugh at his cut cards and ebay prices especially when the source material is still available. Paying full price at a private signing sounds more like he is purchasing advertising carrots for the new product. I'm sure there was no mention of how many Clints there would be?

If this is the case it sort makes me wonder about Tomei and Pesci as they have had recent signings as well.

He probably negotiated lower pricing for quantity. You can truly look at every signed book, CD, and private signing over the last year and pretty much figure out what the Pop Century checklist will look like.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Wow! You can make a drinking game out of this video. Drink every time he shows you the rarest autograph in the world or says "real value" or "phenomenal".

This guy is full of ....!

The thing is, it goes against the grain of what products like Pop Century and Americana were supposed to be. They were a big grab bag of autographs that held mainly marginal celebrities and a few bigger stars as the hook. They didn't require specific licenses because the photos were basically candid, no one was in character and the text didn't even mention titles or need logos. All they needed to get was the genuine autographs. They were the alternative cheap certified autograph cards, not the ones that would break records, and most of the time you pulled the guy wearing the bag over his head.

The last few years the box price for Pop kept rising and the 2022 product was downright expensive, as will be this new one. But it's still a grab bag and there is plenty of filler, including those hits that aren't an autograph at all. No, I don't want a backstage pass from a concert that happened 15 years ago. That stuff is worthless to me.

So Pop Century does have a better checklist and it has to for the price, but that doesn't make it a good value. You are paying upfront for the good pull that you may not get. Take that same money and buy the individual cards you want, and you will probably save money. I know I have, and that's where these card makers are misreading card collectors. We will waste money up to a point, but then we can also wait.

If you drive all the card collectors to the secondary market, who is going to be buying and opening these boxes? It's getting to the tipping point where prices have to come down or this stuff will just be too risky to open and that will be the end of it, even with the best snake oil salesmen.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
If you drive all the card collectors to the secondary market, who is going to be buying and opening these boxes? It's getting to the tipping point where prices have to come down or this stuff will just be too risky to open and that will be the end of it, even with the best snake oil salesmen.

Currently the snake oil salesmen are the online case breakers. Personally I can't see how many of them didn't lose money on the product last year. UD products are an overpriced case break bummer as well.

CEO guy says the price wont drop but it was super high last year.

I like how he thinks rap stars have only signed for him because he keeps a book of stickers in his pocket ready to go. His overall excuse for never going to on-card was lame.

I agree it is a great checklist and I am interested in the secondary market. Still they are (and have been) on super ugly non specific cards, which is why his stuff always tumbles in "real value". For me it is a product I settle for not the one I want.

I guess they are on the street, not impressed with the John Cryer autograph. Macaulay Culkin is not impressive either.

Looks like many of the repeat signers are settling down quick.

One Eastwood printing plate...opening asking bid $1k

I'm kinda curious to see what I thought about last year, but I don't care enough to look it up.

Anyway. . . My thoughts on 2023 Pop Century so far. . .

Quite a few of the signers are signing with initials or otherwise terrible signatures. It used to not bother me, but now I've started to factor that into my buying decision -- especially if the signer has other cards with better signatures -- Melissa Joan Hart is a great example.

Many of these signers have signed repeatedly -- if they have better existing autographs -- i.e. on cards, better signature, better photo, licensed in a way that matters I'll just skip the Pop Century.

Speaking of photos -- I feel like these are mostly improved. Last year there were a ton of photos I just thought were terrible. Mostly they are OK this year. There are exceptions. I don't know why they seem to always pick odd photos of Chevy Chase, and I also don't know why they seem to focus on using photos of Kristen Bell where she is awkwardly looking over her shoulder. This year's Bell cards use especially bad photographs, which is a bummer.

Either the design is less annoying, or I've gotten used to it to the point that I just accept it. I'm not sure. I still strongly prefer the old non-chrome versions.

I've already bought 2 Pop Century cards -- which is double the number I bought last year, and I'm actively watching for several more.

I'll be curious where the prices end up on these -- some I feel are kinda low, but many I feel are crazy high.

I'm not a fan of all the rappers. I have no idea who most of them are . . . I tried to look them up and I tried to care, but I just don't. That said the 2 cards I bought were rappers -- Paul Wall and Flavor Flav. So I'm contradicting myself.

Ohh -- and back to people signing with initials. . . You would think if people are only going to write 2 letters they could figure out a way to get them on the sticker. . .

Early stages, nothing knocked my socks off. The background designs seem super busy to me this year. I got to like the crisscross color patterns from 2022. Not on every card, but I generally thought most photos stood out OK. These new ones clash with the photos to me.

They are also really overdoing the numbering again with these small series. When you start 1/6 and 1/7 and 1/8 sequences it's not going to add much of a premium for short prints when they are all more or less the same. How many fans want to collect multiple colors and designs on one signer?

I did just pick up a dual card #1 of a 1/6 because it was a logical combo not done before. That maybe the only one I do unless I see a really good price on somebody, and that usually takes a while after the first wave to happen.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:


Quite a few of the signers are signing with initials or otherwise terrible signatures. It used to not bother me, but now I've started to factor that into my buying decision -- especially if the signer has other cards with better signatures -- Melissa Joan Hart is a great example.

I will even pay a little more if the signature is full and clean. Just picked up the only Paige Turco where her first name isnt the initial "P". Also grabbed a John Pankow which I have been waiting for ever since William Peterson and Willem Dafoe signed cards. Love To Live and Die in LA.

Still hate the metal cards and I try to buy the ones that aren't all screwed up with crystals and mojo's. My want list this year is about twice the size I normally have. Fortunately, most of them should settle as long as I have some patience.

I do like many of the actual images such as Jon Header, Barbara Eden and Jane Fonda.

I started off with a couple of quick wins, but seems like none of my offers since have panned out -- ohh well.

Still will be watching for a few, but probably going to mostly wait for prices to settle.

Regarding the 'low numbered' cards -- I don't care at all about the numbering.

I will also pay more for a good autograph -- and will not bid on bad autographs.

Gotta give it to Eastwood at least his signature looks decent. The Stallone's and Sam Jackson's are garbage on a sticker.

Yup the numbers don't impress me either, just a manufactured gimmick for suckers.

Watching some people list their case breaks is painful knowing they paid over $3k for it.

I noticed both the Stallone and Sam Jackson autographs look particularly bad. I really wish Leaf would use larger stickers, the current size obviously isn't big enough.

It seems that some autographs this year are insanely rare -- wondering how many Van Damme, Pesci, Eastwood and other autographs were made. I don't remember autographs being this hard to find in previous Pop Century sets -- although I've mostly ignored Pop Century for the last couple of years.

There also is a huge variation in signatures this year -- I've noticed a number of celebrities have full signatures as well as partial signatures/initials.

Surprised to see Tessa Thompson autographs as cheap as they are -- last I noticed her Thor autographs were pretty pricey.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

Surprised to see Tessa Thompson autographs as cheap as they are -- last I noticed her Thor autographs were pretty pricey.

Her Heroes card (which is her best autograph) hasn't gone crazy either. Must be a MARVEL thing.

I love the idea that there is a Jane Fonda autograph card but hate the fact that it is a sticker.

Same goes for the Linda Blair cards although she did do an on card for Supernatural.

Jane Fonda also has a bunch of cut signatures if you prefer those.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Jane Fonda also has a bunch of cut signatures if you prefer those.

yeah i saw those but again no, i want an on card autograph but i will not be holding my breath.

Wow! This is bad!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/14524...tkp%3ABk9SR-jx992-Yg

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Wow! This is bad!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/14524...tkp%3ABk9SR-jx992-Yg

Bad in what way? Price, design, sticker, autograph? You are going to have to be more specific.

It's all bad but compare this garbage to an on card Star Wars sig and that says it all.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
It's all bad but compare this garbage to an on card Star Wars sig and that says it all.

They are not supposed to be the same thing, but it is a question of the differential in price and the quality of the autograph that should determine if the Pop Century autograph card is worth it or not.

I would liken the price to the difference between a brand-new prescription drug and its generic equivalent that gets approved several years later, after the maker has soaked dry the people who need it. They are the exact same drug, but the maker gets to recoup his research by monopolizing the high price for a period of years. Then out comes the generic, which costs pennies in comparison.

So Jackson's Star Wars autograph card is the name brand and Pop Century's autograph card is the generic. It could be a great bargain, or maybe not. Depends on how much you are saving and if you are losing something in the autograph.

Not in the look of the card, but in the look of the signature. As an autograph collector, that is the most important factor, and I don't get it when crappy genuine signatures sell expensive. There is a dollar point when they should just be disqualified no matter the demand.

Anyway, if you think the autograph is inferior to a Star Wars card that takes it way down. Forget about the sticker part, is the autograph the same and in the best example range. If not, move on. If so, go to price.

The Pop Century, short print or not, must cost much less than the Star Wars certified card. You are buying the generic. If you can find a Star Wars Jackson with close to the same signature for $2,000, you shouldn't be buying a Pop Century at the same price. But if the cheapest Star Wars is $5,000, then it's a 60% reduction and you might want to consider it.

Pop Century signatures are always going to be the off-brand generic secondary card, except in cases where the signer doesn't have a card in their best titled role. If it is the secondary autograph card, it's up to the buyer to decide if the signature is good enough, and then if the price is low enough. That's just my opinion, but cheaper autographs can be very good if you buy the right cheap autograph cards, and a waste of money if you buy the wrong ones.