i think the goal of the set is to be retro, sort of. something from 2009 isn't very retro. Also people would be complaining it was just a rehash of recent releases.

I kind of think Topps just wanted to keep the base set at 100 cards plus the sixteen inserts. If you check Harris' write up it says 75 years of Topps cards through Star Wars Galatic Files, but the base does end with the X-Files.

I wouldn't have complained about a cover of the last few years as long as they didn't include too recent product as part of the buy backs. You need more than a box to complete anyway and it might have expanded the autograph list, which could do with fewer Hendersons, Ducks and Gladiators.

I actually thought the Trek one could go higher. It really sucked any fun I might have had on the set.....

quote:

Originally posted by Studio-Hades:
I'm waiting for the blank front/blank back ghost ink test pressing 1/1 , myself.

There actually were some completely blank stock inserted in one of the allen & Ginter sets. The first couple that hit eBay sold for around $20.

quote:

Originally posted by Tattoox:
IMO, these are gimmicks; and it's amazing what people fall for and spend their money on.

What about blank front cards? I have some gaming cards with bank fronts. Two of which I got sketches done on them this year.

I have a monster box of blank front misprints that I've picked up over the years to draw on. they are mostly sport cards though. The only non-sport set I've ever seen is the Star Trek IV set.

I always have a problem when card manufacturers let out blanks of anything, be it unsigned autograph cards, blank fronts or backs. In the old days it was a question of quality control and they got inserted in packs primarily by accident.

Now with the old ways of printing sheets gone and the autograph stickers used by many card makers, letting blank or unsigned cards get out is done more on purpose than accident, and it's just begging for trouble.

Artists can sketch on them and that's fine, as long as it's known that it is not a sketch pulled from the set or a buy back. Some buyers not that knowledgable just assume it is a pack approved sketch and don't even know to ask. Also once the sketches get out into the market and maybe change a few hands, nobody even knowns what may have been orginally disclosed.

As for certified autograph cards, blank cards of on-card autographs are the worst. All such inventory not signed should be destroyed by the card manufacturers. Sorry, but I see no excuse for letting these blank cards get out. They are not variants, they are not novelities. Some smart people will come along and sign them and sell them as genuine. It doesn't matter if its a good forgery or if they didn't even try to make it look like the real deal, buyers will be hard pressed to tell it's a fake when its on an authentic card.

The sticker autographs are harder to reproduce if blank cards get out, but again someone is bound to try. Why take the chance, destroy all inventory that will not get a sticker and nobody has to worry about it.

I don't think any modern card manufacturer talks about inventory destruction or what they do with error, blank or unsigned autograph cards. Obviously some of the stuff gets released somehow, maybe a lot of the stuff.

Here's a surprising sale I noticed. It's a John Glenn cut signature that appears to be a Topps 75th Anniversary card. However, Beckett certified it as a "custom trading card" so I assume that means someone cut the signature and sandwiched it between two 75th cards to show the front and back of a card. Beckett authenticated the autograph but not that it's a previously-undocumented, official cut signature from the set. It doesn't say that it's a custom card in the description but it says it in the Item Specifics where the card number would be noted.

It still sold for $289.

Here's the card and the link for as long as it stays active:




https://www.ebay.com/itm/22404...rksid=p2047675.l2557

quote:

Originally posted by Ryan Cracknell:

quote:

Originally posted by dpolis:
I have been looking at the auctions. I have a few questions:

Is Sly the only stamped buyback signed card? Or are there any others (i.e. SW related)?

I haven't seen any cut signature cards. I don't know if I missed them or if they just haven't come out into the open yet.

Can somebody tell me if the checklist is textual or if it is the one with thumbnail pictures? Or was that one of the regular cards?

Thanks,
David

Stallone is the only buyback signer.

Cut Signatures are all 1/1, I believe, so not many to go around. If that's the case, there are only 7 cards across the entire print run.

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
Here's a surprising sale I noticed. It's a John Glenn cut signature that appears to be a Topps 75th Anniversary card. However, Beckett certified it as a "custom trading card" so I assume that means someone cut the signature and sandwiched it between two 75th cards to show the front and back of a card. Beckett authenticated the autograph but not that it's a previously-undocumented, official cut signature from the set. It doesn't say that it's a custom card in the description but it says it in the Item Specifics where the card number would be noted.

It still sold for $289.

Here's the card and the link for as long as it stays active:

What a waste of a John Glenn signature. That cutout is crooked, jagged and just flat out awful. Definitely not an official cut from the set.

Frankly I really don't like it when I see grading companies that seem to verify cards that don't exist. It just confuses collectors who may not know what's going on.

That slab makes it look like a graded card, but there is no grade. In fact, as Ted pointed out, its a fairly sloppy job that wouldn't even earn a high grade if it could be applied. But it can't be graded because more importantly, by "customizing" the card in that manner, its really been rendered damaged and is ungradable.

What the label is authenticating is the autograph only, but a buyer might not realize that. This isn't an 8x10 where just the signature counts, its a once officially licensed unsigned card that now has a cut signature added by someone other than the card maker. It's a novelty item only and I do hope the buyer who bought it knew that.

I did have to laugh though. If you read the listing, the seller noted the card condition as "poor", so no lie there.

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

One of my favorite sets! I have managed to collect 98 of the 100 diamond sparkle cards numbered to 75. Been looking for the Mars Attacks and Wacky Packages for sooooooo long.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
One of my favorite sets! I have managed to collect 98 of the 100 diamond sparkle cards numbered to 75. Been looking for the Mars Attacks and Wacky Packages for sooooooo long.

Very cool, I might have a couple of these -- I'll have to check to see if I have the ones you need.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
One of my favorite sets! I have managed to collect 98 of the 100 diamond sparkle cards numbered to 75. Been looking for the Mars Attacks and Wacky Packages for sooooooo long.

Very cool, I might have a couple of these -- I'll have to check to see if I have the ones you need.

Actually managed to get Adam Bomb Garbage Pail Kid in a bulk buy of 75 diamond cards for $150 back in 2014. (Open auction and I was the only bid) I know the two I need will not be cheap these days......if I ever find em.

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

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
One of my favorite sets! I have managed to collect 98 of the 100 diamond sparkle cards numbered to 75. Been looking for the Mars Attacks and Wacky Packages for sooooooo long.

Very cool, I might have a couple of these -- I'll have to check to see if I have the ones you need.

Actually managed to get Adam Bomb Garbage Pail Kid in a bulk buy of 75 diamond cards for $150 back in 2014. (Open auction and I was the only bid) I know the two I need will not be cheap these days......if I ever find em.

I gotta be honest, I had no idea these were valuable. I have no clue where mine are!

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:

I gotta be honest, I had no idea these were valuable. I have no clue where mine are!

There were about 5 to 8 of them that have been steadily going up since release. The last Adam Bomb I saw sell was between 5 and 6 hundred dollars. I have a feeling is it way past that now.

The latest rise in card values over the past year or so has been pushing up the price on all of them.