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Topps Elite Transcendent Collection Is Loaded with Autographs

My take for Forbes: http://bit.ly/2hAePHQ

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Permalink Reply by Rich on December 15, 2016 at 11:38am

Uninspired collecting for the uninspired collector, and that's about the nicest thing I can say.

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Permalink Reply by David Seideman on December 15, 2016 at 11:40am

Yes, not nearly as much fan as finding autographs one at a time. This reminds me of fast food.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on December 15, 2016 at 11:53am

Fast food i cheap and easy - and you have a decent idea of what you're getting. This is not. This is straight gambling. Fun for people with expendable income of that level, I suppose. Ludicrous to everyone else.

Here are my problems:

1) I'll start with this: Manufactured collectibles. If I'm getting something special - a genuine vintage rookie card or autographed baseball, or a rare document - that's something. But if I'm getting something manufactured by Topps last week that they're telling me is worth $XXXX, then no.

2) For $22,000, I'd like to know what I'm investing in. I'd like to know if I'm going to enjoy it. Again, this is NOT investing - it's straight gambling. Granted you won't come up completely empty, but it seems likely the likelihood of taking a significant loss is above average.

3) Who's the target audience? While they did sell out of these, does the market for any of the exclusives extend beyond the few dozen people who already coughed up the cash? Did the queue for this "deal" really extend beyond them?

4) Again, card companies defacing historically significant and genuinely interesting items in the name of their manufactured goods. Would any history collector pay more for Washington on a Topps card than an unaltered, undefaced document? Would any sportscard collector shell it out for Washington? What are they thinking here? Pure gimmick, in opinion.

Maybe I'm missing a few key points, but I really can't look at this with anything other than disdain.

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Permalink Reply by David Seideman on December 15, 2016 at 11:58am

Thanks, Rich. These are all good points for a possible follow-up. I hadn't thought of the gambling aspect. Do you think Topps created the cut autographs or they were already cut?

David

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Permalink Reply by Rich on December 15, 2016 at 12:05pm

Hard to tell. But with these card companies (allegedly) cutting up game used footballs, bats, jerseys - some from legendary players - I wouldn't put it past them to have cut it to the size required for their card.