So Doug Cataldo shares the same view as me on redemptions and his following article sums it up nicely for me, Doug is a trading card expert & co-host of the weekly show Cardboard Connection Radio.
I have been lucky/unlucky to pull redemptions in the past and the whole process rubbed me up the wrong way 90% of time, nearly every redemption I pulled required an email to the company to ask where my cards were after a 6 month period and worst case scenario ask for replacements because it had been nearly a year since I redeemed the cards online with the hopes I would get something of similar value.
The other issue is that I want to buy older boxes but I don't want the best collection of expired redemptions this hobby has seen, It's something that has caught people out in the past and I have seen collector's pull expired Jordan auto redemptions and from memory one person was lucky enough to receive the expired card but it was only a few months out of date from memory. One positive I can see to soften the blow is that Upper Deck are posting blogs to update collector's on what is about to expire, this is the "last call" for redemptions set to expire over a 6 month period which is great because we will be able to work out what boxes to buy without any concern of pulling an expired redemption but c'mon.........
Take the time to read below and share your thoughts, there will be people that have had nothing but success with redemptions but I'm certain that you are part of a very small percentage of collector's that have had this experience.
I have been lucky/unlucky to pull redemptions in the past and the whole process rubbed me up the wrong way 90% of time, nearly every redemption I pulled required an email to the company to ask where my cards were after a 6 month period and worst case scenario ask for replacements because it had been nearly a year since I redeemed the cards online with the hopes I would get something of similar value.
The other issue is that I want to buy older boxes but I don't want the best collection of expired redemptions this hobby has seen, It's something that has caught people out in the past and I have seen collector's pull expired Jordan auto redemptions and from memory one person was lucky enough to receive the expired card but it was only a few months out of date from memory. One positive I can see to soften the blow is that Upper Deck are posting blogs to update collector's on what is about to expire, this is the "last call" for redemptions set to expire over a 6 month period which is great because we will be able to work out what boxes to buy without any concern of pulling an expired redemption but c'mon.........
Take the time to read below and share your thoughts, there will be people that have had nothing but success with redemptions but I'm certain that you are part of a very small percentage of collector's that have had this experience.
Redemption Report -- Special Edition Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk
So today, as I do every day, I read and re-read twitter posts from within the trading card world to see what's topical, what's hot and what's not. Today I saw a post from our friends at Upper Deck and it made me cringe. The post is about upcoming product with redemption cards that are about to expire. EXPIRE! Think about that for a second, please. First, as collectors we are expected to shell out big money for products that MAY or MAY NOT have the cards that are supposed to be on the checklist. That is WR
ONG in so many ways it is not even funny. Do you buy video games with the premise that it is only 3/4 complete? Do you by a gallon of milk and only get a quart? No. In fact this is about the only industry where such a crappy, unacceptable standard is accepted.
I don't care if a guy/girl doesn't sign. I don't care if he/she returns autos late. I don't care if they are smeared, cut off or horrible signatures. If they aren't ready or not up to standards when the product is packed out, then replace them with something else. Period.
Now, not only has the redemption card become a standard, it has a second tier issue that seems to be ok with collectors too. Now, you might get the card your redemption card is for, or YOU MIGHT NOT! That my friends is nothing more than a bait and switch. A false promise, a cardboard ponzi scheme. Shame on any company that uses them. To give credit where credit is due, some companies have worked diligently to make sure the collector gets something better if their original card never becomes available, but for crying out loud, it should NEVER, EVER HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE! Also right after I wrote a snide comment, Panini America stated that if they have the cards, they'll ship them, if they don't, they will issue a replacement. That's at least an effort, and a step in the right direction.
Are you with me so far? You may or may not get the card(s) solicited on the sell sheet and the checklist. Then to add more fuel to the fire, you may not EVER get the card you were supposed to, and may or may not get something else in return.
Now let's move on to the next phase of the ultimate rip off...
Most redemption cards have expiration dates. Can you believe it? Yes just like the milk in your fridge, the bread in your pantry and the meat in your freezer. I didn't think cardboard would deteriorate much unless you stuck them in your spokes, flipped them, left them in the sun, or ran them over with your car. Once again, I was proven wrong and collectors ACCEPT THIS!
Now we're getting warned when certain products redemption cards expire. Warned! It's like the butcher telling you, if you don't cook up those ribs soon, they are gonna rot and get covered in maggots, or hey eat that cottage cheese quickly or it will get more moldy than it already is. In other words, we've already screwed you by not getting all of the cards on the checklist into this product, but if you buy it after this date you aren't getting squat. Nada, nothing.
I am a grown ass man and I know not to eat moldy bread, spoiled meat and now I know, I won't spend a dime on Upper Deck products that contain any redemption cards. The real problem is that you don't know what's actually in the product and what's a redemption. Sounds like something my friend Paul Lesko should allegedly look into.
To my knowledge, the only company that doesn't EVER have redemption cards is SAGE and they never have, unless it was for an item that was too large to fit into a pack. That I can understand. What I cannot understand is how can it be friggin' legal to say something is included in a product when it is not. I cannot understand how it is legal to put an expiration date on something that is supposed to be part of the product in the first place, and if someone was to purchase it with the intent and hope to find said something, they are wasting their hard-earned money because the time to find it has expired, and they have no shot at all of finding or receiving it.
Wow. Astounding.
And people wonder why there aren't as many collectors today...
REDEEM THIS!
