enough!

[fezzadog]

this is going to be a rant...so read on if you wish!

I am finding it extremely hard to collect cards from this current era, after reading what parts of the hobby that others dislike, and i tend to agree.

I too hate sticker autos.
I hate the overuse of limited cards.../1, /5, /10, /25, /50, /100, /150, /199, /299, /500, bla bla

But what is annoying me the most is....Not just one card but way too many of RETIRED players.

I think these should be kept to a subset and/or an insert set. 1 or 2 per complete master set.

I collected robinson, barkley, malone, olajuwon, wilkins,kemp , the list goes on 20 YEARS AGO!

And not to mention the more and more not so GREAT players that are also filling numerous (new) sets.

So apart from Alec Burks ive decide to only collect 90's and earlier.

Although a lebron rc is on the wish list aswell.

 

[sskillswitch]

this is going to be a rant...so read on if you wish!

I am finding it extremely hard to collect cards from this current era, after reading what parts of the hobby that others dislike, and i tend to agree.

I too hate sticker autos.
I hate the overuse of limited cards.../1, /5, /10, /25, /50, /100, /150, /199, /299, /500, bla bla

But what is annoying me the most is....Not just one card but way too many of RETIRED players.

I think these should be kept to a subset and/or an insert set. 1 or 2 per complete master set.

I collected robinson, barkley, malone, olajuwon, wilkins,kemp , the list goes on 20 YEARS AGO!

And not to mention the more and more not so GREAT players that are also filling numerous (new) sets.

So apart from Alec Burks ive decide to only collect 90's and earlier.

Although a lebron rc is on the wish list aswell.

I agree to certain extent. I loathe sticker autos too, seems way too impersonal! I dont mind the limited cards, but not a whole series where you were guaranteed 2 #'d to10 or less a box (Panini Signatures im looking at you!!)
As for the Retired players, it would be great if they had 1 subset that spanned the whole year of releases, and only like 4 retired players were available from each release - kinda like the Kobe anthology release, but with cards that people actually want haha.
The Scrubs are ridiculous lately, i get the double rookie class is gonna flood the product with players you or i feel confident at beating 1 on 1, but who collects some of these scrubs, honestly!! I would rather a redemption for Tim Duncan or KG that never gets filled than get a Nick Collison /5.. Admittedly, its gotten a bit better, but they need more star power. Melo, TD, KG, Parker. Something to get excited about. I realise that it would cost a fortune for some of those autographs in each release, but i dont expect them all to be numbered to 199, just throw a couple in (ON CARD) and id be happy..

 

[GarnettFan4Life]

We are in an era where it's IMPOSSIBLE to collect every card of a player. Impossible to complete sets even. So you HAVE to pick stuff you can afford to collect or you will go insane.

But isn't that what the consumer wanted?
We want serial numbered stuff, we want more 1/1's to go around, more logo men so we can get one. Less game used and more autos, a while back it was more refractors.

Is it good to be an adult and have more funds to access more stuff or not? I remember being a kid and buying single packs trying to chase first day issues from TSC and Hakeem and DRob autos that were 1:30,000 packs. Isn't this just an evolution of that? You can't have everything, so pick some singles to add to the collection, buy some boxes or cases you can afford and have fun doing it.

This is more aimed at myself than a reply to your conundrum I guess maybe one day we'll be sick of the logo men, maybe we'll get sick of the game dated stuff that is coming out in Innovation soon, but I doubt it and I'm certainly hanging to see some and try and add some to the PC!

 

[Ryanm2117]

I have drawn a line in my Oakley collection to only include his playing years and new auto's. I got fed up with so many variations.
Although happy he has gone from 2 autos to now around 50.

 

[nichj99]

Just to throw things the other way, I returned to collecting earlier this year for the first time since I was in primary school. Back in those days I loved Reggie Miller, and I'd love to have him in the newer stuff. I guess maybe they need to pick and choose their legends and maybe not put ALL the legends in every set. Maybe break it down so they are in a handful each per year and rotate them with each set. So one might have Rodman, Bird, Artis Gilmore and Bill Laimbeer, but in the next set it would have Magic, Kareem, Bill Walton and Rodman. And then make the magic's / bird's etc in the higher end products and the 'not as hot' ones featured more in the lower end products?

 

[lilreddevil]

Just to throw things the other way, I returned to collecting earlier this year for the first time since I was in primary school. Back in those days I loved Reggie Miller, and I'd love to have him in the newer stuff. I guess maybe they need to pick and choose their legends and maybe not put ALL the legends in every set. Maybe break it down so they are in a handful each per year and rotate them with each set. So one might have Rodman, Bird, Artis Gilmore and Bill Laimbeer, but in the next set it would have Magic, Kareem, Bill Walton and Rodman. And then make the magic's / bird's etc in the higher end products and the 'not as hot' ones featured more in the lower end products?

But they want you to buy every product lol

 

[MJ23BULLS]

OP, you can't go wrong with the 90's stuff

 

[Verse1]

I'm with you OP, as a retired player collector it's pretty crazy trying to keep up this year.
This year Payton has had over 150 new cards come out! He hasn't had that many since his prime playing in the league in like 1999 when cards hit their peak.

I'd be happy with Panini to just bring out a few sets a year with him in it instead of every single release and maybe just one or 2 autos but keep them on-card.

 

[fezzadog]

exactly verse! thankfully my only real pc is burks, trying for sets and insert sets now.

Must be very frustrating for 'star' collectors like yourself, what a joke hey, as many cards this year as when he was playing, maybe more?

 

[Verse1]

exactly verse! thankfully my only real pc is burks, trying for sets and insert sets now.

Must be very frustrating for 'star' collectors like yourself, what a joke hey, as many cards this year as when he was playing, maybe more?

Yeah mate its mental. I like the idea above of maybe just doing the retired guys as say an insert set in 1 or 2 low-mid end products like a HOF insert in Prizm or something and maybe a nice auto patch on-card set in say NT.

 

[postgsl]

The problem is both the card manufacturers and by this I mean both panini and upper deck and also us collectors.

Game used get introduced at 1 in a gazillion packs, but we want more and we get more, then we want a guaranteed auto per pack and we get it.

There is an old saying that applies here...you can please some people some of the time but you can not please everyone all of the time.

 

[Awoj21]

I reckon Mashburn signed about 5,000 stickers for Panini

 

[KB.]

I love 90's players, but I think they should limited them to either base or parallel sets in maybe 1 or 2 products, then have the mem and auto stuff in like 1 'retro' type release and maybe a higher end product like preferred so we can get some nice patches and SP'ed stuff.

 

[West Oz Cards]

I agree with OP. After returning to card chasing in the last month I am appalled at some of the product that is out lately.. 90's had way better product IMO.

 

[sskillswitch]

as a Tmac collector, the next few years should be ok, where i can sit back and focus on his older stuff, but after that, i have a feeling it might get a bit insane when they start mass producing him in retired player set lists... ill just be happy with no Jon Leuers and Robert Sacres flooding my breaks!!!

 

[taffster74]

The flooding of the market with numerous parallels is purely the collector's fault - we asked for it and we got it(i mean we as a general, not individuals). As to the retired players - yes, there are some players that really don't deserve to have new cards brought out as they did very little at both college and NBA levels, but there are others who did excel at both levels - so we can't deny their worthiness. At least Panini is recognising more than just the top 50 players as voted in 1996. When Fleer, topps and upper deck did have retired players in their sets they were either on that list or were guys who played on the super popular teams. Can anyone tell me - seriously - how Steve Kerr and Bill Wennington are legendary?

 

[Heafy83]

Bit off topic but it would be cool if Panini brought out one product dedicated to just retired players every year and then left the rest of the products to current day veterans and rookies.

 

[edabomb]

Sticker autos are terrible. I was buying a lot of mid-level Panini boxes this season - but I kept finding that even if I hit a player I wanted for my PC it was invariably a sticker auto. I would then sell that sticker auto and look for an on card auto - defeating the purpose of the break.

I've only bought Preferred recently as a result. I will say there is a place for sticker sigs - but only in cards numbered >99 IMO.