ESP vs. Select

[ElijahCraigHyde]

It comes to my attention that so many collectors are bagging out ESP in terms of the series they've distributed since claiming the NRL trading license in 2012/13. So many seem collectors seem unhappy with the inset types they have produced and whinging how ESP high ends are not holding value. Must say I do not necessarily disagree with such rants however must say some cards from ESP have been greatly pleasant to grab hold of and collect even if they may not start up-valuing for a long time. The bottom line to my thread comes down to two points:

*If collectors continue to bag out ESP, then WHY DO WE ALL KEEP COLLECTING THEM?

*Have any collectors around this forum seriously considered collecting solely pre-ESP cards since Elite Sports taking over from Select in 2013? In other words is Wangie from Cardzone only favoring Select cards on the Rugby League card spectrum due to the high abundance of cases and boxes Select actually produced from the first 12 years of the 21st century thus the abundance of boxes from Select he hoards within his business which Select arguably gave the majority of remaning stock away to him? lol

 

[the game rugby league]

I think you may find that select produced less cases and boxes than ESP

 

[Delta]

I like early select the most (2000-2007), the cards look a lot better and they are more collectable as mastersets. And if we dont collect esp, what else do we collect?

 

[ElijahCraigHyde]

I like early select the most (2000-2007), the cards look a lot better and they are more collectable as mastersets. And if we dont collect esp, what else do we collect?

A good point but seems whatever ESP does to keep collectors intrigued, nothing is ever good enough as it seems from what I am observing at times.

 

[Michael Thomas]

I only collect the Basic sets and I much prefer Select simply because the photos they used showed (on 90% of occasions) the full player photo.
ESP continue just to show close-ups from the players waist up so all images almost look identical. I wish they would bring back full length images so you can see a player kicking, passing, stepping etc

 

[Sharky]

I think esp did some good things with Elite this year, the price still cruels tho, but I have noticed there seems to be a lot of it around a lot of sellers with stock to clear and prices plummet as they want to get rid of it (lots of mojos around compared to last year) I am pretty sure when select had the license that people where bagging them out as well.

case of damned if you do damned of you don't...

 

[saintsforever]

A good point but seems whatever ESP does to keep collectors intrigued, nothing is ever good enough as it seems from what I am observing at times.

Just a thought, how many people out there collecting cards are peee offf with what esp have done favouring dealers ie stacking cases in elite and traders. they should of just looked after them with cheaper prices.
Now in the latest release they have given out boxes to retail outlets that are substandard.
I have stated in a previous post they are shooting themselves in the foot.
No kids collecting means no future.
Wake up ESP.
Every thing is not about making massive amounts of money short term.........

 

[nznrl]

ESP have had some very, very poor releases, and it takes a while to recover from that. 2012Ltd (mostly value for money), 2013 Traders (apart from YGs) and 2015 Elite were stinkers. 2013 Elite (collation), 2014-15 Traders were par or above (Legends are awesome), and 2014 Elite, 2016 Traders (although still not comfortable with the price on these) and 2016 Elite were fantastic. All three releases this year have been their best and confidence is picking up again. I am very satisfied as to what they have released and feel very comfortable with them as our company. This time last year I wasn't.

As far as Select: I loved collecting Select master sets, but collecting now has gone in a different direction and that door has closed. I preferred the variation of master set collecting, but am content to be a team set collector with the added content per team. Select did some things well and other things badly. Like ESP some releases were awesome and some weren't.

You may be right about Wangy maintaining the value of Select cards

 

[MikeK]

One company provides the opportunity for a collector to have a NUMBER ONE card. One does not. You reckon if Select get the licence back you'll still see #001s outside a corporate safe??

As for the original question: "Have you considered starting a pre-ESP collection since ESP took over from Select in 2013?" - easy answer, I already had one, so I am unable to vote using the choices provided.

As for getting rid of ESP cards in protest, no, absolutely not. A set of 2013 Elite FS/LS is one of the nicest signature sets around and a lot of them still hold a reasonable about of value. For most other sets I'd loose thousands so what's the point in getting rid of them? Preferred dealers with seemingly endless supplies of cases continue to flood eBay with Traders and Elite, making them worthless. That's what ESP/TLA need to stop. Make the case price the same for ALL and then values would hold/go up.

Also, pretty hard to start collecting Select as the unopened stock is all held by hoarders to keep the values up, as stated above. Their individual box prices are STILL way higher and provide significantly less chance of a good hit and a much better chance of a dud pack with no inserts.

Regards
Mike

 

[Brendan_B]

I already had a Select collection prior to 2012 so the poll isn't relevant.

ESP & Select are like apples and oranges. ESP has always produced great variety but numerous other aspects have let them down. 2013 Traders (aside from YG's and legends) and 2015 Elite are the real stinkers for me

Select were significantly more conservative with their releases but became quite boring and predictable, particularly with their Champs releases between 2008-11. 2010 was their stinker IMO, especially when they didn't do a series 2.

Select had been in the Australian sports trading card game for several years prior to their inaugural NRL release and had better experience than ESP, although ESP are clearly on the improve as 16 Traders & Elite have been crackers.

There are also multiple authorized Select resellers but I believe Wangy supplied them? Correct me if I am wrong.

The lower prices we see with ESP are due to many factors. Few if any master set collectors left, group case breaks, bigger availability of elite in newsagents, overall number of higher end cards produced and the emergence of trading card pages on social media.

 

[mischap123]

The question is also not relevant to me as I already had a collection long before Esp came along.

IMO collecting is like an itch, you can't help but scratch it irrespective of what the cause of the itch is. ie I still have Esp cards although have not chased then at all like Select

I personally have little knowledge of what Esp cards are worth as I have not collected them but do have most base sets and a few inserts that I have acquired through trades etc

 

[stormernumber1]

My biggest problem with ESP is the shady practices they are undertaking in stacking boxes/cases with preferred dealers and it has been extremely evident in the 2016 NRL Elite release and in the end will only come back to bite them.

It is a real shame because I think apart from that, this release is actually a really solid one, the cards look excellent (apart from the Engine room cards, wtf happened there?) and there is enough variation to keep people interested, I was planning on collecting a heap more from this set but its really put me off the release completely, not sure if ill even bother finishing it.

 

[220]

As someone who hasn't been back collecting for very long have to say I am chasing both, as much as I get a thrill tracking down and buying/trading for cards from older releases it isn't the same as busting packs.
Busting packs will always be the biggest draw for current releases regardless of the quality of the release, stacking cases is a bit of a concern and has to be taken into account when deciding to bust or buying from the secondary market.

Interesting the demand from collectors for more subsets and variations within releases has actually lead to the demise of master set collectors as the manufacturers have answered the calls.

Don't think it would matter who held the licence the demise of master set collecting would have happened. The same thing is happening with cricket cards right now. Putting together a master set isn't possible with this years release, TnP have included a subset of 20 that has card numbers limited to the players jersey number. With the lowest playing number being 1 it means a 1/1 in a 20 card subset and the end of master set collecting.