Hypothetical Question for NRL Collectors.

[Matt26]

Was having a chat with a couple of long time collectors (and a few new ones) recently and the discussion was around the state of the local Trading card market at present, in particular NRL and AFL markets.

One of the discussion points was around current releases and what they would look like if they were done by another company?

Say for example if TLA/TGI didnt have the NRL licence and Select still had it and were producing the same sets for NRL that they currently do for the AFL.

Sets like Footy Stars/Prestige/Brilliance/Brownlow and Supremacy etc.

Now compare that to the sets TLA/TGI put out now - Traders/Rivalry/Best and Less and Elite etc.

If you had a choice to pick a manufacturer to produce NRL cards, which way would you go? What sets would you prefer?

Are you happy with the current TLA/TGI releases or would you rather be collecting sets like Select currently makes?

Would love to see which way collectors would go on this?

Cheers
Matt

 

[Brendan_B]

I prefer Traders over Footy Stars and Prestige and Elite are comparable but the NRL desperately needs one ultra high end product at the very least every second year.

You could use this product to add extensions onto the Centenary/ Glory sets as HOF / Immortals are inducted.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Either way, I’m not fussed by producer. I think both do some nice cards.

But for NRL - there need to be more commons per team. Traders 12, combined with expansion in Rivalry 3, Best & Less 3. That’s 18 cards.

Then Elite could be Dally M, SOO, Magic Round, All Stars, International.

 

[troy titans douglas]

TLA have come along way, not the full package yet but had you asked pre 2017 I’d probably say Select. Now it’s probably in TLA favour but agree a bi-annual premium set would be great

 

[ElijahCraigHyde]

Personally I prefer it if tla did not start producing ultr high end releases equivalent to select afl supremacy slash brilliance etc

Reason being as an afl collector as well as nrl, latest supremacy release by select for afl not to mention thr latest brownlow extra high end edition has really made previous afl high ends worth peanuts in some cases.

Point being I don't want that to happen with nrl tla. Reason being I love the mojo parallels which makes tla unique imo and would hate to see bd and emerald sets plummet

Bottom linecis if tla do decide to make an ultra high end release equivalent to afl 135pt releases I do hope they won't do any 1/1 cards or anything shorter print than /25 which select have assured afl collectors such pledge

 

[Lazlow]

I'm personally not a fan of how Select handles distribution (not sure if TLA is the same).

Aside from Footy Stars, it feels 95% of stock is bought direct from Select, through public sale and/or through the early priority sale for Select Collector Club members. A club that is only open to join for a small window at the start of the season, and you have to apply for like its a job. Hard luck if you're a new collector or returnee who comes back mid-season.

And never mind their checkout process is prone to bots, yet they will flat out cancel genuine orders because they deem them suspicious. And you will still see plenty of boxes being flipped on ebay, some listed before the product launches.

The whole thing feels driven by FOMO. People have to sit at their computer waiting for the second the next set is available online and rush through their order. They promote mega cards of sought after players, but pulling a Gold Coast or GWS sig is certain death for your ROI on the $350+ box of cards you just bought (although, this increased focus on financial value is a whole other conversation I could have)

The Brownlow set tanked, and I've seen plenty of disappointed responses on here to Supremacy. People even suspect Select of directing the big hits to the "usual suspects".

If you were to skim the AFL section it would seem like Select are doing a terrible job.

Yes they are producing some nice high end cards that collector's have been desiring, but it feels like there's a massive divide between Footy Stars and everything else, with a lot of obstacles making them unobtainable.

Don't find it all that enjoyable tbh.

 

[shane_sharks]

still have nightmares over select