So, I've been thinking about posting this for a while but have held back. But seeing as hoops has just been released it has sparked me to do this. Sit back and relax because this is going to be a long one.
When I was first introduced into the NBA hobby honestly I had no idea about players, the market or the value of cards for that matter. I didn't know who was good, bad or just plain sucked. I honestly was going to quit the NBA hobby before I even started. But there was one thing that kept drawing me back. The quality and design of the cards. I started off collecting AFL which let's face it, doesn't have some of the greatest looking cards ever made.
I didn't know who to collect but some how thought collecting the #1 draft pick and future MVP would be a good place to start
Stunning isn't it? Huge area for an ON CARD auto, quad jersey and very well made. Gold foil and neat touches. A beautiful card and still a dream for me to own one.
Now let's have a look at panini shall we?
A manufactured patch signed on material with less than a quarter of the player showing and all in all just a dull looking card.
Let's try a different product then shall we?
Oh wait it's the same thing. It really pisses me off how badly panini design some of their cards and still sell the hobby boxes for a premium. I could go and get more images of other boring and lack luster products but I won't.
Now i'm not really a panini hater because some of their products are decent like NT, Gold standard and even limited to an extent. But the point i'm trying to get across is why even bother with the other products? They offer collectors nothing, they are boring cards which lose value as soon as the next product comes out a month later.
But the thing that really made me angry was this years (Or last years) "rookie" cards in hoops.
Now i'm seriously thinking about collecting Kyrie Irving this year. I really like his game and the fact that he was born in Melbourne makes it a lot sweeter. He would be the first player i've seriously collected since Hasheem Thabeet. I was looking forward to the hoops release to get my hands on a Kyrie. But then I saw the so called "rookie" card.
What about this says that i'm a rookie card collect me? Nothing! It looks exactly the same as the other base cards which aren't worth a cent. So what should make this card worth $10-15 at the moment?
Here's a base card to compare.
And the final thing I want to talk about is the way they do redemptions. Not just the fact that they take upwards of 8 months to be redemeed but how they look. Have a look at this it looks like a piece of sh!t.
Now look at this. This is how it should be done. Full body shot and in all honesty stunning. People don't just toss these in the bin once they've been redeemed they keep them and value them.
So basicly the point i'm trying to make out of all this is are Panini just brillant master minds who produce rubbish that a 4 year old could design, sucking in collectors and forcing them to buy their products by having a monopoly on the industry.
Or just plain stupid. Because seriously if any other card company came in and made NBA products you would buy them over Panini. Nobody buy's Panini hockey or baseball it's all UD and topps. Panini would lose their entire business to another company because they don't produce quality and value for money.
Feel free to add your 2 cents worth, I don't care if I get criticised for this post because this is how I feel about what is happening to the hobby.
Cheers
Jack
When I was first introduced into the NBA hobby honestly I had no idea about players, the market or the value of cards for that matter. I didn't know who was good, bad or just plain sucked. I honestly was going to quit the NBA hobby before I even started. But there was one thing that kept drawing me back. The quality and design of the cards. I started off collecting AFL which let's face it, doesn't have some of the greatest looking cards ever made.
I didn't know who to collect but some how thought collecting the #1 draft pick and future MVP would be a good place to start
Stunning isn't it? Huge area for an ON CARD auto, quad jersey and very well made. Gold foil and neat touches. A beautiful card and still a dream for me to own one.
Now let's have a look at panini shall we?
A manufactured patch signed on material with less than a quarter of the player showing and all in all just a dull looking card.
Let's try a different product then shall we?
Oh wait it's the same thing. It really pisses me off how badly panini design some of their cards and still sell the hobby boxes for a premium. I could go and get more images of other boring and lack luster products but I won't.
Now i'm not really a panini hater because some of their products are decent like NT, Gold standard and even limited to an extent. But the point i'm trying to get across is why even bother with the other products? They offer collectors nothing, they are boring cards which lose value as soon as the next product comes out a month later.
But the thing that really made me angry was this years (Or last years) "rookie" cards in hoops.
Now i'm seriously thinking about collecting Kyrie Irving this year. I really like his game and the fact that he was born in Melbourne makes it a lot sweeter. He would be the first player i've seriously collected since Hasheem Thabeet. I was looking forward to the hoops release to get my hands on a Kyrie. But then I saw the so called "rookie" card.
What about this says that i'm a rookie card collect me? Nothing! It looks exactly the same as the other base cards which aren't worth a cent. So what should make this card worth $10-15 at the moment?
Here's a base card to compare.
And the final thing I want to talk about is the way they do redemptions. Not just the fact that they take upwards of 8 months to be redemeed but how they look. Have a look at this it looks like a piece of sh!t.
Now look at this. This is how it should be done. Full body shot and in all honesty stunning. People don't just toss these in the bin once they've been redeemed they keep them and value them.
So basicly the point i'm trying to make out of all this is are Panini just brillant master minds who produce rubbish that a 4 year old could design, sucking in collectors and forcing them to buy their products by having a monopoly on the industry.
Or just plain stupid. Because seriously if any other card company came in and made NBA products you would buy them over Panini. Nobody buy's Panini hockey or baseball it's all UD and topps. Panini would lose their entire business to another company because they don't produce quality and value for money.
Feel free to add your 2 cents worth, I don't care if I get criticised for this post because this is how I feel about what is happening to the hobby.
Cheers
Jack