TLA SORRY BOX

[Sharks16]

So after numerous emails and phone calls with no or long waits in between. TLA agreed that the rubbish gold sets they dished up we’re below par especially with the cost to acquire them (Their words , not mine !!) . Atleast they acknowledged this point rather then make the stupid argument that they come in a $4 packet and 16 of them could be collected for as little as $64. They promised to compensate the holders with a reimbursement to make up for a poorly planned set , hence all the changes to the set this year which doesn’t help last years holders . Anyway I opened the box they sent as reimbursement lol ,and as expected, full of rubbish .I know this probably sounds ungrateful which believe me I’m not an ungrateful person but being told “substantial “ sort of got people’s hopes up for a second time lol. Saying in the building game , it’s much better to under promise and over deliver then vice versa. Anyway that’s my rant for the day and last dollar they get from me . On a positive, bumped into Nathan Merritt at the star last night , legend bloke .

 

[Shan C]

I can confirm that TLA (Simon) said to me in his words, not mine "TLA will compensate all those who collected the 16 predictors in line with the dollar value abd the effort required to put together the set. The compensation will be in line with this and substantial by nature"

Not surprised but disappionted.

 

[Rocket1908]

So after numerous emails and phone calls with no or long waits in between. TLA agreed that the rubbish gold sets they dished up we’re below par especially with the cost to acquire them (Their words , not mine !!) . Atleast they acknowledged this point rather then make the stupid argument that they come in a $4 packet and 16 of them could be collected for as little as $64. They promised to compensate the holders with a reimbursement to make up for a poorly planned set , hence all the changes to the set this year which doesn’t help last years holders . Anyway I opened the box they sent as reimbursement lol ,and as expected, full of rubbish .I know this probably sounds ungrateful which believe me I’m not an ungrateful person but being told “substantial “ sort of got people’s hopes up for a second time lol. Saying in the building game , it’s much better to under promise and over deliver then vice versa. Anyway that’s my rant for the day and last dollar they get from me . On a positive, bumped into Nathan Merritt at the star last night , legend bloke .

What exactly was in this box? I understand the frustration of collectors but what some people consider "rubbish" might be good enough for others.

 

[bigrob2307]

What exactly was in this box? I understand the frustration of collectors but what some people consider "rubbish" might be good enough for others.

Box of traders from what ive seen

 

[Rocket1908]

Box of traders from what ive seen

Could've been a lot worse. TLA could've easily said "Value is set by the secondary market, not our fault" and left it at that.

I mean it all depends on what you hit in that box whether it's worth it for you or not too.

 

[Sharks16]

Could've been a lot worse. TLA could've easily said "Value is set by the secondary market, not our fault" and left it at that.

I mean it all depends on what you hit in that box whether it's worth it for you or not too.

They could of said that but would be a silly argument as they come 2 per case . So that sort of sets the price also . The secondary market is also apart of their business as long as they are unfairly stacking dealers with cheap product to sell at overs . One of the main concerns most of the /20 holders had was the missing holograms on the backs of the cards weirdly put on the plastic wrappers?? Would of been a easy fix for them but customer service along with common sense doesn’t seem to be a strong point .

 

[Rocket1908]

They could of said that but would be a silly argument as they come 2 per case . So that sort of sets the price also . The secondary market is also apart of their business as long as they are unfairly stacking dealers with cheap product to sell at overs . One of the main concerns most of the /20 holders had was the missing holograms on the backs of the cards weirdly put on the plastic wrappers?? Would of been a easy fix for them but customer service along with common sense doesn’t seem to be a strong point .

It sets the price to an extent. The predictors certainly aren't going to be bottom dollar cards sure but the price is driven by demand for them. So I understand that some people got burnt because they bought predictors early when the price was high whereas others pieced their sets together slower as teams went down in value, but that's how the market works. I mean it's a product of which the value directly correlates with the team's premiership odds. All the teams started high in price. But a /20 set creates its own demand. Low numbered sets always do. Unfortunately it's a low numbered set with only 1 team variant - and it wasn't a collector-friendly team either. I guarantee if a team like Eels or Dragons were premiers, the demand for the sets would be higher and the dissatisfied collectors would have no problem moving them while still getting a decent amount back. It was ALWAYS a known risk that the collectors would not be satisfied by the team that won the comp being the bonus set.

As for the actual physical quality of the cards yeah, that's something they should fix but the only real issue is all the /20 set holders are stuck with a team set they dont want that they cant sell. What are TLA supposed to do? Ask the NRL to change who the premiers are?

 

[Sharks16]

It sets the price to an extent. The predictors certainly aren't going to be bottom dollar cards sure but the price is driven by demand for them. So I understand that some people got burnt because they bought predictors early when the price was high whereas others pieced their sets together slower as teams went down in value, but that's how the market works. I mean it's a product of which the value directly correlates with the team's premiership odds. All the teams started high in price. But a /20 set creates its own demand. Low numbered sets always do. Unfortunately it's a low numbered set with only 1 team variant - and it wasn't a collector-friendly team either. I guarantee if a team like Eels or Dragons were premiers, the demand for the sets would be higher and the dissatisfied collectors would have no problem moving them while still getting a decent amount back. It was ALWAYS a known risk that the collectors would not be satisfied by the team that won the comp being the bonus set.

As for the actual physical quality of the cards yeah, that's something they should fix but the only real issue is all the /20 set holders are stuck with a team set they dont want that they cant sell. What are TLA supposed to do? Ask the NRL to change who the premiers are?

Personally I had no dramas with it being the Storm and I haven’t seen a post to indicate this from anyone , obviously you would rather your team but if it was not to be ,Storm or the Cowboys would of been my next picks due to Thurston and the big 3 . It was never my intention to sell them and I won’t be but I doubt anyone on here hand on heart could say they would be happy about stickers being put on the wrapping??? I mean the signatures in extreme going for $10, $30 at the peak have them . Also the other point and is a fact , is the original predictors were 30-40% gold ,to be told you could “redeem the 16 for a gold parallel set “that when arrived had less gold on it ? Cmon , I mean you can say what you like but the facts are you could not buy a predictor for under $50 and if you were going to buy packs,boxes or cases to collect the 16 it would of cost 100 times more so how we’re people supposed to get the set ?. Would TLA prefer people doing predictor shares which I think is a good idea but effectively means people spending less on their product? . As I stated I’m not a ungrateful person and would of preferred the cards to be stickered and not the box they sent me . Would of been cheaper for them and had they returned one of my 15 phone calls would of known as much . As I said , just my opinion and not one person that received a set has stated they were happy with them . That tells the story in its self.

 

[DMC]

Thanks for the update, I am happy to hear they acknowledge that the cards provided were not up to scratch. Reward for the risks and efforts was definitely not in line with expectations.
When you create a superior Gold card for the predictor, your mind conjures up greatness and Gold Leaf Premiers Set (think Dynamic Gold Signature style).
Not putting a sticker on each just made the whole think a joke. The ultimate way to keep value in collecting is to provide something you want to treasure and keep. Pretty sure we will look back in 10-15 yrs
and all have a laugh about how they are some of the hardest cards to get from 2017, but they looking nothing like it. Yet a box of Premiers with very very similar cards can be bought for under $100.

 

[saintsforever]

Thanks for the update, I am happy to hear they acknowledge that the cards provided were not up to scratch. Reward for the risks and efforts was definitely not in line with expectations.
When you create a superior Gold card for the predictor, your mind conjures up greatness and Gold Leaf Premiers Set (think Dynamic Gold Signature style).
Not putting a sticker on each just made the whole think a joke. The ultimate way to keep value in collecting is to provide something you want to treasure and keep. Pretty sure we will look back in 10-15 yrs
and all have a laugh about how they are some of the hardest cards to get from 2017, but they looking nothing like it. Yet a box of Premiers with very very similar cards can be bought for under $100.

The pictures of those 2 cards do not look that different apart from the gold and purple background,
that is not even gold leaf, it is only a different coloring.
To create hype of being 1 of the first 20 people to send in 16 cards at a premium cost of not only winning those predictors on ebay and paying POST ON TOP OF EACH 1 of them or busting packet after packet or box after box, is a crude and utterly disgustingly after thought, and would make anyone want there money back, to say the least.
I bet most of the 20 people will not be chasing these cards again this year.
Hence, ESP your sales will be substantially less again this year.