Calling all Set Collectors

With the first two First and Goal Group Breaks getting ready to ship in a few days, I was looking for an idea for the next break. I like the idea of not having to charge a lot but still getting to send out a lot of cards while helping collectors with their personal player, team or set collections to boot. So here is what I’m thinking, and you can tell me if you are at all interested.

I am thinking about doing a case break of 2010 Topps flagship. There are cases of hobby boxes and jumbo boxes that I am considering buying. The hobby boxes will get a lot more base cards while the jumbo boxes have a far greater chance of pulling a nice hit (including the Red Hot on-card rookie autos that are jumbo only). I would charge about $20-25 depending on which format I go with and what the current price of the case is. We would do 32 slots, one per NFL team, and all teams will be randomized after all submissions have been received, with the opportunity for entrants to trade teams if they wish. The set collectors portion will come into play because I would do my best to ensure that while you get at least one copy of every single card we pull from your team, you also wouldn’t receive any duplicates. Entrants can let me know if there are any special needs for their set completion, otherwise, I will try my best to evenly distribute all of the duplicate base cards.

What are your thoughts? Like it? Like the concept but think the details need to be tweaked? Or should I just let this idea drop and move onto something different? Please be honest as I can only get better at this group break thing with your feedback.

Product Review: 2010 Upper Deck NCAA Sweet Spot

Less than a year ago, there was little dispute that Upper Deck was the king of football cards. Then, shocking to some, UD lost its NFL license after also losing its NBA and MLB licenses. Many thought UD was dead. Then they got an exclusive contract with CLC to produce NCAA products. After several product delays and much speculation, 2010 NCAA Sweet Spot is the first post-NFL football set from Upper Deck.

The Box – Click for Detail

Hobby boxes come with 6 8-card packs for a total of 48 cards. I purchased this box from Dave and Adam’s Card World for $74 (I did not buy when it first came out), which translates into a $1.54/card ratio. That is certainly not in the high-end realm, but it certainly isn’t your entry level product either. This price point is also a bit lower than previous Sweet Spot sets if memory serves me correctly.

These cards were sealed like a dolphins butt – watertight

The Breakdown:
Base Cards: 42 (0 duplicates)
Inserts
   Sweet Swatch Jerseys: 1
   Sweet Swatch Jumbo Jerseys: 3
   Mini Helmet Autographs: 2

Click image for full-sized scan

FIRST AND GOAL’S FOUR DOWNS:
1st Down, Design: In the past, Upper Deck has made some of the absolute best designed cards around, so expectations were high for this set. I can’t say that the base design wowed me by any means, but it certainly isn’t terrible. The cards have a clean and classy feel to them and the pseudo transparent team color at the bottom of the card is a nice touch. However, much like many recent Upper Deck sets, the use of gold foil stamping for names, logos, etc. is a bit overdone. In person they don’t look terrible, but they sure don’t scan well, which can be a problem if you’re trying to buy/sell/trade online. The card backs incorporate the same theme nicely, but they are a little drab in my opinion.

2nd Down, Inserts: The only real inserts were the “hits”. The Sweet Swatch cards aren’t bad, although the use of a white background in the jersey swatch area of the card wasn’t the greatest choice, especially for the cards that have white swatches. I’m not wild about the Sweet Spot logo placement on the jumbo swatches and think overall the basic swatch design is actually nicer. The mini helmet autographs are very similar to the same autographs in prior Sweet Spot releases. Overall it’s a solid design and the concept of including the mini helmet piece is certainly interesting. They do make the card ultra thick though, so if you don’t have 180pt. toploaders laying around, that can be a problem. Considering the hits are the only real focus of this set though, they do deliver fairly well.

3rd Down, Collation: With so few cards per pack and per box, it’s almost impossible to not get the collation correct. You get exactly what is advertised in the stated odds, one jersey or autograph card in every pack. Nothing more, nothing less. My problem is that there are so many base cards in each pack. Normally I am a huge fan of base cards, but in a product like this, let’s be honest. No one cares about the base cards (unless you happen to pull your favorite player or college team). I suppose if the six hits are what drives the box price, you’re really not losing out by having too many base cards, but if you don’t like extra cards taking up space in your storage boxes, it can be a tad annoying.

4th Down, Overall Value: This is the biggest problem with this box in my opinion. Granted, I must admit that I rarely like mid-to-high end sets because every box and pack feels like a lottery ticket. When you buy a box of a lower end product, you’re not going to get the fantastic autograph cards, but you’re also not getting a crappy autograph for the price of a great one. With a product like Sweet Spot, you really run the risk of pulling nothing but scrubs in a box that still carries a hefty pricetag. From this box and from other box breaks I’ve seen online, you’re probably better off just buying the singles you want and skipping the gamble of buying a box. I was very happy that I managed to sell four of six packs from this box in my group break, but I felt bad after busting the box because I feel like my customers didn’t get a fair value for their money. Hopefully they don’t feel that way.

RED ZONE RESULTS: MISSED FIELD GOAL RESULTS IN TURNOVER ON DOWNS The cards in and of themselves really aren’t bad. I won’t lie about that. My problem with this product is the lottery aspect that I mentioned above. If every pack or at least every box guaranteed a Hall of Fame or current super star autograph, that would be one thing, but that guarantee has not, and cannot, be made. In my opinion, there is just too much left to chance with this product. In essence, buying a box of 2010 Upper Deck NCAA Sweet Spot is like putting an inexperienced rookie kicker in to try a game winning field goal from the far hash. There is a chance he could nail it a be the hero, but there is just as much a chance that he could shank it off the upright.

NEXT UP: 2010 Topps Chrome

Topps Chrome Group Break Results

Here are the results of the 2010 Topps Chrome group break. All cards are listed per team and the teams are grouped by owner. Feel free to trade amongst yourselves. Any teams in the unclaimed bank are open for trade with me (I will probably not refuse any trades as I did not pull any Emmitt Smiths, but try to keep the trade offers fair). Let’s say all trades must occur on this post and must be complete by noon on Oct 31. That gives you guys about a week and then I can ship everything out by Nov. 1.

Just a note on the two-player Gridiron Lineage cards: I opted to place these by whichever team the featured rookie plays for.

The box in its pre-rip, sealed state

Brian R.
Dallas Cowboys: DeMarcus Ware, Jason Witten, Tony Romo, Felix Jones, Miles Austin, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (RC)
Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh (Bowman Chrome), Ndamukong Suh (Auto), A. Peterson/J. Best (Gridiron Lineage)
Indianapolis Colts: Reggie Wayne (Rookie Reprint)
St. Louis Rams: Eric Dickerson (Rookie Reprint)

Tom B.
Buffalo Bills: Ed Wang (RC), Torell Troup (RC), Levi Brown (RC), T. Thomas/CJ Spiller (Gridiron Lineage)
Denver Broncos: B. Marshall/D. Thomas (Gridiron Lineage)
Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson, Chris Cook (RC), Joe Webb (RC)
San Diego Chargers: Philip Rivers, Darren Sproles, L. Tomlinson/R. Mathews (Gridiron Lineage)

Mike G.
Baltimore Ravens: Willis McGahee, Terrence Cody (RC), Sergio Kindle (RC), Ray Rice, Ed Dickson (RC), Ed Reed, David Reed (RC – Ref)
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees
New York Giants: Linval Joseph (RC), Chad Jones (RC), Steve Smith, Jason Pierre-Paul (RC)
New York Jets: Darrelle Revis, Mark Sanchez, Shonn Greene (Ref), Mark Sanchez (Rookie Reprint)

Ulises C.
Chicago Bears: Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, Jay Cutler, Major Wright (RC)
Tennessee Titans: Myron Rolle (RC), Rennie Curran (RC)

Keith M.
Cleveland Browns: Joe Haden (RC)
Kansas City Chiefs: Dexter McCluster (RC), Javier Arenas (RC)

Jeff H.
Philadelphia Eagles: Charles Scott (RC), LeSean McCoy, Riley Cooper (RC), Mike Kafka (RC)
Pittsburgh Steelers: James Harrison, Emmanuel Sanders (RC), Jonathan Dwyer (RC – Ref)

Unclaimed Bank
Arizona Cardinals: Andre Roberts (RC), Joey Porter, John Skelton (RC), Beanie Wells (Ref)
Atlanta Falcons: Tony Gonzalez, Michael Turner
Carolina Panthers: Brandon LaFell (RC), Steve Smith, Jonathan Stewart, Armanti Edwards (Bowman Chrome)
Cincinnati Bengals: Carson Palmer, Brandon Ghee (RC), Cedric Benson, A. Gates/J. Gresham (Gridiron Lineage)
Green Bay Packers: Greg Jennings
Houston Texans: Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton (Ref)
Jacksonville Jaguars: Tyson Alualu (RC), Maurice Jones-Drew
Miami Dolphins: Koa Misi (RC), Ronnie Brown (Ref)
New England Patriots: Zac Robinson (RC), Taylor Price (RC), Tom Brady
Oakland Raiders: Darren McFadden, Walter McFadden (RC), LaMarr Houston (RC), Rolando McClain (RC), P. Willis/R. McClain (Gridiron Lineage)
San Francisco 49ers: Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore (Rookie Reprint)
Seattle Seahawks: Earl Thomas (RC)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Williams (RC), Arrelious Benn (RC)
Washington Redskins: Donovan McNabb, London Fletcher, Clinton Portis, Trent Williams (RC), Chris Cooley

Thanks for participating, guys. Beyond any trade talks, I’d also like to hear how you thought this group break went and if you have any suggestions (products or processes) for next time.

I realize a few of you didn’t quite get your fair share of cards from the break. I guess that’s just how it goes. But in order to not leave anyone in the dark, I’ll give you guys an option. You can either take some random cards from the unclaimed teams (2010 Topps Chrome), random non-chrome cards of your selected teams (2010 Topps), or random cards from any product of your selected team. Let me know what you’d prefer.

Sweet Spot Group Break Results

Here are the results of the 2010 Upper Deck NCAA Sweet Spot group break. All cards are listed per pack with the pack owner’s name noted. Feel free to trade amongst yourselves. Any packs that do not have an owner’s name listed were not claimed and are open for trade with me (I will probably not refuse any trades as I did not pull any Emmitt Smith or Penn State cards, but try to avoid asking for an autograph in exchange for the worst base card in your pack). Let’s say all trades must occur on this post and must be complete by noon on Oct 31. That gives you guys about a week and then I can ship everything out by Nov. 1.

The box all freshly sealed, just before I ripped into it

Pack #1:
Marcus Easley, Chris Johnson, Jonathan Stewart, Jerry Hughes, Jevan Snead, Sidney Rice, Calton Mitchell, and Knowshon Moreno (Sweet Swatch jumbo jersey).

Pack #2: Tim H.
Troy Polamalu, Rusty Smith, Rolando McClain, LaDainian Tomlinson, Earl Thomas, Jason Campbell, Anquan Boldin, and Josh Freeman (Sweet Swatch jumbp jersey).

Pack #3: Tim H.
Ben Roethlisberger, Levi Brown, John Skelton, Kevin Kolb, Jonathan Crompton, Rashard Mendenhall, Antonio Brown, and Christian Okoye (mini helmet auto).

Pack #4: Thomas W.
DeSean Jackson, Mike Kafka, Randy Moss, Sean Weatherspoon, Matt Ryan, Jeremy Maclin, Bryan Bulaga, and Albert Haynesworth (Sweet Swatch jersey).

Pack #5: Tim H.
Steve Smith, Vincent Jackson, Cedric Benson, Donovan McNabb, Zac Robinson, Felix Jones, Frank Gore, and LeSean McCoy (Sweet Swatch jumbo jersey).

Pack #6:
Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Cassel, Elvis Dumervil, Alex Smith, Joshua Cribbs, Ray Rice, Santonio Holmes, and Derrick Morgan (mini helmet auto).

To see a scan of all 6 “hits” and a sample base card front and back, click here.

Thanks for participating, guys. Beyond any trade talks, I’d also like to hear how you thought this group break went and if you have any suggestions (products or processes) for next time.

Last Chance to Enter

You only have until 12:00 noon EDT tomorrow (Saturday Oct 23) to get your entries into the two group breaks here at First and Goal. There are still 16 teams (8 slots) open for 2010 Topps Chrome and 3 packs left for 2010 Upper Deck NCAA Sweet Spot. The boxes have arrived and I’m hoping to bust and post the results by the beginning of next week!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Product Review: 2010 Topps

After an excessive delay, and losing all of my card/blog images, I am finally getting around to posting this box break and product review, almost two months after the product released. This is the flagship Topps set and probably doesn’t need much of an additional introduction.

The Box – Click for Detail

Hobby boxes come with 36 10-card packs for a total of 360 cards. I purchased this box from Dave and Adam’s Card World for $50 (Oh, how the price has fallen!), which translates into a $0.14/card ratio. That is what you would expect from a flagship set that is more of an entry level set than anything.

Pack resembles the cards – pretty cool

The Breakdown:
Base Cards: 268 (0 duplicates) – 60.9%
   Rookie Cards: 66 (included in base card total above)
Gold Parallels: 8
Inserts
   Peak Performance: 9
   Attax/Tickets to Toppstown: 36 (1 per pack)
   Topps 55^th Anniversary Reprints: 4
   75^th Anniversary NFL Draft: 6
   Gridiron Giveaway Code Cards: 6
   Ring of Honor: 1
   Gridiron Lineage: 9
   1952 Bowman Football: 12
   Peak Performance Autos: 1

Click images for full-sized scans

FIRST AND GOAL’S FOUR DOWNS:
1st Down, Design: As they have done in the past, Topps reused the baseball set design for the football set of the same year. I have a feeling it was particularly important this year as Topps had its NFL license renewed awfully late, and only after being told it had lost it. You won’t hear much complaints from me about this however as it’s actually a pretty solid design. I like that they incorporated the official team name logos, rather than just the simple logo with plain text name for those that don’t recognize the logo. I’m not sure the circular frame on the left side was ideal, but it’s not bad. I didn’t think to scan a base card back like I normally do, but it followed Topps tradition with its horizontal orientation and fairly comprehensive stat lines. Overall, it is definitely on par for a flagship Topps set without feeling tired or overdone.

2nd Down, Inserts: There are bunches! First, Topps did 4 parallel sets (7 if you include each printing plate as a separate set) although I only pulled examples of the least rare Golds. Pretty normal by parallel standards, although I’d personally like to see fewer parallels. The Peak Performance was a pretty solid insert set. It featured a statistical highlight for the featured player and generally had great photography with tight player images and shallow depth of field. The photos definitely had a different feel from the base cards. Topps once again included its Ring of Honor insert, this year focusing on Drew Brees as the winner of last year’s Super Bowl. The Gridiron lineage cards were alright, but the design seemed rather lackluster and I rarely enjoy cards with multiple players, especially if those players are not even from the same team. Topps is also feeling very nostalgic this year as there were several retrospective inserts. First was the 75th anniversary NFL draft cards. The design’s not awful, but I’m not stoked about the concept, although I do get that 75 years of the draft is a pretty big deal. It just seemed like an excuse to recycle old images of the top players who are always included in insert sets. I would have been more impressed with 75 cards showing the #1 draft choice from all 75 years. The rookie reprints were interesting. At first glance, besides being ultra new and glossy and in mint condition, you cannot tell the difference between these reprints and the originals. No where does it state you are holding a reprint. The only noted difference was the copyright date on the back was 2010, not 1983, 1998, etc. It should be interesting to see how many eBay baffoons try to pass these off as legit. Then you had the 1952 Bowman throwbacks. I’m usually not a fan of retro themed cards, but these actually look fantastic. I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t mind seeing an entire set of these, if done as well and simple as this insert. Also hailing from baseball, Topps gave football fans the Gridiron Giveaway, mimicking the Million Card Giveaway from the diamond. I haven’t claimed any of my codes. I might just put them on eBay to avoid having 6 early 90s cards sent to my house. And lastly, I did not see the point of including the Topps Attax cards. I get that Topps is trying to get the game to catch on, but 1 per pack, really? That’s WAY too many in a hobby box!

3rd Down, Collation: I suppose this was great. I didn’t pull a single duplicate out of 360 cards, which is always a huge plus to me. I feel like I got a fair mix of the various inserts (although I would prefer fewer worthless inserts and more base cards) and I got my “guaranteed” 1 hit. For a large set with so many cards in each box, collation could either make or break a box. It definitely helped to make this box. Hopefully the entire production run was as well collated as this one hobby box.

4th Down, Overall Value: Good. You know what you’re getting with Topps’ flagship set. The rookies, even the short printed variants, are not going to sell for tons and tons of money. The entire set can be picked up on eBay for about $25. The inserts are deccent, but you’re not going to buy a house by selling what you pull from one box or even an entire case. The hits do fairly well for themselves and an autograph of a top rookie can pull a pretty dime, but they are generally lower valued overall. But also consider that the price you pay for a box or pack is pretty low. It’s not like you are turning Benjamins into Lincolns here like you do with other products. Plus, Topps has staying power. Topps has been around for a very long time and people have come to know and trust the name. In 20 years, you might have trouble finding someone to care about Panini Classics or Donruss Elite, but I would be willing to bet you’ll find people looking for Topps cards.

RED ZONE RESULTS: TOUCHDOWN (MISSED PAT) This may not be the single greatest product on the market for any one particular area (Score has a lower price point, SAGE has better autograph insertion rates, Upper Deck products have better designed base and insert cards, etc.), but if you could average every aspect of any given set to get everything on a level playing field, Topps would definitely be near the top. The price is right (and has fallen in the past two months to make it even more enticing). The base set is good looking and large enough to appeal to set collectors. There are fancy-pants patch and autograph cards for prospectors and player collectors. There are code cards for gamblers. And above all, there is that constant logo on every card that has become synonymous with sports card and collecting: Topps. Some people may think that is too much bias for a product review, but simply put, the Topps name deserves recognition and like I said above, 20 years from now, I have no doubt people will still look at the Topps brand with respect. The Topps flagship definitely punches it into the endzone, but it’s inability to really wow me cost it the extra point. And including Topps Attax in every pack didn’t help.

NEXT UP: 2010 Upper Deck NCAA Sweet Spot