I have always been a fan of retro throwback products, especially if the products include on card autographs. Topps Heritage has always straddled the line between a retro product and one that stands alone, as many collectors would buy it regardless of the set it was mirrored after, actually existed. Its the original product that Topps has used to carry its retro stable, and as a result has some loyal followers.

Let me state up front that this product is not one I would ever by, if not only because the autograph content is such a small part of the pie. It makes up for it with cool cards like this one, but I dont collect cards. This year’s set has some interesting add ons, for sure, but for the most part I find the autographs need to be a bit more built out. The ones that have shown up on eBay so far are incredible, and I might even snag some of the really big ones if I can afford it. They just look pretty, no doubt about it.

More importantly, the SSP cards have taken on a mind of their own this year, and that is something I will always support. Not only do they have SP variations that feature action shots, but Topps has taken some of the Nationals Players and made crazy SSPs of them in Senators’ gear. @brentandbecca pulled a Bryce Harper SSP Senators card from his mass case break, and sold it within seconds for $1,000 dollars. Pretty nuts considering the card is not autographed and has no game used.

Chrome is another big part of Heritage, and this year, the parallels seem to be a big market generator right off the bat. If you are lucky enough to pull a gold refractor, the asking prices look to be responding to a high demand from the master set collectors. I wish there were Chrome autos instead of the ink change, but I dont think more Chrome autos is what Topps is looking to do.

Overall, I see the appeal of a set like this for the few remaining true set builders out there, but for someone like me, this is just another product on the shelf. Then again, I dont think I am the target market to buy a product like this, but I fail to see why limiting the scope is a good idea. Of course, the brand loyalty is somewhat driven by the product structure, and that, my friends, is why I am not a brand manager!