Why 2006 Exquisite Baseball Makes Me Excited For 2010 Exquisite

Posted on 10/23/2009 by gellman

Back in 2006, there was about as much demand for a high end baseball product as there is now for another version of Topps Moments and Milestones. So, instead of producing a standalone product to meet the small demand of a hobby geared more towards traditional collecting, UD produced the now infamous 2006 redemptions for the Exquisite baseball set inventory in their products for the year.

I absolutely loved 2006 Exquisite Baseball, if not only because I completely avoided the unredeemed redemptions until I saw the actual cards. I know there were as many people who were pissed about the cards they got, but for those of us who stuck to buying singles, it was a fucking blast. Still, to this day, the cards I purchased from the set are still my favorite baseball cards in my collection. They may have been stickers (the norm at the time), but the cards looked better than anything else on the market.

To this day, I still have a bunch of the Twins cards that were part of the set, my favorite being the two Mauer patch autos that I obtained when the product was released. At the time, I spent more money than I had ever spent on a card to get both, and since that date, they have not left my shelf. I still am pretty much in the school that believes the cards are some of the best looking cards of the decade, especially the ones based on the iconic 2006 Exquisite football set. Dont get me wrong, there were a lot of drawbacks to doing it the way it was done, but the results are sure impressive by 2006’s standards.

Today, looking back on these cards, I am definitely glad to see them take another shot at Exquisite, this time with on card sigs and live cards in the packs. Chris Carlin said that card previews should be coming later this year, and I cannot fucking wait to see what they have in store. So far, it looks like they are going to be sticking with the formula they had for 2006, a good mix of vets, HOFers, and rookies, as well as cuts and stuff. Considering that all of the cards will be available right away, this could get ridiculous very quickly. If you see the Jumbo patch cards from the first set, as well as some of the retired player relic cards, they have a lot to live up to even with the bottom part of this set. Then, since they are also going to have to fill the shoes of the autograph cards of last time, UD better be aiming to please.

The only hope I have is that they dont overload this with dual rookie autos and other crap, which poisoned a lot of people’s view of the last set. Then, when the random redemptions started to be assigned, and people waited months for a dual Brian Bannister auto with some other junk rookie, those opinions headed further south. However, after reading the press release and getting some preliminary explanations from UD, this seems like they have addressed all of the problems that plagued them the first time around.

Its been made pretty obvious here that I live for High End autos, and Exquisite is the granddaddy of them all. After constant disappointment from Triple Threads and Sterling, I hope this ends up more in the direction of a better looking, on card auto version of Prime Cuts, rather than a rehashed stale product that has no legs or inspiration. It cannot be all action and no substance. It has to be what we have come to expect of the Exquisite brand, complete and utter awesomeness. If it cant play ball, its going to be a VERY long year for UD baseball.

This Card Is Just Awesome

Posted on 10/03/2009 by gellman

So far, the Shadow Boxes have definitely delivered. Check this out:

Yes, its college uni, but ill gladly trade that for a sticker any day. Wow.

SPX 2009: The Shadow Box Cards Explained

Posted on 09/11/2009 by gellman

After months of trying to get an idea as to what these cards are actually going to be, here is an explanation from Chris Carlin:

The card is five layers so it’s a little thicker. Three of the layers have images, two of the layers are filler to add depth. The images and scans we show don’t speak to the three-dimensional look of the cards so it’s hard to understand fully how unique these cards are unless you have one in front of you.

Im guessing this means that two of the three image layers will have acetate as the stock they are printed on, with a very, very thick result. For the third Image layer, its probably a solid cardstock background slide or another acetate style design background. It should be amazingly cool, especially when they have the signed versions.

They are going to serve as case hits for the upcoming SPX release, and you can bet that they are going to be pretty valuable as well. Hopefully they arent too much to buy, as I know I wont be lucky enough to pull one.

Here is Mario’s take on it, he should have a sample to show everyone next week sometime.

Product Review: 2009 Topps Chrome Football

Posted on 09/11/2009 by gellman

Instead of doing a normal review as I usually do, Im going to discuss Chrome in relation to the box break I was able to do today. Three more breaks will be coming on Monday, but due to a lack of time today due to meetings, I didnt have a lot of freedom to hang at the shop. I did my break as I planned, and I am actually pretty happy with the result.

Design/Creativity

I love the look of these Chrome cards, especially the different refractors that are available this year. There are a few drawbacks this year, which I will get to, but overall the set looks amazing. Topps’ design for their flagship was spot on, which means that the design for Chrome was also pretty awesome.

For the cards I pulled, most of the photos were great as well, something that was a drawback for last year’s product. They experimented a little too, as some of the Rookies were photographed with their helmet off, or in weird poses. It actually works pretty well, as the monotony of the same pose wears on the overall presentation of a set. My favorite of my pulls was probably the Hey Bey, as he looked pretty acrobatically posed on the shot.

However, not everything was great. First were the Cheerleader cards, which Beckett has hailed as the best football insert card ever made. That is like saying David Eckstein is the tallest player ever to play baseball. The Cheerleaders take up spaces that could be reserved for actual players, and I cringed each time I pulled one. When there is 40 cards in a pack like in the flagship jumbos, its one thing, but with 4 cards per pack, its ridiculous.

Secondly were the Chicle cards, which transferred about as well as expected to Chrome. They looked out of place, and should have just been axed with the Cheerios. A lot of wasted space.

On a good note, many of the colored refractors looked like they fit great. The color highlights the design, which means the retail blues should look perfect. I pulled Marques Colston, Brandon Pettigrew, and a few scrubs including Mr. 1:7000 Demetrius Byrd. Im hoping that in my other boxes ill hit a biggie like I did with McFadden last year.

Rating =

Autograph Cards

I think the Chrome autos are some of the best rookie autos of the year, despite the stickers they use. They hold value pretty well too, thus making the 50 dollar box a winner. I saw a Maclin pulled while I was at the shop, and was literally shocked at how cool it looked. Topps added in printed wording on the cards as well, which will completely deter people from slapping fake stickers on the non-auto RCs like in previous years.

The coolest looking pull of the day was definitely the Brandon Pettigrew black refractor auto that the owner pulled out of some loose packs he had, as the sleek black border made the card look great on the refractor board. They were numbered as low as the Rookie Patch autos, which should have been the plan from the beginning. No patches needed. Everyone at the shop agreed.

Lastly are the down point of the autos, something I discussed a few days ago with the Stafford. As if on cue, I pulled a Stephen McGee patch auto out of my box, which was better than a scrub, obviously, but wont be added to my collection either. The patches look ridiculous on the cards, most of them looking like one color boxes that obscure the picture. Im hoping I can maybe trade it for a Harvin that someone doesnt want.

Overall, the autos looked pretty nice, no matter the crap patches that Topps is trying to force into a classic set.

Rating =

Relic Cards

There are no relic cards in Chrome.

Value To the Collector

As with any Chrome product, there will be lots of value to be had. The base rookies are even valuable, despite the lack of any numbering. I think for the price of a box, the amount you get back can usually be pretty close to what you put in, something that rarely happens with any product thats produced these days.

I think the combined value to set collectors and hit collectors is comparable, a feature that makes Chrome so good. Most hit collectors will not hesitate to pay for a box even though there is one hit for the price, and most set collectors love chrome for its yearly haul. The only drawback for both brands of collector is that the set is much smaller this year, though Topps unfortunately made up for it with gimmicky inserts like the Spirit Squad.

I think I got my money back on my box even without the McGee, mainly due to the other elements of the box. I got good rookies in Maclin, Freeman, Hey Bey, and Moreno, as well as a few good refractors. With the McGee added in, there is no doubt. Seemed like this was the case with everyone who busted Chrome today.

Rating =

Overall Impressions

Chrome is and always will be popular because its such a cool addition to the flagship product. This year is no dif
ferent, and I think it could easily be the most fun to bust until SPA comes out in december. For very little money you get a lot of packs to bust, some valuable rookies, and the possibility of a good refractor or auto. Odds are that one part of the sell sheet will come through for you, so it shouldnt be too big of decision to break this stuff. In my opinion, its the best product of the year so far.

Average Rating =

2009 Product Leaderboard (SO FAR)

1. Topps Chrome (4/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Upper Deck Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Philadelphia (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Topps Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Icons (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Heroes (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Draft Edition (3/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Donruss Threads (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Donruss Classics (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Donruss Elite (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Playoff Prestige (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Bowman Draft Picks (2/5 GELLMANS)
13. Score Inscriptions (1/5 GELLMANS)
14. Leaf Rookies and Stars (0/5 GELLMANS – NR)

Dead Never Means Dead – UD Premier Reinvents Itself

Posted on 09/01/2009 by gellman

Last year, of all the sticker auto sets produced, two stuck out as being better than their counterparts. One was National Treasures, and the other was 2008 Upper Deck Premier. Although Premier was quite a bit cheaper, it still had some pretty ridiculous cards with great designs. I went out and bought more than my fair share of singles, and the Peterson Auto I have is still one of my favorites.

The problem with Premier was that it didnt sell as well for the shop owners, so many of them avoided purchasing the product. Upon its release, I spoke with two local shop owners here in Chatsworth, about their thoughts on the set. They both said that it was a great product with way too high a price point, and could have been much better with a packed out feel to it. After all was said and done, like many of the other shop owners, they ended up taking a bath in their case they bought to sell at the store.

Upper Deck definitely felt that type of sentiment quite early in the product’s shelf life, and Gregg told me late last year that the product would probably not be making a return for year number three. He was partially correct, as 2009 Premier cards are being found in 2009 Flagship UD at around 1 per case. The cards look very cool, almost like they are made from the skins of footballs, and I am very excited that they have made a (partial) comeback.

I think business wise, this is a great decision. Add a chase element to the low end set, use a concept that is known to be widely liked by collectors, and continue building on a base product that has a lot of potential to live up to Chrome. Premier cards will sell cases all by themselves, which has been noted by a few collectors over on blowout who bought cases just for these cards.

I would have really liked to have seen the full effect of this set, as the cards do look as good as they did last year. I can imagine that my scans pulled from eBay do not do the cards the justice they deserve, but you can pretty much feel the vibe of them regardless. We will see how much Premier has permeated the base set, though right now, we can see its at least two different subsets.

EDIT: There are now confirmed non-rookies in the premier part of the flagship UD product. Pic is below.

Here is what we have so far: