Category Archives: topps sucks at high end

Topps – You Have Destroyed My Faith In The Future

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Dear Topps,

After seeing the previews for Topps Triple Threads baseball, Topps Triple Threads football, and now Topps Unique Baseball, I must say that my faith in your design team is completely gone. It saddens me to think that the priorties for the products focus more on filling the card fronts with needless numbers of swatches than getting the design to a point where it looks favorable. On top of all of this, not one of your products other than Bowman has hard signed signatures, including the ones that cost more than $150 a box.

I understand that you want the cards to look like they are worthy of the price tag you put on the box, but when each card has a large foil sticker with borders built into the design, I automatically wonder why you couldn’t just use a clear sticker on a white or clear background with no border. Why do you always have to remind us that you use stickers, especially considering that every other company has found out how to use the labels effectively without compromising the design. Also, I know that Topps is one of the two companies that has the means to obtain hard signed cards, but a lazy temperment has taken over where innovation used to reside.

When I first saw the new product, weirdly named “Unique,” the first thought that popped into my head was how un-unique the preview cards looked. It was almost as if someone had taken a stock powerpoint slide background, spliced in some tiny player pictures and called it a day. Yes, the swatches were cut from the most sought after parts of the jersey, but it wont make a difference when the cards look the way they do. One shining beacon of the boredom contained in this product is the Chipper Jones. True, the preview mockup shows a nice patch, but who could even care when you fall asleep mid gaze? Were you trying to avoid all essence of a well planned card? Are you even trying any more?

Triple Threads is not that much of an improvement over Unique’s shortfalls, as the product still focuses more on the amount of included swatches than the design. As long as the list of priorities promotes spelled out words over content and design, I will continue to duck this and future products whenever I can. The fact of the matter is that just because you can stuff all those windows onto a card, doesn’t mean you actually need to try. The “less is more” concept has been abandoned with all of your High End products, as it has become more about showcasing the excess rather than working wonders with simplicity. Then, when you also factor that the Triple Threads brand has not changed in over four years, the stale stench coming from the design begins to stink even more.

Topps, the competition you will face in coming years will be even greater now that Major League Baseball has devoted its logos solely to your products. To continue to produce cards that do not look as if they were actually cared about will damage any rapport you have with the people who drive your business. The sooner you adapt to work on better design rather than how many panels you can attach to a card, things will improve. Until then, I feel as though your lack of planning has ripped any confidence I have in your products’ prospects of being worthwhile to any collector. Thank you for destroying any hope I have for the future of the baseball card industry.

Disgustfully Yours,
Gellman

(Thanks To Mario For The Exclusive Image)

First Look: 2009 Topps Triple Threads

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Ok, before I start, let me say that I know all of you know how much I despise Topps’ high end offerings. After seeing the preview from Triple Threads that was PMed to me over on FCB, I am just in shock over what is actually being marketed for this product. Considering how great base topps and chrome looks, these just look ridiculously bad. Ill go card by card, because I cant express my disgust in one paragraph.

Unlike baseball, the rookie cards are the focus of the product for every NFL set, and these just look as bad as they have ever been. The combination of all sorts of shapes doesnt fit, especially with the trademark diecut windows. Its almost like every part of the design was done separately, and then all put together whichever way would fit. The player picture is tiny, just like last year, something I cannot stand. Topps has sadly decided that horribly designed swatch windows were more important than fitting the fucking player in a on the card. When you think that this card is going to be red fucking rainbow foilboard, it becomes obvious how bad these cards are going to be.
Everyone knows how stupid I think these cards are, mainly because of the confusing configuration of the words, and because there is not a reason in holy hell that this many jersey pieces need to be on a card. Also, I still cant fathom why anyone thinks a card that is this jam packed looks good, especially when two panels are needed. More rainbow foilboard later, and you have this abomination (for you Dave).
Wow, for this one they have ALL that space for a huge player picture, nice design, and cool innovation and you end up with this piece of crap. This is also one of the 1000+ 1 of 1’s that are are part of Triple Threads, great. This is obviously pandering to the weak knees response you get out of the people that love this product when they pull one of these OMG RAREZ!!!! cards. One of the most obvious things about this example is how poorly the design fits the card, as I have little clue as to the reason this particular layout was used. Yet, because its a 1/1 foldout, some idiot will pay hundreds for a card like this, sad.
Overall, I just wish Topps would focus on creating a worthwhile product rather than showing us their swatch cutting chops. Then, to add insult to injury, you have huge foil stickers and one autograph (could be a non-premiere RC) per $170+ box and its all of a sudden crystal clear why I think this product is the worst on the market. Follow the golden rule of Topps and you would already be avoiding this product.
If a Topps product costs more than 100 bucks, STAY AWAY.

The Day Of Reckoning Is Here

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A few months ago we got our first look at Topps Triple Threads baseball. After I cleaned up the projectile vomit that had managed to climb my walls, I hoped that they would give up on the brand for football. Every day since then, I have prayed to the card gods that Triple Threads football would be axed along with Topps Sterling, and replaced with a good looking and well thought out product. Sadly, the day of reckoning has arrived and it carries the fruit of visual diarrhea with it.

Earlier today, Chris from FCB got some preview images from Topps, and posted them on the site. Topps probably thought that their attempt at putting a half jersey into a card would make collectors forgive the abortions of years past. Obviously, I wouldnt use this tone if the card was amazing, so please escort your children out of the room before you continue on.

Yes, Topps has brought the turdtastic tri-fold card to football, took the design, and flushed it right down the toilet with any prospect of producing a respectable product. They have decided that STUFFING three swatches of jersey into three separate cards is more important than producing one card that actually looks good. I am not kidding, the burning feeling in your eyes needed two extra card panels to manifest, one panel of crap was not enough. You will also notice that the fucking logo of the goddamn product is the same size as the player picture, and that for some reason, brown is the color of choice.

Dont get me wrong, all the JCs will love this card to death because it has a logo and a letter on it, but I respect their opinion about as much as Beckett’s. The reason stems from the fact that in an industry where design has fallen by the wayside, cards like this replace good ideas. The manufacturer thinks that by blinding us with huge swatches, they can direct our attention away from the fact that the card looks like a piece of goat shit.

As good as the designs usually are for low end Topps, they are as bad for high end. I just dont get it. Just because your cards are jammed with stickers and relics, doesnt mean you can give up on the other aspects of the card. It actually makes me sad that this set is popular, because it stands for every single thing that is wrong with products today.

In fact, while I was writing this, one of my coworkers stopped by to ask me a question. He collected cards when he was younger, but now is mostly just a sports fan. He asked me what I was looking at, and I said “the newest card.” He saw it and shook his head in disgust. He then said, “Is that from Topps? They always try stupid shit like that.” Laughing, I said that it was. Its stuff like this that makes me wonder if some people are so concerned with the relics that they forget the cards themselves look like poop. No wonder this is brown in color.

Topps Exclusive Is Bad For Business

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Topps may have gotten the exclusive and put themselves in a great position, but its the collector that once again gets the shaft. Regardless of what Topps will do in the coming years, it will be without “true” competition, thus leading to more stale crap like Triple Threads and Sterling. Without having to put up with logo bearing products from UD or Panini, Topps is free to release anything they want without fear of losing customers to the competition.

Exclusives are never good, regardless of how they are sliced, as competition has always been the way better products are made. Considering that some Topps products are already the worst on the calendar, this is bad news all around. Im sincerely hoping I am wrong, trust me.
This is not to say that UD or Panini will not release unlicensed products, but they shouldnt have to do it that way. Granted, as UD has said, its more about the players than the logos on the jerseys, which I agree with 100%, but others arent smart enough to actually see past this original article. I say that UD takes a dive in baseball like nothing we have ever seen, unfortunately, therefore putting more strain on the already overburdened football brands to carry the company. Lucky for UD, the other two in that area are like one legged men in an asskicking contest.
Here’s to my now even more greatly reduced baseball collecting habits.

I Am Very Scared For This Year’s Finest

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Thanks to Jerry for sending me a preview of the Sanchez.

First off, last year’s finest was bad, REALLY BAD. The parallels were pastel shades of pink and blue, and really didnt make sense. They put manufactured NFL logo shields into auto cards for no reason. Lastly, they said a ton of shit was going to be numbered, and it wasnt at all. Yes, they offered to fix it, but thats not the point. Basically, the point is, for Topps Finest 2008, there was let down after let down for the set.
This year, like last year, looks promising from the original images that were leaked. They have a patch auto parallel, they have good looking base cards that dont look like pink film strips, and it looks like things may finally be back to the form we were used to from pre 2005.
However, this is a Topps product that just barely breaks the golden rule of Topps football cards. Last year, 2007, 2006, and 2005 were pretty much design diarrhea, but for 2009, it shows promise.
That doesnt mean im not holding my breath for the coming Topps Finest apocalypse. I have that feeling, deep down inside that they will find some way to fuck it up beyond belief. I mean, they are using the foil stickers, as usual, and the rainbow foil seems to be making a return for a second year. Lets hope they realize that colored parallels only work when they are done in a chrome product that costs 80 dollars less per box.
As with any higher end product, parallels usually have no place unless there is something extremely differentiated between the cards. Colors dont cut it for a product that costs this much, especially when they have a scheme equal to a box of lucky charms.