Ahhhh yes. The first day of the 2016 Baseball Card Season is here. Today, Series 1 hits stores, and for many collectors out there, this is a day that they look forward to every year. Although I am not a set collector or technically a baseball collector, I definitely appreciate a fine Series 1. I still collect the high end cards of my favorite players, and this year will be no different.

Here are some of the top hits:

2016 Topps Series 1 Mike Trout Berger's Best Auto Relic

2016 Topps Series 1 Kris Bryant Team Logo Auto On Card

2016 Topps Series 1 Sandy Koufax No Hitter Pin Auto

2016 Topps Series 1 Mike Trout Laser Booklet /99

2016 Topps Series 1 MIguel Sano Black Parallel RC /65

Ill start with the base design, which we have had top of mind since before thanksgiving. It is FAR different than anything we have seen before, and that isnt a bad thing. Not only did I like it originally, but it has grown on me with each passing viewing. The fluid borderless presentation works extremely well, and the cards continue to look stunning.

Although the parallels arent as “evident” in their design as they were with the borders, the cards still look really cool. The framed and acetate parallels are back again, and I will definitely be on the lookout for my guys. They dropped the run to 16 on the framed cards, making them even more rare than they were in previous years at 20, something that should be interesting to chase.

As for the hit content, this is where things fall apart. I hate the Scouting Report autographs, and I definitely hate the post season and world series auto relics. Although the post season relic autos are really low count, man are they ugly with the big fucking white box. The scouting report autos are horrendous looking, and unfortunately those come almost 1 per box.

For the second year running, the Topps physical set has a Bunt program built in, with both pack redemptions and code card redemptions. The Titans series looks really cool, and will be some of the most valuable non-autographed cards in the set. If you hit one, consider yourself lucky, pat yourself on the back, and then shoot me an email. These can be redeemed for RARE and POWERFUL cards in the Bunt app, and should not be discarded.

Here is a Kris Bryant for example.

There are also new booklet cards that are called “Topps Laser” that look pretty cool. They are intricately die cut booklet cards with rare auto and relic parallels. Im curious to see how they look in person, because they definitely look pretty awesome in the scans.

The other inserts are nice, but not great, and the whole thing just has a feel like the inserts are kind of blah. First Pitch is back with some interesting subjects, and the photo variations with camo uniforms are cool, but I just cant get past the autographs, the dumb stamp/coin cards, or some of the other non-base. I wish more time were spent making these cards attractive.

Is 2016 worth you chasing down a box or two to rip? Of course, its a tradition! Is it going to knock your socks off? Not so much. The base design floats the set as a whole, being as nice as it is, but the rest hits a note that isnt as sharp.

In terms of bad products, there are two ways something can be bad. The first is design, which was definitely something that made 2015 Spectra one of the worst products of the last 10 years. The second is box content, which can take a nice product and make it horrible, similar to 2014 Chrome Football. Signature Series isnt good looking to the point where it can overcome being one of the worst box breaks I have ever seen. It has some nice cards, but the dud hits are like a virus that has infected every box. Being that this was always supposed to be a sticker dump, we knew it would be bad. We did not know it was going to be THIS bad.

Here are the “top” hits so far:

2015 Donruss Signature Series Jameis Winston Auto NFL Shield 1/1

2015 Donruss Signature Series Tom Brady Pro Bowl Auto SSP

2015 Donruss Signature Series Emmitt Smith / Barry Sanders Dual Auto Booklet

2015 Donruss Signature Series Todd Gurley Auto Relic

In terms of design, Panini couldnt even figure out a way to differentiate the product. They basically took the 2013 and 2014 Supreme design and stripped off a lot of the elements that made it attractive. Textured backgrounds, foil stamping, high end type color scheme? All gone. Instead we get a very bland card with a single color background and a player photo. Im not even sure you can call it a “design.” Thus, the product is boring, but not ugly. Boring is really the best way to look at this. Dont even get me started on those horrid lava flow foil cards. Shudder.

Then we get to the content, which features rookie relic autos in a box with 3 other autographs, including some booklets. Actually, I really like the design of the booklets, especially the dual player ones that open vertically to showcase both players. That isnt the issue. The issue is that the checklist is 400 players deep on the veteran side. I cant even name 400 football players, and that is the main issue here. What we are left with is a box that you open to find some of the worst autographs from Panini old inventory, including many players who washed out of the NFL over a year ago. Some of those dud rookie and vet autographs are in booklet format to boot.

What all of this leads to is opening a box and potentially pulling a dud rookie relic, followed by 3 autographs of players who should never have been on a trading card after their rookie year. The reason Panini is doing this type of sticker dump is because of the cheap signature content that these stickers represent, and because they are collecting dust. This isnt actually the first time this has been done in a product format, as every company has done this type of thing at least once. In fact, it looks like Topps is going ot be doing a similar type product as their football license ends in the form of Field Access.

Our expensive thirst for autograph content in the hobby leads to this type of situation, but its the stickers themselves that perpetuate it. Because its easier to get sticker autos done and use them through the year, companies opt for this type of practice with scrub signers who arent worth organizing on card signing sessions. Not only can they be used as filler, but in any product as well. When the NFL burns through players at a rate that most wouldnt believe, many companies have tons of stickers left that were never used. Thus, a product like this has to be done to clear out the inventory that is unusable in a normal product.

When you think about it, this is pretty interesting of a setup. Not only do they get cheap autos to stuff a product like a thanksgiving bird, but collectors will buy it! Insane that we allow ourselves to be taken advantage like this. The bigger issue at play is that Panini put a price tag on these boxes above 100 dollars. Not just 100 bucks, but 125 dollars in some shops from what I have seen. That is ludicrous.

Bottom line, dont waste your money on this hot garbage, as you will surely regret it. Even though the 8 player booklet is enticing as a hit, this product will eat you alive before you get to it. If this isnt on a list to receive 1000 National Convention packs per box before the start of the giveaway, we have failed as a collector base. Just think, this is just one of the many new products Panini will have to build to hit contractual obligations next year. You think this is bad, you aint seen nothing yet. Soon, Im convinced they arent even going to bother designing a set at all, just put sheets of stickers in a box and have collectors build their own cards! Even then, im still not sure how they will have the resources to create as many products for NFL, NBA, and NCAA.

For the last 4 years, Panini has ran some sort of Super Bowl promotion to clean out the rotting product that they cant sell. One of the main reasons they cant sell the product is because its fucking horrible, but the other reason is because their prices reflect MSRP and not the severe dropoff that almost every Panini product experiences. If you want to pay double the cost of a box, and spend 150 bucks this year, you can get a free promo signature.

These “Private Signings” have been going for a while, and rarely do they sell well. They fall somewhere below the National Convention stuff, as many collectors really dont care about promo cards. Here are what they look like in previous years:

2014 Panini Private Signings John Elway Auto

2014 Panini Private Signings Peyton Manning Auto /5

2014 Panini Private Signings Steve Young Auto

2013 Panini Private Signings Emmitt Smith Auto

Regardless of prior performance, Panini’s design this year is about as bad as it can get. Not only does every card carry a sticker auto (common for promos), they are affixed with a GIANT FUCKING WHITE BOX behind them, just in case the seizure inducing hyper plaid wasnt enough to burn your retinas beyond recognition.

Each card is uglier than the next, and considering how far some of the prices on the boxes have dropped, you are literally paying double for a box of hot garbage, and getting a dry handed reach around with delivery. These cards dont look good, they dont sell well, and the product you are busting is overpriced. Explained to me again how this isnt a horrible promo?

I have often said that Panini’s license next year will be bad because it puts a company that designs horrible products in power. This promotion is just the icing on the cake. Shitty Panini products are built frequently KNOWING that they will be at half dealer cost and required for closeout. Now we are seeing that Panini cant even sell the boxes at full price on their own website. Just a fucking failure on so many levels. BUT PLEASE! Give them 10 years longer to figure it all out.

Today, as you might have heard, Upper Deck launched e-pack, which is the sister program to their physical hockey products, including a way to sell the physical version of the cards pulled in the digital packs on COMC.com.

I will start by saying this program is not anywhere close to the experience that Topps has built on their apps, and that might not be a bad thing for some of you. Instead of focusing on digital content that is exclusive to the app like Topps, they have opted to pair the digital offering with physical content that collectors can actually possess. Being that the app isnt live yet, and everything is done through their site, I cant comment on the full capacity of what the program is about.

What I do know is that Hockey cards sell well on the secondary market, more than many would guess:

2015 Upper Deck Series 1 Connor McDavid Young Guns

2015 Upper Deck Master Collection Wayne Gretzky / Mario Lemieux Dual Auto

2005 Upper Deck The Cup Sidney Crosby RC Auto Patch /87 BGS 9.5

2013 Upper Deck The Cup Nathan MacKinnon RC Auto Patch /29

I messed around with the site, including purchasing one pack just to see what everything is about. At the moment, from my experience as a physical collector, the program is very interesting. It provides access to real cards without leaving your house. You can buy the pack at any time and theoretically realize the physical version of what you pull.

From the side of the digital collector in me, I cant say Im that interested in its current state. Purchases, at the moment take a lot of info. Maybe that will be different on the app. Similarly, the cost per pack is equivalent to the physical side, which means that money spent per pack is much higher at the base level. Again this could change.

Being able to access the “game” through the computer is nice. Its one thing that I wish Topps could figure out some how. Being that right now, things are bare bones, its hard to judge the full perspective of what is going to be coming. Trading is likely on the way. Selling is fully supported. However, I just dont see why Upper Deck is choosing to operate a digital format (which could exist with very little if any overhead other than license and app costs) and link it to a physical manifestation at its core. For a company that is teetering on oblivion from what people in the industry are saying, this seems like a huge investment with more investment clearly needed.

The partnership with COMC is a big deal for a site that has gained some major traction over the last few years. Because this exists kind of as a “big redemption program” as some have said, this opens up a lot of big notions that havent been available to date. Imagine this. You pull a redemption in packs. The redemption goes unfulfilled. Instead of the company choosing your replacement, you get an equivalent in COMC dollars to shop on the site. Not only does this do exactly what Panini Rewards SHOULD have done, but it puts some of the power back in the hands of the collector to get something THEY want.

Being that the audience for digital can be enormous, and hockey has a global audience, bringing this dual set up to the table seems very limiting. That isnt saying they cant cut ties on the physical side eventually, but I would guess catering to a shrinking audience of card collectors who will want to go through the process of acquiring real cards, cant be super attractive.

Topps Digital is successful for a few main reasons. First, they have attractive licenses. Second, they produce daily content, including on demand. They dont have to deal with players to get signatures, employ or pay for warehouse space, and they dont have to worry about finding a vendor to print the actual cards. For a hobby bent on instant gratification, this is a recipe for success that I dont think ePack can even come close to.

As of now, they look to be anchored to the physical product, including scanning and uploading all that information into the app. Server space is expensive in its own right, and Topps dedicates theirs to supporting the users’ growing existence instead of storing card images.

Additionally, there are a ton of unanswered questions. Do they pre-print the physical cards or are they printing on demand? If pre-printing is in the process, they will need to store, ship and process the orders. That seems pretty limiting and expensive, even if COMC is the vendor. If they print on demand, it could be a sour note for people whose pack pulled real cards were rare and become less valuable with each new printing. Also, that seems overly expensive and not practical considering what goes into printing cards. Im also very curious how you tell a collector base that a part of the print run is being held back for digital in a pre-printed format?

As a hockey fan but not a hockey collector, I doubt this is up my alley long term. However, this is the second company to try to build a format to compete with Topps, and so far the only reasonably successful one is the kittens app that recently launched. Try that one on for size, haha.

You can access what is available at www.upperdeckepack.com

Here is the official release: http://upperdeck.com/Corporate/News-And-Events/2016-01-28.aspx

When Russell Wilson won the Super Bowl two years ago, the hobby went freaking bananas over his cards. They have stayed strong with good season after good season, despite his odd public persona and give up signature structure. He definitely looks like a legit player, and his success is bleeding a bit into Cam Newton’s cards as well. The issue is that 2012 wasnt a bad year in terms of finding good looking cards. Wilson’s cards are helped in that manner. Not the same for Cam. Unfortunately, in my opinion, 2011 might be one of the worst looking years of cards in recent memory. Here are the best and worst.

A Note About Cam Newton and His Autograph

For 2011 through 2013, Newton has displayed 2 autograph types simultaneously. As a result, there have been a lot of questions raised about the authenticity of some of Newton’s signatures, as they dont match his confirmed real signature at all. Although the autographs look SIMILAR, they feature such significant differences in structure and content, that many have said that someone else signed the stickers in Newton’s absence. Although no new confirmations have been obtained, its best just to stay away. In support of this theory, I have yet to see any authenticated in person autograph with the questionable structure. Every in person signature I have seen bears the correct look.

Examples of “good” autos:

2011 UD Legends Cam Newton Auto On Card

2011 Topps Red Zone Cam Newton Auto

2011 Crown Royale Cam Newton Silhouette Auto Patch

Examples of “questionable” autos to avoid:

2011 National Treasures Cam Newton Dual Patch Auto

2011 SPX Cam Newton Auto Relic

2011 Topps Cam Newton Variation Autograph BGS 9.5

Keep in mind, the sellers have NOTHING to do with this, so dont go reporting auctions. Instead, I would encourage communication with the companies themselves, as Newton is far from the last person with these questions in play.

None of the on card listings from this point forward will feature this “bad” signature, just as an FYI.

2011 Topps Chrome – WINNER!

For the first time ever, 2011 Chrome featured on card autographs. Not only that, but it was the first year that the Bowman refractor parallel setup was used in the football brand. Not only was the Superfractor from this set the top card of the year, but the exceptionally low numbered Red and Gold autos were insane in value too. This was the last year that baseball’s design was ported over to football, but it worked very well. Adding in the hard signed Bowman Chrome autographs and other chase content, and this set was a beast. One of the best of the year without much competition. Newton’s cards sell for a crazy amount, as Topps used an SP list of top players to limit the costs on the massive deals needed to get Newton to sign.

Check it out:

2011 Topps Chrome Cam Newton Refractor Auto /99

2011 Topps Chrome Cam Newton Gold Refractor Auto /10

2011 Topps Chrome Cam Newton Rookie Recognition On Card Auto

 2011 Contenders – LOSER!

There literally could not have been a more ugly design used for this set. There is a reason that top players dont sell in this set, and it has to do with the stupid layout and terrible variation gimmick used in the production of the cards. I put this set on my worst sets of the last 10 years posts for a reason, and it all has to do with how terrible the ticket design was. Not only did it use a big white box, but the color scheme and layout of the card is beyond horrendous. Hard to appreciate a card that looks this bad.

Here is the damage:

2011 Contenders Cam Newton Rookie Ticket Auto

2011 Topps Five Star – PUSH

I was one of the few people that actually loved Five Star in 2011, as I thought the approach was really nice and very sleek. I actually dont think the design was the problem, more that the patch size on the card was about 1/4th the size of Treasures. As a result, the bottom fell out on the secondary market. Although Newton’s cards, especially his inscriptions still sell well, they are no where near where they should be. Considering how disgusting the Treasures design was in 2011, im still shocked that no one cares about this much more pretty looking set.

2011 Topps Five Star Cam Newton Quotable Inscriptions

2011 Topps Five Star Cam Newton Rookie Auto Patch /55

2011 Topps Five Star Cam Newton Rookie Auto /110

2011 National Treasures – LOSER

This was still before the time where NT had a lot of on card content, so there were a ton of stickers everywhere in this set. Not only that, but the rookie patch auto design was among the worst of the entire run of National Treasures. It featured an overly ornate belt buckle shaped patch window that left about 1/2 an inch of space for the player to sign. Add in some terrible looking colored foil, and you get the gist. For some stupid reason, people ignored the lack of quality in the design in favor of a large patch, which was maybe worn for 3 seconds (if that) at the rookie premiere. It was bad enough to see Contenders put up a bubbly fart for their design, but Treasures was the icing on the cake.

2011 National Treasures Cam Newton Panther Logo Patch Auto

2011 National Treasures Cam Newton Reebok Logo Patch Auto /10

2011 Topps Inception – WINNER!

The brand that has spread to every sport and digital in Topps’ universe started in Football. This was the first time Topps used retouched college photos to create cards to be signed at the rookie premiere, and boy did they knock it out of the park. Although the booklets and inscriptions werent there until later, this set was stunning at the time. It was also before the NFL required 00 jerseys for players without assigned uniform numbers, so those were gone too. There was an issue with chipping that caused some big problems on some cards, but the legacy cant be denied.

2011 Inception Cam Newton Silver Signings Auto /25

2011 Inception Cam Newton Green Auto /50

2011 Prime Signatures – WINNER!

Cheap box? Check. Simple and nice design? Check. On card autos for the top rookies? Check. This was a surprise, and I dont think that many expected it to do as well as it did. From what it looks like Panini wanted it to be a sticker dump, but found a way to make it work. The white bordered cards with dynamic action photos looked awesome with on card autos. Much like Five Star, collector appreciation was so so, which meant that the prices on the cards remains affordable. If you are looking to pick up a Cam card that looks great and doesnt cost much, this is it.

2011 Prime Signatures Cam Newton Auto

2011 Gold Standard – LOSER!

Oh man this set was bad. Not only did it cost a ton, but you only got two autographs per box. The likelihood that both autos were no name scrubs was quite high, and that doesnt even speak to the horrid design for most of the cards in the set. Panini must have wanted to try out some of their silver pens, so they added a big black box area on the rookie patch autos to use them. Inexplicably, they didnt use Gold pens in a “GOLD Standard” product, which was a funny twist of stupidity in its own right. Go look at some of the singles. BARF.

2011 Gold Standard Cam Newton Rookie Auto Patch

2011 Gold Standard Cam Newton NFL Logo Patch Auto 1/1

2011 Topps Finest – LOSER!

I thought this set had some potential because it featured on card autographs on the case hit rookie cards. Those were nice. Everything else about this set wasnt as lucky. The card design was overly simplified to the point where nothing really stood out. The patch autos featured posed photos and an odd layout. Although the jumbo relic design was nice, the SP list was insanely limited, meaning bad pulls were the norm. Overall, this just wasnt Topps’ “Finest” Finest set.

2011 Finest Cam Newton On Card Auto Mosaic /10

2011 Topps Finest Cam Newton Auto Patch Gold Refractor BGS 9.5

2011 SP Authentic – LOSER!

Although Exquisite was nice in 2011, SP Authentic was terrible. The patch design went completely off the SPA reservation, and the results werent even close to expectations. Higher numbering on the cards didnt help, and neither did the patch content. Of course, both are secondary to the look, which resembled more of what Press Pass was famous for, than the storied history of SPA.

2011 SP Authentic Cam Newton Rookie Patch Auto

2011 Exquisite – WINNER!

I was actually pretty shocked at how nice Exquisite turned out to be in 2011. The design was bold and big, and the gold signatures added a nice touch. Considering how odd the previous year was, this set helped to solidify Upper Deck as a continued viable option after the loss of their NFL license. Many logo patches brought in big money that was comparable to Treasures, something I doubt Panini was happy about.

2011 Exquisite Cam Newton Rookie Auto Patch Logo /99

2011 Timeless Treasures – LOSER!

Another set that might be one of the worst sets ever released in the modern era. Whether it is the signed white(?) pleather cuts that just look goofy, or the design work on the subsets, I dont actually need to diplay much before your stomachs will start to churn. Did I mention one auto per box at a pretty high cost? Yeah, it was bad.

2011 Timeless Treasures Cam Newton Pleather Auto

Again, 2011 wasnt the best year as a whole. Almost every one of the big sets was terrible in both design and execution. Hopefully this doesnt happen again, but with Panini at the helm for the foreseeable future, who knows? Without sets from Topps or Upper Deck, it might very well be a bloodbath of epic proportions.