Right now, there are a load of collectors rushing out to buy a few boxes or at least participate in a few group breaks of 2014 Immaculate
. It promises a lot, especially considering its basketball sister product and recent baseball release. There are some massive cards to be had, and it is attracting some major buzz as a result.That being said, im not sure Panini really put the kind of thought and planning into this product as they should have, and that is beyond depressing considering the potential it had.
Here are some of the big hits up so far:
2014 Immaculate Mike Evans Logo Auto 1/1
2014 Immaculate Dan Marino Logo Jumbo Patch Auto /49
2014 Immaclulate Tom Brady Jumbo Patch Auto
2014 Immaclulate Teddy Bridgewater Auto Patch /99
2014 Immaculate Odell Beckham Auto Patch /99
The best part about Immaculate are the on card autographs, which are extremely nice. They are so nice that many of them are nicer than Flawless, which cost significantly more per box. Many of them are worth setting up a saved search for your target players, and that is no joke.
Adding to the allure, the relic cards have some really nice patches in them. If you are a patch person, this is your product and its not even close. As mentioned before, I hate giant patch cards with no design elements to them, so that really didnt intrigue me all that much.
What I wasnt prepared for was how bad some of the boxes are. In many cases, you might as well set your cash ablaze, because that will be a better use of your hard earned money. Not only are there some TERRIBLE autographs in this product, but there are a ton of sticker terrible autographs. Fuel to the fire, there are at least 2-3 points cards per case, and from what I saw from 3 cases at my local shop, they actually had the fucking nerve to replace a hit with them. I honestly dont understand why collectors continue to support this bull shit, as it will get worse. I dont care if you still get two autos when you get a points card, they should never replace a hit with how Panini has handled that fucking joke of a program at almost 400 a box. That is plain robbery.
Bottom line, this product breaks like Ultimate collection did back in 2009, where there is literally no middle ground. You either walk away a huge winner, or you get killed. The points cards only make it worse, as does the stickers in a product that costs this much money.
Of course, there are going to be a ton of big hits, just let someone else break the boxes and stick to singles. Trust me. Your box of two jersey cards, a 600 points card, a Michael Sam auto and a Rod Streater auto is out there. It has your name on it.
Thanks for coming by and observing the first three cases opened at my store. In all, customers busted 48 boxes of Immaculate yesterday. Again, I agree with most of what you said. For this product, I wished all the autographs were on-card and I wished the points were an extra hit. That said, many customers camped-out most of the day to observe some really amazing hits (some pictures on my website, facebook and twitter).
The fact that some people don’t get their money’s worth when they bust a box or two is just the nature of box-busting. And I agree, the hobby needs to work on giving the customer more for their money. In the case of Immaculate and other high-end products you get more for your money compared to economical or mid-priced products. Most customers who bought Immaculate yesterday are eBay sellers and they felt “good” about their busts. Most said they would be back to my store on Friday when my second shipment of Immaculate comes in.
I think that is a bit generous saying they felt good. From the people I spoke with, they were disappointed with their boxes, minus one person who pulled the Marino and the Manning. Everyone else was likely going to lose a significant amount of money and was upset.
Charlie, I know you are an optimist, but I also know that your comments serve a purpose. Ill leave it at that. The way people are feeling about the bigger cards are universally positive, but the reaction to the breaks for the super majority of people is almost as predominantly negative.
If you want to represent the way people are reacting to the nicer cards in your shop as positive, ill give you that. Outside of the way the cards look, im not going to concede a positive feeling at all.
The singles look great! But my streak of not touching a Panini high end box break with a ten foot pole continues. I get that high-end can be a gamble (most boxes are), but the stickers, no-name players, and points cards are an extra knee to the crotch.
I disapprove of Panini continually generating new meaningless memorabilia from the Rookie Premiere (hats, gloves, locker nameplates). All of those would be cool if they were game used or from an NFL locker room.
Example: How can you produce a card for Blake Bortle’s Immaculate Gloves and be proud of your work? Bortles does not wear gloves. I love that his photo on the Immaculate Gloves cards show him holding the football with bare hands.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-Immaculate-Blake-Bortles-NFL-Logo-Shield-Patch-1-5-Ssp-Ebay-1-1-/261783991466?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cf38ab4aa
Is this patch from his Premiere gym bag, seat cover, or Starter jacket?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-IMMACULATE-BLAKE-BORTLES-JUMBO-LOGO-PATCH-SP-1-14-SICK-PATCH-/351319192296?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51cc4172e8