Inaugural Ask a Stupid Question Thread

[peterose4hof]

I have asked many a stupid queston on the Vintage board and the members there have been gracious enough to answer them. So here's my offer to return the favor. Post a question about modern cards and no matter how smart or how stupid we will try to answer it.

Ex: What is a Superfractor? Who is Bryce Harper? Why does Topps have the only MLB license?

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

I have asked many a stupid queston on the Vintage board and the members there have been gracious enough to answer them. So here's my offer to return the favor. Post a question about modern cards and no matter how smart or how stupid we will try to answer it.

Ex: What is a Superfractor? Who is Bryce Harper? Why does Topps have the only MLB license?

Is the subject of this statement cards or we (members)?

Ex: Post a question about modern cards and a member, no matter how smart or how stupid, will try to answer it.

[peterose4hof]

Originally Posted by Deertick

Is the subject of this statement cards or we (members)?

Ex: Post a question about modern cards and a member, no matter how smart or how stupid, will try to answer it.

Alas, when it comes to modern cards I am comfortable admitting I am somewhere between a novice and an expert, but when it comes to mastering the english language, I am merely a buffoon.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

I have asked many a stupid queston on the Vintage board and the members there have been gracious enough to answer them. So here's my offer to return the favor. Post a question about modern cards and no matter how smart or how stupid we will try to answer it.

Ex: What is a Superfractor? Who is Bryce Harper? Why does Topps have the only MLB license?

There's chrome cards which are shiny.
And refractors that are sort of rainbow shiny.
And superfractors that are often shiny, rainbow and plaid. (And far less common)

The latest hot prospect. Who will more than likely put up very average numbers for 10-12 years.(Ok, I hope not but I bet even Nostradamus went for the easy ones once in a while)

Because even MLB thought there were too many cards out there, and too many companies failing. Since MLB gets up front money plus a cut of profits it wasn't a bad idea to put the brakes on a bit. Plus Upper deck got caught doing bad things again Counterfeiting their own product! Brilliant!

Steve B

[ALR-bishop]

Will there be any more ? If so, only on line and no more print ? Who likes the format of the 2012 Standard "Vintage " Catalog ?

Who will join me in giving kudos to Bob Lemke for his great work on that Catalog...and who , like me, is happy for Bob in his retirement, but will miss him at SCD ?

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

I have asked many a stupid queston on the Vintage board and the members there have been gracious enough to answer them. So here's my offer to return the favor. Post a question about modern cards and no matter how smart or how stupid we will try to answer it.

Ex: What is a Superfractor? Who is Bryce Harper? Why does Topps have the only MLB license?

Is Bryce Harper a Superfractor?
Is my JUNK SLAB thread on this forum stupid? (Shameless stupid plug)
Am I stupid, doctor? Is there any treatment you can recommend?

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

I have asked many a stupid queston on the Vintage board and the members there have been gracious enough to answer them. So here's my offer to return the favor. Post a question about modern cards and no matter how smart or how stupid we will try to answer it.

(Photo taken September 20, 2008. © Gary Dunaier. Link to upload on Flickr.com: here.)

[Jayworld]

I ending up buying several (over 150) of the Topps 2011 Update cards last August/September, and really enjoyed buying "new" baseball cards again, especially for the gold insert code cards, which I used online to trade for 1975, 1984 Topps Padres cards. Does Topps offer a similar program this year with code cards redeemable for virtual cards that can be traded online for vintage cards?

If so, I plan on getting some more update cards for this season.

Thanks!

[Jayworld]

What exactly are the 2012 Topps Archive Baseball Cards? I've seen them in the stores, and they seem to be current players on older year card designs. How far back, and what is the general year scope of the older designs, and are there older HOF players or just current players? Also, are there any "special" cards, such as autograph, parallel, etc.?

Thanks again for the help!

[ALR-bishop]

I don't collect these but did get the insert 3D cards that apparently came with them. I have a set of the 1968 3D cards and have always wondered why Topps never did anything like them again. The 15 card 3D insert set is pretty neat and mixes player from the 60s with current players

[peterose4hof]

Originally Posted by Jayworld

I ending up buying several (over 150) of the Topps 2011 Update cards last August/September, and really enjoyed buying "new" baseball cards again, especially for the gold insert code cards, which I used online to trade for 1975, 1984 Topps Padres cards. Does Topps offer a similar program this year with code cards redeemable for virtual cards that can be traded online for vintage cards?

If so, I plan on getting some more update cards for this season.

Thanks!

Topps changed their format this year. Last year's code cards were for the Diamond Giveaway and this year's version is called the Golden Giveaway. The only cards available this year are a new set manufactured exclusively for this giveaway program. They are no longer giving away various cards from Topps sets of the past. Here is an example of one of the Golden Giveaway cards...

The set includes current and past baseball players. Also, you do not get a card with each code entered. In fact only about 1 in 15 codes will yield a card. The rest will get you a virtual coin that is virtually worthless.

[peterose4hof]

Originally Posted by Jayworld

What exactly are the 2012 Topps Archive Baseball Cards? I've seen them in the stores, and they seem to be current players on older year card designs. How far back, and what is the general year scope of the older designs, and are there older HOF players or just current players? Also, are there any "special" cards, such as autograph, parallel, etc.?

Thanks again for the help!

My favorite part of this product is the inserts. In addition to the 1968 3D cards they also have 1967 Topps Stickers, 1969 Topps Deckle Edge, and 1977 Topps Cloth Reprints.

The base set uses designs from the following years: 1954, 1971, 1980 and 1984

The product has gold parallel cards that are inserted 1:12 packs (hobby)

The autograph cards are 2 per hobby box and there are relic cards (tough pull) as well. My only caution would be, the autograph checklist leaves a lot to be desired.

[Uppboys]

If I understood this post correct, you all are here to answer stupid questions, so here goes: I was at the All-Star FanFest Saturday and picked up the 2012Topps All-Star version of the complete set. It includes Harper #661. Can someone show me a scan of what card is in the set? I have seen three different #661s on eBay. I am attempting to not open it since the Topps officials said that there are only 600 of these sets.

Thank you.

[jhyde77]

I've seen Canadian wax boxes of '89 Donruss for sale. They are priced about the same as the American boxes. The first difference I see is that the Canadian box contains 360 cards (10 card packs), instead of 540 cards (15 card packs) that are in the American box. The card fronts are identical to the American version. Anyone know if the printing on the card backs is different in any way (i.e. Printed in Canada, card numbering)? I'm guessing these two things might be the only differences between the American and Canadian version. The Beckett Almanac doesn't have any information on a Canadian version. I collect '89 Griffeys and I'm always looking for one I don't have. Thanks.

[peterose4hof]

Originally Posted by jhyde77

I've seen Canadian wax boxes of '89 Donruss for sale. They are priced about the same as the American boxes. The first difference I see is that the Canadian box contains 360 cards (10 card packs), instead of 540 cards (15 card packs) that are in the American box. The card fronts are identical to the American version. Anyone know if the printing on the card backs is different in any way (i.e. Printed in Canada, card numbering)? I'm guessing these two things might be the only differences between the American and Canadian version. The Beckett Almanac doesn't have any information on a Canadian version. I collect '89 Griffeys and I'm always looking for one I don't have. Thanks.

I had the same question myself. Dave and Adam's Card World had boxes of these for sale a while back. I asked them if there was any difference between the two and they said the cards are exactly the same. The only difference is the quantity of cards per pack.

I suppose the only new Griffey RC collectible you could derive from these would be a sealed Canadian (10 card pack) with a Griffey on top. I have several rack packs with Griffey RCs on top, but I have never bothered to collect wax packs with his RC on top.

[peterose4hof]

Originally Posted by Uppboys

If I understood this post correct, you all are here to answer stupid questions, so here goes: I was at the All-Star FanFest Saturday and picked up the 2012Topps All-Star version of the complete set. It includes Harper #661. Can someone show me a scan of what card is in the set? I have seen three different #661s on eBay. I am attempting to not open it since the Topps officials said that there are only 600 of these sets.

Thank you.

The Harper that comes in the Fan Fest All Star set is the same one that comes in other factory sets. (Pictured below) The difference between the Fan Fest All Star set and other factory sets is the 5 card pack of All Star cards which are exclusive to the Fan Fest set.

[jhyde77]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

I had the same question myself. Dave and Adam's Card World had boxes of these for sale a while back. I asked them if there was any difference between the two and they said the cards are exactly the same. The only difference is the quantity of cards per pack.

I suppose the only new Griffey RC collectible you could derive from these would be a sealed Canadian (10 card pack) with a Griffey on top. I have several rack packs with Griffey RCs on top, but I have never bothered to collect wax packs with his RC on top.

Thanks for the information. I guess the only reason to buy the Canadian version would be to save the unopened box. Maybe there could be a pack that shows Griffey on bottom. There is a puzzle piece blocking the top of the pack. Thanks again.

[HOF Yankees]

80s and 90s are a great investment correct???????

[peterose4hof]

Originally Posted by HOF Yankees

80s and 90s are a great investment correct???????

Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there! Don't go throwing your hard-earned money away. To truly maximize profits, focus your attention on the ultra-rare 1988-1991 era and stockpile as many Score and Classic brand cards as possible. Let me also recommend a few rookies you might want to load up on:
Gregg Jeffries, Ricky Jordan, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens, Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel.

[Jantz]

The 2011 Topps Diamond Giveaway cards were a joke for two reasons.

I redeemed 22 cards and got cards going all the way back to the 60s. Instead of trading them I decided to have the cards sent to me, as Topps offered to do. After filling out the online form I found out that it was going to cost me $15 in S&H for the 22 cards.

The second reason was the fact that some of the cards sent to collectors were in terrible condition. I know a collector that received cards that were missing corners and creased so bad they would have been lucky to grade out a 1.


One nice thing about the 2012 Archives cards is that the autos are on the card and not those stickers.


Jantz

[jhyde77]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there! Don't go throwing your hard-earned money away. To truly maximize profits, focus your attention on the ultra-rare 1988-1991 era and stockpile as many Score and Classic brand cards as possible. Let me also recommend a few rookies you might want to load up on:
Gregg Jeffries, Ricky Jordan, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens, Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel.

Especially cases of '91 Fleer. Since the boxes aren't really worth anything, warehouses will trash them to make room for better products. Also, anyone that has a box has opened it, because it isn't worth saving. So many years from now, few will have saved unopened '91 Fleer boxes and there will be a shortage for unopened box collectors.

[HOF Yankees]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there! Don't go throwing your hard-earned money away. To truly maximize profits, focus your attention on the ultra-rare 1988-1991 era and stockpile as many Score and Classic brand cards as possible. Let me also recommend a few rookies you might want to load up on:
Gregg Jeffries, Ricky Jordan, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens, Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel.

too funny, a great laugh

[cwazzy]

Here's my stupid question. Last year Roy Campanella had cards in almost every Topps product. This year he has nothing in any set (except for 4-5 cards in Panini products). Did Topps lose the right to produce his cards? As a Campy collector I enjoyed having him in products like Triple Threads and Sterling. It will be very disappointing if he is not in those products.

[tcjsavannah]

And as a followup, is there any way to know ahead of time if retired players are going to be appearing in future sets?

[7nohitter]

Originally Posted by HOF Yankees

too funny, a great laugh

Don't forget Kevin Maas....dude is gonna be a shoo in for the hall of Fame circa 2009 or so....

[evensen_dashagua]

I'll go for one of the questions you mentioned. Why does Topps have its monopoly again? Does MLB really think this is healthier for the industry? What does MLBPA think about all this? Weren't the multiple baseball card producers supposed to be the source of their strike war fund back in '94 (as insinuated, I believe, in Card Sharks)?

If you look closely, you'll also notice that baseball video game producers have a similar monopolistic deal. Last I checked was a year ago or so, and, as I recall, every major system has a single game that has both the MLB and MLBPA licenses. Why did MLB change its practice from the late 80s and early 90s, when you'd see multiple licensed baseball video games, multiple card sets, team and league names on APBA envelopes, etc.?

I asked this once on a random Baseball Think Factory thread, but nobody could give me a satisfactory answer. Not only are these developments troubling to me, but it seems that we may see a constant, gradual reduction in the numbers and varieties of baseball cards produced in the coming years. If only they would get rid of the annoying refractor-type one-off cards in the process...

[ALR-bishop]

Topps never had a true monopoly on baseball cards. What they had eventually after Bowman sold itself to Topps at the height of it's ( Bowman's) market value were contracts with players that gave them the exclusive right to sell their likeness with confections ( candy/gum). Other companies could have sold baseball cards by themselves or with other products...like cookies ( Fleer) and marbles ( Leaf). But the market apparently was set around gum back then.

It was Marvin Miller who convinced the players that they should be getting a bigger share of the take and faced Topps down. Eventually MLB itself realized that baseball cards were a product that needed to be part of it's merchandizing machine.

MLB and the player union now control who has the market through thier license agreements, and they surely go with what they think makes them the most money. For now, they believe less product concentrated with fewer producers give them the best situation. Topps, with it's history, and with Eisner's muscle, is the current choice.

I have been collecting since 1957 and was glad when other products hit the market in 1981. But if you look in the SCD Standard Catalog at the growing proliferation of baseball product starting in 1995, I was also glad with the cut back. I realize others may feel differently since everyone approaches the hobby from different perspectives

[steve B]

Yep, I was happy about a bunch of new stuff in 81 too. What great fun!

And for a few years I'd look at nearly any box or package with a blank side or bit of excess room in the design and think "they could put a card there"

Then by the late 90's I pretty much got that. And realized how much less special it made everything.

I think cutting down was overall a good thing for both baseball and the hobby. At the time they started most companies weren't doing well and as companies failed and were bought or not bought it made things confusing.
Will my favorite set be made this year? and by who? fleerboxdeck? donruss/pinnacle/panini? Panini?! aren't those the Italian soccer stickers that look identical from one year to the next?

And with future values not only tied to production but popularity the products with stronger brands that survived would do better. (I think I'm the only one who prefers some of the extinct companies like signature rookies and collectors edge and wild card although most of those only did football. ) So they had to cut back to one or two licensees to rebuild the market for cards in general.

Steve B

[Sierra79]

Does anyone know if any proof cards from the donruss elite sets (1991-1993) are in existance? I see many proof and test issues come from the topps vault, so it got me wondering if there are any such cards from the early elite series sets.

[WillBBC]

Originally Posted by peterose4hof

Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there! Don't go throwing your hard-earned money away. To truly maximize profits, focus your attention on the ultra-rare 1988-1991 era and stockpile as many Score and Classic brand cards as possible. Let me also recommend a few rookies you might want to load up on:
Gregg Jeffries, Ricky Jordan, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens, Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel.

First rule of Fight Club--don't talk about Bam Bam.