Panini replacement - Unreal
 

Got an email from Panini today that a replacement basketball card was being shipped to me because of a clearly defective card I returned to them previously. Honestly had no memory of what they were even talking about. The receipt indicated that the date of my replacement request was

August 20, 2021.

You've got to be kidding. 3 and 1/2 years later? How does a business function this way?

I guess the short answer is because dopes like me give them money.

I seem to recall that I had gotten a redemption for a Fleer card in the early to mid 2000s and obviously it was an issue because I never got anything since Fleer went under. Then a few years after that, I got a replacement from UD instead. I think it was a 3-4 year delay. Honestly I wasn't expecting to ever get anything.

2 years and 4 months waiting on a redemption auto from S.Suzuki over here.

I used to snap up cheap auto redemptions when Panini's reputation was in the toilet because of unfilled redemptions. It's still in the toilet.

This was the one that made me quit doing it. It's only $20 "lost" but I'm not willing to risk the gamble anymore.

Before that the longest was 5 months for a David Ross auto.

Without going too much into the weeds about Panini and their lack of getting all the redemptions a couple of things to remember.

1) As much as we'd like to think otherwise, Panini (and Topps pre Fanatics) was at the bottom of the food chain and if an athlete did not honor their contract there was very little the card companies could do. Other than Brian Gray of Leaf famously going after CeeDee Lamb to honor his contract, I can't think of anyone bringing a court case against a player who did not sign

2) Part of the Fanatics "promise" in the hobby was their working with both the players and the leagues to reduce the number of redemptions and the speed with which they are completed. It's not perfect, and never will be, but my sense if that issue has been reduced a bit but they are still dependent on players (people) honoring their words and their contracts.

Here's a modern classic post from Reddit about this issue...

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseballcar...ash_compactor/

I waited over a year with Topps and when they finally honored the redemption they sent me a replacement card. So I didn’t even get the card I wanted. I’ll never buy a redemption again.

I bought a Ha-Seong Kim Gold Autograph RC redemption for $100 in 2021. Sent it to Panini. Still waiting. Even after I have threatened legal action.

I haven't purchased a Panini item since.

On the other hand...Panini honored and fulfilled a redemption I had from the 2014 issue years after the fact. I opened the box years after issue and subbed it anyway.