Quote:
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Terms of the deal are unclear, but sources say that both MLB and MLBPA will have an equity stake in the new company formed from scratch just to produce trading cards.
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I had walked away from Topps flagship about a year after I re-entered the hobby and similarly left Heritage behind a year later, mainly because of Topps made scarcity a business strategy. The quote above tells me that nothing is going to change for the better. Every decision will be driven by what will maximize profits.
Now, I am an unabashed capitalist, so I get that is how companies operate and, to the extent that I am an investor, I am okay with it. But, as has been said upthread and elsewhere on this site, the profits aren't in selling packs to kids anymore. The profits are in turning the hobby into a casino and getting folks with more money than sense to chase after the 1/1 of the latest can't miss prospect. And I have to believe that isn't a sustainable business model.