New and Shiny - Market Manipulation

[packs]

Are you saying you think specific cards from a product were pulled from packs and sent to one specific person prior to release? That would be pretty difficult for a large scale producer like Topps or Panini to make happen.

What type of place in the hobby would this person occupy that would make a huge company alter production to get a few specific cards to them? And why would they be interested in doing that?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by packs

Are you saying you think specific cards from a product were pulled from packs and sent to one specific person prior to release? That would be pretty difficult for a large scale producer like Topps or Panini to make happen.

What type of place in the hobby would this person occupy that would make a huge company alter production to get a few specific cards to them? And why would they be interested in doing that?

Large dealers get special treatment just like in pretty much every business. I have no personal experience with Topps or Panini but I can guarantee Score done it. It is also no big secret Topps has done it for decades, I just have no personal experience with it.

In my experience it was not done before release and it takes very little effort. They just have one person stand there and pull certain cards.

[packs]

Pull them from what? The conveyer? Some kind of pre-release pile? From what I understand the autographed cards are mailed to each individual athlete who then signs and returns them. For this to be done those cards would have to be intercepted when they arrive back to the company and everyone in between would keep it to themself.

That seems like a lot of moving parts to accomplish what in the end? The chase cards sell the product and live breaking would make it obvious the chase cards aren’t in the product, at least in todays world.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by packs

Pull them from what? The conveyer? Some kind of pre-release pile? From what I understand the autographed cards are mailed to each individual athlete who then signs and returns them. For this to be done those cards would have to be intercepted when they arrive back to the company and everyone in between would keep it to themself.

That seems like a lot of moving parts to accomplish what in the end? The chase cards sell the product and live breaking would make it obvious the chase cards aren’t in the product, at least in todays world.

You are trying to make a very simple thing seem difficult when it really isn't.

[packs]

Originally Posted by bnorth

You are trying to make a very simple thing seem difficult when it really isn't.

Then it should be easy to explain why a company would be interested in doing that. Panini got a ton of eyes when the Lebron Logoman was pulled. It later sold for 2.4 million dollars, bringing them more attention. It was pulled live on camera in front of an audience of rabid product fans.

What publicity would Panini have gotten if that card ended up in an anonymous shadow dealer's case at the National? How would that benefit the company in any way?

You're talking about a company manipulating it's product and alienating all of the people buying it. And you're saying that's simple and easy but why would a company invite jeopardy like that?

[Section103]

Im not here to suggest every numbered card of every player is unfairly distributed. Far from it. But not every card is an LBJ selling for millions of dollars either. Favors and preferential treatment happens. You can believe that or not.

[packs]

A rookie numbered to 10 of the premier player in the NFL at the time is not an anonymous card. That would be the equivalent to a Bowman 1st Red Auto now. Forums track these kinds of cards obsessively and they often account for all of them.

It would go noticed today. That's why I don't really see it as being a plague to the hobby. If you pulled the Red First Bowman Auto of Jasson Dominguez there is a chance you might just keep it to yourself and hold onto it for later. But there's a better chance you'll talk about it on a message board somewhere or offer it for sale in a large market, adding it to the known population of cards.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by packs

Then it should be easy to explain why a company would be interested in doing that. Panini got a ton of eyes when the Lebron Logoman was pulled. It later sold for 2.4 million dollars, bringing them more attention. It was pulled live on camera in front of an audience of rabid product fans.

What publicity would Panini have gotten if that card ended up in an anonymous shadow dealer's case at the National? How would that benefit the company in any way?

You're talking about a company manipulating it's product and alienating all of the people buying it. And you're saying that's simple and easy but why would a company invite jeopardy like that?

I get what you are saying. I feel the same about PSA. All these BS stories about gifting grades don't make sense. Really what would they gain from it? I know I have a PSA 9 card that is accurately graded so why wouldn't all PSA cards be accurately graded. Just a bunch of haters making up stories.

Don't get me started at these supposed altered cards. Why would anybody do that and why would PSA grade them? Again just don't make sense.

[packs]

I don't see the connection between TPG submissions and something like a Topps product release.