The Football Card Blog

Well, Topps has gone and done it now--used to be, I pretty much just disliked Upper Deck--and even that was only after a couple of the stories I heard, about their response to Hurricane Katrina and about how they've treated my local card shop as he tries to get up and running.

But now, I have to start considering adding Topps to my list too.  What crime did they commit?

I think I've mentioned a few times in recent days that one of my favorite sets each year has been Topps Draft Picks & Prospects.  Before last year's brownish/orange bordered mistake, they always had what I thought were sharp looking designs, some ok inserts, and perhaps most importantly, reasonable prices.

In fact, the only thing I can remember being a screw up with Topps Draft Picks & Prospects was the year that they decided to follow Ultra's lead, and make the top rookie cards Insert Only--so the only way you could get them was to pull (or buy) a very tough to find autograph card of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Vince Young and so forth--which they tried to rectify last year, by offering the same cards (sans autographs) as inserts.

Well, in 2008, in what can pretty much only be interpreted as a response to Upper Deck's Draft Edition, Topps has changed direction, by offering 2008 Rookie Progression, apparently killing the Topps Draft Pick & Prospects line.  I just realized they made the change last week--I knew Progression was coming, but I wasn't aware that DP&P wasn't (funny how they don't publicize that).

The stranger thing is, other than upping the number of hits per box (now 2 autographs and 2 relic cards per box, plus an autographed relic card #'d to 50 or less in each case), the breakdown isn't really any different than DP&P was, from what I can tell.  There's still one rookie per pack, 10 inserts per box, which have numbered parallels at a platinum, gold, silver and bronze level.

So, by all appearances, all they've really done is kill a brand that had some equity built up over the years--which if I remember back to marketing 101, isn't the wisest move in the books.  And in doing so, they now look like even more of a follower than they did before, especially with their set hitting the shelves a full month after Upper Deck Draft Edition.

Smooth moves, Michael Eisner.

 

 

One Response to “Topps Has Gone and Done It”

• 2008 Topps Progression Box Break - Inserts, Gold Parallels, Silver Parallel, etc | The Football Card Blog 22May2008

  [...] Topps Has Gone and Done It [...]

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