Seto worked on Gallery in 2017, before Living Set. Nobody cared. The Heritage version of 53 was a bunch of cold sterile digital photos. Trying the set again with new art was a good idea that proved popular. Baseball fans tend to like history. But what really drives popularity is limited print runs - the essay writer from Fanatics is correct about this. Seto’s work in ‘17 Gallery has an unknown, but substantial, print run. Thus, Zzzzz was the market reaction.
Whatever Topps does, people complain. The same will be true of whatever Fanatics does.
One thing we don’t know is - did Fanatics approach the Players Associations and Leagues? Or did a pair of Player Associations approach Fanatics?
I personally am not optimistic about the future of baseball cards, with the much higher license fees. WE, collectors, will ultimately pay them. A beer in a stadium costs what a 6 pack costs outside the stadium. The players wanted MORE money. Cards will be priced accordingly. The fans always have more money that can be squeezed out of them, don’t they?
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