What happened to Marvel Chrome secondary prices for singles?

[1212superstar]

The boxes are still high at $500 ish but the singles dropped as much as 90% for the high end rare stuff...I saw a wolverine auto /50 sell for $61(!) recently and the blacks out of 10 are barely registering bids even for semi good characters...

This is a total disaster and thank god i didnt buy any boxes

[CicadaMound]

They couldn't keep the Upper Deck whales who dutifully bought everything that came out. The set designs were unsophisticated (parallel inflation vs ePack achievements, original art [not really Topps' fault due to time constraints], and eclectic surface treatments) and while it could get the deep-pocketed sports card market to "invest" in stuff initially, there wasn't really high-level organic demand.

[DynaEtch]

Can’t say I’m that surprised, at all. Haven’t been following the prices of topps marvel singles- but if true, this is what happens when so much of the buying/demand around something isn’t organic.

Pretty clear sign to me when most of the marvel collectors I see post on the FB groups and Reddit etc don’t seem to care much at all for these generic topps marvel sets, sometimes bordering on disdain for topps- the people actually collecting don’t seem very into it, but the breaking/boxes are being driven in large part by sports people…this kinda thing is not surprising to see interest in singles fall. How long do we really think the facsimile character autos will really be met with any kind of major demand?

[1212superstar]

the boxes should be $200 each

[LittleJimmies]

I find everything Topps has done to be completely and utterly uninspired. My collecting is driven by character, art style, and quality of card design. I haven't been even slightly tempted to buy a single single, let alone a box of anything Topps has put out so far. Granted we were extremely pampered by the quality of releases in the final year or two of UD's license with Platinum, Masterpieces (x2 but especially Dos Santos), Flair, MUA, FUA, FUW, and '92 Platinum. Heck even Allegiance:Avengers vs. X-Men was great in comparison to the rinse and repeat blah that Topps has been putting out.

[LittleJimmies]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

Can’t say I’m that surprised, at all. Haven’t been following the prices of topps marvel singles- but if true, this is what happens when so much of the buying/demand around something isn’t organic.

Pretty clear sign to me when most of the marvel collectors I see post on the FB groups and Reddit etc don’t seem to care much at all for these generic topps marvel sets, sometimes bordering on disdain for topps- the people actually collecting don’t seem very into it, but the breaking/boxes are being driven in large part by sports people…this kinda thing is not surprising to see interest in singles fall. How long do we really think the facsimile character autos will really be met with any kind of major demand?

I do legitimately have disdain for Topps/Fanatics. The had already driven me completely away from collecting current baseball and now from current Marvel.

Makes me think back to this thread when the license switch was first announced/rumored - https://mail.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1593130 . Unfortunately everything has played out exactly how I'd predicted it would. Don't need to be Nostradamus exactly to have predicted this though.

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by LittleJimmies

I do legitimately have disdain for Topps/Fanatics. The had already driven me completely away from collecting current baseball and now from current Marvel.

Makes me think back to this thread when the license switch was first announced/rumored - https://mail.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1593130 . Unfortunately everything has played out exactly how I'd predicted it would. Don't need to be Nostradamus exactly to have predicted this though.

Yep. Same here…havent purchased any topps marvel at all and just backcollecting UD stuff at this point. When marvel collectors arent that interested, but the average topps chrome thread is basically sports/general topps people talking about eql’s and getting in on box drops, it’s very obvious whats going on.

I mean there have been very small blips I guess…the Gambit playing card insert set seemed to have some interest but I doubt it’ll hold….but overall for the generic topps sets…I’m not seeing marvel people much into them at all- seems like almost everyone I talk to isn’t. When there’s a zillion parallels differentiated by a stamped number, /10s, /25s, /99s galore….I think it’ll be hard for the dwindling collecting base to continue propping all those values up. Something like that (parallel heavy set) may work in a set like 92MM platinum where there is more organic interest (beautiful card art by Jusko in a one-time set), but to see that work in generic Topps sets one after another…yep I’m skeptical.

[Bob Ross]

Fanatics ruining the IP with poor strategy, design and decision making. It's what they do.

[LittleJimmies]

I forgot I actually have slightly participated in Topps Marvel by buying 2 boxes of X-Men '97 to open with my kids who liked the reboot. That was a fun product, a bit too expensive for what it was, but at least fun. Every other product has been much too expensive and not fun. X-Men '97 was some very low hanging fruit though, even Topps couldn't screw it up too badly. Heck they even managed to resist making a Sapphire edition for it, kudos!

[PurplesaurusRex]

At this point it's hard to be surprised. I'm always wary of anything that comes out too hot, right out of the gate.

[smanzari]

Originally Posted by CicadaMound

They couldn't keep the Upper Deck whales who dutifully bought everything that came out. The set designs were unsophisticated (parallel inflation vs ePack achievements, original art [not really Topps' fault due to time constraints], and eclectic surface treatments) and while it could get the deep-pocketed sports card market to "invest" in stuff initially, there wasn't really high-level organic demand.

Originally Posted by LittleJimmies

I find everything Topps has done to be completely and utterly uninspired. My collecting is driven by character, art style, and quality of card design. I haven't been even slightly tempted to buy a single single, let alone a box of anything Topps has put out so far. Granted we were extremely pampered by the quality of releases in the final year or two of UD's license with Platinum, Masterpieces (x2 but especially Dos Santos), Flair, MUA, FUA, FUW, and '92 Platinum. Heck even Allegiance:Avengers vs. X-Men was great in comparison to the rinse and repeat blah that Topps has been putting out.

Originally Posted by LittleJimmies

I do legitimately have disdain for Topps/Fanatics. The had already driven me completely away from collecting current baseball and now from current Marvel.

Makes me think back to this thread when the license switch was first announced/rumored - https://mail.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1593130 . Unfortunately everything has played out exactly how I'd predicted it would. Don't need to be Nostradamus exactly to have predicted this though.

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Fanatics ruining the IP with poor strategy, design and decision making. It's what they do.

I hate Fanatics just like everyone else, but I've been ripping and flipping Marvel for YEARS, the Liquidity / ROI issue(s) were very noticeable prior to Fanatics Taking over - I don't think we can actually blame a company for this, as its more or less consistent with the Comic Book Market (I think its Superhero Fatigue, and not sure if it will ever go back to where it was)

[PurplesaurusRex]

Originally Posted by LittleJimmies

I forgot I actually have slightly participated in Topps Marvel by buying 2 boxes of X-Men '97 to open with my kids who liked the reboot. That was a fun product, a bit too expensive for what it was, but at least fun. Every other product has been much too expensive and not fun. X-Men '97 was some very low hanging fruit though, even Topps couldn't screw it up too badly. Heck they even managed to resist making a Sapphire edition for it, kudos!

X-men 97 seems like the only thing worth buying from Topps right now. Not too bad of a price. If we can get $100 boxes I will definitely pick some up.

[Archangel1775]

No reason a facsimile print of a fictional character should be worth thousands.

[cdeck22]

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

No reason a facsimile print of a fictional character should be worth thousands.

This^

[PoPCulture]

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

No reason a facsimile print of a fictional character should be worth thousands.

But the guy with his hat on backwards on the computer screen told me it was. He even had canons firing and choo choo training whistles going off which made it seem like he might even be undervaluing it by even more thousands. He said it was a short print AND a case hit!!! That has to mean something right?

[ThatGuyPal]

People realized a license change doesn’t equal 3X. This is just another Marvel set but because *gasp* it’s with Topps people think it’s to the moon. Only breakers have interest in convincing you of this. Nothing was particularly special about this set. Atleast SpongeBob hadn’t been turning out 100 UD sets before their release.

[comicbooksgo]

I spent around 6 figures with UD E-pack the last year and a half Marvel was on there. There were so many awesome sets that I got super into.
I have bought a total of 4 blasters of Topps Marvel chrome, and 1 box of Sapphire. Most of the art looks like something you'd see on other cheap licensed crap.
As LJ said above, the cards are uninspired. The price is too steep and there is very little that I would even want to keep from busting product. I haven't bought any singles outside of a few cheap PC Scarlet Witches. I don't even like them enough to spend any real $ collecting them.

[CicadaMound]

Maybe this is part of not owning your own IP, you have less flexibility because you have to placate the rightsholders. Imagine a "Jets, Rockets, Spacemen"/"Mars Attacks!" cartophilic universe...

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Fanatics ruining the IP with poor strategy, design and decision making. It's what they do.

1/10th the market? ;-) Who thought cartoon character stamped autographs was a good thing?

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by smanzari

I hate Fanatics just like everyone else, but I've been ripping and flipping Marvel for YEARS, the Liquidity / ROI issue(s) were very noticeable prior to Fanatics Taking over - I don't think we can actually blame a company for this, as its more or less consistent with the Comic Book Market (I think its Superhero Fatigue, and not sure if it will ever go back to where it was)

The so-called superhero fatigue relates to the casual audience/consumer. It's happened in large part because Disney/Marvel pumped out a lot of mediocre movies and TV shows after Avengers: Endgame -- Bob Iger even admitted to this. Even still, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool and Wolverine were massive theatrical hits, which shows the public will still pay to watch superhero movies that give them what they want.

These cards aren't even popular with Marvel collectors, which means they basically have no end-consumer and long-term market. Just like Marvel with the MCU and Marvel comics, it's been quantity over quality from Topps Marvel cards -- collectors and investors value quality.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by LittleJimmies

I do legitimately have disdain for Topps/Fanatics. The had already driven me completely away from collecting current baseball and now from current Marvel.

Makes me think back to this thread when the license switch was first announced/rumored - https://mail.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1593130 . Unfortunately everything has played out exactly how I'd predicted it would. Don't need to be Nostradamus exactly to have predicted this though.

Because group breakers are the only ones that seem to matter to Topps, I'm wondering how they feel about Topps Marvel cards at this point -- I'm guessing TC Marvel was a success. Going forward, demand and interest will probably wane for Topps Marvel cards unless Topps can offer more unique and higher quality products -- not just bland, cheap-looking designs with endless tacky-looking parallels.

[kyle1707]

Originally Posted by 1212superstar

The boxes are still high at $500 ish but the singles dropped as much as 90% for the high end rare stuff...I saw a wolverine auto /50 sell for $61(!) recently and the blacks out of 10 are barely registering bids even for semi good characters...

This is a total disaster and thank god i didnt buy any boxes

Its the whole hobby sports and non sports

I know breaking is a huge part. But the amount of stuff coming out every week

There has to be 1000s of cases of cards sitting around un sold

Just thinking about over production in non sports in last month

20 thousand cases of batman and dune made

Lmao

Outside of the ridiculous pricing. I also loved upper deck marvel products

I just can’t get into topps. It’s so boring

[Bcr]

I've been dipping my toes into TCGs more because the pricing on sports cards is just wild and makes no sense. Unfortunately it seems their Marvel line is the same and the artwork is awful.

[cypher]

Yup Marvel is done with Topps Fanatics Reuben running the IP into the ground. They don't realize there's a a way out of getting scammed by them. Stop buying all together even singles. Hope for greener pastures when one company isn't running a Monopoly across clothing and trading cards.

[PrinceVegeta]

Haven't bought a single topps marvel card. Utter trash.
Sucks some lost big money buying this stuff.