2021 Topps NOW

[Platman]

Originally Posted by Mattsurewood

This is good info---I had no idea Topps only got ONE base from the game. I assumed maybe bases were exchanged out during the game and Topps could have gotten their hands on 2-3 bases..good to know going forward that they only get one base. I ordered an Abreu/10 thinking I had a decent shot at a colored piece, maybe not

Jeeves confirmed one ball, one base and one corn stalk from Iowa.

So whether dirt on the base or a side jewel, there will be a lot of plain/clean relic cards of all levels.

I know I have seen them, usually playoff game cards, but /5s and /10s have been non-jewel. So if you see multiple base relic cards on the same game, absolutely assume it will be one base.

[txrngr34]

Originally Posted by Platman

4 Sox logos to go around for Eloy and Jose, so good luck.

Are they still putting opposing team jewels on some of the /5s and/or /10s?

If so, I wouldn't be happy about those chances for the cost of a /5.

[Swipe79]

Looks like an early drop today and Ohtani is already sold out.

[Mattsurewood]

Originally Posted by Swipe79

Looks like an early drop today and Ohtani is already sold out.

I tried to click on the /25 and GONE

Been on a bit of a bender lately:

Rizzo /25 and /10
Harper /49 and /10
Wheeler /10
Manoah /49
Judge Corn/25
Abreu base/10
T.Anderson Corn/49
Freddie/25 today

Credit card is on fire...not sure how some of you Platinum boys do it...I'm gonna take a break and wait for these to arrive...

[rutgersjpm]

Does anyone use Tapatalk and actually get the notifications they're supposed to receive?

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

[Platman]

OH MY, bye bye Topps NOW? And just as Topps was going public again.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fanatic...lb-11629401528

There is a paywall, this should be enough...

"Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have struck new exclusive baseball card agreements with a new company controlled by online sports-merchandise retailer Fanatics Inc., breaking the decades-long grip that incumbent icon Topps Co. has held on the trading-card market, people familiar with the matter said.

The deals signal the beginning of a sweeping reorganization of the trading-card universe. In a memo sent to baseball players Thursday, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said “other significant sports properties also separately have agreed to exclusive licenses with (the new Fanatics company) in the trading cards category” but didn’t name specific leagues or players’ unions.

The MLBPA deal begins in 2023. MLB’s current agreement with Topps runs through 2025.

Clark wrote in his memo that the undisclosed total value of the MLBPA deal is more than 10 times bigger than any deal the union has ever struck. He added that it is part of a series of recent deals that will generate nearly $2 billion through 2045.

Topps did not immediately respond to requests for comment."

[Fsegaud]

Originally Posted by Platman

OH MY, bye bye Topps NOW? And just as Topps was going public again.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fanatic...lb-11629401528

There is a paywall, this should be enough...

"Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have struck new exclusive baseball card agreements with a new company controlled by online sports-merchandise retailer Fanatics Inc., breaking the decades-long grip that incumbent icon Topps Co. has held on the trading-card market, people familiar with the matter said.

The deals signal the beginning of a sweeping reorganization of the trading-card universe. In a memo sent to baseball players Thursday, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said “other significant sports properties also separately have agreed to exclusive licenses with (the new Fanatics company) in the trading cards category” but didn’t name specific leagues or players’ unions.

The MLBPA deal begins in 2023. MLB’s current agreement with Topps runs through 2025.

Clark wrote in his memo that the undisclosed total value of the MLBPA deal is more than 10 times bigger than any deal the union has ever struck. He added that it is part of a series of recent deals that will generate nearly $2 billion through 2045.

Topps did not immediately respond to requests for comment."

They still have MLS! Go Galaxy...where the hell was my Jonathan Klinsmann card for last week???? Outrageous!

Seriously...Topps should go after FIFA/World Cup/National Teams and take away from Panini.

[Platman]

Yikes, prep yourself and get used to it.

[Joliet Jake]

Originally Posted by Platman

Yikes, prep yourself and get used to it.

Does Fanatics already provide grading services?

[VinnyH]

May have been said before but will Topps Now, Topps Living Set, etc. just end?
Seems like it,
Hmmm,
Vinny

[Joliet Jake]

Originally Posted by VinnyH

May have been said before but will Topps Now, Topps Living Set, etc. just end?
Seems like it,
Hmmm,
Vinny

Here's hoping Fanatics purchases Topps and continues with Now and Living Set.

[quackhead]

Topps Now Little League?

[MitsurugiW]

The deal with Fanatics sounds like cards with no team logos is out of the question too since the deal gives company equity to the players union and mlb itself?

[okumeister]

We still have 4+ years with Topps making MLB cards, and can enjoy collecting in the meantime.
I'm not gonna be worried about something that far out now.
And who knows, I may not even be collecting by then... (though I do hope I still keep the hobby going by that time)

[eldavojohn]

Originally Posted by okumeister

We still have 4+ years with Topps making MLB cards, and can enjoy collecting in the meantime.
I'm not gonna be worried about something that far out now.
And who knows, I may not even be collecting by then... (though I do hope I still keep the hobby going by that time)

How do you know this? Wasn't the MLBPA deal a deal of exclusivity on naming and likeness? If it wasn't why would fanatics pay 10x any other deal (which I think the article mentions)?

[okumeister]

Originally Posted by eldavojohn

How do you know this? Wasn't the MLBPA deal a deal of exclusivity on naming and likeness? If it wasn't why would fanatics pay 10x any other deal (which I think the article mentions)?

Well, I may have been partially incorrect as the deal between Fanatics and MLBPA starts from 2023, while Topps still have contract with MLB until 2025.
That's what all the articles I've read mentions.

So from 2023 (or 2024?), Topps may not be able to use logos.
And from 2025, Topps further won't be able to make any MLB cards.

Either way, it's not as if Topps baseball cards are ending tomorrow.

I'll start to feel depressed and panic a few month prior to the switch over, so saving that energy for now.

[eldavojohn]

Originally Posted by okumeister

Well, I may have been partially incorrect as the deal between Fanatics and MLBPA starts from 2023, while Topps still have contract with MLB until 2025.
That's what all the articles I've read mentions.

So from 2023 (or 2024?), Topps may not be able to use logos.
And from 2025, Topps further won't be able to make any MLB cards.

Either way, it's not as if Topps baseball cards are ending tomorrow.

I'll start to feel depressed and panic a few month prior to the switch over, so saving that energy for now.

My understanding (and again, I have only the above article summary and no insider information) is that there's two pieces of IP here: A) MLB/Team logo/color/trademarks and B) player name/likeness/imagery.

After topps exclusive deal with A we say that Leaf, UD, etc were still able to make cards like Trinity and Gooden but only because B had granted non-exclusive rights to most trading card manufacturers.

Great, now the news I'm hearing seems to indicate that A is locked to Topps through 2025 and B will start to be locked to Fanatics starting 2023.

So that means we have two years of cards that will come from only two places (if that) and that Topps will be able to print cards with ... logos? Stadia? Mascots? And Fanatics will not be able to use A in their player cards so they will look a lot like Leaf cards.

Now, of course, this is all on the condition that Topps' exclusivity with MLB didn't have a buy out clause or Fanatics is playing hardball and knows topps won't be able to execute the MLB exclusivity and will keep making offers as Jan 1st 2023 approaches. Should Topps be salty and hold but not produce and meet any outstanding payments to MLB, then we have Jan 1st 2023 - December 31st 2025 (3 years?) of pretty bleh baseball cards to collect.

Again, I'm most likely wrong in my base assumptions. Just pointing out why I'm mildly worried here.

[Fsegaud]

Originally Posted by okumeister

So from 2023 (or 2024?), Topps may not be able to use logos.
And from 2025, Topps further won't be able to make any MLB cards.

From 2023 they can use the logos, etc.. . from MLB but not the likeness of the players thanks to MLBPA. Without the players likeness, contract with MLB seems nearly pointless. They could issue cards like MLB Network Ballpark Cam wide zoom with the players blurred out. Those Topps Now cards will suck!!!!

This is my understanding anyway...I could be wrong.

Anyway, this situation causes more questions than providing answers...we have to let it play out over the next few years. If Fanatics buys out Topps, I do have more concerns over the online baseball sets like Now & Living Set than the traditional sets that Topps spits out every few weeks (which I have no interest in).

[Fsegaud]

what eldavojohn said is more in line with what I'm thinking...some pieces need to fall in place though because that seems like a dreadful situation to be in.

Another example of the union and management not on the same page...we probably will have a long strike/lockout so baseball cards will be pointless anyway.

Lets buy more soccer and F1 cards.

[eldavojohn]

Originally Posted by Fsegaud

Lets buy more star wars and garbage pail kids cards.

Fixed it for you. Everything right now is speculation but some of the ideas being thrown out have never happened before and I would actually put in the "NO WAY" category.

For example for Fanatics to continue producing a topps line like living set or topps now, they would need to pay licensing rights to Topps -- a company they just %&#%& in the %&@#$ in order to use the one thing about baseball cards you get to make up on your own. This seems highly unlikely.

Slight more likely but still not really any chance is Fanatics buying Topps. Topps was sitting pretty with MLB exclusivity -- had Fanatics wanted to buy tops, they wouldn't drop a 10x deal with MLBPA and then turn around and buy Topps. From a business perspective, that just doesn't make sense unless they are so dog eat dog that they are banking on Topps selling out to them for nothing the closer to Jan 1st 2023 we get. But Topps has other product lines and can rely on them, they're not going to get desperate.

While this is probably a good thing to shake up the industry and hopefully bring in another competitor in what was pretty stagnant, I'm not crazy about yet another exclusivity deal. This is probably bad news for us long term collectors.

I bet that fanatics is going to target phone apps and NFTs with physical cards being an afterthought and artificial scarcity of autographs being a key component to sales.

[Fsegaud]

Originally Posted by eldavojohn

Fixed it for you. Everything right now is speculation but some of the ideas being thrown out have never happened before and I would actually put in the "NO WAY" category.

For example for Fanatics to continue producing a topps line like living set or topps now, they would need to pay licensing rights to Topps -- a company they just %&#%& in the %&@#$ in order to use the one thing about baseball cards you get to make up on your own. This seems highly unlikely.

Slight more likely but still not really any chance is Fanatics buying Topps. Topps was sitting pretty with MLB exclusivity -- had Fanatics wanted to buy tops, they wouldn't drop a 10x deal with MLBPA and then turn around and buy Topps. From a business perspective, that just doesn't make sense unless they are so dog eat dog that they are banking on Topps selling out to them for nothing the closer to Jan 1st 2023 we get. But Topps has other product lines and can rely on them, they're not going to get desperate.

While this is probably a good thing to shake up the industry and hopefully bring in another competitor in what was pretty stagnant, I'm not crazy about yet another exclusivity deal. This is probably bad news for us long term collectors.

I bet that fanatics is going to target phone apps and NFTs with physical cards being an afterthought and artificial scarcity of autographs being a key component to sales.

Nope...sticking with soccer (my love) and to a *much* lesser extent F1.

It could be that Fanatics got exclusive rights to ensure they have an extended length of time well past 2025 to do what they want...why get Topps before doing that with just a few years secured? It makes Topps weaker too hence an easier buy out I suppose if they want to take that path.

Also, cutting off ALL Topps products just for collectors to start from scratch seems pretty damn risky...perhaps the online products can be dropped (big gulp for me...it's solely what I purchase...now I might have an end date to my collecting days again) but to lose the different sets that people have collected for a long time seems like a big risk. Cards are getting more expensive (and there is a market for that) but this might be a point for many to say f' it.

[bobbybradyjr]

Delete.

[glassofwater]

Any chance we get a Gianas topps now card in brewers Jersey?


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[speedyjg13]

Any word of any auto relics from today's little league classic game?

[phreakyq]

gonna guess miggy 500 auto tomorrow? sadly, i start a new job tomorrow and wont be able to sit at home and F5 all day.