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That's right; Topps Heritage is dead to me. You see, this isn't something that happened overnight. Oh no, this has been three years in the making...
As you probably know by now, I'm a set collector first, Barry Larkin collector second, and a Reds collector third. Thus, a set like Topps Heritage seems to be right up my alley since most people consider Heritage a "set collector's set." However, I no longer think that is the case and here's why:
1. Initial Cost. Set collectors spend a fair bit of money trying to complete their sets. Specifically, I try to complete my sets by purchasing boxes, blasters, and packs first and then trading to fill in the remaining holes. I resort to eBay once in awhile (usually only if I've recently sold something on eBay to have funds in my PayPal account). I refuse on principal to simply buy any set outright. The problem here with Heritage is that two hobby boxes usually still don't yield a full base set, not to mention all the short prints and inserts.
2. Resale Value. For someone like me on a limited budget, some (potential) value in the cards means more money for future card purchases. Take, for instance, Allen & Ginter. Allen & Ginter usually has a few autographs or relics (or other crazy gimmicks) that sell for pretty good cash. A&G also has a mini per pack - and there are a lot of people that collect the minis (including me). Topps Heritage doesn't have that. The "hits" in Heritage are almost always completely worthless. The short prints have value, but then, as a set collector they are the cards I'm usually looking for when busting the product!
3. Overkill. Topps Heritage has kept the same formula for one year too many. The inserts are stale (seriously, how many more years of Then & Now and Baseball Flashbacks are we going to have to suffer through with Heritage)? The parallels lack creativity (chrome, chrome refractors, and elusive black chrome refractors)...not to mention the chrome set doesn't actually parallel the main set (the chrome is usually only 100 cards for the low series). Besides that, the short prints are so rare that it's almost impossible not to end up with a huge stack of base cards for trade (as you can see here for 2008 Heritage and here for 2009 Heritage).
4. Boring. Let's face it, some years of Topps past designs were better than others. The 1961 Topps design may be minimalistic, but that's just another word for boring in this case. I love the care that Topps puts into the set where they try to match up modern players with their vintage player counterparts (keeping looks and/or card numbers the same, etc.) However, while that attention to detail is vital to the success of the product in the long term, it doesn't make each individual iteration of the set exciting. For that to happen, Topps needs what they'd call a "hook" in advertising terms. In other words, each Heritage set needs something unique to keep a set collector's attention from one year to the next.
Now, while I don't have any plans to buy this year's Heritage set don't think that I'm simply a Heritage hater. Au contraire my friend, I've heavily collected the last three years of Heritage. In 2007 I collected the entire base set, the entire chrome set, and all the inserts (except for one that's still eluded me). In 2008, I've collected the majority of both sets, again with only a few short prints and inserts that have thus far eluded me. Finally, last year I also collected the entire set and decided to go for the chrome set as well. I'm still working on both of those sets (needs here).
With that said, I don't want to simply complain, I'm here with suggestions for Topps to turn this collector's heart back in the Heritage direction.
1. How to Fix Initial Cost: Add a small bit value to each hobby box. Instead of one promised relic, make it one promised (on card) autograph with additional relics seeded at a rarer rate per hobby box. Sure, that means that there will be a lot of "junk autos" floating around, but that's alright. At least cards that have been signed on card appear to fit the idea of a Heritage card. There's always something jarring about having a Heritage card with a swatch of plain cloth from a modern player...
2. How to Fix Resale Value: The autograph idea from above will help. The second thing that would help is to have something akin to the minis that Allen & Ginter has. However, instead of minis, perhaps a parallel set of vintage players in the current Heritage design? Heck, even a subset of "reprints" from the year of the Heritage design could offer some resale value. There will be plenty of people that would be interested in something like that, think of it as Turkey Red for Heritage if you will.
3. How to Fix Overkill: Believe it or not, I think this is the biggest problem - and the hardest one to fix. It's tough to remain true to the concept while constantly changing things up enough to keep the experience fresh. I believe that the insert sets could be mixed up each year without much complaint (I know I don't mind if I don't see a Then & Now insert set for another 10 years at this point). I think by combining the ideas in the previous two steps, each individual set would have enough of an identity to keep the years unique.
4. Boring: If the first three steps are taken, then the set won't be boring for at least a few more years. If constant, subtle tweaks are made from year to year boring shouldn't be an issue for a long time to come!
So there you have it, my solutions to spruce up what used to be my favorite set of the year. Topps, if you happen to read this I'd be curious as to why some of these ideas haven't been implemented in the past - surely someone in the company has thought similar things. And for everyone else, I'd love to hear what you think. Is the Heritage set played out? Should it be retired or relegated to an every other year type of thing? Or, on the other hand, is the Heritage set still the best thing since sliced bread? A better question, are you planning on collecting the entire Heritage set? And finally, what do you think about the "hits" in Heritage? Should they be scrapped or changed
As you probably know by now, I'm a set collector first, Barry Larkin collector second, and a Reds collector third. Thus, a set like Topps Heritage seems to be right up my alley since most people consider Heritage a "set collector's set." However, I no longer think that is the case and here's why:
1. Initial Cost. Set collectors spend a fair bit of money trying to complete their sets. Specifically, I try to complete my sets by purchasing boxes, blasters, and packs first and then trading to fill in the remaining holes. I resort to eBay once in awhile (usually only if I've recently sold something on eBay to have funds in my PayPal account). I refuse on principal to simply buy any set outright. The problem here with Heritage is that two hobby boxes usually still don't yield a full base set, not to mention all the short prints and inserts.
2. Resale Value. For someone like me on a limited budget, some (potential) value in the cards means more money for future card purchases. Take, for instance, Allen & Ginter. Allen & Ginter usually has a few autographs or relics (or other crazy gimmicks) that sell for pretty good cash. A&G also has a mini per pack - and there are a lot of people that collect the minis (including me). Topps Heritage doesn't have that. The "hits" in Heritage are almost always completely worthless. The short prints have value, but then, as a set collector they are the cards I'm usually looking for when busting the product!
3. Overkill. Topps Heritage has kept the same formula for one year too many. The inserts are stale (seriously, how many more years of Then & Now and Baseball Flashbacks are we going to have to suffer through with Heritage)? The parallels lack creativity (chrome, chrome refractors, and elusive black chrome refractors)...not to mention the chrome set doesn't actually parallel the main set (the chrome is usually only 100 cards for the low series). Besides that, the short prints are so rare that it's almost impossible not to end up with a huge stack of base cards for trade (as you can see here for 2008 Heritage and here for 2009 Heritage).
4. Boring. Let's face it, some years of Topps past designs were better than others. The 1961 Topps design may be minimalistic, but that's just another word for boring in this case. I love the care that Topps puts into the set where they try to match up modern players with their vintage player counterparts (keeping looks and/or card numbers the same, etc.) However, while that attention to detail is vital to the success of the product in the long term, it doesn't make each individual iteration of the set exciting. For that to happen, Topps needs what they'd call a "hook" in advertising terms. In other words, each Heritage set needs something unique to keep a set collector's attention from one year to the next.
Now, while I don't have any plans to buy this year's Heritage set don't think that I'm simply a Heritage hater. Au contraire my friend, I've heavily collected the last three years of Heritage. In 2007 I collected the entire base set, the entire chrome set, and all the inserts (except for one that's still eluded me). In 2008, I've collected the majority of both sets, again with only a few short prints and inserts that have thus far eluded me. Finally, last year I also collected the entire set and decided to go for the chrome set as well. I'm still working on both of those sets (needs here).
With that said, I don't want to simply complain, I'm here with suggestions for Topps to turn this collector's heart back in the Heritage direction.
1. How to Fix Initial Cost: Add a small bit value to each hobby box. Instead of one promised relic, make it one promised (on card) autograph with additional relics seeded at a rarer rate per hobby box. Sure, that means that there will be a lot of "junk autos" floating around, but that's alright. At least cards that have been signed on card appear to fit the idea of a Heritage card. There's always something jarring about having a Heritage card with a swatch of plain cloth from a modern player...
2. How to Fix Resale Value: The autograph idea from above will help. The second thing that would help is to have something akin to the minis that Allen & Ginter has. However, instead of minis, perhaps a parallel set of vintage players in the current Heritage design? Heck, even a subset of "reprints" from the year of the Heritage design could offer some resale value. There will be plenty of people that would be interested in something like that, think of it as Turkey Red for Heritage if you will.
3. How to Fix Overkill: Believe it or not, I think this is the biggest problem - and the hardest one to fix. It's tough to remain true to the concept while constantly changing things up enough to keep the experience fresh. I believe that the insert sets could be mixed up each year without much complaint (I know I don't mind if I don't see a Then & Now insert set for another 10 years at this point). I think by combining the ideas in the previous two steps, each individual set would have enough of an identity to keep the years unique.
4. Boring: If the first three steps are taken, then the set won't be boring for at least a few more years. If constant, subtle tweaks are made from year to year boring shouldn't be an issue for a long time to come!
So there you have it, my solutions to spruce up what used to be my favorite set of the year. Topps, if you happen to read this I'd be curious as to why some of these ideas haven't been implemented in the past - surely someone in the company has thought similar things. And for everyone else, I'd love to hear what you think. Is the Heritage set played out? Should it be retired or relegated to an every other year type of thing? Or, on the other hand, is the Heritage set still the best thing since sliced bread? A better question, are you planning on collecting the entire Heritage set? And finally, what do you think about the "hits" in Heritage? Should they be scrapped or changed
Comments
It's interesting that your solution #1 is to add value via better/more hits per box, which is the exactly opposite of I Am Joe Collector's recent opinion, which is to remove the worthless hits and lower the price of a box.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I agree with the latter. I found 2009 OPC to be very refreshing, with relics and autographs that were actually hard to find. I think doing the same with Heritage would actually be an improvement.
I think the rest of your ideas are great. I'm not a set collector myself, so its nice to see things from that perspective.
You and I have the same basic thoughts on Heritage.
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm a bit down on Heritage right now, I'd hate to see it go away. If they would only ease up on the short-prints, that might make me chase it again.
The short prints have kept me from collecting Heritage. I'll collect Giants cards, but that's about it.
ReplyDeleteI've never really understood Heritage, for ALL of the reasons you point out!!
ReplyDeleteBoxes are kinda expensive, but at least there are two or three decent hits, right? WRONG!
At least it's easy to collate since there's so much "extra" stuff to use as trade bait, right? WRONG AGAIN!
If these boxes were between $40 and $50 I think I'd understand the appeal better, I just don't get the $75 price tag. Sure, the set with SPs is "worth" a lot, but you need AT LEAST three boxes to even get close to the set, it seems.
I think I'd rather see them drop the relics & decrease the number of autographs to get the box price down to about $45 - this is a set collector's product, so you've got to make it more affordable.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you on changing up the inserts once in awhile.
I've thought about making a "Blog Post Hall of Fame" on my blog...and if I ever do, this post will be #1. Well said in all aspects. Of course, it may help that I also have zero interest in Heritage this year.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about the same issues on my blog. I think the best solution is to just drop the relics, or make them much rarer. I think the rarer autographs included this year would have been fine. The relics are not selling for much at all, most for less than the short prints and refractors. I think a cheaper box price would make the short prints a lot easier to stomach.
ReplyDelete