When a 1/1 isn't really a 1/1
 

So, apparently Topps has released multiple copies of several cards that were supposed to be 1/1. I realize most of us, myself included, don't collect modern. For those of you that are into that segment of the hobby, how upset does this make you? Are you furious or is this just the latest "scandal" to hit the news?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw9U0AJEUKA

The reason I don't collect modern, manufactured 1/1s vs organic 1/1s. I trust the organic process more than I would ever trust a profit driven motive.

I don't care. Panini and Topps have had problems for years trying to fulfill Redemption cards. In 2020/21 they were double printing Topps NOW parallels. Topps has been in my lifetime one of the least innovative companies. Now Fanatics has monopolized the industry. They are deaf to complaints because they are the only game in town.

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I know this is not what you meant and these are actually 1/1 cards, each with that printed on them. However, given the fact there are 99 different cards for Garvey (I think print runs varied by player), each with a different stat in the silver banner under the relic swatch, this is pushing the boundaries of a 1/1 definition and is what killed my interest in 1/1 cards.

This example could be used in comparison to say a card serial numbered to 100 is actually 100 different 1/1 cards since each card has a unique serial number no other version has. The only difference is a foil serial number. in this case, the only difference is a sentence on the front.

It's bad and something should be done to address it for the people holding a not 1/1, but I'm not horribly upset or anything. It doesn't seem to be a sleazy tactic, but a simple human screwup this year as Topps is going through a lot of internal changes. Topps usually does what it advertises.

What gets me is when it looks like there is corruption, malice, or intended sleaze. Usually it's Panini offending there. Topps has had some much larger problems than this though. Like that Star Wars set where the 4 biggest hits weren't actually packed out and were held back or backdoored.

The Fanatics version of Topps is doing some dumb meme crap that's worse than an error. I don't like like Taco Bell commercials on rare hits and cards with negative serial numbers and fake Babe Ruth first Bowmans. Gimmick absurdity.

Manufactured scarcity turned me off of modern cards. My first taste of cynicism was the 1996 Leaf Signature Series, where they released the same exact cards with bronze, silver, and gold embossed logos with increasingly lower print runs. I was at an age where I was thrilled to get any player's autograph, but I found it incredibly stupid that there was no difference between the images and the signatures that would make a gold card more desirable than a bronze.

Now it's grass background, cosmic background, rainbow in paper, rainbow in Chrome, wavefractors, shimmerfractors, sparkefractors... even tacofractors. It's mentally and visually exhausting.

But more to your point, my opinion of the industry finally hit absolute rock-bottom last year, when I read a thread about how Topps kindly replaced someone's 1/1 by simply printing up a new one.

I'm with you. Why can't they change the image? It's not like they don't have a mountain of photographs at their fingertips. I've never chased a rainbow.

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I really don't understand why there's all this hate about "manufactured rarity". I collect records. There's the standard store bought version, then there are tour versions and colored vinyl versions and alternate covers and all kinds of different variations of the same thing, all collectible in their own way.

Is there anything different about a colored vinyl version of a record and a refractor card?

It is nonsense such as this example that makes my decision to stop collecting sets at 2000 a very wise decision on my part.

So sad what has become of this hobby. Strike that, things like this make it not a hobby.

I'll stick to the Hobby Years of this hobby.

For me, the overproduction of sets (and manufactured rarity within each set) is a turnoff because it makes it practically and financially difficult to collect even the base cards of a favorite player(s). If you happen to be a completionist with an unhealthy compulsion to chase rainbows, forget it. The only winning move is not to play.

I'm also disappointed that we've moved from a "junk wax" era of overproducing everything to a "junk rainbow" era of giving the appearance of limited production by playing with the color palette and releasing countless subsets. Last year, we had Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Chrome Sapphire, Bowman Draft, Bowman Draft 1st Edition, Bowman Draft Sapphire, Bowman Chrome X, Bowman Platinum, Bowman Sterling. And that's before we even get to plain ol' Topps, with regular, Chrome (Platinum, Cosmic, Black, Logofractor, Sapphire, Ben Baller), Inception, Heritage, Archives, Gold Label, Gallery, Gilded, Museum, Opening Day, Rip, Ginter (regular, Chrome, X), etc. etc. etc.

I've seen numerous Facebook group discussions lately about which colored chrome parallels are worth chasing (1st Bowman and RCs only, of course). These conversations are never about what's visually appealing, but rather about what will hold value for resale. The consensus seems to be that the "original" refractors like red and gold will hold their value, but it's best to flip the aqua-lava-shimmer-tacofractors soon after release to leave less savvy investors holding the bag.

It takes all the fun away when it's less about the artistry and more about finding the next mark. I understand that this is all inevitable whenever there's demand and the perception of scarcity, but modern collecting gives me Wolf of Wall Street vibes that make me feel dirty. Earlier this year, a breaker lit a Niko Goodrum 1/1 on fire for a customer who was upset that it wasn't a bigger name. At that point, it's no longer about sports collectibles at all; it's pure degenerate gambling. And the card companies fuel it by pricing their products so that third-party breakers are the only entry point for many, turning the hobby into an expensive raffle.

I think nearly everyone is going to find base packs boring. The only exciting thing about, say a pack of 1963 Topps, is that it MIGHT have a card of someone good in good condition. But no one is going to find the same thrill in a pack of 2023 Topps full of a base cards.

Modern cards have such a huge audience because they’re exciting to open.

To bring things back to a pre-war perspective what would be more exciting to open? A pack of Piedmont or a pack of Uzit?

Gambling is right - given we've normalized vice, how long before Fan Duel, Draft Kings or someone else cross-promotes with cards to really make things seedy? If the leagues all love gambling, which they obviously do, it can only be a matter of time.

Well, Fanatics is trying to do something. Basically the first person with one of the duplicated superfractors gets to get a big payday so they can take it off the market.

One sold on eBay for $1500 and can be redeemed for $25K.

+1 it's a reflection on the slow breakdown of "society" where honest hardworking decent folks are marginalized and the "hustle" is embraced.

I'm not currently a big collector of modern cards, nor a big collector of pre-WWII cards. I mainly collect cards from the 50s and 60s. There was a day when I bought several cards and packs from the mid-90s through let's say 2015 or so. With all that said, I think what is happening with the manufactured 1/1's is comparable with what happened to game used.

When game used came out, it was all the craze. Collectors were paying big bucks for anything game used. I could be wrong, but one of the biggest at that time was Upper Deck - they literally owned the market in game used cards at the beginning. It was new, different, etc. Of course, everyone started mass producing game used cards. It went from bats, to uniform pieces, etc., and eventually involved into game used dirt and grass - how silly is that! The market for game used started tanking, and game used pieces that were worth hundreds were now worth pennies.

Could this be the way of the 1/1's? It very well could be. However, all the major players marketing/sales teams are always thinking and planning. What is the next big thing to entice buyers? A golfing day with Tiger? A lunch with Mahomes? Etc., etc., etc.

Most of the player cards I collect, the players are deceased. The likely hood of them being arrested for domestic abuse, gambling, drug use and so on are over. Rarely, has the market value of their card decreased over time. Unless you drastically overpaid for a card (which I'm guilty of), the value of the card has not decreased.

If your buying a current players card today because you enjoy the card, player, etc., that's a good thing as money isn't the issue. If your investing and spend $1,000+ for a 1/1 prospect hoping to make an easy fortune - good luck with that.

For all the reason's stated in this thread, 1/1's are spiraling down and soon will loose their allure. Then it's on to the next "Great Thing".

Plot twist:

The seller of that card had the package "intercepted" by the carrier. The card is on its way back to the seller, who has apparently "ghosted" the buyer.

The buyer, of course, is posting on social media about his "property" and telling people he offered to split the proceeds of the $25,000 payday.

Boy oh boy, the content creators are churning out videos and people are chirping away in the comment sections...

...

Ain't the modern side of card collecting grand?

I'm so glad I don't collect lottery tickets modern cards.

Just to be clear, I wasn't aiming anything at John. I was just illuminating the idiocy involved in this Superfractor situation...for the enjoyment of all.

Lottery tickets you say?
Thats actually a thing.

https://www.lovetoknow.com/home/anti...ectors-society

I didn't take it that way. There are always some nutty things happening in the cardosphere.