(Assuming the info is correct)
Interesting to see Topps come full circle. I'm not sure yet how I feel about this development.
On the one hand...one company would fit the hobby better when you consider that it's perhaps 20-25% of its size from 1992. There were so many sets beginning in the mid 1980s, it became confusing to try and keep track of all the product. For sellers, it became a chore to stock all the offerings and others had to rely on the ol' crystal ball to figure out what their customers would buy. Contraction among manufacturers certainly helps those who are still in business with brick-and-mortar shops. However, there are few of them around any longer and Topps isn't exactly stocking the candy counters anymore like they did pre-1981.
On the other hand...the company that remains is the same one that was plagued by mediocre design, awful cardboard stock, centering issues and wax/gum residue because they didn't see the need to do much QC for something that was supposed to be marketed to kids 13 and under. The competition that arose in 1981 and again when UD came along in '89 was good for the hobby because it directly led to better cards. Even if the designs from the late 1980s and later weren't exactly stellar (and I'm thinking specifically of 1990 Topps and all 1991 Fleer sets).
Now...back the the regular discussion of prewar stuff...
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08-06-2009, 12:08 AM
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