BTW, I'm not saying this will happen and I have not even suggested it to Topps but I do see that Garbage Pail Kids no longer have the stickers diecut. If Wackys still had the black borders but there was no diecut (the entire rectangle is the sticker) would that be a deal breaker? Some of the GPK people were pissed but the majority just shrugged and moved on to talk about the stickers (well the sketch cards then the stickers).
Dropping the diecut would be a huge money saver and could make the series continuing a better possibility. Just a thought. Your thoughts?
My gut on getting rid of the die-cut is negative. Once you've done that, I'm not sure that it's really a Wacky Packages sticker anymore. That is to say, what makes a Wacky Packages sticker is that shape and how it looks when stuck. And how they overlap with each other when stuck, and so on. In my opinion, that feature is fundamental to making them what they are.
However, if you're at the point that you're removing the die-cut, I feel the assumption must be that these are not being used as stickers by the majority of people and collectors (which is probably very true for Old School). But IF you're getting rid of the die-cut, I feel as if you might as well not make them stickers at all. Just make them cards, while retaining the printed black borders. They'll look great in nine pocket sheets and they'll last longer. And I'm not being facetious when I say that. I wouldn't like them as much as die-cut stickers, but they'd still have some appeal and entertainment value.
I don't stick too many of my Wacky Packages these days, but I have one of the Old School 70's wrapper stickers on one of my Passport portable hard drives. It helps differentiate it from my school of externals. I don't think I'd ever stick a full-square sticker. Wouldn't look attractive and wouldn't really look like a Wacky Packages sticker to me. I guess that's what makes me think that if you're getting rid of the die-cuts, just don't make them stickers anymore. I've stuck a lot of Wacky Packages on things in the last five years. But if they were a rectangle sticker, I don't think I'd stick any of them. (Though I might still collect.)
So, my vote is, if removing the die-cut is what's going to make the difference between making a series or not, just go all the way and make them cards and really save. Wacky Packages Cards.
I would still MUCH rather get die-cut stickers. It would make a big difference in their appeal to me for them to lose that fundamental feature. But I'd rather have something cool than nothing at all.