Author Topic: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club  (Read 141870 times)

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Offline DrDeal

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #70 on: January 25, 2017, 01:01:19 PM »
Too bad they don't show the backs of the cards as well. I read it the same way however. That PUMPKIN LIE and FICTION FACTS would be labeled as Wacky Packages and that HAWAIIAN PUNK was not.

I think they mislabeled the Hawaiian Punk Card as it looks nothing like a GPK card and sure looks like a Wacky. I vote we include it in the bulk purchases.

If not I will be purchasing it so I need to know where we land on this one while it is still available.

Andrew

Offline slamjim

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #71 on: January 25, 2017, 01:08:40 PM »
GPK Network Spews will be a mix of WP and GPK depending on the topic. Kind of like Disg-race had the GPK name in it as well. The back WILL have a WP logo on it.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2017, 01:17:40 PM by slamjim »

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #72 on: January 25, 2017, 01:57:00 PM »
GPK Network Spews will be a mix of WP and GPK depending on the topic. Kind of like Disg-race had the GPK name in it as well. The back WILL have a WP logo on it.
I think that is the clincher then.

(There are some wackys *still* labeled as GPK in the historical section, so that's not really something we can trust)

That's 3 cards in one day. We'll see if our funds will even last one week....

Offline DrDeal

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #73 on: January 25, 2017, 02:08:58 PM »
I think that is the clincher then.

(There are some wackys *still* labeled as GPK in the historical section, so that's not really something we can trust)

That's 3 cards in one day. We'll see if our funds will even last one week....

It will be ironic if we end up with twice as many Wackies per week (6) as before (3) and end up paying the same amount per week (Or a little less) even though we are getting them for less than half-price.  This development makes the Bulk Buyer's Club the best move ever!

Online RawGoo

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #74 on: January 25, 2017, 03:25:59 PM »
I really wish they'd use the original black borders.  With the thin line, these barely even look like Wackys.

Offline Joe G.

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #75 on: January 25, 2017, 03:42:12 PM »
I really wish they'd use the original black borders.  With the thin line, these barely even look like Wackys.

Pat that was my initial reaction as well but then I realized that the thinner borders mean that the art is actually printed larger and my 50 year old eyes kinda appreciate that!

Offline Baked Bears

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #76 on: January 25, 2017, 04:07:54 PM »
Yes, this is getting a bit tricky and messy. We've already spent 2/3 of our two week funds in two days.  In addition, we can't rely upon a pattern - at least for the moment.  Who would have saw this coming?  I guess we have no choice but to play it day by day.  Pat, you're the ref and making all the calls.  Please let us know whether or not to send more money - or if we're on our own buying a particular card.  If the same thing happens again tomorrow, our club's kitty will be bankrupt - and there will still be a third card up for grabs. 

Again, thanks for forming the club, thanks for the savings, and now, more than ever, thank you for managing the club.

Rob

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #77 on: January 25, 2017, 04:49:00 PM »
Who would have saw this coming? 
Well, this is actually why I ended up going with the 6 card "2 week" suggestion.  8)
After Dave mentioned there may be several new categories, that got me concerned. I figured it was better to cover more cards up front and then watch how the week played out. I was thinking 2 cards a day over 3 days and we're almost there.
Have to see how the rest of the week plays out and then prep for the next round this weekend.

Offline slamjim

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #78 on: January 25, 2017, 05:12:10 PM »
Well, this is actually why I ended up going with the 6 card "2 week" suggestion.  8)
After Dave mentioned there may be several new categories, that got me concerned. I figured it was better to cover more cards up front and then watch how the week played out. I was thinking 2 cards a day over 3 days and we're almost there.
Have to see how the rest of the week plays out and then prep for the next round this weekend.

Not knowing what is going on but I'd plan for around 5-6 WP a week excluding the possibility of any that might be in special sets like for the Oscars and whatnot. I'm doing two for tomorrow.

Also, I expect other than special sets that may appear on a Monday that these will always be Tues, Wed and Thurs.

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #79 on: January 25, 2017, 05:47:45 PM »
60 cards purchased....  >(




Offline JasonLiebig

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #80 on: January 25, 2017, 10:53:29 PM »
I really wish they'd use the original black borders.  With the thin line, these barely even look like Wackys.

Agreed.

It's like putting Coca-Cola in a blue can.  It just doesn't make any sense.  While the thick black border might not be a literally-trademarked ® feature of Wacky Packages, it IS one of the trademark features of them.   It immediately identifies it for what it is. 

This is a bone-headed design choice.  If there is an argument for the change, I couldn't imagine what it would be, or that it would stand up to criticism. 
Jason Liebig - A swell TV host (currently on History Channel) who used to oversee Marvel Comics' X-Men - now creator and curator of WishbookWeb.com and CollectingCandy.com, a celebration of candy packaging, marketing and the people behind it all

Offline slamjim

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #81 on: January 26, 2017, 12:26:13 AM »
Agreed.

It's like putting Coca-Cola in a blue can.  It just doesn't make any sense.  While the thick black border might not be a literally-trademarked ® feature of Wacky Packages, it IS one of the trademark features of them.   It immediately identifies it for what it is. 

This is a bone-headed design choice.  If there is an argument for the change, I couldn't imagine what it would be, or that it would stand up to criticism.

Bigger art and fitting the space to the max is the reason. Old School will still have thick borders. Hopefully if we do any non-celebrity/ political sets coming up we will do traditional WP borders but the newest sets will have them as Topps tries to appeal to more people.

Online RawGoo

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #82 on: January 26, 2017, 01:11:41 AM »
Bigger art and fitting the space to the max is the reason. Old School will still have thick borders. Hopefully if we do any non-celebrity/ political sets coming up we will do traditional WP borders but the newest sets will have them as Topps tries to appeal to more people.

I understand the bigger art and space reasons, but my brain has been programmed to expect Wackys to have the old, thicker borders.  I am very glad to hear that Old School will retain that format!

Offline DrDeal

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #83 on: January 26, 2017, 02:43:09 AM »
I understand the bigger art and space reasons, but my brain has been programmed to expect Wackys to have the old, thicker borders.  I am very glad to hear that Old School will retain that format!

To my perception: Thin Border Wackies are "Wackies Light".  Something derived from the original; but a new version.  I too prefer the thicker borders.

Andrew

Offline JasonLiebig

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #84 on: January 26, 2017, 08:57:33 AM »
Bigger art and fitting the space to the max is the reason. Old School will still have thick borders. Hopefully if we do any non-celebrity/ political sets coming up we will do traditional WP borders but the newest sets will have them as Topps tries to appeal to more people.

In my opinion, I'd be surprised if the buying-or-not-buying factor of Wacky Packages in 2017 is art-to-card size ratio.  This seems to be a case of a legit problem (not enough people wanting to buy the product) with a solution (thin borders) that doesn't actually address the problem, and in fact weakens the product overall.  It merely makes a change for changes sake, and in the process creates a less-effectively designed product. 

I appreciate the demands of increasing sales and trying to do things differently to achieve that, but sometimes the approach to that goal is misguided.  This design choice certainly seems like a case of that.

I'd be curious to know how they came to the decision (consumer testing, etc), because even testing can have numerous pitfalls if you don't know how to interpret the data (i.e. New Coke).  My guess is that this was the probably the choice of an art director, or someone making the decisions of one. 
Jason Liebig - A swell TV host (currently on History Channel) who used to oversee Marvel Comics' X-Men - now creator and curator of WishbookWeb.com and CollectingCandy.com, a celebration of candy packaging, marketing and the people behind it all

Offline Joe G.

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #85 on: January 26, 2017, 09:43:16 AM »
Agreed.

It's like putting Coca-Cola in a blue can. 

Jason, too cool, I like the way you snuck in your passion, package design.  Of course, Wackys have big borders and others don't!  But, playing devil's advocate here, I would love to see Coke in a blue can and the original Wackys are a bit old fashioned, at least according to my kids.

Offline JasonLiebig

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #86 on: January 26, 2017, 10:05:14 AM »
Jason, too cool, I like the way you snuck in your passion, package design.  Of course, Wackys have big borders and others don't!  But, playing devil's advocate here, I would love to see Coke in a blue can and the original Wackys are a bit old fashioned, at least according to my kids.

Well, they have put Coke in different color cans. Organic Coca-Cola came with a green background logo and was/is called Coca-Cola Life.   So there are reasons.  But they still kept that great old type-face logo and still called back to the classic bottle shape. 

But you raise a great point and that is the perception that these are old-fashioned.   We have someone perceives Wacky Packages as "a bit old-fashioned", and I'd say that's a great starting point to problem solve (if that someone is a lot of people).  Does a thin border mean modern?  I'd be shocked if that were the case, but I'm open to the information if that is what makes them "old-fashioned" somehow.   To me, thinning the border (or getting rid of it entirely) seems more arbitrary than directed.   But again, maybe there's a series of focus groups that decided Thick Border = Old, Thin Border = New.   

My guess would be that, rather than an iconic border thickness being the thing that makes these old fashioned, it may be the fundamental nature of trading cards/stickers at all, that makes them that.  And a border doesn't solve that fundamental problem. 

I'd also posit that, if you look at what hip-hop artwork and graphitti artwork looks like - the design elements that are most often used within it; it all has thick BOLD borders.  So, I would take the position and argue that the fat black border design element is the MOST contemporary aspect of Wacky Packages.  And in an effort to make them "modern" (if that was indeed the goal of removing it) they have stripped away the singular aspect of Wacky Package that was already visually contemporary.  :-)  Ahem.

[Edit: Sorry guys, I just realized that we're having a style/design discussion on your thread where you're trying to work out the twists and turns of the On-Demand releases for the buyer's club - which I think is a great idea, BTW.  Didn't mean to step on your thread.]
« Last Edit: January 26, 2017, 11:42:18 AM by JasonLiebig »
Jason Liebig - A swell TV host (currently on History Channel) who used to oversee Marvel Comics' X-Men - now creator and curator of WishbookWeb.com and CollectingCandy.com, a celebration of candy packaging, marketing and the people behind it all

Offline quas

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #87 on: January 26, 2017, 10:40:26 AM »
I think that is the clincher then.

(There are some wackys *still* labeled as GPK in the historical section, so that's not really something we can trust)

That's 3 cards in one day. We'll see if our funds will even last one week....

So just to confirm, cumulatively, we're up to 4 at the moment?  (Pending whatever Topps will post later this afternoon?)
Marc

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #88 on: January 26, 2017, 11:13:36 AM »
So just to confirm, cumulatively, we're up to 4 at the moment?  (Pending whatever Topps will post later this afternoon?)
Correct. 3 Alt Facts and 1 Network Spews.
(Or - One card Tuesday and three cards Wednesday)

Offline DrDeal

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #89 on: January 26, 2017, 11:25:35 AM »
Correct. 3 Alt Facts and 1 Network Spews.
(Or - One card Tuesday and three cards Wednesday)

So we should plan on sending another payment Sunday for the following two week period right? It will likely be double what we last sent if this volume continues right?

The more cards they produce; the better deal this club turns out to be.  Very good timing on your part Patrick.

Andrew

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #90 on: January 26, 2017, 12:42:16 PM »
So we should plan on sending another payment Sunday for the following two week period right? It will likely be double what we last sent if this volume continues
So we got 6 cards in one week instead of the two weeks we were planning.
Not sure if getting 6 this week was luck or not, but makes future planning a little easier.
Sending cards out every 2 weeks still has benefits for reduce costs for shipping though, but with a higher card count per envelope I'll have to check for increased postage.
I need to check that before the weekend so we can plan this out smartly.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2017, 06:29:16 AM by Fanatical_and_Sickly »

Offline Baked Bears

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #91 on: January 26, 2017, 01:59:15 PM »
This might sound weird at first, but what if we paid for 8 cards the next time around?

If it ends up being six cards again next week, we will have extra money in the kitty for the week after and be ahead of the game.

If it happens to be more than 6 cards next week, though, then at least we'll have a bit of a cushion and be able to purchase two more cards at discount prices.

But if we only pay for 6 cards this time, and they issue, say, eight cards next week, we'll be stuck paying full price for two of them.

Just food for thought, being no definitive pattern has been established just yet.

Offline DrDeal

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #92 on: January 26, 2017, 04:11:34 PM »
This might sound weird at first, but what if we paid for 8 cards the next time around?

If it ends up being six cards again next week, we will have extra money in the kitty for the week after and be ahead of the game.

If it happens to be more than 6 cards next week, though, then at least we'll have a bit of a cushion and be able to purchase two more cards at discount prices.

But if we only pay for 6 cards this time, and they issue, say, eight cards next week, we'll be stuck paying full price for two of them.

Just food for thought, being no definitive pattern has been established just yet.

I think we need to pay for 12 cards if we are still shooting for two weeks per payment.

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #93 on: January 26, 2017, 04:55:30 PM »
FYI to the Club - I'm in the middle of returning from a work trip, so the purchase will be later In the day than previously. Just didn't want folks to get anxious. I'll post tonight when it's complete.

Offline Baked Bears

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #94 on: January 26, 2017, 05:26:29 PM »


A little bit pricey, but sounds about right.

Even with this, though, we have no cushion on the off chance that Topps offers up even more cards next time around.

(Drats!  I still can't seem to get a handle on this "quote" feature!)
« Last Edit: January 26, 2017, 05:29:26 PM by Baked Bears »

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #95 on: January 26, 2017, 08:49:57 PM »
both of today's now purchased, bringing it 6 Wacky titles for the week. Our "2 week" fund is now used up. More to come.
I'm still leaning towards 2-week bundles. Possibly extend this week into next, before going to the full 12 card pre-buys.
Or close this week out at 6, and go right into a 12 card pre-buy covering the next two weeks. (I still need to estimate postage for the heavier 12 card packages).
Plus, maybe tack on a 1 or 2 card buffer fund, as Rob mentions, to cover extra cards for the week beyond 6.



Offline Joe G.

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #96 on: January 26, 2017, 10:15:58 PM »
Patrick, you are the Man!  Thanks again for doing this as I'm sure I would have given up without your club!  I'm for the two week plan and extending this week into next.

Offline Jean Nutty

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #97 on: January 26, 2017, 11:29:31 PM »
(Drats!  I still can't seem to get a handle on this "quote" feature!)

When I clicked on your post with the reply button, it looked like this, below





The text between the coding tags [in brackets] is what will be quoted. Your reply to a member's quote is entered below the quote and coding tags [in brackets]

If you want to edit and only reply to part of a quote (as I did at the top of this post), you delete sentences, but must retain the quote coding tags [in brackets]

Click the "Preview" button to see how your post will look (displayed above the text box where you type).

Make changes if you want, and then click "Preview" again. When the post appears as you want it, click "Post"


Offline drono

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #98 on: January 27, 2017, 03:55:49 AM »
While the thick black border might not be a literally-trademarked ® feature of Wacky Packages, it IS one of the trademark features of them.

I believe Topps sued one of the knock-off sets for using the thick black border and won.  So in a way it is something that Topps believes they own.  Did any of the knock-offs use a thin border?  If so, they should sue Topps and maybe we'll get our thick black borders back.

Offline Fanatical_and_Sickly

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #99 on: January 27, 2017, 12:52:48 PM »
order for 20 of the Alt Fact: Alternative Tally Counter - Wacky Packages has been placed.
(Image removed from quote.)
first 20 cards in transit

HAS SHIPPED:  Alternative Tally Counter - Wacky Packages Alt Fact
« Last Edit: January 31, 2017, 04:38:18 PM by Fanatical_and_Sickly »

Offline sco(o)t

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #100 on: January 27, 2017, 02:06:51 PM »
I believe Topps sued one of the knock-off sets for using the thick black border and won.  So in a way it is something that Topps believes they own.  Did any of the knock-offs use a thin border?  If so, they should sue Topps and maybe we'll get our thick black borders back.

If they really wanted to go in a different direction, I would be an advocate of the all black "canvas "backgrounds like we had in a few of the recent releases. About the only border variation I really liked.



aka Scot Leibacher (no trademark)

Online RawGoo

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #101 on: January 27, 2017, 02:18:26 PM »
If they really wanted to go in a different direction, I would be an advocate of the all black "canvas "backgrounds like we had in a few of the recent releases. About the only border variation I really liked.




I was thinking the same thing.

Offline Baked Bears

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #102 on: January 27, 2017, 04:30:53 PM »
Yes, the artwork really stood out.

Online RawGoo

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #103 on: January 27, 2017, 05:40:47 PM »
Yes, the artwork really stood out.

While I will always prefer the old thick black borders, for nostalgic or whatever reasons, IMHO, the black "canvas" alternates were by far the best Topps gave us.  Sometimes the art really pops!!

Offline Joe G.

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Re: WP Print-on-Demand Bulk Buyer's Club
« Reply #104 on: January 27, 2017, 07:43:53 PM »
Well black canvas is definitely an option.  When you see the new stickers, you'll see there's very little white outside the border and that the art is huge.  Also I believe they won't be numbered, which would be cool. I have a painting in the set and Topps was very specific about filling the entire card.  I'm really excited to see how it comes out!

 

anything