I was really disturbed by what I've seen lately on this site. We are experiencing an explosion of Wackys unlike anything in the lasy 50 years. Even in the heyday of the original series, we didn't see such an abundance of new designs. Wackys are practically raining down on us! And in the midst of this plenty, Dave's Old School set arrives to blow our minds. Just the few teaser images on Topps site are stunners! Remembering that Old School is mostly a one man show, it is amazing that such uniformly high end images were produced. Dave should have been basking in the glory of rightly deserved praise for his monumental task. But is that what happened? No! Instead, he has to repeatedly defend his set to justify its expense and business model! How unfair to him!
This cannot be that hard to understand! Back in the 70s, Topps printed MILLIONS of Wackys, and was able to sell them like hot cakes! They were practically printing money! Under those circumstances, they could afford to sell them cheap, because they made it up on volume! Don't forget that it was almost a half century ago, and EVERYTHING was way cheaper then. Gas, cars, homes, groceries. It ALL was way less expensive. And don't forget, when something crosses over from an item of mass consumption to a "collectible", the rise in purchase price can be exponential. That's a side issue though. The simple truth is, When Many Are Buying, The Price Goes Down, And When Few Are Buying, The Price Goes Up. The production cost doesn't change depending on how many people want to buy. When fewer sets are sold, each has to cover a bigger share of the cost of production. Instead of millions, or hundreds or tens of thousands, we are only talking about hundreds of sets being produced now. And don't think anyone is getting rich here. I can only speak for myself, but as a rough writer I get $50 for an accepted drawing. It takes about an hour to create each one, and I usually have to draw 7 to get one accepted. Do the math. That works out to less than minimum wage! I work a day job, so that I can cartoon on the side. It is a labor of love, and you can tell from the level of quality in Dave's paintings that it is for him, too! Don't tear him down for creating things we all enjoy so much. You should be thanking him! Either buy them, or don't, but don't unload on him.
For those of you that are unhappy, be careful what you wish for. Topps might decide it just isn't worth the headache, and pull the plug on this cornucopia. Would that make you happy? Going back to the way it had been for years, where there were never any new Wackys at all, and no one knew when more were coming, or even IF they were ever coming again??? I myself found it depressing to think that something that had brought me so much joy as a kid was gone forever, and all we could do was sift through the dry dead bones. When I found out that Wackys was alive again, I jumped in with both feet, and I plan on doing all I can to keep it running for as long as possible! You all should, too! Now go congratulate Dave on his awesome art, and quit your bellyaching! - Nuff Said!