Postcard Series 7

[wackyone]

ok,,,here's the issue i have.It's simple.
I don't care if a "collector" buys the limit and keeps them.
Many of you guys want the sketch cards and with only 1 bio in each set this run is a little unique.
I think it's great to buy them and have the experience of peelin' open a wrapper and then keeping,trading and selling what you don't want or need and how much you get or ask on e-bay is your right to do so.
I just hate seeing guys that buy them to make a profit.
Some of these guys don't even collect them and don't even open them,they just hit e-bay with all 5-6 of them in minutes bragging about they sold out in less then an hour and ask 500% more then they paid for them a day before.

example
http://cgi.ebay.com/WACKY-PACKAGES-HALLOWEEN-POSTCARDS-SEALED-SET-SKETCH-/380281481426?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588a8ae8d2

so call me a whiner,,hate my guts for speaking up if you feel better about it,,i really don't care,,
you know your wrong if you do it and may you rot in hell.

[quas]

But it's now 5% off ($171 instead of $179) - what more could one ask for?  Such a bargain at $171......

[BustedFinger]

You guys should be like me.  I missed out on the first set and I haven't looked back since!

[Gurgle]

If I'm in line to buy two $20 concert tickets and the guy in front of me buys the rest of the tickets and then turns around to sell me two for $100 a piece, I'm not going to like that guy. If another guy plans to attend but ended up with two extras and sold them to me for $50 each, I would be fine with that. People will always be there to buy up the Tickle-Me Elmos so they can inflate the price for folks who really want them. I wouldn't blame anyone if they thought these people were dicks.

[BumChex]

I'm just wondering how he got 6 for sale?

[koduck]

Yeah, I'd like to know, too

[koduck]

You guys should be like me.  I missed out on the first set and I haven't looked back since!

Sorry to hear that

[Jean Nutty]

Sorry to hear that

BustedFinger is now working on his second decade of giving "The Hobby" the finger
He just keeps getting butter and butter
               

[BustedFinger]

Sorry to hear that

It's OK with me.  I thought about jumping in around the 3rd series of postcards but I knew that I would be constantly thinking and worrying about the ones I was missing from my collection so I just decided to not go after any of the postcards.

Besides, it saves me money that I can spend on vintage stuff!!
 

[BustedFinger]

He just keeps getting butter and butter
               

I Can't Believe it's Not Better!!

[bandaches]

ok,,,here's the issue i have.It's simple.
I don't care if a "collector" buys the limit and keeps them.
Many of you guys want the sketch cards and with only 1 bio in each set this run is a little unique.
I think it's great to buy them and have the experience of peelin' open a wrapper and then keeping,trading and selling what you don't want or need and how much you get or ask on e-bay is your right to do so.
I just hate seeing guys that buy them to make a profit.
Some of these guys don't even collect them and don't even open them,they just hit e-bay with all 5-6 of them in minutes bragging about they sold out in less then an hour and ask 500% more then they paid for them a day before.

example
http://cgi.ebay.com/WACKY-PACKAGES-HALLOWEEN-POSTCARDS-SEALED-SET-SKETCH-/380281481426?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588a8ae8d2

so call me a whiner,,hate my guts for speaking up if you feel better about it,,i really don't care,,
you know your wrong if you do it and may you rot in hell.

I still don't understand how you constantly miss out on these.  You are on the forum every day, how did you not call or get online to buy one of these this week?

[wackyone]

ahhh,cause it sold out in less then an hour,,,i didn't know i had to sit here wit my finger on the button,,,came in and all gone

[Ducko]

Yeah, I missed out on this one too. Don't think the limit of 5 thing is working well. Should be 2 or 3 imo.

Does someone have the ability to set up an email mailing list for these? Something like lepostcards@wackypackagesforum.com so Neil could send one email to that address and it would go out to everyone on the list.

I check these forums as often as I can, but this week was hell with work/life and there's no way I can go through all the new threads to find the "right one". It's just too easy to miss, and sure enough -- I did. And I know Neil is doing a bang up job staying on top of this in the first place, I just think having a mailing list would act as a nice fail-safe. Seriously -- off the forums for a couple of days and you'd miss it. Ouch.


If anyone has an extra set they'd be willing to sell, I'd love to buy one. I'd like to get one bio card, but have already decided not to chase them all. Cheers.

[BumChex]

Yeah, I missed out on this one too. Don't think the limit of 5 thing is working well. Should be 2 or 3 imo.

Does someone have the ability to set up an email mailing list for these? Something like lepostcards@wackypackagesforum.com so Neil could send one email to that address and it would go out to everyone on the list.

I check these forums as often as I can, but this week was hell with work/life and there's no way I can go through all the new threads to find the "right one". It's just too easy to miss, and sure enough -- I did. And I know Neil is doing a bang up job staying on top of this in the first place, I just think having a mailing list would act as a nice fail-safe. Seriously -- off the forums for a couple of days and you'd miss it. Ouch.


If anyone has an extra set they'd be willing to sell, I'd love to buy one. I'd like to get one bio card, but have already decided not to chase them all. Cheers.

I can send a blanket email to everyone on the forum with about 2 clicks of the mouse.

[Duznt]

I can send a blanket email to everyone on the forum with about 2 clicks of the mouse.

That would help. But some people might not get a chance to read the email. A subscription would guarantee everyone gets one LE set, because Topps would charge a credit card (or paypal or whatever) on the day they ship.

[Ducko]

That would help. But some people might not get a chance to read the email. A subscription would guarantee everyone gets one LE set, because Topps would charge a credit card (or paypal or whatever) on the day they ship.

I think this is a brilliant idea. 

[BumChex]

That would help. But some people might not get a chance to read the email. A subscription would guarantee everyone gets one LE set, because Topps would charge a credit card (or paypal or whatever) on the day they ship.

You have to realize people can only do so much. If you don't check the forum, email, Facebook, or Twitter then what can we do?
You also have to realize that Topps cares about their sales but they don't care about us so to try and micro manage any series is way beyond what Topps probably wants to do. We are getting a gift for them to only allow 5 sets. They probably really don't care if one guy buys all of their sets as long as they sell out. You have to realize it's a business. They are in it to make money. They probably wish they could release a Postcard series every week. They don't care if some people miss out or what they sell on ebay. We are the ones that have the passion and care what they sell for on ebay. We are the ones watching the auctions. They don't care. I think people are making this way to personal. I'm not singling you out but I know business and it's all about selling. Selling keeps their employees employed.
If the first few Postcards series didn't sell out they probably wouldn't even bother with a 5 set limit. Now they are seeing how fast these are selling out and my worry is they will start to make this series count around 1000 or 2000. This would lead to sloppy sketch cards because of the time it takes to do these by hand. It would kill the whole market for these. That is what we are really dealing with here. Would people rather have a great chance to get a set but deal with sloppy sketches or deal with the scarcity of these sets to have awesome sketches? You can see the bumped the numbers to 500 sets but they also have 7 artists now doing the sketches. It's come a long way for Neil putting everything together.

[Duznt]

You have to realize people can only do so much. If you don't check the forum, email, Facebook, or Twitter then what can we do?
You also have to realize that Topps cares about their sales but they don't care about us so to try and micro manage any series is way beyond what Topps probably wants to do. We are getting a gift for them to only allow 5 sets. They probably really don't care if one guy buys all of their sets as long as they sell out. You have to realize it's a business. They are in it to make money. They probably wish they could release a Postcard series every week. They don't care if some people miss out or what they sell on ebay. We are the ones that have the passion and care what they sell for on ebay. We are the ones watching the auctions. They don't care. I think people are making this way to personal. I'm not singling you out but I know business and it's all about selling. Selling keeps their employees employed.
If the first few Postcards series didn't sell out they probably wouldn't even bother with a 5 set limit. Now they are seeing how fast these are selling out and my worry is they will start to make this series count around 1000 or 2000. This would lead to sloppy sketch cards because of the time it takes to do these by hand. It would kill the whole market for these. That is what we are really dealing with here. Would people rather have a great chance to get a set but deal with sloppy sketches or deal with the scarcity of these sets to have awesome sketches? You can see the bumped the numbers to 500 sets but they also have 7 artists now doing the sketches. It's come a long way for Neil putting everything together.

I realize Topps has to watch their bottom line. However, more and more collectors are bailing on the postcards because they are tired of getting shut out. Will that affect Topps sales eventually, due to a decline in the secondary market from people not wanting to pay ebay prices? Maybe.

[Plan 9]

I realize Topps has to watch their bottom line. However, more and more collectors are bailing on the postcards because they are tired of getting shut out. Will that affect Topps sales eventually, due to a decline in the secondary market from people not wanting to pay ebay prices? Maybe.

If the primary collectors are affected by secondary market values then we're really just interested in these for their monetary values, aren't we? I'd hope that's not the case but knowing how collectors frequently use terms like "swill" and "worthless" to describe the main product lines I think it may be true.

[wackyone]

I realize Topps has to watch their bottom line. However, more and more collectors are bailing on the postcards because they are tired of getting shut out. Will that affect Topps sales eventually, due to a decline in the secondary market from people not wanting to pay ebay prices? Maybe.

i dout it but if we can at least get a solid forum pre-order even
i mean the bulk of us here should have some effect on the sales and if they know how many are pissed about it maybe they will at least let 1/3 of the sales go preorder and then it hits the store,,kinda like OLDS does at least we ALL get a chance to open a sealed pack or 2 ourselfs.
Tons of them are hitting e-bay as partial sets and i would buy them but the thrill of opening a pack is what i wanted.

[Duznt]

If the primary collectors are affected by secondary market values then we're really just interested in these for their monetary values, aren't we? I'd hope that's not the case but knowing how collectors frequently use terms like "swill" and "worthless" to describe the main product lines I think it may be true.

Aren't the postcard sketches supposed to be a "bonus" item? A little something extra included in a limited edition? Or in the case of ANS7, a golden ticket type thing - but still just a bonus? The focus should still be on the postcards themselves. But you're right, it doesn't seem to be anymore.

I do love the sketches, but I also love and appreciate the postcard art more.

[Sunstroke]

That is nice to hear, it takes a lot more time and effort to do one finished painting then all of the sketch cards combined.

[wackyone]

I do love the sketches, but I also love and appreciate the postcard art more.

i agree i love the new cards,,they look killer this year,i just hate seeing them all knowing and i don't have any 

[BumChex]

I realize Topps has to watch their bottom line. However, more and more collectors are bailing on the postcards because they are tired of getting shut out. Will that affect Topps sales eventually, due to a decline in the secondary market from people not wanting to pay ebay prices? Maybe.

No! So there are a couple guys affected but there are 100 people happy. They really could care less. There are many collectors that don't frequent any of the forums. They follow Twitter and Facebook. That is how they get info. They may also get word of mouth. It all counts for Topps and they don't care as long as the set sells out.
You may be making this too personal. It really is a business to make money. Anyone can release any set and hope it catches fire but that is not always the case. Why do you think the artists are on the forum? To promote their product! They are great guys but they also want their product to be a success so they want to advertise. They want Topps to send them a check so, again, this is business. We suck it up as collectors but these guys need to feed their families.
Sometimes it's hard for us to separate collecting to the business of cards. People make their living off this. They want it to sell out to be a success so they will be paid for the next series.

[sco(o)t]

Aren't the postcard sketches supposed to be a "bonus" item? A little something extra included in a limited edition? Or in the case of ANS7, a golden ticket type thing - but still just a bonus? The focus should still be on the postcards themselves. But you're right, it doesn't seem to be anymore.

I do love the sketches, but I also love and appreciate the postcard art more.

I think it was Plan Nine who made the point somewhere earlier that the parody cards are becoming the bubble gum and the sketch cards the main item. Then the bubble gum went away.

[Crakola Crayons]

It's OK with me.  I thought about jumping in around the 3rd series of postcards but I knew that I would be constantly thinking and worrying about the ones I was missing from my collection so I just decided to not go after any of the postcards.

Loren, I am sort of like you.  I missed out on the expanded postcard sets so I'm just getting the plain ones (the cheaper ones).  Do I miss a sticker here and there?  Sure.  But I get what I can get.  I really like your attitude on this though.  Very healthy.

[slamjim]

Why do you think the artists are on the forum? To promote their product! They are great guys but they also want their product to be a success so they want to advertise. They want Topps to send them a check so, again, this is business. We suck it up as collectors but these guys need to feed their families.
Sometimes it's hard for us to separate collecting to the business of cards. People make their living off this. They want it to sell out to be a success so they will be paid for the next series.

Wow, where to start with this post. I'm the longest tenured known collector on this forum (maybe Pupsi beats me but not on the Internet). I date back to pre-John Mann's first forum. I was on his forum, Delphi, then Greg, then here and I didn't start painting Wackys until 2005. The Gallery's Odds 'N Ends section is almost entirely my collection. Oh yeah, I also wrote that for the book. I'm an outsider who became an insider who has never stopped hanging out. While the rest of what you said is true in the most obvious of sense I find this post extremely insulting.

BTW, proportionally to the amount of money we make as artists any of these series especially when dealing with sketch cards there are other people on this very forum who make more money than us (sometimes on a SINGLE sketch) wheeling and dealing them and it's US who have to suck it up. How do you think it makes us feel when we work for a half hour on a single sketch card for the cost of a piece of bubble gum and then see that card later being sold for $100, $500, $1000 or whatever and people fighting over themselves to profit on these and then they criticize us for selling a few of the cards on our own as return cards.

[slamjim]

You also have to realize that Topps cares about their sales but they don't care about us so to try and micro manage any series is way beyond what Topps probably wants to do. We are getting a gift for them to only allow 5 sets. They probably really don't care if one guy buys all of their sets as long as they sell out. You have to realize it's a business. They are in it to make money. They probably wish they could release a Postcard series every week. They don't care if some people miss out or what they sell on ebay. We are the ones that have the passion and care what they sell for on ebay. We are the ones watching the auctions. They don't care. I think people are making this way to personal. I'm not singling you out but I know business and it's all about selling. Selling keeps their employees employed.
If the first few Postcards series didn't sell out they probably wouldn't even bother with a 5 set limit. Now they are seeing how fast these are selling out and my worry is they will start to make this series count around 1000 or 2000. This would lead to sloppy sketch cards because of the time it takes to do these by hand. It would kill the whole market for these. That is what we are really dealing with here. Would people rather have a great chance to get a set but deal with sloppy sketches or deal with the scarcity of these sets to have awesome sketches? You can see the bumped the numbers to 500 sets but they also have 7 artists now doing the sketches. It's come a long way for Neil putting everything together.

Again, wow, you don't know anything as far as OLDS or the Postcard series goes. I'm sure ANS is mostly about the bottom line but these other ones have been very micro managed with the collector in mind for every action we have taken. The people on this forum are not the only Wacky collectors and all the collectors are taken into account. We talk about the collectors basically every week when working on these. Mike (from Topps) and I have fought to make this as collector friendly as possible. We actually got criticized for putting to much product in the series, giving too many good deals (pre-order, discounts, free poster for the screw-ups, etc) yet we have convinced them to leave us alone for the better good. Yes, OLDS print run has been bumped up but that is because is sold out way too fast and there were many collectors who were shut up or still wanted more boxes. You could complete an OLDS set in 3 boxes total. We gave you a sketch in EVERY box. Seriously, these comments are boggling my mind.

The entire series and business structure is not going to be tailored to one or a few collectors interests over others. The approach is going to be based on the majority and there will always be some collectors that will not be satisfied. Neil and I have evolved both series based on suggestions here and results we have seen when the series comes out. And remember we are just free-lance artists and we have actually convinced the company to listen to us based on your suggestions. If you know business then you should know how rare that is. There are improvements every time but I doubt it will ever be perfect as the collectors all lead different lives monetarily, time wise, collecting wise, etc. No two collectors are the same.

[slamjim]

Aren't the postcard sketches supposed to be a "bonus" item? A little something extra included in a limited edition? Or in the case of ANS7, a golden ticket type thing - but still just a bonus? The focus should still be on the postcards themselves. But you're right, it doesn't seem to be anymore.

I do love the sketches, but I also love and appreciate the postcard art more.

The good news is that I have over 250 on a mailing list and many of them are not on the forum and their primary interests have been the sticker series not the sketch cards. These are the one or two box buyers. Nothing wrong with collecting for sketch fever. I love the sketches but it's good to see that the sticker love is still strong out there. It's just not as evident here.

[RawGoo]

Again, wow, you don't know anything as far as OLDS or the Postcard series goes. I'm sure ANS is mostly about the bottom line but these other ones have been very micro managed with the collector in mind for every action we have taken. The people on this forum are not the only Wacky collectors and all the collectors are taken into account. We talk about the collectors basically every week when working on these. Mike (from Topps) and I have fought to make this as collector friendly as possible. We actually got criticized for putting to much product in the series, giving too many good deals (pre-order, discounts, free poster for the screw-ups, etc) yet we have convinced them to leave us alone for the better good. Yes, OLDS print run has been bumped up but that is because is sold out way too fast and there were many collectors who were shut up or still wanted more boxes. You could complete an OLDS set in 3 boxes total. We gave you a sketch in EVERY box. Seriously, these comments are boggling my mind.

The entire series and business structure is not going to be tailored to one or a few collectors interests over others. The approach is going to be based on the majority and there will always be some collectors that will not be satisfied. Neil and I have evolved both series based on suggestions here and results we have seen when the series comes out. And remember we are just free-lance artists and we have actually convinced the company to listen to us based on your suggestions. If you know business then you should know how rare that is. There are improvements every time but I doubt it will ever be perfect as the collectors all lead different lives monetarily, time wise, collecting wise, etc. No two collectors are the same.

I for one would like to once again thank you and Neil for promoting the direct sales collector-aimed Wacky sets, both Postcards and Old School - they have been superb, and have give us some fantastic Wacky art!!  I understand that nothing can be perfect to satisfy all collectors in these offerings, and I have adjusted my postcard collecting expectations accordingly, such as no longer expecting sketches of each title (with Series 4), and now not even one from each artist.  I do really wish the bio "sets" had been continued though, that's a second tough nut to swallow along with the 7 artists, 5 set limit deal - I LIKED having the art in card size for my insert album, and with a 5 set limit, I have no trade cards for the 2 I'm missing.  That forces me to the secondary market, at an incredible markup.

My biggest concern right now is that a Limited Edition postcard set is going to be on sale at a time when I absolutely cannot be home to order it.  And, in that event, if I didn't get a Limited set with a sketch, I'd at least want a set of the postcard art, and if they don't do a regular set, as with the Halloween postcards, I could truly miss out.

[bandaches]

ahhh,cause it sold out in less then an hour,,,i didn't know i had to sit here wit my finger on the button,,,came in and all gone

You DID know this. You know this from the stories of the previous 6 sets.  Somehow, you are always on the outside looking in. It almost seems to be a self fulfilling prophecy.  I have a Sketch poster for you from the show.  Do you want to follow up and claim it?  $15 plus shipping and tube cost.  BRad mailed me a tube and I just mailed his posters back to him in his tube.

[Dr Popper]

Again, wow, you don't know anything as far as OLDS or the Postcard series goes. I'm sure ANS is mostly about the bottom line but these other ones have been very micro managed with the collector in mind for every action we have taken. The people on this forum are not the only Wacky collectors and all the collectors are taken into account. We talk about the collectors basically every week when working on these. Mike (from Topps) and I have fought to make this as collector friendly as possible. We actually got criticized for putting to much product in the series, giving too many good deals (pre-order, discounts, free poster for the screw-ups, etc) yet we have convinced them to leave us alone for the better good. Yes, OLDS print run has been bumped up but that is because is sold out way too fast and there were many collectors who were shut up or still wanted more boxes. You could complete an OLDS set in 3 boxes total. We gave you a sketch in EVERY box. Seriously, these comments are boggling my mind.

The entire series and business structure is not going to be tailored to one or a few collectors interests over others. The approach is going to be based on the majority and there will always be some collectors that will
not be satisfied. Neil and I have evolved both series based on suggestions here and results we have seen when the series comes out. And remember we are just free-lance artists and we have actually convinced the company to listen to us based on your suggestions. If you know business then you should know how rare that is. There are improvements every time but I doubt it will ever be perfect as the collectors all lead different lives monetarily, time wise, collecting wise, etc. No two collectors are the same.

I think that both Old School and Postcard series have clearly been tailored to collectors, but that's because you and Neil have managed both projects, and you guys are collectors as well as artists.  Without you guys handling these series I doubt they would exist.

We have to give Topps credit though for working with you and Neil and allowing you to make many decisions regarding the format of these releases. It does show that they care about the collectors, at least to some extent. 

I know, if they weren't profitable Topps wouldn't do them, but so far it seems they have been because they haven't releasing series yet!

[BumChex]

Again, wow, you don't know anything as far as OLDS or the Postcard series goes. I'm sure ANS is mostly about the bottom line but these other ones have been very micro managed with the collector in mind for every action we have taken. The people on this forum are not the only Wacky collectors and all the collectors are taken into account. We talk about the collectors basically every week when working on these. Mike (from Topps) and I have fought to make this as collector friendly as possible. We actually got criticized for putting to much product in the series, giving too many good deals (pre-order, discounts, free poster for the screw-ups, etc) yet we have convinced them to leave us alone for the better good. Yes, OLDS print run has been bumped up but that is because is sold out way too fast and there were many collectors who were shut up or still wanted more boxes. You could complete an OLDS set in 3 boxes total. We gave you a sketch in EVERY box. Seriously, these comments are boggling my mind.

The entire series and business structure is not going to be tailored to one or a few collectors interests over others. The approach is going to be based on the majority and there will always be some collectors that will not be satisfied. Neil and I have evolved both series based on suggestions here and results we have seen when the series comes out. And remember we are just free-lance artists and we have actually convinced the company to listen to us based on your suggestions. If you know business then you should know how rare that is. There are improvements every time but I doubt it will ever be perfect as the collectors all lead different lives monetarily, time wise, collecting wise, etc. No two collectors are the same.

Dave, I mean no insult to the artists and if it sounded that way, I'm sorry! I know they are also passionate collectors and are pushing to keep the hobby alive and fresh. I respect everything you guys do. I'm just stating that Topps is in it because they are business and a business has to sell to stay in business. You guys keep coming up with great products for them to sell and they are selling very quickly so Topps is very pleased with the success. I only stated that because people are posting about how Topps should make sure everyone gets a set and such when it's not practical.
What I mean about the artists are here to advertise. I meant that you guys have put a lot into the Postcards and OLDS and want them to be a success so you use whatever channels to make them a success such as the forum, email, twitter, facebook, & etc. It's all about getting the word out so they are a success. I didn't mean the only reason you are on the forum is to advertise and if it came out that way, again, I apologize. I, in no way, want to insult you guys. I respect everything you guys do and would never think that. I'm in sales and just got back from a sales meeting so I guess my sales motives were in high gear last night. Please accept my apology if I offended anyone.

[wackyone]

so if only about 100 people got in on the sale that's really a shame so many missed out on a great release
it's great artwork and most of us will never own any of it,,,this just don't seem right at all,,in fact IT SUX!!!

[slamjim]

OK, it's cool. We are good. I hope the rest of what I wrote resonates with people though. You can't look at it so individually. It's all about balance and I think with every series everyone involved is trying to get that balance correct though I expect it will never be perfect.

We made a few big changes to OLDS2 based on stuff people here were asking for. I know there are going to be some positive and negative comments based on these changes but hopefully the majority of people will be happy with them.