POSTCARD WAITING LIST UPDATE

[JasonLiebig]

I agree that these sets should stay the course.  Anything that sells out immediately is doing something right and there will always be folks who are unhappy whether a product is too short printed or overprinted(hence what they buy has no future value).

I'll second that they should stay the course. 

Though, I would suggest that changes made along the way for the last couple of series, like multiple "bio cards", or the lack of an unlimited version set - do not serve the long-term viability of the series, and should be dropped.  If not, additional changes, for example a subscription plan, should be instituted to help ease the negatives associated with those mentioned added wrinkles.

[Dr Popper]

One recent example comes to mind:
A 7pup 4th series sketch recently (within a couple of months) sold for $160 or so at auction. Those were selling in the $40 to $100 range when they came out. This most likely would not have sold at a $250 buy it now auction, but $160 is still a nice price for that sketch.

The way the sketch prices have gradually increased with each series means that the series 4 sketches have increased in value, even since they were at their hottest right after the release.  I keep a price guide for everything and I recently went back and adjusted the postcard sketches and forgot how cheap the series 4 ones went for!  Some were in the $25.00 range.

[Kook]

The way the sketch prices have gradually increased with each series means that the series 4 sketches have increased in value, even since they were at their hottest right after the release.  I keep a price guide for everything and I recently went back and adjusted the postcard sketches and forgot how cheap the series 4 ones went for!  Some were in the $25.00 range.

Series 4 was the breakout point for the postcards. Series 1, 2 & 3 were all done by Neil, were all relatively the same & you could "collect all 3!" The 4th series blew all that to smitherines and no one saw that coming (or, at least, I didn't). I remember buying my first combo for $250 and it was a tough decision. Now these combos in the halloween set sell for twice that and the colors or htf titles Neil did for the halloween set are tipping the $700 mark. The one thing series 1, 2 & 3 have going for them is they are extremely limited. As new collectors get sucked into collecting these postcard sketches because of the artwork continually raising the bar, these new collectors will want to backfill once they realize how far back these items go.

[Dr Popper]

Series 4 was the breakout point for the postcards. Series 1, 2 & 3 were all done by Neil, were all relatively the same & you could "collect all 3!" The 4th series blew all that to smitherines and no one saw that coming (or, at least, I didn't). I remember buying my first combo for $250 and it was a tough decision. Now these combos in the halloween set sell for twice that and the colors or htf titles Neil did for the halloween set are tipping the $700 mark. The one thing series 1, 2 & 3 have going for them is they are extremely limited. As new collectors get sucked into collecting these postcard sketches because of the artwork continually raising the bar, these new collectors will want to backfill once they realize how far back these items go.

The sketchcards took a whole new look with series 4, and having the variety of artists was a good (and very unselfish) move by Neil.  The appearence of the sketches for series 1 thru 3 look totally different because they are basically sketches of the actual card with border and all, and now there is much more creativity involved by the artists. 

I just hope I can continue to afford to buy them because they really are a blast to collect!     

[Plastered Peanut]

I certainly hope that the subscription fee is less than $60.  I just want one set, for $40 bucks...I'd pay an extra 10 to be on a list to get ONE.  Instead because I was off the forum for a few weeks, I missed the announcement (I THOUGHT I had signed up for a Topps newsletter to alert me to this stuff, but alas no).  And like dogs2suds I just want one set.  So I missed out, while folks were whining about the 5 sketch cards they got, a lot of us did not get ONE set!  I payed 100 bucks on ebay for a set, and I feel lucky considering the buy-it-now prices for sets.  So, I would gladly pay, say 50 bucks, for one "pre-subscribed" set instead of 100 bucks for one set after all of them are gobbled up. 

In addition? That sounds great to me. I wonder if a subscription would cost extra. If that were the case then we'd have to weigh it against just paying the extra on ebay to get exactly what we're looking for.

[Gurgle]

I certainly hope that the subscription fee is less than $60.  I just want one set, for $40 bucks...I'd pay an extra 10 to be on a list to get ONE.  Instead because I was off the forum for a few weeks, I missed the announcement (I THOUGHT I had signed up for a Topps newsletter to alert me to this stuff, but alas no).  And like dogs2suds I just want one set.  So I missed out, while folks were whining about the 5 sketch cards they got, a lot of us did not get ONE set!  I payed 100 bucks on ebay for a set, and I feel lucky considering the buy-it-now prices for sets.  So, I would gladly pay, say 50 bucks, for one "pre-subscribed" set instead of 100 bucks for one set after all of them are gobbled up. 

I would hope for no subscription fee, or just a minimal one. Hopefully, prepay will be enough.

[BumChex]

I think Brad's point is that the supply is very limited, and if you want one, you need to act when the opportunity arises (at a price you feel comfortable with). I saw that handful of sketch auctions also. That was 1 person selling a limited amount of sketches. The problem with those auctions was the price was too high. Those sketches were mostly worth between $75 and maybe $150 or possibly a little more at auction, but they were all $250 buy it nows. Most people that will spend that kind of money on a standard sketch (no color, no combo etc...) would have done it when they came out but those numbers were even high for then. I would have bought 2 of the sketches at $100, maybe at $125 ea, but $250 ea was too much for me.

He might have gotton closer to that too if the sketches were auctions with reasonable starting bids. I see that people are always willing to spend a bit more if they feel someone else thinks it's a good price also and they're right on your heels. That is risky too because past auctions would indicate a much lower number. To pull the trigger at an extremely high number (untested by auction) for a standard sketch is very unlikely even for these items, although not impossible.

I offered him $150 for 3 sketch sets and he turned me down. I thought that was really reasonable but he wanted $250 and $300 for the sketches. Crazy.

[FourRoses]

The people that you know of that have been exploiting them on e-bay,in the form of selling muliple sealed sets or other poor behavior should be pulled from your list if their are even on it,,which i dout any are but at least you'll have some control.

I'm sure Topps won't let you try this but after all it's your baby and they sure as hell can't look after it.

This is an excellent point and one that I'd like to see addressed by Topps even though it seems like a long shot. I'll use myself as an example. I've collected (purchased/won on auction) many items from Topps over the years and I do it for the sheer enjoyment. Whether it is an uncut sheet, a postcard set, proof card, negative, etc.., I still have each and everyone because I am not looking at the dollar signs of what could be, provided I decided to sell what I have. When I initially missed out on the sixth postcard series I was highly disappointed not because of the potential money it could have been sold for but rather, the fact that I missed something that I would enjoy. I was grateful when one of our Topps insiders was able to help out those of us who were unable to get a set during the initial sale. I can list what number I have from each of the series and I guarantee no one will ever see them up for sale unless of course I need a kidney or my house is blown away in a tornado.