Wacky Packages Old School - PRE-SALE THREAD - non-spoiler!

[jleonard1967]

Ordered 10 @ 12:05 AM woke up @ 6:30 AM and they were sold out.  I did pay shipping because I used Pay Pal
I hope they refund it

[BumChex]

I ordered quite a few and can help out collectors. I'm not sure how I can help out though because I would have to pay for shipping to you. The only advantage you would have is I would send you the extra goodies such as the binder and such with an order of 5. I would do this at cost on about 30-40 boxes. Just PM me if you have any idea how to swing this. Also keep in mind it will take Topps about 5 days to get the boxes to me and then it would take about the same amount of time to get them to you, depending on where you live. I'm in Colorado so you can gauge it from there.

[Plan 9]

The shear fact that there is no limit on a pre-sale is staggering!
Lets get one thing straight here,,,it's no longer about trading cards,it's about sketches and money,i said this last year and this proves it again.
I like the sketches,don't get me wrong but it's really a shame it's come to this

It's great for Topps and Dave, profit wise, at least for the moment. But it seems to be an unhealthy direction for the series. It seems this series is going to get even less exposure than the first one because of the sketch cards.

[Dr Popper]

It's great for Topps and Dave, profit wise, at least for the moment. But it seems to be an unhealthy direction for the series. It seems this series is going to get even less exposure than the first one because of the sketch cards.

I think the cold hard reality is that the sketch cards sell boxes, plain and simple.  Good or bad, take the sketch cards out and would someone like Brad order 75 boxes?  Not a chance.  If I'm not mistaken you only need a few boxes to satisfy collecting all of the other items, so take the sketch cards out and the quantity of boxes would go down dramatically in my opinion.

That means nothing negative about the card set itself, but there would be no reason to order heavy quantities of boxes.   

[slamjim]

If the sketch cards were removed we would probably just have to make the 5x7 chase cards and the other chase cards more random and would have more of them. I don't think the sketch cards are going anywhere. Maybe they should be every other box or 1 in 3. I don't know. Something to ponder for down the road.

The sell out that quick was a surprise. I haven't heard the full numbers yet but I was told 75% of them were 5 box orders
so Brad is still the minority. Most of the people I've had contact me who've missed out only need 1-5 boxes. I'm definitely curious to see how many people bought large quantities.

[VX HYPERSPACE]

I didn't get them in time but I'm always happy to see Wacky Packages sell so well. 

[JasonLiebig]

It's great for Topps and Dave, profit wise, at least for the moment. But it seems to be an unhealthy direction for the series. It seems this series is going to get even less exposure than the first one because of the sketch cards.

I share your concern, but I'm not convinced just yet.  The sketch cards have taken the main stage for a lot of folks, but I think myself, and a lot of other people, are more excited to crack the packs and see the stickers. 

I think you made a great point earlier about the possible shine coming off the sketch-card craze, with 5,000 new sketch cards being released with this series.   Maybe not, but I think there could be shift away from what we've been seeing, as far as the secondary prices these will command.   

Of course, if the full run of boxes sells out in record time when the normal sale period starts, it might be time to take another look at things.  But, if the remaining 4,000 boxes last as long as series one boxes did or longer (was that a couple of months?), I don't think there should be cause for concern.  My prediction is that these will last as long as series one did.  Yeah, there will be the people investing a lot, with the strategy of parting out what they open, but I suspect the majority of people will be end-level collectors. 

The cool thing is, even if people lose interest in sketch cards entirely, and Topps remains happy with keeping this product in their shop for a up to a year - the series remains in good shape, too.  At the price we're paying, even without turning profits for sketches - these are a good value. 

But again, IF those 4,000 remaining boxes sell out in a week or less... that would be surprising, and maybe not definitive, but certainly indicative of the unhealthy direction you're talking about. 

[ScaryLee]

I think you are high on that $400.00 estimate for non-Lynch sketches.  The average quantity for the remaining 10 artists is 200 each, and with that average I can't see them selling for anywhere near $400.00.  If one of the artists did 10-20 that's different, but 200+ I think it's too high.  If you are basing the quantities on the quantity per title instead of total # of sketches, I just can't see anyone going for all of the titles per artist.  I'm not sure that's a realistic goal.  I think the majority will be trying to get one per artist, so the total # of sketches they did will be the biggest influence on price.     

Actually the value of non Lynch sketches (other than those that are drastically different) will go for in the $50-$60 range, at least until the series sells out. Why pay more than a $100 for a card when you have a 40% chance of getting a non Lynch card in every box? Of course the value will depend greatly on how many people are collecting the entire run of sketch cards (every character from every artist). This should be right around 120 cards. 20 Lynch characters plus (2000 / 20 = 100) equals 120. Of course if Dave Gross does a few of different characters instead of 20 of each the 120 number rises, and the value of the characters he did would rise dramatically since there would be less than 20 of each of his. Dave can you shed light on this?

So anyway, as the people who are collecting one of every character from every artist get near the end of collecting the entire set, then certain sketch cards might go up to $200 or more, even if the run isnt sold out. $400 isn't going to happen to any of the non unique pieces until at least there is a sell out and probably not ever.

I only purchased 10 boxes. If by chance sketch card prices go through the roof I can always buy more later, and with not that much more of an expense. I hear dealer types complained about losing money with ANS7. I have a feeling we're going to hear similar "burn" stories here. If Brad's run of good luck pulling colored sketches comes to an end he'll be on that list (although he's not a dealer he buys these as if he were). Brad enjoyed a ratio of pulling twice as many colored sketches (or more) on average then he should have (given the odds). What happens if he all of a sudden is only pulling 50% of what the odds state, and what if Leslie loses interest in buying? Either way could spell big losses, and I hope not because I like Brad, he has really helped me out in the past. All that said, I hope the guys that gouged Wacky collectors by buying up dozens of Halloween postcard sets take huge huge losses here.

[slamjim]

I share your concern, but I'm not convinced just yet.  The sketch cards have taken the main stage for a lot of folks, but I think myself, and a lot of other people, are more excited to crack the packs and see the stickers. 

I think you made a great point earlier about the possible shine coming off the sketch-card craze, with 5,000 new sketch cards being released with this series.   Maybe not, but I think there could be shift away from what we've been seeing, as far as the secondary prices these will command.   

Of course, if the full run of boxes sells out in record time when the normal sale period starts, it might be time to take another look at things.  But, if the remaining 4,000 boxes last as long as series one boxes did or longer (was that a couple of months?), I don't think there should be cause for concern.  My prediction is that these will last as long as series one did.  Yeah, there will be the people investing a lot, with the strategy of parting out what they open, but I suspect the majority of people will be end-level collectors. 

The cool thing is, even if people lose interest in sketch cards entirely, and Topps remains happy with keeping this product in their shop for a up to a year - the series remains in good shape, too.  At the price we're paying, even without turning profits for sketches - these are a good value. 

But again, IF those 4,000 remaining boxes sell out in a week or less... that would be surprising, and maybe not definitive, but certainly indicative of the unhealthy direction you're talking about. 

The sketch cards could use a nice deflating price-wise. I think they will actually be stronger for it. The sketch cards are fun and look great and I'd expect more people would be into collecting them if the price was around $10-15 or so each. Once that happens there may actually be more sketch collectors. Right now it's just too pricey for most people to get more than what they got in their box.

[slamjim]

Actually the value of non Lynch sketches (other than those that are drastically different) will go for in the $50-$60 range, at least until the series sells out. Why pay more than a $100 for a card when you have a 40% chance of getting a non Lynch card in every box? Of course the value will depend greatly on how many people are collecting the entire run of sketch cards (every character from every artist). This should be right around 120 cards. 20 Lynch characters plus (2000 / 20 = 100) equals 120. Of course if Dave Gross does a few of different characters instead of 20 of each the 120 number rises, and the value of the characters he did would rise dramatically since there would be less than 20 of each of his. Dave can you shed light on this?

So anyway, as the people who are collecting one of every character from every artist get near the end of collecting the entire set, then certain sketch cards might go up to $200 or more, even if the run isnt sold out. $400 isn't going to happen to any of the non unique pieces until at least there is a sell out and probably not ever.

I only purchased 10 boxes. If by chance sketch card prices go through the roof I can always buy more later, and with not that much more of an expense. I hear dealer types complained about losing money with ANS7. I have a feeling we're going to hear similar "burn" stories here. If Brad's run of good luck pulling colored sketches comes to an end he'll be on that list (although he's not a dealer he buys these as if he were). Brad enjoyed a ratio of pulling twice as many colored sketches (or more) on average then he should have (given the odds). What happens if he all of a sudden is only pulling 50% of what the odds state, and what if Leslie loses interest in buying? Either way could spell big losses, and I hope not because I like Brad, he has really helped me out in the past. All that said, I hope the guys that gouged Wacky collectors by buying up dozens of Halloween postcard sets take huge huge losses here.

The "burn stories" may not happen. From what I just heard only 2 people bought in numbers like Brad has said he did. The majority was 5 or so boxes. That means a HUGE number of different people bought them this time. Last time the pre-sale was dominated by some big purchases. This could mean the remaining boxes might last much longer on the shelf as so many different people already got what they needed or people are waiting to see what happens with the sketches before buying much more. It will be interesting.

BTW, no one, including me could deviate from doing the 20 characters.All cards will feature these 20 (15 OS and 5 OLDS2). This is the model going forward.

[slamjim]

Anyone that got charged shipping you can contact: Storehelp@topps.com

Provide the invoice number and your name and they will get you your shipping refund.

[ScaryLee]

The "burn stories" may not happen. From what I just heard only 2 people bought in numbers like Brad has said he did. The majority was 5 or so boxes. That means a HUGE number of different people bought them this time. Last time the pre-sale was dominated by some big purchases. This could mean the remaining boxes might last much longer on the shelf as so many different people already got what they needed or people are waiting to see what happens with the sketches before buying much more. It will be interesting.

BTW, no one, including me could deviate from doing the 20 characters.All cards will feature these 20 (15 OS and 5 OLDS2). This is the model going forward.

Thanks! So for example, if you did the demented lightbulb, did you do 20 of that character, or did you deviate from the others in that you may have done less than 20 of any given character?

[slamjim]

Thanks! So for example, if you did the demented lightbulb, did you do 20 of that character, or did you deviate from the others in that you may have done less than 20 of any given character?

Everyone worked in groups of 20. If someone did 200 sketch cards they had to do 10 of each character. This way there can be 10 possible sets of 20 for that artist. Any one character not done this way would have killed this. I think this opens things up to more people who want to collect sketch cards to get in on it with a better chance of collecting how they want.

I just got reprimanded concerning talking about the sketch card numbers too much so I cannot post total numbers per artist, color numbers, etc. Only that there are 5000 sketch cards (which is obvious with one per box) and that 20 characters were used in the set.

[Sue Mee]

Anyone that got charged shipping you can contact: Storehelp@topps.com

Provide the invoice number and your name and they will get you your shipping refund.

Thanks Dave!

[Dr Popper]

Actually the value of non Lynch sketches (other than those that are drastically different) will go for in the $50-$60 range, at least until the series sells out. Why pay more than a $100 for a card when you have a 40% chance of getting a non Lynch card in every box? Of course the value will depend greatly on how many people are collecting the entire run of sketch cards (every character from every artist). This should be right around 120 cards. 20 Lynch characters plus (2000 / 20 = 100) equals 120. Of course if Dave Gross does a few of different characters instead of 20 of each the 120 number rises, and the value of the characters he did would rise dramatically since there would be less than 20 of each of his. Dave can you shed light on this?

So anyway, as the people who are collecting one of every character from every artist get near the end of collecting the entire set, then certain sketch cards might go up to $200 or more, even if the run isnt sold out. $400 isn't going to happen to any of the non unique pieces until at least there is a sell out and probably not ever.

I only purchased 10 boxes. If by chance sketch card prices go through the roof I can always buy more later, and with not that much more of an expense. I hear dealer types complained about losing money with ANS7. I have a feeling we're going to hear similar "burn" stories here. If Brad's run of good luck pulling colored sketches comes to an end he'll be on that list (although he's not a dealer he buys these as if he were). Brad enjoyed a ratio of pulling twice as many colored sketches (or more) on average then he should have (given the odds). What happens if he all of a sudden is only pulling 50% of what the odds state, and what if Leslie loses interest in buying? Either way could spell big losses, and I hope not because I like Brad, he has really helped me out in the past. All that said, I hope the guys that gouged Wacky collectors by buying up dozens of Halloween postcard sets take huge huge losses here.

John, I agree pretty much with your estimates, but do you really think that someone would try to collect every title from every artist?  If an artist did 100 sketches (low-end estimate) that's only 5 for each title, and you would need 20 of them.  Plus that's just one artist!  Getting one example from just one artist other than Jay's will be a challenge, let alone getting every title from every artist.

You know me, and if there was a realistic way of doing it I would be leading the pack, but I don't see it being possible.  At this point I will try for one of each title from Jay's batch and then one example from each of the other artists.  I'll be surprised if anyone tries to do more than that!  Even Leslie doesn't take the completist approach with b&w sketches, and she mainly focuses on colored ones. 

[slamjim]

At this point I will try for one of each title from Jay's batch and then one example from each of the other artists.  I'll be surprised if anyone tries to do more than that! 

I don't know. When you see these sketches you may change your mind. Everyone did some seriously awesome stuff. I've got most of them sitting in front of me now and it's killing me that they are going bye-bye soon. Hey, do you think anyone will notice if a few are missing? 

Just kidding Topps. Count 'em! They are all there! I swear!

[ScaryLee]

John, I agree pretty much with your estimates, but do you really think that someone would try to collect every title from every artist?  If an artist did 100 sketches (low-end estimate) that's only 5 for each title, and you would need 20 of them.  Plus that's just one artist!  Getting one example from just one artist other than Jay's will be a challenge, let alone getting every title from every artist.

You know me, and if there was a realistic way of doing it I would be leading the pack, but I don't see it being possible.  At this point I will try for one of each title from Jay's batch and then one example from each of the other artists.  I'll be surprised if anyone tries to do more than that!  Even Leslie doesn't take the completist approach with b&w sketches, and she mainly focuses on colored ones. 

You're right, and if Dave only does 20 sketches there would only be 1 of each of his, making it an impossible task. Bummer that Dave is not allowed to talk about actual numbers. Outside of anyone that only did one or 2 of each though, maybe Leslie and Marc will shoot for one of each of the ones that exist 5 or more, in that case the ones where there are only 5 of each would obviously be worth a few hundred.

[Dr Popper]

You're right, and if Dave only does 20 sketches there would only be 1 of each of his, making it an impossible task. Bummer that Dave is not allowed to talk about actual numbers. Outside of anyone that only did one or 2 of each though, maybe Leslie and Marc will shoot for one of each of the ones that exist 5 or more, in that case the ones where there are only 5 of each would obviously be worth a few hundred.

The only thing we know for sure regarding quantities is that the artists did not do the same amounts, so some will be tougher than others.  What I need to decide is whether or not to try for the same title from each of the non-Lynch sketches or try to get a different title from each artist.  Getting the same title from each artist may be too tough.

[Dr Popper]

I don't know. When you see these sketches you may change your mind.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to try for one of each, but I really don't think that's possible.  Just to compare to a rare series at 120 sketches that's 66% more cards to collect than the Flashback Golds, and aside from Jay's there is an average quantity of 10 per title, vs. 40 of the Flashback Golds.  It sounds insane to me, even to think about it!

[slamjim]

Don't get me wrong, I would love to try for one of each, but I really don't think that's possible.  Just to compare to a rare series at 120 sketches that's 66% more cards to collect than the Flashback Golds, and aside from Jay's there is an average quantity of 10 per title, vs. 40 of the Flashback Golds.  It sounds insane to me, even to think about it!

You could always just collect ones that you like without having any theme or reason for it!

[Jean Nutty]

Who went overboard? Also, the email didn't say ''hello wacky fans'. It said Subject. Are you smoking some of that, 'NOW', illegal wacky tobacky?

As a matter of fact, yes.

The e-mail I received said, "Hello Wacky Packages Fan" at the beginning, but you might not have opened it because you were too busy ordering your truckload of goodies 

I believe the wacky weed is still legal in CA. I think the bill that didn’t pass out here in the last election had to do with people wanting to farm cannabis as a commercial crop and the whole taxation issue that goes along with it. My Mom used to give me Avon soap on a rope for Christmas when I was a kid. Now they have dope on rope. But I don’t think hippies use soap very often. Maybe it's also a Now-n-Later, to snack on when you get the munchies.

                               

[Dr Popper]

You could always just collect ones that you like without having any theme or reason for it!

um, no, I can't do that!  lol  My brain doesn't seem to work that way!  It would certainly make life easier though.

[DrDeal]

Dave,

   Will there be sketches included with the 5 x 7 postcard sets? If not any other goodies with those sets besides a wrapper? Also, how many of each postcard full set  (OS1 and OS2) will be produced?
Please advise,  Andrew

[BumChex]

On one hand I'm a bit nervous about the burn out factor that John described. I could get totally burned but that is a risk we all take. I could get really lucky or just get a proper mix. It's a total crap shoot.
I doubt Leslie will be buying too many sketches at the start. She also ordered a large QTY and I think she will just get regular shipping so she won't get her shipment for about 5-7 days from release and she probably won't buy any sketches off ebay until she see's what she gets. I will be the same way.
We all have to start cracking envelopes to see the variations of sketches. Only the artists and Topps knows what that is and it's for us to discover. I'm sure there will be some very desirable pieces and some very short supply characters. Hell, I didn't even know I had a Lynch one off until about 3 weeks after the OLDS release and then I lost about $400 when  I sold it. Didn't someone buy a cow sketch for less than $100 initially until we knew they were very hard to find?
I could see the dealers getting burned on ANS7 right after I opened my first case. I knew I this would be so frustrating with the extreme odds that I just walked away. I sure hope this doesn't happen with OLDS2.
Another thing to look at is if several people bought 5 boxes they may want to buy individual sketches off ebay. I would imagine, initially, these will sell around $50-$100 each just like OLDS sketches did. You may say why pay $50+ for a sketch when you can buy boxes for that price? Well you don't know what you are going to pull for your $50 so it would probably be cheaper to just buy the sketch you like.
That's my 2 cents!

[NEZHEAD42]

It's great for Topps and Dave, profit wise, at least for the moment. But it seems to be an unhealthy direction for the series. It seems this series is going to get even less exposure than the first one because of the sketch cards.

It also means more base sets on ebay for me to stick anyplace!

[slamjim]

Dave,

   Will there be sketches included with the 5 x 7 postcard sets? If not any other goodies with those sets besides a wrapper? Also, how many of each postcard full set  (OS1 and OS2) will be produced?
Please advise,  Andrew

They are not postcards. They are like the OLDS1 stickers only this time it's all 33 stickers and the full 33 come in a special over sized wax wrapper.  No sketches. Maybe something else. We are talking more bout it after OLDS2 is ready to go out.

[deadpresidentsvisa]

They are not postcards. They are like the OLDS1 stickers only this time it's all 33 stickers and the full 33 come in a special over sized wax wrapper.  No sketches. Maybe something else. We are talking more bout it after OLDS2 is ready to go out.

Do you have an in the neighborhood guess regarding price for the 5x7 complete setz?
Assuming and taking for granted these are LE sets

[slamjim]

some very short supply characters.

There are no short supply characters. There are the same amount of every character made in the entire run. Only the artist numbers are different and ANY of those character sketches can be unique depending on what the artist did with it. That could mean unique word balloons, backgrounds, angles, poses, interpretations, mediums, etc. There are many ways to collect these this time:

Get what you get in your box
Get only what you really like
Get one of each character regardless of artist
Get one of each character by each artist
Get one sketch by each artist regardless of the character
Get a set of 20 different character by an artist
Get a set of 20 different character by each artist
and repeat with color choices as well

Last time it was just Jay's sketches and the one-off's made it near impossible to get a set in any form. We went with it this way to open up the sketch cards for a lot more different level of investing in the process types of collectors.

[slamjim]

Do you have an in the neighborhood guess regarding price for the 5x7 complete setz?
Assuming and taking for granted these are LE sets

I don't have any guesses right now. I'm not even sure they have priced out the set yet themselves.

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

Of course the value will depend greatly on how many people are collecting the entire run of sketch cards (every character from every artist). This should be right around 120 cards. 20 Lynch characters plus (2000 / 20 = 100) equals 120.

I don't follow your math at all.
there are 20 different characters and 10 sketch artists: 20 x 10 = 200 card set, if someone was trying to "collect them all"

[Dr Popper]

I don't follow your math at all.
there are 20 different characters and 10 sketch artists: 20 x 10 = 200 card set, if someone was trying to "collect them all"

Actually there should be 11 artists, Jay + the 10 others, so 220 total.

[Dr Popper]

There are no short supply characters. There are the same amount of every character made in the entire run. Only the artist numbers are different and ANY of those character sketches can be unique depending on what the artist did with it. That could mean unique word balloons, backgrounds, angles, poses, interpretations, mediums, etc. There are many ways to collect these this time:

Get what you get in your box
Get only what you really like
Get one of each character regardless of artist
Get one of each character by each artist
Get one sketch by each artist regardless of the character
Get a set of 20 different character by an artist
Get a set of 20 different character by each artist
and repeat with color choices as well

Last time it was just Jay's sketches and the one-off's made it near impossible to get a set in any form. We went with it this way to open up the sketch cards for a lot more different level of investing in the process types of collectors.

I would add one more which is my game plan........

Get one per character of Jay Lynch, & one character each from the other 10 artists

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

Actually there should be 11 artists, Jay + the 10 others, so 220 total.

ah, I see, the flyer lists 10. It doesn't show Dave as a sketch artist.

or maybe we're not supposed to "look for" his sketches, just the other ones.  

[ScaryLee]

I don't follow your math at all.
there are 20 different characters and 10 sketch artists: 20 x 10 = 200 card set, if someone was trying to "collect them all"

I was under the impression that artists would do whatever character they wanted in bunches of twenties. Obviously I was completely mistaken there.

[Plan 9]

If the sketch cards were removed we would probably just have to make the 5x7 chase cards and the other chase cards more random and would have more of them. I don't think the sketch cards are going anywhere. Maybe they should be every other box or 1 in 3. I don't know. Something to ponder for down the road.

The sell out that quick was a surprise. I haven't heard the full numbers yet but I was told 75% of them were 5 box orders
so Brad is still the minority. Most of the people I've had contact me who've missed out only need 1-5 boxes. I'm definitely curious to see how many people bought large quantities.

That's a very positive sign for the series. I'm glad for you that it's such a success. But my feeling was if it takes a sketch card chase to sell a mere 5000 boxes then Wacky Packs may be dead. Fortunately that doesn't appear to be the case!