Postcard Series 8 on sale tomorrow (3/15/12) @ noon

[BumChex]

"These sell out fast"   jinxed the sell out this time...as well as the large quantity produced.

The sale of these sets at high prices on the bay while they are not sold out at Topps bothers me. I know "caveat emptor" applies but I don't like it for our hobby.
I resell but want my customers to be happy. I would not enjoy receiving emails from customers who learned they got a poor deal and would like to return the item.



DrDeal

I agree. While I like being able to get them direct from Topps instead of paying high ebay fees. It does hurt the secondary market. Collectors will say 'we buy to collect and not resell' but in reality it's nice to be able to sell off the extra's to recoup costs. Who needs 5+ sets of postcards for your collection? Maybe some do but I don't see why. Sure there are some that just buy to sell at a higher price and those people will always be around but what about us true collectors and reselling the extras?

[FourRoses]

We're still at 133+ available 4 days after release.


I think with the deluge of sketch cards lately, topps is killing (drowning) the secondary market anyway, so the limit & all these "tweaks" aren't going to matter 2 or 3 more series out.

Technically speaking the sets have only been on sale for almost three days.

What looks to be happening is a bit of market saturation. Two great series have been released within a few short weeks of each other and I'm guessing there are people out there who can't afford multiple sets in such a small period of time. Along with that perhaps 999 sets is a bit too much and rather optimistic. If a pre-order can happen with the OS series, why not with the postcard series? That way Topps can gauge interest and still be able to produce a bit more to account for new collectors or whomever has an interest regardless how minimal or significant.

[BumChex]

Technically speaking the sets have only been on sale for almost three days.

It will be 4 days in 3 hours.

[FourRoses]

My error. Meant almost four days since it's not quite noon yet.

[Dr Popper]

I agree. While I like being able to get them direct from Topps instead of paying high ebay fees. It does hurt the secondary market. Collectors will say 'we buy to collect and not resell' but in reality it's nice to be able to sell off the extra's to recoup costs. Who needs 5+ sets of postcards for your collection? Maybe some do but I don't see why. Sure there are some that just buy to sell at a higher price and those people will always be around but what about us true collectors and reselling the extras?

I think I am going to go for one per artist with this series but I'm also going to try to get only the artist sketches that are based on their own art, and based on the ones I've seen so far most of them are not.  It's going to be very challenging and I will have to do a lot of buying and selling, or trading to do it.

[BumChex]

I think I am going to go for one per artist with this series but I'm also going to try to get only the artist sketches that are based on their own art, and based on the ones I've seen so far most of them are not.  It's going to be very challenging and I will have to do a lot of buying and selling, or trading to do it.

That is going to be a challenge. I, personally, want cards that are nice for my collection. I would like to get one by each artist even though they might be the same character.

[Dr Popper]

That is going to be a challenge. I, personally, want cards that are nice for my collection. I would like to get one by each artist even though they might be the same character.

I am different because I need to have a set goal and then try to complete it.  If I did it your way I'm not sure I would have the willpower to stop buying nice ones and I would go broke!  I will say though that after getting colored sketches lately it makes me want one color for each of the past series, but that would be a long term goal.

[BumChex]

I am different because I need to have a set goal and then try to complete it.  If I did it your way I'm not sure I would have the willpower to stop buying nice ones and I would go broke!  I will say though that after getting colored sketches lately it makes me want one color for each of the past series, but that would be a long term goal.

That was going to be my next quest for you, to get one color by each artist. Talk about being broke! LOL

[Dr Popper]

That was going to be my next quest for you, to get one color by each artist. Talk about being broke! LOL

Maybe I'll do it when and if new series ever stop coming out.  I'm having my hands full trying to keep up with them.  The last couple years have been crazy for collecting Wackys, mostly in a good way though.

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

I checked my calendar, and it appears that it's been quite some time since I asked a stupid question. (I need to fill my quota before the end of the fiscal year!)

So, here it is... What do the initials "TS" (followed by a number) stand for in the WP postcard sets?

Thanks in advance!
GW

anyone? anyone? Bueller?

ok. I'll give it a shot. The initials indicate the origin/source of the bonus card.
TS = Topps Store
NS = Non-Sport Card Show

[Soremel]

anyone? anyone? Bueller?

ok. I'll give it a shot. The initials indicate the origin/source of the bonus card.
TS = Topps Store
NS = Non-Sport Card Show

Ahhh, F&S, you sir, are a life saver! Thank you!

[Playbug]

anyone? anyone? Bueller?

ok. I'll give it a shot. The initials indicate the origin/source of the bonus card.
TS = Topps Store
NS = Non-Sport Card Show

I thought it was The Shizzle and Not Sure. Dang.

[NEZHEAD42]

So we're coming up on a week tomorrow at noon that PC8 has been on sale and the Limited Edition is still not sold out. Any idea on how many are left? Any speculation as to the slow sale this go around? I know that so soon after OLDS3, I could only afford 2 packs of PC8. Hell, I am still trying to complete the ANS8 silver foils, much less get a few more OLDS3 sketches. I love that there is a plethora of WP products out there (as opposed to there being nothing), but with the economy the way it is, it's hard to keep up with all the different releases. I would be happy with 1 OLDS series, 1 ANS series, 1 or 2 regular PC series, 1 Halloween PC series and 1 erasure series a year. Anything more than that makes it really hard to keep up.

[deadpresidentsvisa]

So we're coming up on a week tomorrow at noon that PC8 has been on sale and the Limited Edition is still not sold out. Any idea on how many are left? Any speculation as to the slow sale this go around? I know that so soon after OLDS3, I could only afford 2 packs of PC8. Hell, I am still trying to complete the ANS8 silver foils, much less get a few more OLDS3 sketches. I love that there is a plethora of WP products out there (as opposed to there being nothing), but with the economy the way it is, it's hard to keep up with all the different releases. I would be happy with 1 OLDS series, 1 ANS series, 1 or 2 regular PC series, 1 Halloween PC series and 1 erasure series a year. Anything more than that makes it really hard to keep up.

I think 1 can safely speculate they're are more the 200 LE series 8 sets left!!

[BumChex]

They have saturated the market with PC8. It was to deter scalpers but with the limits it may have hurt Topps.

[Bigmuc13]

They have saturated the market with PC8. It was to deter scalpers but with the limits it may have hurt Topps.

Just like bask in the 70's with series 5-8.  They are saturating the market by cranknig out too much stuff too quickly.

[Playbug]

Just like bask in the 70's with series 5-8.  They are saturating the market by cranknig out too much stuff too quickly.

Agreed

They have saturated the market with PC8. It was to deter scalpers but with the limits it may have hurt Topps.

And Agreed

[jeffcaff]

I think Topps should really think about scaling back a little at this time.  Tough economic conditions, more Wacky releases and upping the quantities of the individual releases can be very dangerous.  Once you lose a collector, they normally do not come back fast if at all.  I think that ANS9, OLDS4, PC9, 2012 Halloween Postcards and Erasers 3 are all due out this year.

[Swiski]

I think Topps should really think about scaling back a little at this time.  Tough economic conditions, more Wacky releases and upping the quantities of the individual releases can be very dangerous.  Once you lose a collector, they normally do not come back fast if at all.  I think that ANS9, OLDS4, PC9, 2012 Halloween Postcards and Erasers 3 are all due out this year.

I actually love how much WP product Topps is cranking out! My problem is that I get pressured into buying multiple boxes, when all I really need is one. I'm definitely going to start cutting back on quantity and just buying the bonus and chase cards that I'm missing on eBay.

[bigtomi]

Agreed

They have saturated the market with PC8. It was to deter scalpers but with the limits it may have hurt Topps.

And Agreed

Maybe that should be "A Greed"?

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

They have saturated the market with PC8. It was to deter scalpers but with the limits it may have hurt Topps.

how exactly is this hurting Topps?
it's been stated many times that Topps would like to have product on their website available for an extended period. Dave Gross was saying they would love to have OLDS boxes on the site for weeks to months at a time. If they were only selling a small fraction of the production run in the first couple of days, then there might be something wrong. But I'm sure they sold close to 70% by the end of the weekend and they're probably perfectly happy with the sales numbers.

[BumChex]

how exactly is this hurting Topps?
it's been stated many times that Topps would like to have product on their website available for an extended period. Dave Gross was saying they would love to have OLDS boxes on the site for weeks to months at a time. If they were only selling a small fraction of the production run in the first couple of days, then there might be something wrong. But I'm sure they sold close to 70% by the end of the weekend and they're probably perfectly happy with the sales numbers.

I meant the enthusiasm from scalpers could ween and with limits there will be too many too sell. It's all speculation. The scalpers do help sell through but it has sucked for collectors. If someone missed out on PC8 it's their own damn fault...LOL
Topps will be fine but people could be turned off since they are too easy to get. Not only scalpers but also collectors that want to sell their extras will be hurt. No one needs 5 sets of PC's but your not going to want to sell them for $2 either.

[Playbug]

Maybe that should be "A Greed"?

That's it. You always make me laugh. I think you should take a crack at doing a sketch with the included gag. Ya know, like in the style of Neil and Mark. 

[Porkie]

I've decided to wait on ANS 9 to buy my sets after-the-fact. Spent waaaaay too much on ANS 7 and ANS 8, but am really enjoying the OLDS and PC series so am focusing my money there.

[Kook]

According to shoptopps.com there are now 90 Postcard series 8 LTD sets left...

[BumChex]

According to shoptopps.com there are now 90 Postcard series 8 LTD sets left...

It's really crazy isn't it. What are we 10 days later and they're still available.

[Playbug]

It's really crazy isn't it. What are we 10 days later and they're still available.

Limited. Like the limited luxury sedan.

[BumChex]

Limited. Like the limited luxury sedan.

Ya, anything can be limited. Limited to 10,000 sets. How many limited edition cars do they produce compared to a standard car?

[Kook]

It's really crazy isn't it. What are we 10 days later and they're still available.

I think this is only crazy to us based on the past 7 or so PC releases. I'm sure Topps doesn't care if it sells out in 1 day or 30 days as long as it does sell out. By increasing the run from 500 to 1000 they doubled their gross income & took all the wind (profit) out of the resellers' sails just like Apple did in your example. Once they cover their overhead, there's a lot more profit dollars in the 2nd 500 sets of the run than in the first 500 sets.

[BumChex]

I think this is only crazy to us based on the past 7 or so PC releases. I'm sure Topps doesn't care if it sells out in 1 day or 30 days as long as it does sell out. By increasing the run from 500 to 1000 they doubled their gross income & took all the wind (profit) out of the resellers' sails just like Apple did in your example. Once they cover their overhead, there's a lot more profit dollars in the 2nd 500 sets of the run than in the first 500 sets.

I sure hope the artists made more money as well.

[Kook]

I sure hope the artists made more money as well.

My guess is that they did get paid for making 1000 sketch cards instead of 500 (which, according to other posts here is not very much). As far as the extra print run, Topps doesn't seem like the type of company that works off of royalties or that type of model, so I would guess that the extra 500 sets wouldn't affect the artists all that much.

[Playbug]

I think this is only crazy to us based on the past 7 or so PC releases. I'm sure Topps doesn't care if it sells out in 1 day or 30 days as long as it does sell out. By increasing the run from 500 to 1000 they doubled their gross income & took all the wind (profit) out of the resellers' sails just like Apple did in your example. Once they cover their overhead, there's a lot more profit dollars in the 2nd 500 sets of the run than in the first 500 sets.

I would guess that most of the resellers are people who are here or in the 'know' of all things Wacky. So why not let us have our fun? Unlike Apple releasing new technology, this is just entertainment. People tend to slash entertainment off their priority list a lot quicker. Will the Wacky bubble burst soon? People here expressing that they are not happy with the quailty of some of the sketches, now resellers being cut out.
IMO a good way for Topps to sell these may have been to do this. Just sell the Postcards for say, maybe 12. each set. Have less amount of Sketches drawn up, but make sure you see a noticable effort went into them. Sell all of them together off of the site and have the Sketches, Bio's and Bonus cards randomly inserted. Maybe this would be a better approach?

[BumChex]

I would guess that most of the resellers are people who are here or in the 'know' of all things Wacky. So why not let us have our fun? Unlike Apple releasing new technology, this is just entertainment. People tend to slash entertainment off their priority list a lot quicker. Will the Wacky bubble burst soon? People here expressing that they are not happy with the quailty of some of the sketches, now resellers being cut out.
IMO a good way for Topps to sell these may have been to do this. Just sell the Postcards for say, maybe 12. each set. Have less amount of Sketches drawn up, but make sure you see a noticable effort went into them. Sell all of them together off of the site and have the Sketches, Bio's and Bonus cards randomly inserted. Maybe this would be a better approach?

I think if the sketches were randomly inserted they couldn't charge $45 per pack. They would have to sell them like the regular PC's and getting a sketch would be a bonus. This would take away from the limited nature of this set. They are charging us for the sketches.

[Playbug]

I think if the sketches were randomly inserted they couldn't charge $45 per pack.

(Right, that is why I was saying may just sell them at 12. per pack, then if you got a sketch that would be sort of like finding a signed foil or gold boardered card.)

They would have to sell them like the regular PC's and getting a sketch would be a bonus.  (Right, exactly my point)

This would take away from the limited nature of this set. (It's not very limited like this anyway, so if they just put the whole stock together and sold them for around 12. maybe, with some random odds of getting a sketch, bios and bonus, then maybe the would sell the whole lot out in a quicker time.)

They are charging us for the sketches. (Which should be checked on quality by noticable visible effort, due to the nature of a small minority that were complained about)

Just tossing around some other ideas here.

[Fanatical_and_Sickly]

This would take away from the limited nature of this set. (It's not very limited like this anyway, so if they just put the whole stock together and sold them for around 12. maybe, with some random odds of getting a sketch, bios and bonus, then maybe the would sell the whole lot out in a quicker .

it's still gotta be limited though or otherwise they wouldn't be able to say what the odds for getting a sketch would be. If they can't give odds, no one is going to scoop these up.
Personally, I think turning the Pc's into an ANS type set with random inserts and high odds is a really bad idea.