Monday, July 14, 2008

Still "On Notice"

I have in my formerly nicotine stained hands (crunch, crunch, crunch) a press release from Topps. It appears that the 2008 Topps baseball factory sets will have a "bonus card" of Koskue Fukudome. Whether or not this "bonus card" will be numbered as part of the base set -- and therefore a true "rookie card" -- is unclear.

So let me get this straight. Topps posted to their website (and it's still there as of 7/14) that the second series of Topps baseball WOULD have a Kosuke Fukudome rookie card. Then, they pull the card at the last minute without bothering to tell anyone until after the fact. To add insult to injury, they stealthily insert into packs a gimmicked Fukudome card, and now they're finally getting around to issuing a Fukudome rookie (we think), but only in factory sets.

What a fustercluck.

If you're a collector, you have to be asking yourself: "Why did I buy those 2008 Topps waxboxes, again?"

And if Topps is going to pull a stunt like this next year -- and given their recent actions, you know they will -- why would anyone collect next year's Topps baseball?

Topps, it's because of crap like this I haven't bought any of your products in seven weeks. With this (and other) actions, I don't see myself collecting Topps anytime soon.

You are still "On Notice."

1 comment:

The Baseball Card Snob said...

This reminds me of the stunt that Fleer did in 2001 for tradition.

You could only get the 35 rookies in the factory set, so if you went out and purchased wax, you were stuck with an incomplete set.

After that crap, I never bought a Fleer product in the year it was issued. Always waited to see if they would do it again.

Fortunately, they didn't. I don't know if it was from customer feedback, but I hope so. I also hope everyone blasts Topps for this as well.