Topps Now
Last season Topps started a new service that has caught on with a small segment of the collecting community. Significant on-field player accomplishments are captured on a baseball card that is available on line at the Topps website for twenty-four hours only. Topps then prints the exact number ordered for each particular card and mails them to the various buyers. Thats it. So who orders these cards?
I can think of two groups of collectors for whom this service makes perfect sense. The first group is comprised of fans who collect cards of specific players. They’ll order these cards when their player is featured on one of them. The second group is made up of team collectors. These are the fans who want one of every card issued in connection with their team. I recently spoke to a friend who uses this service to see how well it works.
She is a San Francisco Giants fan in general and a Buster Posey fan in particular. On the night of May 12th the Giants and the Cincinnati Reds played an extra-inning epic at AT&T Park that was brought to a merciful end when Buster Posey blasted a home run in the bottom of the seventeenth. Savvy baseball card collectors knew to check the Topps Now site the following day, and sure enough they saw that a card was available commemorating the blast.
The cost is $9.95 per card. A price break occurs at the five-card mark, when the price drops to $29.99, or $5.99 per card. There are additional price breaks at ten cards ($4.99 per card) and twenty cards ($3.99 per card). Shipping is free via the U. S. Mail, and other shipping options are available for an additional charge if the purchaser want the cards faster.
So was my friend satisfied with her cards? Absolutely. They arrived in gem mint condition. The cards were placed in a plastic holder, then inserted in a special Topps Now folder, then bubble wrapped for extra protection.
And what is she going to do with her five cards? “I’ll keep one for myself, and donate the other four so they can be auctioned off during the upcoming Bryan Stow Foundation fundraiser,” she replied.
Sweet.
This seems an expensive way to stoke the habit. Am I being duly harsh about the price point? Obviously if you are a fan, you have already thrown your allowance money
to the wind, so why not? Just wondering.
That’s a good point, Nancy, and everything is relative. Going to the Topps Now
site for the final numbers, 504 of these cards were printed. That’s not a lot
of them considering the player is Buster Posey.
My friend paid $5.99 per card. If she wanted to, she could sell them for much
more than she paid, since many people still don’t know about Topps Now. But
she’s donating them to help Bryan Stow. It doesn’t get much better than that.
– Grub.
It’s been a little over 6 years now since Bryan was attacked, and his life is so full! A few years ago if anyone asked him what he does, he always replied “I’m a paramedic!” Now his reply…. “I talk to kids about bullying and fan violence!”
I’m so humbled by the continued generosity of people! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
God is good!
Thank you for your comment, Ann.
Countless people have been deeply touched by Bryan’s commitment and dedication to carrying the message of no bullying and acceptance among the various fan bases, and I’m honored and humbled to be among them. One cannot help but sense the divine hand of providence behind the redirection of his life’s work. God chose Bryan not by mistake but by design, and his metamorphosis from a paramedic who treated injuries to an anti-bullying advocate who prevents them will enable him to positively affect the future of thousands of souls.
With Warmest Regards,
Michael… AKA: Grubby Glove.