Approaching the End of the Topps Monopoly

It's almost here! No, not Christmas, though that is also coming. What I am referring to is the end of the Topps monopoly of MLB-licensed baseball cards. The "exclusive contract" (read, monopoly) with the MLB runs out in 2020, and I, for one, cannot wait.

Way back in 2009, Topps and the MLB signed the paperwork that brought Topps back into the monopoly it held over baseball cards. I say "back into" because before 1980, Topps had a monopoly on producing MLB-licensed cards. That was challenged and we collectors were blessed with some of the worst competitors we have ever seen. The Fleer and Donruss sets were awful, wrought with horrible photos and errors galore. But, we didn't care. We FINALLY had something other than Topps to collect! Sure, there were other brands and off-shoots before that, but they were not "official" and often featured very bad airbrushing to get rid of the team logos. But, starting in 1980, we finally had REAL cards with REAL teams that were NOT Topps.

Competition bred furious innovations: crazy die-cuts, foils, Christmas ornaments, autographs, game-used swatches, bats, etc. It also, admittedly, bred a bizarre spiral into horrid product quality control. Some cards were made of cheap paper, some would fall apart, some had fuzzy, awful photos. Print runs were out of control. Though, the 90's were the heyday of so-called "junk wax" runs in which so many cards were produced at such low quality, they are often sold for less than 1 penny per card.

Then, Topps and the MLB inked a deal to "save card collecting." The deal (in 2009, extended to 2020 in 2013) allowed Topps to once again grab hold of the business and serve as the monopoly of officially licensed baseball cards. For a while, things really sucked. We had horrible products, rehashed versions of old Topps designs, and even the photography looked like a thumbnail image your grandfather enlarged with Paint in order to make it fit onto a card (fuzzy and pixelated crap). Collectors revolted, buying non-licensed cards from Upper Deck, Panini, etc.

Topps got better.

Enter the digital age. Topps developed several card-collecting apps (everything from baseball to Star Wars to soccer, football, and more) - digital versions of baseball cards, acquired through online trading and a VERY lucrative micro-transaction mechanism (where users buy virtual coins and diamonds with real money in order to buy digital cards that do not exist physically - it's genius, really). Topps also came up with "Topps Now" cards, which depict players from the previous day's "hot list of achievements (my own phrase)." These might include Ichiro's 3000th hit or the Indians crazy 20+ game winning streak. Again, Topps has managed to do some things right. Of course, there were the epic failures like 3d baseball cards (which used an app and augmented reality to show a 3d version of the player when you pointed your phone at a card) and whatever that online card collecting site they had was called - sorry, I blocked it out of my memory and don't even want to Google it.

Would those things have developed in the same manner had Topps not inked the deal? Did Topps and the MLB really save baseball card collecting? It's hard to say. How can anyone say for sure, given there was no competition. For all we know, other brands may have popped up that might have developed better apps, better cards, better experiences. Then again, maybe not.

As for the future? I can only hope and pray that 2020 marks the END of the Topps monopoly once and for all. I can only hope that new card companies will rise up and offer worthwhile competitive products. Exclusive contracts are meant to provide one supplier and one manufacturer the opportunity to help spark competition once the contract is over. Please, please, for the love of The Hobby, let's hope that is the fruit of this stranglehold we collectors have been subjected to for all these years.

Here's hoping 2020 provides a clear vision for competition in MLB-Licensed baseball card collecting.

BUSTIN OUR WAX - 1978-79 Wax Packs!

This week, we bust open several packs of 1978-79 wax! Most of it is non-sport, but there is a pack of 1978 O-Pee-Chee in there!

#TheHobby #Collecting Evolution of Topps Baseball Base Design: 2009-2016

Topps recently gave the collecting world a peek at the 2016 base card design. We'll look at that in a moment. In the meantime, I started thinking about the base card designs over the past handful of years or so, deciding that the designs are finally starting to catch up with the times.

In 2009, Topps essentially went MIA in the design department. The cards featured a weird colored top corner with silver dots in it with a matching element in the opposite lower corner. A black, angled accent ran across the bottom in which the player's name and team were typed. Covering a portion of the lower dotted corner thing, the team's logo appeared on a "home plate" design. The card keeps the white border that is traditionally a Topps feature. Some might argue it is the one design element used by most card makers.  Overall, this card was minimalistic and, well, looked like someone had just learned how to do photo editing for the first time. At least the images were large, if a bit blurry (as though they were digital images taken with an old 320x240 pixel camera and then blown up to fit the card template).

In 2010, things got a little better with a team-related color swatch that ran down the side of the card in a curve that resembled a vignette effect. The team name script sat prominently displayed in a bottom corner, covering part of the vignette effect. Players' names appeared typed at the very bottom of the card. Some folks thought that gradient border cut off too much of the photo, which again suffered from quality issues. The white border remains in place. This design marks the beginning of a "curvy" era in card graphics.

Things return to the minimal in 2011, as Topps foregoes team scripts and gradient fills for a simple arched banner than ran along the bottom of the card. Inside this curved, team color-inspired, bit e find the player's name. At the end of the, er, rainbow, a baseball icon with the team logo and team name sits in the lower corner. Under the rainbow, Topps adds the player's position, seemingly as an afterthought. On the plus side, the images filled the card. Again, white borders surround each card.

2012: Attack of the blob. I don't what was going on in 2012. I think maybe someone spilled paint on a mock-up up the card and someone else decided it needed to stay on the card. There is a huge, oval-ish team-colored blob that comes onto the card from the lower corner. It features the team logo, the player's first name on the colored blob's background and the player's last name in a black line that cuts the blob essentially in half. Well, it might be half, if the whole blob was on the card. To offset things a little, a couple of thin lines were added above the oval. Again, at least the images took up the majority of the card.

I specifically remember when the 2013 design first appeared. It was clean, kinda fun, different. Minimal? Sure. But, we finally had something that we hadn't seen before. The card featured a stylized home plate in the lower corner. Coming off of that, a first base and third base line that curved up and away from the plate. The player's name was printed below the design. A team logo filled the space under the first base line swoosh. Granted, this design meant a slightly smaller player image due to the bordering, but that didn't seem to be a bad thing. Someone at Topps was getting the hang of graphic design in the modern era.

The 2014 Topps base set takes the curvy design flow further by creating a wave at the bottom of the card (something akin to the "dynamic ribbon design" of a particular soft drink company) and a far-reaching arch that travels from the lower corner of the card to the upper corner on the same side. In one of the bottom corners, we find the team logo. In the opposite, under the crest of the wave, we see the player's position and name. In the vertical arch, the team appears with a team-colored background. This design, however, marks the end of the curvaceous nature of Topps cards - at least for now.

In 2015, Topps made a major leap forward in design. Topps dumps the curve appeal. The bottom text area of the card features clean text with the player's name and team name. In the opposite corner, the team logo is surrounded by a rounded-corner line. Behind the logo, a radial pattern gives the feeling of motion and/or focus. The bottom border itself is based on the team's main color and is filled with digital-looking, modern effects. The player's position appears in a small, solid-filled circle. Gone is the all-white border. Instead, the fill pattern from the bottom works its way up the outer edges and fades into a textured-looking light color.

Recently, Topps revealed the new base set design for 2016. This time, photos take up the entire card. The bottom of the card has a "smoky" effect which contains a combination of banners. In the horizontal area, we find the position, first and last name. Beneath that, in smaller text, the team name. On a diagonal banner in the lower corner, we find a "carbon fiber" style background with the team logo in the forefront. The diagonal is bordered by a line on each side that appears to match team colors. For me, this is one of most effective designs I've seen out of Topps in years (excluding last year). Some folks will undoubtedly make comparisons to Stadium Club, Fleer Ultra, and the like. I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.

#Topps, where is the humor?

Some time ago, I opened a pack of 1987 Topps for the daily pack break. Inside, there was an entry card to win a trip to the 1988 Spring Training of the team of one's choice. For fun, I filled out the card and included a little note, letting Topps know that I was just messing around and that I hoped the entry card made their day.  I never expected anything in return.

What I got in return was the card I filled out stamped "Return to Sender, OFFER EXPIRED."

How rude.

Oh, I'm sure the legal department made them do it, but have just a little sense of humor, guys...

Pack-searching exploit - Good, Bad or Who Cares?

Chris Harris of Stale Gum fame had someone email him a "secret" that can be used to pick out Target 2011 Topps Heritage Baseball loose packs that evidently contain a "hit" in the pack.  Packs without the "mark" do not have any hits (or at least are not marked such as to indicate the possibility of a hit).

Apparently, people are going bananas over this: checking the backs and only buying potential "hit" packs.  By bananas, I mean people are trashing Chris for exploiting the issue.

Frankly, I say kudos.  And, Chris, if you read this, email me the secret and I'll happily put it to the test in the Texarkana region.

I don't see the point in keeping it a secret anyway. What are the chances, really, that the respective readers of the blogs/posts of those who know the secret will run to the same Target to snag up all the "hit" packs?  Also, so far the hits are simple inserts and short prints. Whoop-dee-doo.  If we were talking a jersey every time or an auto in every marked pack, then that might be a little hard to swallow.  We're not. I'd do it if I knew it, just because I like to have added fodder for my giveaways.

I agree with Chris' assessment: he is simply the messenger (and really not even that since he is not posting the exploit, just the breaks he picked up by using the exploit himself).  The real "enemy" here is Topps.  But, then, that should be no surprise to anyone.  From fake "error" cards to re-creating the MLB card monopoly of the pre-1980's, Topps is well-known to create its own media/collector frenzies.  Topps should be blamed for pulling such an obvious manufactured telltale.  I suppose next year, they will just put a sticker on each "hit" pack saying, "This pack has the insert."

So, Chris, I say you keep buying the packs in the name of research. And, as I said, if you'd like some geographic distribution to test your theory, feel free to email me: davidinark@yahoo.com - why not.

To see the 10-pack test: http://www.youtube.com/embed/ca_z9KhLFeg

2011 Topps Value Box (Target Version)

Included in the Value Box from Target are five (5) packs of 2011 Topps Series One cards, two (2) packs of 2011 Topps Heritage Hobby packs, two (2) Diamond Giveaway code cards, a special Chrome Refractor made just for the value boxes, and a 2011 MLB Collector's Guide (with Target branding).

The Diamond Giveaway cards feature Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (one player on each card).  I am sending the Jeter to Sooz over at Card Bandits and Pujols to Erin.  I am not putting in the codes, either.  I'll let the women do that, and if they come up big winners, then all the better!

The Collector's Guide shows off one card from each year Topps has been making cards.  Most of the cards are (or seem to be in my estimation) rookie cards of the various players.  In 60 years of Topps, they couldn't include ONE Indians player's card? Gimme a break. Surely, they could have included a card from each team.  Oh well, can't please everyone, I guess.  After all, we're not talking Diamond Kings of the 80's, are we?  I digress (often, but you learn to live with it or walk away). 

The booklet also contains team schedules, which is kinda cool in a retro "pocket guide" kind of way.  Throughout the Guide, coupons for various products abound: One-A-Day for us aging collectors, $10 off MLB2K11, Scott's Turf Builder (for those of us wishing to build our own "Field of Dreams," I suppose), and others.  Of course, using the coupons means tearing them out of the guide.  And, thus Topps presents the very dilemma that drives many of its target audience (only slight pun intended) batty: keep the collectible, or collect the "prize?"  Dang it.

The "Special Chrome Refractor" was of Jackie Robinson:

I mentioned earlier that I would probably do a "Tribe or No Tribe" game with the packs, and so we begin!

The rules:
Trap cards = Reds (the *other* Ohio team) and the Braves (the *other* Native American-themed team)


+1/2 point is awarded for each card in the pack, unless card fits into the following:

+2 points are awarded for each serial, relic or autographed card.
+1 point is awarded for any Thome card in a non-Indians uniform.
+2 points are given for each Indians card.

-1 point from the score for each trap card (even if serial/auto/relic).
-1/2 point is deducted for each card featuring more than one team or no team at all

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Pack #1 is 2011 Topps Series One:
(12 cards per pack, avg score would be 6.0 at 0.5 per card)

Aaron Hill (Blue Jays):  +0.5
Ted Lilly (Dodgers): +0.5, total = 1.0 (night card?)
Julio Borbon (Rangers): +0.5, total = 1.5
Emilio Bonifacio (Marlins): +0.5, total = 2.0
Chicago White Sox Team card: +0.5, total = 2.5 (definitely night card)

David Ortiz (Red Sox): +0.5, total = 3.0
Armando Galarraga (Tigers) Refractor: +0.5, total = 3.5 (yes, he got ripped off last year against the Tribe. we know)
60YOT 1998 All-Topps Catchers (Piazza, IRod, Kendall): -0.5, total = 3.0

Roy Halladay (Phillies) ToppsTown: +0.5, total = 3.5
Freddy Garcia (White Sox): +0.5, total = 4.0
Joey Votto (Reds - TRAP!): -1.0, total = 3.0
Jose Guillen (Giants): +0.5, total = 3.5

First pack scores 3.5, which is not good, especially with a trap and a multi-team in there. 

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Pack #2 is 2011 Topps Series One (since there are FIVE of these):
(12 cards per pack, avg score would be 6.0 at 0.5 per card)



Kyle Davies (Royals): +0.5
Josh Tomlin (Indians, TRIBER!): +2, total = 2.5
Jason Kubel (Twins): +0.5, total = 3.0
Luke Scott (Oriols): +0.5, total = 3.5

Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies): +0.5, total = 4.0
Nelson Cruz (Rangers): +0.5, total = 4.5
Diamond Giveaway (Halladay, Phillies): +0.5, total = 5.0
T60 Ryan Howard (Phillies): +0.5, total = 5.5

Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies) ToppsTown: +0.5, total = 6.0
Todd Helton (Rockies): +0.5, total = 6.5
Neil Walker (Pirates): +0.5, total = 7.0
Trevor Hoffman (Brewers): +0.5, total = 7.5

Nice!  No traps and scored a Triber to boot! Wahoo!  Total for this pack is a nice 7.5!

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Pack #3 is 2011 Topps Series One:
(12 cards per pack, avg score would be 6.0 at 0.5 per card)


Russell Branyan (Mariners): +0.5
Alex Rodriguez (Yankees): +0.5, total = 1.0
Jose Bautista (Blue Jays): +0.5, total = 1.5
Chris Sale (White Sox): +0.5, total = 2.0
Mark Trumbo (Angels): +0.5, total = 2.5
Pedro Ciriaco (Pirates): +0.5, total = 3.0
Ryan Dempster (Cubs): +0.5, total = 3.5
Jeff Keppinger (Astros): +0.5, total = 4.0
Diamond Duo (Utley/Rollins, Phillies): +0.5, total = 4.5
60YOT Whitey Ford (Yankees): +0.5, total = 5.0

Robinson Cano (Yankees) ToppsTown: +0.5, total = 5.5
Evan Meek (Pirates): +0.5, total = 6.0
Chris Narveson (Brewers): +0.5, total = 6.5

Well, this pack had 13 cards and scored 6.5.  It managed to walk the line - no Tribers and no traps.  The Duo card counts as a Phillies card because it features multiple players from the same team, in case you were wondering (and I know you were!).

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Pack #4 is 2011 Topps Heritage Hobby:
(9 cards per pack, avg score would be 4.5 at 0.5 per card)

Mike Stanton (Marlins): +0.5

Angel Pagan (Mets): +0.5, total = 1.0
Washington Nationals Team card: +0.5, total = 1.5
Barry Zito (Giants): +0.5, total = 2.0
Stephen Drew (Diamondbacks): +0.5, total = 2.5

JJ Hardy (Orioles): +0.5, total = 3.0
Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals): +0.5, total = 3.5
Andrew Romine (Angels): +0.5, total = 4.0
Marco Scutaro (Red Sox): +0.5, total = 4.5

Another perfectly par pack - 4.5 points on 9 cards.  We ran into no Indians and no traps.  We did manage to find a few well-knowns, though. That's always cool to the collector-kid in me.  i also like the "pitching vs other teams" stats on the back of the team card.  Nice touch.

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Pack #5 is 2011 Topps Series One:
(12 cards per pack, avg score would be 6.0 at 0.5 per card)


CJ Wilson (Rangers): +0.5
John Danks (White Sox): +0.5, total = 1.0
Pablo Sandoval (Giants): +0.5, total = 1.5
Chicago Cubs Team card: +0.5, total = 2.0

Zach Duke (Pirates): +0.5, total = 2.5
CC Sabathia (Yankees) Mini Champions card: +0.5, total = 3.0
60YOT Mike Piazza (Dodgers): +0.5, total = 3.5

Ryan Howard (Phillies) ToppsTown: +0.5, total = 4.0
Melvin Mora (Rockies): +0.5, total = 4.5

Jon Niese (Mets): +0.5, total = 5.0
Ian Desmond (Nationals): +0.5, total = 5.5
Barry Zito (Giants): +0.5, total = 6.0

Despite a couple of cool cards (Sabathia, Piazza), this pack eeks out an average score of 6.0.  I am certainly seeing a pattern here.  Luckily, that pattern has managed to avoid traps for the most part!  Now, if it would just pony up on some Tribers.  That would be nice.  (For the record, I am recording these "live" as it were, so I have no idea what's in the remaining packs, should I suddenly be blessed with Indians cards galore.  I just want it to be known.)

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Okay, pack #6 is a 2011 Topps Heritgae Hobby
(9 cards per pack, avg score would be 4.5 at 0.5 per card)


Joe Nathan (Twins): +0.5
Andrew McCutchen (Pirates): +0.5, total = 1.0
Chris Perez (Indians - TRIBE!): +2.0, total = 3.0 (Wahoo! Let the disclaimer rule!)

Brewers Team card: +0.5, total = 3.5

Boston Red Sox Heritage Chrome 57/62 (Ortiz/Perez): +2.0, total = 5.5 (that is one SWEET-looking card!)
Andre Ethier (Dodgers): +0.5, total = 6.0

Jonathon Niese (Mets): +0.5, total = 6.5

Joel Pineiro (Angels): +0.5, total = 7.0

Manny Acta (Indians - TRIBE!): +2.0, total = 9.0

So, I just happen to make my disclaimer just before opening a killer pack.  Well, I can only say that is how the wheels of justice work sometimes.  Now, I am no "name-it/claim-it" kind of person (or else I would have won the lottery and PCH already)!  I am pretty excited about this whole pack, really!  Well, okay, about a third of it, anyway.  Seriously, though, that Heritgae Chrome is a nice, thick card with a cool black border treatment.  I may hang on to that one for my non-Tribe collection.... Nah, have you ever known me to do that?  Well, not often anyway.

The grand total for pack #6 is 9.0 points!  That's a pretty sweet haul.

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The last pack in the Value Box is a 2011 Topps Series One:

(12 cards per pack, avg score would be 6.0 at 0.5 per card)

Carlos Carrasco (Indians - TRIBE!): +2.0 (Are you kidding me!? Awesome!)
Neftali Feliz (Rangers): +0.5, total = 2.5
Travis Hafner (Indians - TRIBE!): +2.0, total = 4.5 (Now, I am just laughing out loud. Really. I am!)

Pedro Alvarez (Pirates): +0.5, total = 5.0
Darren Ford (Giants): +0.5, total = 5.5
Ichiro (Mariners): +0.5, total = 6.0
Daniel Descalso (Cardinals): +0.5, total = 6.5
T60 Ryan Braun (Brewers): +0.5, total = 7.0
History of Topps (Shorin Family): -0.5, total = 6.5

Buster Posey (Giants) ToppsTown: +0.5, total = 7.0
Arthur Rhodes (Reds - TRAP!): -1.0, total = 6.0 (AUGH! Got me!)
Jay Bruce (Reds - TRAP!): -1.0, total = 5.0 (AUGH! Got me again!) (Well, I'm not laughing anymore)

I was on quite a roll there!  Then, once I was built up, I needed to be knocked back down again, I suppose.  Two Tribers and two traps in the same pack.  Well, as the old song goes, "You take the good.  You take the bad. You take them both, and there you have... a Topps pack break."  Okay, well, I derailed the train there at the end - in the song and in the pack.  Thanks to the traps and the non-team card, the total for the last pack is a below par 5.0 (and this is not golf, so below par = bad).

My overall opinion of the $14.99 box of cards?  Pretty favorable, actually.  Yes, getting more than a handful of Indians helps there, but the packs had a nice variety of players and inserts.  Not a bad deal.  Especially since the boss paid for it!

"Cardboard Treasure" to air on MLB Network

Thanks to Chris Harris for posting the info!  I thought I would share it here as well.

On Tuesday, March 29, MLB Network will air a "special" called "Cardboard Treasure" - A 60-year history of Topps and how it has been the epicenter of the baseball card industry. (quote from MLB Network).  The show airs at 10pm EST, 9pm CST.

Topps as the "epicenter?"  Hmm, I gotta watch it just to see how badly this show kisses Topps' rear-end.  Hmm, I wonder if they will cover the FIRST monopoly Topps had for the card industry and then the latest monopoly they enjoy these days.  Will they talk about the manner in which they forced the other card companies out of MLB licensing contract renewals?  Will they talk about the junk they've been trying to peddle at insanely high prices?  Will they talk about the re-hash of brands gone-by?  Will they talk about the awful photos of recent sets?  Of course not.  You see, this is Topps 60th Anniversary.  We will look back at the good ol' days, skip over the 90's and jump ahead to the days of game-used inserts, autographs, etc.

While I do think some of the show will be worth watching, I have a feeling that watching an hour-long Topps infomercial will provide for some gut-churning nausea.  And for that, I will be watching for sure.

Contractural Monopoly

Two things first:

1) This was written some time ago and appears on my 'poppedinmyhead' blog. I don't know why that's important to say, but it is... or not... Hard to tell.

2) Motherscratcher actually expressed his feelings on the whole Topps 'exclusive' MLB contract in a manner that appeals to the collector in all of us. You can read that HERE (after you read my thoughts, of course).

Without further adieu, here is my take on the whole Topps thing, though for a card blog, this appears much too late to really be worth the read. Alas, I put it here for your enjoyment (or outrage). Happy Motoring!

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"Contractual Monopoly" - if that's not a phrase, then let it be said I coined it here, though I'm sure I could Google it were I so inclined. What am I talking about? Baseball cards, of course. Back in the early 80's, a small company called Fleer took Topps (the only company that was 'allowed'' to make cards featuring the actual team logos) to court over monopolistic practices. They won, and soon card companies popped up like online web sites did during the dot-com era. Competition was everywhere. Some say that was good, some say it was bad, for collecting. Where I come from, competition is ALWAYS a good thing.

Many collectors became disenfranchised with the hobby as the years went on, however. They complain of bad photos, stupid gimmicks, you name it, and say the hobby lost its focus. Do train collectors, Beanie baby collectors, teddy bear collectors, stamp collectors, currency collectors, ad naseum, feel that way about their own hobbies? I have no idea. And, I digress. Basically, though, they also complain about having too many sets to try to collect, too MUCH choice, not enough creativity in what was being offered, and in some sets, very shoddy photography and worksmanship - not to mention outright fraud in some cases of player auto's etc.

With the stroke of a pen (or ten or twelve, which will eventually end up as fodder in future "ink'd deals" sets, I'm sure), Topps and the MLB signed a deal once again giving the company exclusive rights to use MLB logos on cards from 2010 into the foreseeable future. Many card collectors are loving it. Many are hating it. And some collectors are still trying to figure how it will affect them at all.

I have two huge issues with the deal:

First, we have taken a 30-year step backward. Once again, Topps has managed to put themselves in a monopolistic position. I can only imagine this will get challenged in court. Supposedly, the argument is akin to the deal Reebok (or whomever) signed with the NFL for shoes. Here's my problem: it is not the same thing. If the cards were being supplied only *TO* the MLB, then sure, they could pick they wanted. Much like bats, helmets, cleats, EQUIPMENT, or heck, beverages, whatever. That is a different type of agreement. Baseball cards, any trading cards, are NOT the property of or the exclusive use of the MLB. in fact, I would venture many MLB-connected folks probably aren't even collectors. If the only place a person could buy cards was through the stadiums or through the team sites, then sure, ink the deal, we're done here. But that is not how it works. Evidently, hockey and maybe even the NFL for all I know have already inked similar deals. I don't collect those, so I dont pay attention. If so, those are also contractual monopolies. The collectors and fans should be pissed as hell at this move.

Will this move slim down the number of choices? Of course. Will this end the confusion of card collecting? Not even close. Take a look through a baseball card almanac. THOUSANDS of pages dedicated not only to the big brands, but also to all the goofy oddball brands that were around for as long as Topps has been. And why were there oddball brands? Because of the monopoly. We will see a return of the oddball cards, which will not only NOT clarify collecting confusion, but will actually ADD to it. Then again, I loves me some oddball cards, so as a collector, maybe seeing Topps shoot themselves in the foot is a good thing after all.

Secondly, an argument is being made by several collectors and fellow bloggers that the quality will rise now that there is no competition. I disagree. If only one company makes cars and they make crappy cars, they will always make crappy cars. Why? There is no competition to drive them to improve. Frankly, does any collector remember what kind of crap Topp was putting out UNTIL Upper Deck and Fleer came out with cards that blew Topps out of the water!? Yeah, Topps was on the slippery slope to suckdom until then. And, wasn't Topps recently about to be swallowed up by Upper Deck and everyone cried and boo-hooed because that would be then end of competition in the hobby? Yet, now, many of those same people applaud the contractual monopolistic move by Topps? How is that different? How is that going to give Topps ANY incentive to get better?

Topps just found their golden ticket to mediocrity, and I hate the fact that if I am going to continue to collect cards, I am forced to ride the only train in town.