Topps Project 2020 is the worst product since 1991 Fleer

[kabrune2]

Originally Posted by Ra3

I think I’ve been pretty consistent about saying I feel there should be a balance for the artists between taking advantage of the immediate commercial opportunities presented by project2020 and taking advantage of the collectors/buyers in the card community. Once again, I am of the opinion that this is an example of the latter.

I haven’t purchased anything by Jamieson, primarily because of my personal taste and opinion on his relative talent and the fact that I believe I can recognize someone whose major talent is more marketing than artistic. Seeing this post by Blake and thinking about his pumping that week still seriously irritates me on behalf of those of you who were taken advantage of; as I mentioned before: even if you are all more graceful about it than I am.

I think a lot of you are holding back because you know there are other artists on here and reading these posts. Most of those artists, in my opinion, have done an admirable job of that balance I mentioned above. Blake has not, and should be called out for it.

As someone in sales I understand where Blake is coming from with pumping up his product, he wants to get it out there, it’s free advertising, and he has a captive audience to help promote his artistic brand. We all work and we all want to make more money, Blake has found a way to do that, at least this year. The big concern he probably has is how much can he push his products before it saturates the market and kills demand beyond 2020. And like all artists his art isn’t for everyone, so he needs to reach as many ppl as he can that do enjoy his art for what it is.

As for his Jackie, I didn’t necessarily love it but bought 2 at the release because it was #42, and that was the biggest reason, it was a decent card but not a must have, however #42 means so much to Jackie’s history I felt I had to have it. Which brings up another point... why didn’t Topps give #2 to Jeter, #27 to Trout, etc, etc, only a few players overlap Jersey #’s and I’m sure Mariano would be fine letting Jackie have #42. And continue that trend in the 100’s, 200’s, etc. it would’ve added extra significance to those Jersey #’d cards.

[Ra3]

Originally Posted by samcam

I don't see how you could make that claim when Blake was having fun and had a spur of the moment idea and everyone on the board here was excited as could be.

An artist for P2020 shouldn't have pumped the project? Imagine how boring this would be if every artist were Don C.

Sounds like you just don't like Blake and that is totally fine, but no one was taken advantage of by insidious action.

Having fun, yes. At the expense of collectors, in large part, in this case? Also yes.

As I mentioned before, there’s a balance. Other artists have definitely found it. And while I have decent experience in the card collecting area, I have at least as much in the art world/artist interaction area, as well. The fanny pack and Instagram/Twitter/YouTube stuff would not have gone down well in more serious circles.

And as I stated before, I guess we just disagree on the definition of “taking advantage.” From the reactions to the fanny pack and the contents in previous posts by other people on here, I think some other members disagree too.

There’s no personal dislike of any artist on my behalf; I don’t know any of the ones in project2020. But I do know a decent number of other artists, some of whom are distinguished and some not as much. Also, I can certainly have an opinion on how they have conducted themselves and their actions, especially when viewed in retrospect and with perspective.

[Boredlawyer]

Originally Posted by samcam

If you could predict the future, fanny was overpriced.

You can't though. Imagine two months of growth on Jackie Blake at the pace it was growing at the time.

It almost sounds like a discord in here: 'Should I buy this card will I be able to flip it for double tomorrow?' or 'I bought seven of these autos to flip and now they aren't worth anything, I hate Blake for being so greedy.'

The $200 fanny pack was objectively ludicrous at release. This only took an iota of supply/demand and historical hobby perspective to see through this bunk.

It was an egregious cash grab by Blake--$200 to drip some paint on some Lewis Brinsons and Adam Conleys, tease some additional cards which, by and large, didn't have intrinsic value, take to social media to pump the project, and then crank out merchandise which probably cost $0.75 to produce.

The only people that sport fanny packs are 1994 Dwayne Johnson and moms hiking with toddlers, but maybe this was the irony in paying $200+ for it.

I think the term "swindled" is far too harsh, because when the unique opportunity presented itself, I can't fault Blake for taking advantage of a customer base which possessed irrational exuberance. I don't find fault in using his platform and ability to turn a 10000% ROI.

But he beefed up this offering with this "best friend in the art community, telling you to buy everything he produces because he has insider knowledge" persona. And then he laughed his way to the bank.

[byronscott4ever]

These are just like cards I buy—if I like it, what I pay doesn’t seem to be a sore point or in some cases, even remembered.

If I’m buying to flip, the paid amount is everything.

[ObanMontecristo]

Baller Mattingly and Blake Ichiro are up. APs already sold out

[Shinjoy]

My favorite artists in the set are Ermsy, Siff, and Rochester, in some order. If Siff released, say, a beach bag with some hand-made goodies for $200, I'd be down, for both personal reasons and a possible investment.

Bruh, you're running out of summer.

[JTPlatnum]

Originally Posted by Silas Barnaby

Just got an email about Money Bear No. 1.

Apparently several people that ordered have since moved or passed away and they need to confirm mailing addresses if so.

Dude could have went to a print shop and created all 999 cards in one tenth the time it's taken to get these to us...ridiculous

[WhoKilledTupac]

Originally Posted by Shinjoy

My favorite artists in the set are Ermsy, Siff, and Rochester, in some order. If Siff released, say, a beach bag with some hand-made goodies for $200, I'd be down, for both personal reasons and a possible investment.

Bruh, you're running out of summer.

Siff is an interesting artist as I love his P2020 art but I completely dislike his art outside of this project. Weird.

[Pacmeyer]

Originally Posted by Shinjoy

My favorite artists in the set are Ermsy, Siff, and Rochester, in some order. If Siff released, say, a beach bag with some hand-made goodies for $200, I'd be down, for both personal reasons and a possible investment.

Bruh, you're running out of summer.

If Jamieson had made a beach bag, dopp kit, anything besides a fanny pack, probably wouldn't have all these complaints about his business practices. Just something about the rather innocuous fanny pack that gets people up in arms.

[Pacmeyer]

Originally Posted by JTPlatnum

Dude could have went to a print shop and created all 999 cards in one tenth the time it's taken to get these to us...ridiculous

Have you bought anything from an artist before? If it's a one man/woman show, take whatever they say is their shipping timeframe and multiply by 3.

[AirplaneDon]

Originally Posted by samcam

And if it makes you feel any better Dons is the second companion I have my hands on LOL...

AD approved

[Ra3]

Originally Posted by Pacmeyer

If Jamieson had made a beach bag, dopp kit, anything besides a fanny pack, probably wouldn't have all these complaints about his business practices. Just something about the rather innocuous fanny pack that gets people up in arms.

Hah...yeah the fanny pack accentuates the egregious nature of the pump, but that’s not really it. It just makes the cash grab more obvious. And if anything, the business practice involved was highly effective.

It’s the strong emphasis of the business practice to the near-exclusion of other long-term, art-focused, collector-friendly things; that’s what stands out here.

[Colonel Kurtz]

It’s been awhile so maybe it’s time for a few more in a series.

Grotesk: I don’t think much of these as trading cards. I just can’t see them with stats and whatnot on the back. But you know what? They're probably the damn finest playing cards ever designed. They should have the nine of diamonds or the jack of clubs on the back. I want to see these in poker blinds. I want to see them flying at me out of a shoe on a blackjack table in Vegas. Absolutely stunning as playing cards!

Ermsy (A Re-Evaluation): Okay, a few times in the past I’ve written of my lack of affinity for Ermsy's oeuvre and the woeful physics contained in his Koufax. But it appears Mr. Ermsy attended a seminar on quantum mechanics and is proudly displaying his newfound knowledge on his Henderson! It's marvelous!

The two Rickey’s and the two A’s are both in a quantum superposition with each other just as the wavy curly white thing and incoming baseball represent wave-particle duality.

OK. I can hear some smarty-pants thinking that maybe the two Rickey’s and the two A's aren't in a quantum superposition! That the Copenhagen interpretation is old school! And that Ermsy is obviously espousing the Everettian (Many Worlds) formulation as the correct interpretation! That the two Rickey’s and the two A’s are in different, but parallel, realities!

Okay, okay, calm down! Either way I say well done, Mr. Ermsy, well done.

[samcam]

Originally Posted by Boredlawyer

The only people that sport fanny packs are 1994 Dwayne Johnson and moms hiking with toddlers, but maybe this was the irony in paying $200+ for it.

A simple search of completed items on eBay will tell you this is incorrect.

The rest of what and how you are saying feels like you (and others) are projecting.

[RyanSwinger]

Whoever makes a fanny pack with the design of the Griffey Shore on it wins!

[mwheeler27]

Originally Posted by redauto5

I didnt even buy any fannies but reading about everyone's sorrow makes me want to cry. A dark night in P2020dom. I think Blake and his chaps tried to do right by people, but the market is saying otherwise at this point. I may pick one up on the cheap as a memento of the times. Still a fan of Blake, he's a young cat with big dreams trying hard to be a good man. I can dig that.

On another note, Wheeler you still on the After Midnight tip? I bailed on last night's purchase, freaked out after sales slowed way down on the Mics and all the announcements of various P2020 ephemera yesterday. But we are under 100 left and I'm considering buying another couple. It's a Companion I believe in.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I'm still a little disheartened he put up another companion offering with a free autographed base card included. I didn't buy again last night, but I might before it's all said and done. Less than 100 left. If they sit there, I'll definitely buy more.

The more time that passes without him offering yet another "Mic" Trout item helps me want to buy more base cards. Pretty safe to say he has me nervous still at this point.

[gmoney328]

I remember the fanny pack night very clearly. It was at the absolute ZENITH of the hype beast.

I also remember thinking very clearly, "why is this something people want to buy?"

Looks like I was right, and in this case, it sucks some people got left holding the bag. I hope this doesn't happen for the rest of the companions/autos.

Still like Blake's cards though.

[CardFarmer]

Originally Posted by hammertime

It's obvious from the way eBay gets flooded with listings whenever a new companion or auto ships that a lot of people are buying them to flip. Just like the base cards I think that will die down once people realize there's no (reliable) money to be made.

This is already happening. Ermsy, arguably one of the most popular artists of the set, has had two of his companion card/auto releases die on the vine now. The Ted Williams autos from a few weeks ago are still available in huge quantities on his site, and his Bob Gibson companion card still isn't anywhere near sold now, now 24 hours after release. Heck, not even a single one of his Gibson auto tiers has sold out yet.

You're a fool if you're buying any of these companion or autos for any reason other than adding to your PC. And to the people who bought the fanny.... I said it then and I'll say it now. The fanny release was the point that P2020 jumped the shark. Anyone who bought a FANNY PACK thinking that it would hold any long term value had a couple of screws loose.

Caveat emptor, gentlemen.

[Boredlawyer]

Originally Posted by samcam

A simple search of completed items on eBay will tell you this is incorrect.

The rest of what and how you are saying feels like you (and others) are projecting.

What do you mean by projecting? Ebay indicates that a fanny pack costs about $4.95.

[samcam]

That Thiele companion number three!

His companion set is going to be one heck of a piece of baseball art!

[Ra3]

Originally Posted by mwheeler27

I'm still a little disheartened he put up another companion offering with a free autographed base card included. I didn't buy again last night, but I might before it's all said and done. Less than 100 left. If they sit there, I'll definitely buy more.

The more time that passes without him offering yet another "Mic" Trout item helps me want to buy more base cards. Pretty safe to say he has me nervous still at this point.

I still love the mic trout card...humorous and creative, and it looks really good. Also, I think the limited nature of the autographed version is attractive; 27 is a small number and naturel’s autograph looks cool on the image, at least in the mockup.

Also, I don’t really quite know what to make of the fact that only 2 of the $1250 version have sold, but it seems like it’s a good thing for the companion card and autographed version. Perhaps it gives pause to thoughts of adding future supply and aids in structuring any future offerings.

[samcam]

Originally Posted by Boredlawyer

What do you mean by projecting? Ebay indicates that a fanny pack costs about $4.95.

People are making bad faith claims and I am suggesting that people that make that claim are, in my eyes, revealing more about how they operate than how the artist actually did.

Do I really have to walk you through organizing completed items by highest price first?

[RickeyHenderson]

Originally Posted by CardFarmer

Anyone who bought a FANNY PACK thinking that it would hold any long term value had a couple of screws loose.

Caveat emptor, gentlemen.

That is pretty mean I bought it to flip, but also would keep some things if cool in it and sell rest. When it came, I decided to sell it all. I hope I do not have mental instability as you have diagnosed me as having because I thought (incorrectly) it would increase in value.

[ctcardexchange]

Originally Posted by Colonel Kurtz

It’s been awhile so maybe it’s time for a few more in a series.

Grotesk: I don’t think much of these as trading cards. I just can’t see them with stats and whatnot on the back. But you know what? They're probably the damn finest playing cards ever designed. They should have the nine of diamonds or the jack of clubs on the back. I want to see these in poker blinds. I want to see them flying at me out of a shoe on a blackjack table in Vegas. Absolutely stunning as playing cards!

Ermsy (A Re-Evaluation): Okay, a few times in the past I’ve written of my lack of affinity for Ermsy's oeuvre and the woeful physics contained in his Koufax. But it appears Mr. Ermsy attended a seminar on quantum mechanics and is proudly displaying his newfound knowledge on his Henderson! It's marvelous!

The two Rickey’s and the two A’s are both in a quantum superposition with each other just as the wavy curly white thing and incoming baseball represent wave-particle duality.

OK. I can hear some smarty-pants thinking that maybe the two Rickey’s and the two A's aren't in a quantum superposition! That the Copenhagen interpretation is old school! And that Ermsy is obviously espousing the Everettian (Many Worlds) formulation as the correct interpretation! The two Rickey’s and the two A’s are in different, but parallel, realities!

Okay, okay, calm down! Either way I say well done, Mr. Ermsy, well done.

I think I just got brain freeze reading this

[Colonel Kurtz]

Originally Posted by CardFarmer

You're a fool if you're buying any of these companion or autos...

What have you got against fish?