Remember eTopps? mailday

SteveO21 · 03-10-2017, 04:28 PM

You guys remember Topps, right? Well you probably also remember eTopps. It was ahead of it's time and Panini is just now catching up to the idea. Well eTopps officially died back in 2012, but the basketball side of eTopps died in 2008. The idea was great, but the execution was sometimes poor and things really went south with the increased cost to have your cards shipped to you.

The card I got in the mail today is one that I have wanted for a while, but I've only ever seen 1 of them on eBay. That 1 has been sitting there for at least a couple years with a BIN that I'm not willing to pay. I had never really done any research on the card but I knew that I liked it and wanted to own it. I dug up the old eTopps website and started digging around for info on the card. Turns out that part of the eTopps autograph program was pretty cool. They would announce upcoming autograph sessions with players and you could elect to have your eTopps cards produced and then autographed at these sessions for a set price. They would set a cut off date for when you had to place your order and then after they were signed at the session would be returned to Topps and processed to be shipped out to you. Pretty cool process. You can read more about it here, if you want.

Well, earlier this week I did one of my random searches and saw that there was a copy up at auction so I decided I'd put in my snipe. I won it for just a hair less than my max bid. After researching the card, I found that only 67 of this card were signed, and the original cost was $44.95. Pretty happy to get this copy for about 44% of the original price. Card also has a hologram on the back with a matching serial number. The COA is pretty cool because it states specifically the date that the card was signed. This one happened to be signed 1 month before my 23rd birthday. I was in Haditha, Iraq on this date, most likely standing behind an M2 waiting for something to happen.

2006 eTopps Autographs #JO1 Jermaine O'Neal 2006 eTopps McDonald's /67 by SMosley21x, on Flickr

Anyone else have any eTopps autographs? Looks like the basketball autos were fairly limited. Only players I see on the checklist are Iverson, JO, Bill Russell, Melo, CP3, Rodman, DWade, Magic, Telfair, Shaq and Vinsanity. Only 1 of them had print run of 100 or more, with CP3 signing 112 of his McD's AA card.

kukocitb · 03-10-2017, 04:40 PM

That is awesome! I am not sure I have ever seen an auto'd one but knew it was possible. VERY NICE mail day.

CastleBeachCards · 03-10-2017, 04:50 PM

Hey if you collect O'Neal, I have his Bowman's Best Rc refractor.
P.m. me if you want it.

Is that card a refractor finish? It's pretty cool

jhardy · 03-10-2017, 04:55 PM

So cool! Love to learn about rare issues like this. Thanks for the info!

SteveO21 · 03-10-2017, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenfancypants

Hey if you collect O'Neal, I have his Bowman's Best Rc refractor.
P.m. me if you want it.

Is that card a refractor finish? It's pretty cool

It is a refractor finish. They're really nice looking. I'll PM you on the JO rc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhardy

So cool! Love to learn about rare issues like this. Thanks for the info!

No problem. I love learning this sort of stuff too. There's so much history of card releases that is barely known, or that gets forgotten.

the27guy · 03-10-2017, 05:24 PM

Only have owned a few E-=Topps. Don't think I've owned an auto, but seen a few Really nice in hand.

Imagine if Topps had gotten Lebron....

Corky · 03-10-2017, 05:47 PM

A really cool pickup, I liked eTopps and purchased a number of them during the series run. I still will pick up eTopps cards of my PCs.

wethenorth · 03-10-2017, 05:56 PM

What is etopps?? 😅😅

Lothar · 03-11-2017, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wethenorth

What is etopps?? 😅😅

It was of a stock market/Topps Now like e platform that allowed orders to be placed every week for a few players. If I remember right, print run was mainly based on the amount of orders received that week. Card were encased, had a great chrome like look, and had the metal eTopps raised logo. After a few years, the metal etopps logo was printed on the card instead. You could choose to keep them in your portfolio, trade them, or sell them. Sometimes a scrub would have a stupid low print run resulting in a high dollar value. Other times it would backfire and a sure thing would have a very high print run resulting in decreased prices vs. IPO immediately. Cards look outstanding in hand. There was quite a following of eTopps, but Topps decided to move away from the platform.

rdleifriaf · 03-11-2017, 10:40 AM

Cards with stories, man... cards with stories. Love it! Looks great too.

SPauthentic84 · 03-11-2017, 11:12 AM

Always liked Micky D cards.

I know cp3 is in this set

SanAntonioSpurs · 03-11-2017, 11:38 AM

eTopps! I really liked the look of some of the ones I took inhand. Too bad they couldn't keep the platform going but it was fun while it lasted. I also remember how fun their message boards were.

SteveO21 · 03-11-2017, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lothar

It was of a stock market/Topps Now like e platform that allowed orders to be placed every week for a few players. If I remember right, print run was mainly based on the amount of orders received that week. Card were encased, had a great chrome like look, and had the metal eTopps raised logo. After a few years, the metal etopps logo was printed on the card instead. You could choose to keep them in your portfolio, trade them, or sell them. Sometimes a scrub would have a stupid low print run resulting in a high dollar value. Other times it would backfire and a sure thing would have a very high print run resulting in decreased prices vs. IPO immediately. Cards look outstanding in hand. There was quite a following of eTopps, but Topps decided to move away from the platform.

Great summary. I was out of the hobby when eTopps was prevalent (02-07)so I'm still learning about them myself. By looking at eBay, there aren't a ton of the autos on the market these days. I'm very glad to have been able to finally land this JO.

Chucky · 03-11-2017, 01:58 PM

Always liked the eTopps cards in hand. It was a good idea but poorly managed. I still have quite a few. Glad you found one you coveted! The autographed ones are very rare.

duron · 03-11-2017, 02:17 PM

That is really nice, I love some of those eTopps cards. Have noticed some nice stuff on ebay in the last few years.

Pretty sure I was completely out of the hobby by the time they started to be released.

TWard · 03-11-2017, 02:44 PM

Absolutely love it. Jermaine is one of my favorite players of all-time and he and Reggie are the biggest reasons why the Pacers are my "Eastern Conference team". I used to collect JO back in the day and I desperately wish I had held onto them, especially the Ultimate logoman auto

I might have to get me one of those at some point. Topps really did a good job on their eTopps auto's... Good stuff!!

duron · 03-11-2017, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWard

Absolutely love it. Jermaine is one of my favorite players of all-time and he and Reggie are the biggest reasons why the Pacers are my "Eastern Conference team".

He was awesome.

Back when he visited MSG as a Pacer my friend's bro-in-law had good seats and took some video. I just remember being impressed with how skilled he was in the post and how great his jumper looked. Gave a much better sense of his movements as opposed to the standard broadcast video.

TWard · 03-11-2017, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duron

He was awesome.

Back when he visited MSG as a Pacer my friend's bro-in-law had good seats and took some video. I just remember being impressed with how skilled he was in the post and how great his jumper looked. Gave a much better sense of his movements as opposed to the standard broadcast video.

Completely agree. He had one of the best "big man jumpers" in the league during his prime. I remember going to see him in early 2005 (the 2004-05 season) when the Pacers came here and he absolutely DOMINATED the Grizzlies. If I remember right, he went for 35 points and 12 rebounds and hit every one of his 10+ free throws. He was just unstoppable that game, and he helped lead the Pacers to a win. At the time, he was my favorite player in the league and I think I was the only one wearing a Pacers shirt in the entire arena, haha.

It's a shame that injuries bit him hard. I sometimes wonder what his career would've looked like if he had stayed predominantly healthy for his entire career. Despite his injuries, he was a 6x All-Star and a 3x All-NBA'er, which is definitely nothing to sneeze at, but he could've been waaay better if not for the injury bug.

SteveO21 · 03-11-2017, 05:06 PM

Yeah, JO was an absolute beast in his prime. Think he finished 3rd in MVP voting the year KG won it. He doesn't get enough recognition, even from Pacers fans, for just how good he was before the injuries and the brawl happened. The Dale Davis for JO trade is easily one of the best, possibly the very best, trades in franchise history.

stangy24 · 03-11-2017, 06:21 PM

Awesome card. eTopps cards in general look great when in-hand and the on-card auto is just icing on the cake...

mattsshaq32 · 03-11-2017, 08:20 PM

Here is the Shaq I have for reference.

duron · 03-11-2017, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattsshaq32

Here is the Shaq I have for reference.

Yea, they're gorgeous.

They're basically Topps Gold Label with lighter colors and backgrounds.

SteveO21 · 03-11-2017, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattsshaq32

Here is the Shaq I have for reference.

Nice! I've now seen copies of the JO, CP3, Melo and Shaq McDonald's autos.

mhcook · 03-11-2017, 11:06 PM

If that is the full list of autos ever made then that would be a nice unique set to put together. Great pickup!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Exquisite074 · 03-12-2017, 02:27 AM

Sweet card, I loved eTopps! I still have cards in my etopps Card Portfolio... maybe they will revive it somday...
I believe there were 4 versions of the Iverson, with 30 or 40 copies of each. This one is no longer in my possession, but it's one I have pictures of. I also love that it's actually dated on the day Iverson signed. I have only picked up singles and not bought wax since 2006 as I refuse to pay full price and support a release that doesn't use all on-card autos, game used materials - and lists the date the card was signed and/or the actual game the jersey is from... This is a set that was done right - so I think it will actually hold value over time... here's AI:

03-10-2017, 04:28 PM	#1
SteveO21 Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: near the cards Posts: 10,810 vintagepacers Steve_O_21	Remember eTopps? mailday You guys remember Topps, right? Well you probably also remember eTopps. It was ahead of it's time and Panini is just now catching up to the idea. Well eTopps officially died back in 2012, but the basketball side of eTopps died in 2008. The idea was great, but the execution was sometimes poor and things really went south with the increased cost to have your cards shipped to you. The card I got in the mail today is one that I have wanted for a while, but I've only ever seen 1 of them on eBay. That 1 has been sitting there for at least a couple years with a BIN that I'm not willing to pay. I had never really done any research on the card but I knew that I liked it and wanted to own it. I dug up the old eTopps website and started digging around for info on the card. Turns out that part of the eTopps autograph program was pretty cool. They would announce upcoming autograph sessions with players and you could elect to have your eTopps cards produced and then autographed at these sessions for a set price. They would set a cut off date for when you had to place your order and then after they were signed at the session would be returned to Topps and processed to be shipped out to you. Pretty cool process. You can read more about it here, if you want. Well, earlier this week I did one of my random searches and saw that there was a copy up at auction so I decided I'd put in my snipe. I won it for just a hair less than my max bid. After researching the card, I found that only 67 of this card were signed, and the original cost was $44.95. Pretty happy to get this copy for about 44% of the original price. Card also has a hologram on the back with a matching serial number. The COA is pretty cool because it states specifically the date that the card was signed. This one happened to be signed 1 month before my 23rd birthday. I was in Haditha, Iraq on this date, most likely standing behind an M2 waiting for something to happen. 2006 eTopps Autographs #JO1 Jermaine O'Neal 2006 eTopps McDonald's /67 by SMosley21x, on Flickr Anyone else have any eTopps autographs? Looks like the basketball autos were fairly limited. Only players I see on the checklist are Iverson, JO, Bill Russell, Melo, CP3, Rodman, DWade, Magic, Telfair, Shaq and Vinsanity. Only 1 of them had print run of 100 or more, with CP3 signing 112 of his McD's AA card. Last edited by SteveO21; 03-11-2017 at 01:40 PM.

03-10-2017, 04:40 PM	#2
kukocitb Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Iowa Posts: 3,680 Kukocitb515 Kukocitb	That is awesome! I am not sure I have ever seen an auto'd one but knew it was possible. VERY NICE mail day. __________________ "You're THE Kukoc guy" Abra Calabro "Kukocitb is the GOAT??? I knew that..." Dajuan Wagner Kukoc COUNTER: 1467 different!!!!! Robin Lopez Counter 719 different!

03-10-2017, 04:55 PM	#4
jhardy Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Bartlett, TN Posts: 586 jhardycards jhardycards	So cool! Love to learn about rare issues like this. Thanks for the info! __________________ Instagram: jhardycards NBA HOF Rookie Auto PC: https://flic.kr/s/aHskVV9ttg

03-10-2017, 05:47 PM	#7
Corky Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Arizona (Hometown: Seattle) Posts: 1,487 jumper48 corky	A really cool pickup, I liked eTopps and purchased a number of them during the series run. I still will pick up eTopps cards of my PCs. __________________ I am a player collector focusing mainly on Ken Griffey Jr. but I also collect Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, Ryan Bader. and University of Arizona http://real-corky.deviantart.com/gallery/

03-10-2017, 05:56 PM	#8
wethenorth Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 3,565 sportscardskingdom15 raptors	What is etopps?? 😅😅 __________________ Website / Tradelist: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wethenorth/albums Generate Flickr Photo / Album BBCode \| Ebay Listing to BBCode - https://tools.sportscard.trade

03-10-2017, 04:50 PM	#3
CastleBeachCards Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: St. Clair Shores, Mi Posts: 1,346 castlebeachcards castlebeachcards	Hey if you collect O'Neal, I have his Bowman's Best Rc refractor. P.m. me if you want it. Is that card a refractor finish? It's pretty cool

03-10-2017, 05:24 PM	#6
the27guy Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 14,673 the27guy the27guy	Only have owned a few E-=Topps. Don't think I've owned an auto, but seen a few Really nice in hand. Imagine if Topps had gotten Lebron....

03-11-2017, 10:40 AM	#10
rdleifriaf Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: PNW Posts: 1,024 rdleifriaf	Cards with stories, man... cards with stories. Love it! Looks great too. __________________ http://www.hobbydisplay.com/rdleifriaf/wilkins https://twitter.com/HobbyDisplay

03-11-2017, 11:12 AM	#11
SPauthentic84 Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: PA Posts: 11,317	Always liked Micky D cards. I know cp3 is in this set __________________ Follow me on Instagram: Spauthentic1

03-11-2017, 11:38 AM	#12
SanAntonioSpurs Banned Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Richmond TX Posts: 1,568 SanAntonioSpurs21 SanAntonioSpurs21	eTopps! I really liked the look of some of the ones I took inhand. Too bad they couldn't keep the platform going but it was fun while it lasted. I also remember how fun their message boards were.

03-11-2017, 01:58 PM	#14
Chucky Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,565 Basketballchuck	Always liked the eTopps cards in hand. It was a good idea but poorly managed. I still have quite a few. Glad you found one you coveted! The autographed ones are very rare.

03-11-2017, 02:17 PM	#15
duron Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: NYC Posts: 12,095 drewtang duron	That is really nice, I love some of those eTopps cards. Have noticed some nice stuff on ebay in the last few years. Pretty sure I was completely out of the hobby by the time they started to be released. __________________ IG: Darz90sCardz PC: MJ/Penny

03-11-2017, 02:44 PM	#16
TWard Banned Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Memphis Posts: 9,780 tylersportsguy	Absolutely love it. Jermaine is one of my favorite players of all-time and he and Reggie are the biggest reasons why the Pacers are my "Eastern Conference team". I used to collect JO back in the day and I desperately wish I had held onto them, especially the Ultimate logoman auto I might have to get me one of those at some point. Topps really did a good job on their eTopps auto's... Good stuff!!

03-11-2017, 05:06 PM	#19
SteveO21 Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: near the cards Posts: 10,810 vintagepacers Steve_O_21	Yeah, JO was an absolute beast in his prime. Think he finished 3rd in MVP voting the year KG won it. He doesn't get enough recognition, even from Pacers fans, for just how good he was before the injuries and the brawl happened. The Dale Davis for JO trade is easily one of the best, possibly the very best, trades in franchise history.

03-11-2017, 06:21 PM	#20
stangy24 Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 444 24stangy	Awesome card. eTopps cards in general look great when in-hand and the on-card auto is just icing on the cake...

03-11-2017, 08:20 PM	#21
mattsshaq32 Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 48	Here is the Shaq I have for reference. Last edited by mattsshaq32; 01-06-2023 at 03:01 PM.

03-11-2017, 11:06 PM	#24
mhcook Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 1,711	If that is the full list of autos ever made then that would be a nice unique set to put together. Great pickup! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk __________________ Looking for University of Memphis players in their college uniform especially DeAngelo Williams and Paxton Lynch. Mark McGwire on card autos especially 2002 and 2003, 1/1s and Toppsy Dynasty /10 from 2014 and 2018.

03-12-2017, 02:27 AM	#25
Exquisite074 Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: California Posts: 387 IversonExquisite IversonExquisite	Sweet card, I loved eTopps! I still have cards in my etopps Card Portfolio... maybe they will revive it somday... I believe there were 4 versions of the Iverson, with 30 or 40 copies of each. This one is no longer in my possession, but it's one I have pictures of. I also love that it's actually dated on the day Iverson signed. I have only picked up singles and not bought wax since 2006 as I refuse to pay full price and support a release that doesn't use all on-card autos, game used materials - and lists the date the card was signed and/or the actual game the jersey is from... This is a set that was done right - so I think it will actually hold value over time... here's AI: