The Panini America Quality Control Gallery: 2012-13 Elite Series Basketball (106 Pics

[doniceage]

So, how do you follow an industry-rattling juggernaut like 2012-13 National Treasures Basketball? Although that’s something of a rhetorical question, it’s one that must be answered — and will be definitively — when 2012-13 Elite Series Basketball releases August 21, exactly three weeks after the still-scorching NT.

For the record, though, here’s how Panini America plans to follow it: With fancily foiled base cards that look more like inserts. With perpetually popular autographed brand staples such as Court Kings and Inscriptions. With super-premium upgrades to the venerable Passing the Torch Autographs, and Aspirations and Status parallels. Oh, and for good measure, you throw in the company’s first Plexiglas inserts with Elite Glass and Glass Masters.


http://paniniamerica.wordpress.com/2...ball-106-pics/

[Zeppelin1985]

Panini's already released 12'13 Elite Basketball...why not release it again BUT THIS TIME, let's add Series to the name to change it up on the collectors a lil' bit!

[ktzdaman]

These are beautiful cards! I mean it... REALLY! They are! I know I bash Panini a lot on their stuff, but these cards are pretty!

BUTT :)

Seriously... Take a look at the autographs of this group of players. LOOK AT THEM!! I know an autograph should be a loose signing of your name but these signatures are AWFUL and LAZY! Some of those auto's don't even have a letter in them! I'm sure Panini pays these guys for their autographs, and I'm sure these guys have a ton to sign, but give me a break! Another product I will not be buying.

[Italy61587]

I really dislike how panini uses old technology and plays it off like they have created such a great new innovation. They made such a big deal about panini prizm with the prizms/gold prizm cards which were literally just a rip-off of topps chrome. Now they make their first plexi-glass cards and it's supposed to be a big deal. It's been played out. UD did it over a decade ago. Panini, please put out something that you actually created on your own then maybe I'll get excited about it.

[Kadamscards]

ITaly---GREAT POINT!!!!!!!

Where is the creativity? There's gotta be something new to be done

[Zeppelin1985]

Panini is being creative, this not just "Elite"!...it IS "Elite SERIES". I mean, its super duper better than 12'13 Elite. Like seriously, its wayyyy, wayyyy better. And guess what? Since they don't acknowledge past card companies, they have introduced the very first Panini plexi-glas cards. I know, I know...you must be taken a back? This is legit, this is industry ground breaking territory people! Maybe next they could start making letterman cards!? Or how about autographs on a piece of basketball? Maybe X-fractors? (Lord, its been too long since I've said or typed X-fractor..)

How about fulfilling redemptions from last year's product, Panini? How about doing that for a start?

R.I.P. Topps Chrome, Bowman/Bowman Chrome, SP Authentic, Fleer Authentix, UD Exquisite, UD Black, UD Chronology, SP Signature Edition, uD Trilogy, SP Game Used, Topps Finest, Bowman Sterling, Ultimate Collection, SPX, UD Premier

What have you given us Panini? Prizm? Yeah, a Topps Chrome knockoff. National Treasures WISHES it could be a Chronology or UD Black. It could never, will never touch Exquisite. Marquee? Brilliance? Signatures? Rookies & Stars? Timeless Treasures? Elite? Its all GARBAGE compared to the sets I named above.

[AndyG23]

Well said Zeppelin. Unfortunately nothing will change anytime soon with Panini being the NBA's sole licence holder. People will continue to break their products as that's all they have. Leaf and UD have no chance without the licence. If there was only one other licence holder, just one, maybe the quality in products would improve and Panini would have to actually pull their fingers out and start being creative, instead of ripping designs from older products.

[BigAl_83]

I agree with Zeppelin1985 that the products of UD were best of the best and really nicely designed. Panini doesnt even come close.

Yet as a customer i dislike Upper Deck way more. The way they treat customers is absolutely horrible. I have had a few pending redemptions from 08-09 Exquisite (yes 4 years ago!!). Well getting replaced doesnt get you anywhere either. All you get is messages like your replacement will with you in 4-12 weeks (but after 26+ weeks still nothing).
They give you crap like they are backlogged on redemptions and keep repeating that whenever you ask about your status.
Only option is to have BBB file a case against them for your redemptions, but that also takes 6-12 months from my own experience.
Expired redemptions, all UD says is yeah sorry not gonna give you anything, your loss hahahahaha!!
Guaranteed one Shadowbox Jordan auto per case of Exquisite, way to go to saturate the market with Jordan autos!
UD hasnt been real creative lately as well, Fleer Retro with a ton of crap player autos and dusted of Fleer 90's inserts with players in college uni!

And Topps Chrome might be nice, but anyone name me one Topps Basketball product that had on-card autos? I cant remember one. All i remember are those hideous silver foil sticker autos that look horrible and attract all the attention away from the actual card.
Anyone remember 08-09 Topps Signature with the Nick Young and Jianlian autos out of /6900 or something like that.
Think about it Nick Young signing 7000 sticker autos!!! Hilarious!!

As much as Panini has their flaws, so do UD and Topps.

Thats why i mainly stick to picking up singles. Wether it being from old UD product or newer on-card stuff like Silhouettes, Gold Standard or National Treasures.

[Zeppelin1985]

I agree with Zeppelin1985 that the products of UD were best of the best and really nicely designed. Panini doesnt even come close.

Yet as a customer i dislike Upper Deck way more. The way they treat customers is absolutely horrible. I have had a few pending redemptions from 08-09 Exquisite (yes 4 years ago!!). Well getting replaced doesnt get you anywhere either. All you get is messages like your replacement will with you in 4-12 weeks (but after 26+ weeks still nothing).
They give you crap like they are backlogged on redemptions and keep repeating that whenever you ask about your status.
Only option is to have BBB file a case against them for your redemptions, but that also takes 6-12 months from my own experience.
Expired redemptions, all UD says is yeah sorry not gonna give you anything, your loss hahahahaha!!
Guaranteed one Shadowbox Jordan auto per case of Exquisite, way to go to saturate the market with Jordan autos!
UD hasnt been real creative lately as well, Fleer Retro with a ton of crap player autos and dusted of Fleer 90's inserts with players in college uni!

And Topps Chrome might be nice, but anyone name me one Topps Basketball product that had on-card autos? I cant remember one. All i remember are those hideous silver foil sticker autos that look horrible and attract all the attention away from the actual card.
Anyone remember 08-09 Topps Signature with the Nick Young and Jianlian autos out of /6900 or something like that.
Think about it Nick Young signing 7000 sticker autos!!! Hilarious!!

As much as Panini has their flaws, so do UD and Topps.

Thats why i mainly stick to picking up singles. Wether it being from old UD product or newer on-card stuff like Silhouettes, Gold Standard or National Treasures.

While it wasn't a Topps product per-say but remember the Rookie Photo-Shoot Autographs that were tough to pull from Topps' base set? Usually it was the first product released to start a season. Those were on-card autos and always retained value because of how hard they were to pull. That's the first thing that comes to mind regarding Topps and on-card autos, lol. Also, I think Topps Bazooka had on-card autos, if memory serves. Topps Gallery too, I think. Kind of a sad realization but hey, Topps knew how to design a basketball card! That is what they were known for. Be it Topps Finest, Topps Chrome and Bowman Draft Pick's & Stars/Bowman Chrome. Also, a MAJOR thing for me was that they used such SUPERB photography in their cards. A lost art that I really miss from collecting basketball cards...

You want on-card autographs of vets? Then Upper Deck is the company to go with. But you want an excellently designed basketball card with different parallels like gold refractors, x-fractors or the extremely tough to pull #1/1 superfractor, then Topps is the way to go.

Panini has NO IDEA, ABSOLUTE ZERO!! as to how to design a basketball card.

But hey, you're right...Topps is no saint either and I'm not trying to paint them as one because like you mentioned, they had those HIDEOUS silver foil autograph stickers that just made you cringe. That will never be forgotten.. Sometimes they would even create an autograph sticker that would mesh with the card itself. But I guess sometimes they too, like Panini, got extremely lazy and used those AWFUL silver foil autograph stickers...