1/1's: Are they truly one of a kind?

[6boyds]

Is a 1/1 really a 1/1 if there’s millions of variations of that one card? After all, this year’s SPX football featured 1/1’s of players that only differed in the information about them. If the card is supposed to be the only one out there, wouldn’t you want something to be different about it from a distance? If I’m looking at a card of Calvin Johnson from a few feet away and I can’t see a difference, that’s bad. Honestly, I don’t care that Calvin had “one rushing touchdown in 2007,” or that Calvin was “drafted number two overall by the Lions in the 2007 NFL Draft.” You either slap a nice logo patch and an autograph on that baby, or you go home. No ifs, ands, or buts. A 1/1 used to be something that was truly special. Now? In the case of the 2008 SPX cards, it simply tells a different fact. It’s not just 2008 SPX cards though. There’s many problems with 1/1’s now, and card companies need to fix something. Here’s a few ways they can make 1/1’s truly special.

A quick search on eBay leads me to many 1/1’s. In fact, there are 914 listings under 1/1 in the NFL category. There’s a plethora of players, including stars such as David Ball, Ben Obomanu, and Marcus Smith. Heard of them? Me neither. I’m sure they’re not bad football players by any means, but why would I want one of their cards, whether it’s a 1/1 or not? You can call the card whatever you want, but if they don’t have a career regular season reception (like in the case of David Ball), I don’t want their card. Where is David now? He signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on April 9th. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Last time I checked, there was not a team in the NFL from Hamilton. I don’t even know where Hamilton is. What I do know is that one thing card companies can do to make 1/1’s feel more special is get rid of the no-name players, and start featuring stars on the cards.

My next complaint with 1/1’s are what they feature. No, not the players, we already talked about that. While glancing eBay, you can see several letterman 1/1’s. The problem? These aren’t game-worn letterman, nor are they even event-worn. They’re manufactured letterman. That’s right, they were made in some factory, far away from the action. Sure, in some cases, the players have touched the patch to sign it, but that’s about it. If, however, you buy 2008 Topps Letterman, you get the added bonus of having a sticker placed right on top of the manufactured letter piece. That’s right folks, the sticker is on top of the letter piece! It looks about as bad as it sounds, trust me. Don’t search these cards, looking at them has been known to cause permanent sight loss. OK, that’s a lie, but they’re pretty ugly. My point is, we as buyers don’t want manufactured letters, nor do we want ugly looking cards.

These are just a few ways companies like Upper Deck and Topps can go about making the 1/1 feel truly special again. I’ve never pulled a 1/1, but if I do, I want to feel like I hit the lottery. I want to feel like it’s my birthday, I’m celebrating, and I find out that Megan Fox is on the phone wanting to talk to me (Let’s be honest, a 1/1 will never quite feel like that). Thing is, if I pull a 1/1, I want to know exactly who the player is. I want to see something that stands out about the card, whether it’s a patch, autograph, or cool design. I also want the card to feature pieces that the players have actually touched, whether it came from a game or from an event such as the rookie premiere. Finally, I want the card to be appealing to the eye. If it’s 1/1, it’s got to be spectacular in all aspects. If it’s 1/1, it has to feel like it’s the only card in the world that’s this special. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Megan Fox is on line one.

[Austin]

AGREED! Perfectly put. Market is over flooded with plates, variations, etc.

[Pheebs888]

Great article Brandon!

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Is a 1/1 really a 1/1 if there’s millions of variations of that one card? After all, this year’s SPX football featured 1/1s of players that only differed in the information about them. If the card is supposed to be the only one out there, wouldn’t you want something to be different about it from a distance? If I’m looking at a card of Calvin Johnson from a few feet away and I can’t see a difference, that’s bad. Honestly, I don’t care that Calvin had “one rushing touchdown in 2007,” or that Calvin was “drafted number two overall by the Lions in the 2007 NFL Draft.” You either slap a nice logo patch and an autograph on that baby, or you go home. No ifs, ands, or buts. A 1/1 used to be something that was truly special. Now? In the case of the 2008 SPX cards, it simply tells a different fact. It’s not just 2008 SPX cards though. There are many problems with 1/1s now, and card companies need to fix something. Here’s a few ways they can make 1/1s truly special.

A quick search on eBay leads me to many 1/1s. In fact, there are 914 listings under 1/1 in the NFL category. There’s a plethora of players, including stars such as David Ball, Ben Obomanu, and Marcus Smith. Heard of them? Me neither. I’m sure they’re not bad football players by any means, but why would I want one of their cards, whether it’s a 1/1 or not? You can call the card whatever you want, but if they don’t have a career regular season reception (like in the case of David Ball), I don’t want their card. Where is David now? He signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on April 9th. The Hamilton Tiger Cats. Last time I checked, there was not a team in the NFL from Hamilton. I don’t even know where Hamilton is. What I do know is that one thing card companies can do to make 1/1s feel more special is get rid of the no-name players, and start featuring stars on the cards.

My next complaint with 1/1s is what they feature. No, not the players, we already talked about that. While glancing eBay, you can see several letterman 1/1s. The problem? These aren’t game-worn letterman, nor are they even event-worn. They’re manufactured letterman. That’s right, they were made in some factory, far away from the action. Sure, in some cases, the players have touched the patch to sign it, but that’s about it. If, however, you buy 2008 Topps Letterman, you get the added bonus of having a sticker placed right on top of the manufactured letter piece. That’s right folks; the sticker is on top of the letter piece! It looks about as bad as it sounds, trust me. Don’t search for these cards; looking at them has been known to cause permanent sight loss. OK, that’s a lie, but they’re pretty ugly. My point is, we as buyers don’t want manufactured letters, nor do we want ugly looking cards.

These are just a few ways companies like Upper Deck and Topps can go about making the 1/1 feel truly special again. I’ve never pulled a 1/1, but if I do, I want to feel like I hit the lottery. I want to feel like it’s my birthday, I’m celebrating, and I find out that Megan Fox is on the phone wanting to talk to me (Let’s be honest, a 1/1 will never quite feel like that). Thing is, if I pull a 1/1, I want to know exactly who the player is. I want to see something that stands out about the card, whether it’s a patch, autograph, or cool design. I also want the card to feature pieces that the players have actually touched, whether it came from a game or from an event such as the rookie premiere. Finally, I want the card to be appealing to the eye. If it’s 1/1, it’s got to be spectacular in all aspects. If it’s 1/1, it has to feel like it’s the only card in the world that’s this special. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Megan Fox is on line one.

[Pheebs888]

Here is the link to the published article: https://www.sportscardforum.com/articles/?p=597

Please take the time to digg, propel and buzz.

digg:http://digg.com/football/1_1s_Are_They_Truly_Special
propeller: http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/...orum-articles/
buzz: http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/1:0433...d50c2c31?usc=1

[thelocalhobbyshop]

good stuff, definitely hear you.