SCF Official Review: 2007/08 Topps Letterman

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank the wonderful people at Topps for providing us with this mini box to review.

We are reviewing 1 mini box (pack) or 2007/08 Topps Letterman Basketball



Product Info:
3 mini-boxes per box
1 pack per mini-box
4 cards per pack

SRP (1 box): $169.99-$189.99

LOTTERY PICKS ADDED TO LETTERMAN BASKETBALL
Topps announces that the just-shipped 07-08 Topps Letterman Basketball (image attached) includes one bonus 2008 Lottery Pick Letter Redemption card every 4 Master Boxes. Each card will feature a letter patch from the player’s last name and will be sequentially #’d to 25. Following is the subject list:

Derrick Rose R-O-S-E

100 Total

Michael Beasley B-E-A-S-L-E-Y

175 Total

O.J. Mayo M-A-Y-O

100 Total

Russell Westbrook W-E-S-T-B-R-O-O-K

225 Total

Kevin Love L-O-V-E

100 Total

Eric Gordon G-O-R-D-O-N

150 Total

D.J. Augustin A-U-G-U-S-T-I-N

200 Total

Brook Lopez L-O-P-E-Z

125 Total

Jerryd Bayless B-A-Y-L-E-S-S

175 Total

Brandon Rush R-U-S-H

100 Total

** Each pack/mini-box contains 3 Topps Letterman cards, plus 1 Autographed Letterman card OR 1 autographed card OR 1 patch card.

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
EVERY 8-BOX CASE CONTAINS:
- 1 Autographed Letterman Booklet Card!
- 1 Autographed Scenic Signature Card!

EVERY MASTER BOX CONTAINS:
- 1 Autographed Letterman Card!
- 1 Autographed Card!
- 1 Patch Card!
- 3 Rookie Cards!
- 6 Veteran/Retired Cards!

EVERY MINI-BOX CONTAINS:
- 1 Autographed Card numbered to 75 or less OR 1 Patch Card numbered to 19 or less!

INTRODUCING: LETTERMAN BOOKLET CARDS….FOR THE FIRST TIME ANYWHERE!!

CONTENT BREAKDOWN
LETTERMAN BOOKLET CARDS -INSERTED 1 PER CASE!
- Autographed Letterman Booklets (30) - Seq. #'d to 25.
- Superfractor - All one of one. Signed on every letter!
- X-Fractor - Seq. #'d to 3.
- Refractor - Seq. #'d to 10.

14K GOLD LETTERMAN CARDS (11) - ALL ONE OF ONE

BASE CARDS
- Veterans/Retired (50) - Seq. #'d to 599.
- Rookies (25) - Seq. #'d to 599.

PARALLEL CARDS
- Superfractor (75) - All one of one.
- X-Fractor (75) - Seq. #'d to 25.
- Refractor (75) - Seq. #'d to 99.

AUTOGRAPHED CARDS - 1 PER MASTER-BOX!
- Autographed Jersey Number Patches (30) - Seq. #'d to 75 or less.
- Autographed Team Logo Patches (30) - Seq. #'d to 75 or less.
- Authentic Autographed Quad Relics (30) - Seq. #'d to 75 or less.

Parallel Autograph Cards
- Superfractor (90) - All one of one.
- X-Fractor (90) - Seq. #'d to 10 or less.
- Refractor (90) - Seq. #'d to 25 or less.

Autographed Scenic Signatures (30) - Seq. #'d to 25 or less. 1 per case!
- Superfractor - All one of one.
- X-Fractor - Seq. #'d to 3.
- Refractor - Seq. #'d to 10 or less.

Dual Autographed Scenic Signatures (20) - Seq. #'d to 10 or less.
- Superfractor - All one of one.
- X-Fractor - Seq. #'d to 3 or less.
- Refractor - Seq. #'d to 5 or less.

AUTOGRAPHED LETTERMAN CARDS - 1 PER MASTER-BOX!
Autographed Letterman Patches (30) - Seq. #'d to 35 or less.
- Superfractor - All one of one.
- X-Fractor - Seq. #'d to 10 or less.
- Refractor - Seq. #'d to 25 or less.

Authentic One of One Game Worn Cards
- Autographed Authentic Letterman Patches (18) - All one of one.
- Autographed Authentic Jersey Tags (14) - All one of one.

PATCH CARDS - 1 PER MASTER-BOX!
- Letterman Patches (45) - Seq. #'d to 19 or less.
- Jersey Number Patches (45) - Seq. #'d to 19.
- Team Logo Patches (45) - Seq. #'d to 19.
- Authentic Quad Patches (45) - Seq. #'d to 10 or less.

Parallel Insert/Patch Cards
- Superfractor (190) - All one of one.
- X-Fractor (190) - Seq. #'d to 3.
- Refractor (190) - Seq. #'d to 5.

One of One Game Worn Cards
- Authentic Letterman Patches (18) - All one of one.
- Authentic Jersey Tags (22) - All one of one.

Review:



As mentioned in the description, each mini box (on average) will yield 2 base cards, 1 rookie card and a "hit" card. We pulled the following in our mini box:



LeBron James Base (369/599)
Al Jefferson Base (198/599)
Mike Conley RC (293/599)
Arron Afflalo Letterman "L" Auto (13/33)

The base cards have a shiny gloss to them. It gives a mirror effect when looking at them. Players are pictured in an action pose. There is a background picture of the player's face displayed on a screen, much like a Jumbotron screen that you would see at an arena. The reverse side is covered in a sheen as well and gives you the player's basic info such as height and weight. Each player has a small description which takes up most of the back of the card. The serial number is on the back of the card and towards the top is the team's logo.

As for the Letterman card, it is your typical letter card. It has one of the letters from the player's last name and the auto is on the letter. In the bottom right corner is a picture of the player's face. The back is run of the mill with the obligatory information about the card. It has the Topps sticker and the serial number is located at the bottom of the card.

Ratings (Out of 5):
Base - 4.75
Fun - 3.5
Overall Design - 4.25
Value - 3.25
Rebuy - 4.0

Final Grade: 19.75/25 (79%)

Though I'm not a huge fan of fancy gloss and sheen for a base card, I like how this one was done. The background pic mirror the main pic of the player's face. The idea to make the background pic like you are seeing it at an arena is a nice touch.

The Letterman is different in the way it incorporates a picture of the player. However, it's still your ordinary Letterman card. The serial numbering still leaves questions as always. For example, ours was numbered to 33. Does that mean there's 33 sets you can complete? What about the double letters? Does that mean there could be two "L"s with the same serial number?

I'm sure a full box when give a better impression of the box. However, getting two base cards, 1 rookie and an auto letter card is not appealing at an average price of $60-$70. Yes, I realize the hit could have been huge and it's the risk you take when purchasing any product, but the risk versus reward seems high and unfulfilling.

Overall, this is a nice product that appeals to high-end collectors. The Letterman Booklet cards are introduced for the first time and that in itself is a huge plus. Really nice for player colelctors to get all the letters in one shot.

As always, a big thanks to Topps for providing us at SCF with this product to review. Without their support, none of this would be possible.

[garnett_21]

nice break...the letterman could've been better, but not bad still!

[SingleDaddyof2]

Very cool-looking cards and a very informative, thorough review!

The base cards have a shiny gloss to them. It gives a mirror effect when looking at them.

Mirror effect is right...I think I can see a bit of Tony's hands/camera in the reflections of the bottom 2 cards.

[TheTGB]

I like how all the base are numbered in the set, it would make set building that much more difficult.

[etmill01]

Great review Tony..Thanks Ed

[demonpower55]

Nice review, Tony. The hit could've been better, but thanks to Topps for letting SCF review this.

[RenegadeLonghorn]

Nice review! Cards certainly look amazing and are limited. My concern is the value. This minibox probably would run about $60 for someone and the cards pulled probably have a market sell value of around $20.

[molly1984]

i agree the design is nice, i like that. the letterman pulled was not that great but perhaps there was something good in the overall box. and i also agree about the value. nice review!

[Jeremy_Falcons]

Nice review.