SCF Official Review: 2008/09 Topps Signature

[RenegadeLonghorn]

Special thanks to Topps for sending us their newest product to review!





Product Description
8 packs per box
4 cards per pack
MSRP: $120-140

BASE CARDS - 2 Per Pack!
85 NBA Subjects
- Veterans - 35 stalwarts
- Rookies - 20 emerging stars
- Retired Legends - 30 history-makers

AUTOGRAPH CARDS - 1 Per Pack!
- Every Base Card Subject
*Every veteran, rookie and retired legend from the base set is featured on an autograph sticker card!
*Look for 1 Group "A" player autographs such as: Dwight Howard, Bill Russell, Chris Paul, and Magic Johnson in every box!

- Dual and Triple Autograph Cards - Randomly inserted. HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!

PARALLEL CARDS - 1 Per Pack!
- All 85 Base Card Subjects
- Printing Plates - 1 of 1! HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!
- Red Foil Facsimile Signatures
- Facsimile Signatures - 1:4 Packs

INSTANT WIN CARDS
- These randomly inserted cards can be redeemed for authentic one-of-a kind Autographed NBA Draft Memorabilia such as team and player draft board placards signed by Deron Williams, Danny Granger and more.


What we pulled...



Base & Rookies: 16/85 (19%)
Facsimile Parallels: 8
Autographs: 8


Base & Rookies. Each card is numbered to 2325. The 85 card set features veterans, rookies, and legends.



Red Border Facsimile. Each card is numbered to 869.



White Border Facsimile. Each card is numbered to 289.



Magic Johnson (/499), Elgin Baylor (/1299), Dennis Rodman(/1299)



Gabe Pruitt (/1199), Donte Greene (/1199), Thaddeus Young (/5775), Sean Singletary (/1999), Buck Williams (/1299)



Final Ratings (Out of 5):
Base set: 4/5
Fun: 3.5/5
Overall design: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Re-buy: 2.5/5

Overall: 17/25 (68%)


Topps releases their newest high end product, Topps Signature. Its inaugural debut was met with much disappointment among collectors. One autograph per pack with one Group A auto hit per box lured many collectors into buying this new product. Sadly, we did not know that this autographed driven product would contain mass produced autographs. As an example, I point to the Thaddeus Young that we pulled which is numbered to /5775. When many of these autographs hit the market they were instantly reselling for $1-5.

Each pack contains 4 cards. You get one autograph, one border facsimile, and two base cards. If you are interested in making a complete base card set then you will likely have to bust at least 6-7 boxes to try to complete a set. Because of this I wish Topps would have included an extra card in each pack.

The design on card is simple, yet elegant. The mostly white look will turn some away but I prefer it. The autographs are sticker autographs. Red border facsimile parallels look nice and are hard to miss. However, the white border facsimile parallels are a miss. My suggestion to Topps would have been to go with a black border. Red + black look nice together.

By far the best card we pulled was the Magic Johnson autograph numbered to /499. This was the Group A autograph for the box. We pulled other legends in Elgin Baylor and Dennis Rodman to beef up the value of the box. We pulled five other autographs, but most of these will not book for more than $10 and resell for only $1-5 on the open market. This is mainly due to them being mass produced. A consensus among collectors is that Topps used this set to unload many of their sticker autographs before their NBA license expires in October.

This box of 08/09 Topps Signature was one of the better boxes I've busted of this product and seen on SCF. Many boxes go one autograph deep with only the Group A hit holding value. As good as this box was, its still a disappointment. When Topps Signature hit the market, single boxes were approximately $130-150. Dropping $130 on a box that yields about that much in book value is a disappointment.

I'd like to thank Topps for being a great sponsor and providing us with this newly released product to review.

[PPPanthersGM]

Nice review!! Great hits on the Magic and Rodman autos!! Thanks topps!!

[trevorp121]

Wow, great pulls with the Magic, Baylor and Rodman!!!!!!!!!!!

[gladdyontherise]

One of the best breaks i've seen of this, awesome Magic!

[hoeser]

Great break!

[quiet-things]

Nice pull on the Magic! Thanks to Topps for the box

[Edwards2Evans]

D-Wade Auto's sell for $1 - $5?

[Juvenile404]

nice review. three good autos, i hate this box but this one wasn't horrible.

[johan29lhp]

nice review! Thanks Topps!

[hagansp]

Magic and Rodman autos and only a 68%! I hear the criticisms, but when you buy $120-140 product and get 8 autos your not gonna get more then 1 really good one. No doubting this isn't a set collectors preference...but maybe it could be because it will be a challenge to get them all. I dunno, I think it yielded pretty good results.

Anyway, nice review and thanks to Topps for providing the product!