Results 1 to 4 of 4
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06-25-2009, 02:04 PM #1
Review: 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball
By Jason Ciaramella – ExeterJay
The much awaited OPC Baseball arrived in stores and hobby shops across the country on June 17th. This product had caused quite a stir among collectors of vintage, retro, and throwback style cards, with the promise of a 1971 OPC parallel card in every pack. The concept of doing a retro themed parallel was a huge hit in OPC hockey this year, with a 79-80 design that not only helped move wax off of the shelves, but also had great success on the secondary market with collectors scooping up lots and singles to finish off their sets.Review: 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball
As I browsed eBay the night before the release -desperate to see some early scans of the 1971 parallel cards, my heart sank lower and lower after every click. Upper Deck, without informing collectors or dealers, pulled the 71 parallel cards and instead issued black bordered versions of the base card. I was angry, and I felt duped. These cards were advertised in magazines, and in dealer descriptions right up until the release date. Upper Deck must have known they were pulling the 71 design for months, yet they continued to pre-sell this product, knowing that the 71 design was a huge draw.
Some people thought that they had pulled the 71 design due to the lawsuit filed by Topps. Well, this could be true, but when you read my review below, you’ll notice something under inserts and parallels that will contradict this idea.
So what’s a collector to do? I cancelled my order of 3 boxes, and went to the Baseball Boards of SCF to voice my anger. Fast forward a week and despite still being upset over the dupe, I decided to try a few packs of the product that I had waited so long for. Here is my review:
Breakdown
The cards come 6 to a pack, and each pack contains 1 black boarder parallel, and 1 short printed high number card. There is also a good mix of inserts and the UD 20th Anniversary cards, so most packs will net 3-4 base cards that you can put towards your set. Single packs have an MSRP of $1.59, and boxes can be found online for as low as $48.
Nostalgia
For collectors over the age of 30, it's very possible that once you open a pack of 09 OPC, you'll sit and daydream about summers spent opening baseball cards in the 1980s. As ticked off as I was at UD, I do have to admit, this is the first retro style set that made me feel like I was opening a vintage product I could relate to. I'm a big fan of Topps Heritage, but let’s face it, I was born in the 70s, well after the styles of cards used in Heritage were being produced, so I just don’t have the connection. My retro days were the early to late 80s, and 09 OPC has the look and feel of those cards I had so much fun opening as a kid.
Photography / Design
The photography is a great mix of action, candid, and posed shots, making the set pleasant to flip through. Also, UD used a lot of close-up portraits, something you don't see very often in cards these days. There is a good ratio of horizontal and vertical cards, and the team checklist cards feature either a wide-angle shot of the team's stadium, or a group of floating heads. Both are very appealing, but I wish they had stuck to one or the other. The card design is very retro, with multi-colored framing surrounded by a crisp white boarder. The backs of the cards are grey with black text over baby blue framing. Again, nice, simple, and gives the feeling of a retro product.
Inserts / Parallels
Well, here is where the initial problem with these cards started. UD had advertised for months that each pack would include a 1971 design parallel card. The cards came out, and they didn't include these, instead they included a black boarder parallel of the base cards. With that said, the parallels are not terrible, but they don't have anywhere near the appeal that the 71 design has. There are a few other insert sets, including New York New York, Walk-Off Winners, Midsummer Memories, Face of the Franchise, Award Show, and 2008 Highlights and Milestones. All of the inserts have a retro design with different colored backs, with the exception of the NYNY set, which are printed on glossy, thicker stock (why?, no idea). There is also a very peculiar 1/box insert based on the 79-80 OPC Hockey design, which includes both Baseball and Hockey players. The other 1/box insert is a mini version of the black parallel. The memorabilia hits are the rare triple jersey cards that fall 1/3 boxes, and the autographed cards 1/6 boxes. The jersey cards are a nice surprise when you hit one, and also feature a great retro design to match the base card's color scheme. The autograph cards feature a yellow boarder that surrounds the photograph and a certified autograph sticker. While they do have a bad 70s retro look to them, I think that Upper Deck could have done a better job on something that collectors are pulling at a very tough 1/6 Box rate.
In conclusion, I think that UD has put out a well thought out, low cost product that should have a lot of appeal to both young and old collectors (especially those of us in our 30s). If they had included the 1971 parallels, this product would have been nearly perfect.
PROS: Low cost, great retro feel, hits that have value.
CONS: Autograph design, no 71 parallels, glossy NY inserts.
It should be noted that as of June 25th, Upper Deck has not released any statements, or commented on their decision to pull the 71 parallel cards.
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06-26-2009, 01:57 PM #2
By Jason Ciaramella aka ExeterJay
Review: 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball
The much-anticipated OPC Baseball arrived in stores and hobby shops across the country on June 17th. This product had caused quite a stir among collectors of vintage, retro and throwback style cards, with the promise of a 1971 OPC parallel card in every pack. The concept of doing a retro theme parallel was a huge hit in OPC hockey this year, with a 1979-80 design that not only helped move wax off of the shelves, but also had great success on the secondary market with collectors scooping up lots and singles to finish off their sets.
As I browsed eBay the night before the release, desperate to see some early scans of the 1971 parallel cards, my heart sank lower and lower after every click. Upper Deck, without informing collectors or dealers, pulled the ‘71 parallel cards and instead issued black-bordered versions of the base card. I was angry, and I felt duped. These cards were advertised in magazines, and in dealer descriptions right up until the release date. Upper Deck must have known they were pulling the ‘71 design for months, yet they continued to pre-sell this product, knowing that the ‘71 design was a huge draw.
Some people thought that they had pulled the ‘71 design due to the lawsuit filed by Topps. This could be true, but when you read my review below, you’ll notice something under inserts and parallels that will contradict this idea.
After this mess, what’s a collector to do? I canceled my order of 3 boxes, and went to the baseball boards of Sports Card Forum to voice my anger. Fast-forward a week and despite still being upset over the dupe, I decided to try a few packs of the product that I had waited so long for. Here is my review:
Breakdown:
The cards come six in a pack, and each pack contains one black boarder parallel and one short printed high number card. There is also a good mix of inserts and the UD 20th Anniversary cards, so most packs will net 3-4 base cards that you can put towards your set. Single packs have an MSRP of $1.59, and boxes can be found online for as low as $48.
Nostalgia:
For collectors over the age of 30, it's very possible that once you open a pack of 09 OPC, you'll sit and daydream about summers spent opening baseball cards in the 1980s. As ticked off as I was at UD, I do have to admit that this is the first retro style set that made me feel like I was opening a vintage product I could relate to. I'm a big fan of Topps Heritage, but let’s face it, I was born in the 70s, well after the styles of cards used in Heritage were being produced, so I just don’t have the connection. My retro days were the early to late 80s, and 09 OPC has the look and feel of those cards I had so much fun opening as a kid.
Photography/Design:
The photography is a great mix of action, candid and posed shots making the set pleasant to flip through. Also, UD used a lot of close-up portraits, something you don't see very often in cards these days. There is a good ratio of horizontal and vertical cards, and the team checklist cards feature either a wide-angle shot of the team's stadium, or a group of floating heads. Both are very appealing, but I wish they had stuck to one or the other. The card design is very retro, with multi-colored framing surrounded by a crisp white boarder. The backs of the cards are grey with black text over baby blue framing. Once again, they are nice and simple cards that give the feeling of a retro product.
Inserts/Parallels:
Here is where the initial problem with these cards started. UD had advertised for months that each pack would include a 1971 design parallel card. The cards came out and they didn't include them. Instead they included a black boarder parallel of the base cards. With that said, the parallels are not terrible, but they don't have anywhere near the appeal that the ‘71 design has. There are a few other insert sets, including New York New York, Walk-Off Winners, Midsummer Memories, Face of the Franchise, Award Show and 2008 Highlights and Milestones. All of the inserts have a retro design with different colored backs, with the exception of the NYNY set, which are printed on glossy, thicker stock (no idea why). There is also a very peculiar one per box insert based on the 79-80 OPC Hockey design, which includes both baseball and hockey players. The other one per box insert is a mini version of the black parallel. The memorabilia hits are the rare triple jersey cards that fall one in three boxes, and the autographed cards one in six boxes. The jersey cards are a nice surprise when you hit one and also feature a great retro design to match the base card's color scheme. The autograph cards feature a yellow border that surrounds the photograph and a certified autograph sticker. While they do have a bad ‘70s retro look to them, I think that Upper Deck could have done a better job on something that collectors are pulling at a very tough one per six box rate.
In conclusion, I think that UD has put out a thoughtful, low cost product that should have a lot of appeal to both young and old collectors (especially those of us in our 30s). If they had included the 1971 parallels, this product would have been nearly perfect.
PROS: Low cost, great retro feel and hits that have value.
CONS: Autograph design, no ‘71 parallels, and glossy NY inserts.
It should be noted that as of June 25th, Upper Deck has not released any statements or commented on their decision to pull the ‘71 parallel cards.
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06-27-2009, 02:45 AM #3
By Jason Ciaramella aka ExeterJay
Review: 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball
The much-anticipated OPC Baseball arrived in stores and hobby shops across the country on June 17th. This product had caused quite a stir among collectors of vintage, retro and throwback style cards, with the promise of a 1971 OPC parallel card in every pack. The concept of doing a retro theme parallel was a huge hit in OPC hockey this year, with a 1979-80 design that not only helped move wax off of the shelves, but also had great success on the secondary market with collectors scooping up lots and singles to finish off their sets.
As I browsed eBay the night before the release, desperate to see some early scans of the 1971 parallel cards, my heart sank lower and lower after every click. Upper Deck, without informing collectors or dealers, pulled the ‘71 parallel cards and instead issued black-bordered versions of the base card. I was angry, and I felt duped. These cards were advertised in magazines, and in dealer descriptions right up until the release date. Upper Deck must have known they were pulling the ‘71 design for months, yet they continued to pre-sell this product, knowing that the ‘71 design was a huge draw.
Some people thought that they had pulled the ‘71 design due to the lawsuit filed by Topps. This could be true, but when you read my review below, you’ll notice something under inserts and parallels that will contradict this idea.
After this mess, what’s a collector to do? I cancelled my order of 3 boxes, and went to the baseball boards of Sports Card Forum to voice my anger. Fast-forward a week and despite still being upset over the dupe, I decided to try a few packs of the product that I had waited so long for. Here is my review:
Breakdown:
The cards come six in a pack, and each pack contains one black boarder parallel and one short printed high number card. There is also a good mix of inserts and the UD 20th Anniversary cards, so most packs will net 3-4 base cards that you can put towards your set. Single packs have an MSRP of $1.59, and boxes can be found online for as low as $48.
Nostalgia:
For collectors over the age of 30, it's very possible that once you open a pack of 09 OPC, you'll sit and daydream about summers spent opening baseball cards in the 1980s. As ticked off as I was at UD, I do have to admit that this is the first retro style set that made me feel like I was opening a vintage product I could relate to. I'm a big fan of Topps Heritage, but let’s face it; I was born in the 70s, well after the styles of cards used in Heritage were being produced, so I just don’t have the connection. My retro days were the early to late 80s, and 09 OPC has the look and feel of those cards I had so much fun opening as a kid.
Photography/Design:
The photography is a great mix of action, candid and posed shots making the set pleasant to flip through. Also, UD used a lot of close-up portraits, something you don't see very often in cards these days. There is a good ratio of horizontal and vertical cards, and the team checklist cards feature either a wide-angle shot of the team's stadium, or a group of floating heads. Both are very appealing, but I wish they had stuck to one or the other. The card design is very retro, with multi-colored framing surrounded by a crisp white boarder. The backs of the cards are grey with black text over baby blue framing. Once again, they are nice and simple cards that give the feeling of a retro product.
Inserts/Parallels:
Here is where the initial problem with these cards started. UD had advertised for months that each pack would include a 1971 design parallel card. The cards came out and they didn't include them. Instead they included a black boarder parallel of the base cards. With that said, the parallels are not terrible, but they don't have anywhere near the appeal that the ‘71 design has. There are a few other insert sets, including New York New York, Walk-Off Winners, Midsummer Memories, Face of the Franchise, Award Show and 2008 Highlights and Milestones. All of the inserts have a retro design with different colored backs, with the exception of the NY NY set, which are printed on glossy, thicker stock (no idea why). There is also a very peculiar one per box insert based on the 79-80 OPC Hockey design, which includes both baseball and hockey players. The other one per box insert is a mini version of the black parallel. The memorabilia hits are the rare triple jersey cards that fall one in three boxes, and the autographed cards one in six boxes. The jersey cards are a nice surprise when you hit one and also feature a great retro design to match the base cards’ color scheme. The autograph cards feature a yellow border that surrounds the photograph and a certified autograph sticker. While they do have a bad ‘70s retro look to them, I think that Upper Deck could have done a better job on something that collectors are pulling at a very tough one per six box rate.
In conclusion, I think that UD has put out a thoughtful, low cost product that should have a lot of appeal to both young and old collectors (especially those of us in our 30s). If they had included the 1971 parallels, this product would have been nearly perfect.
Pros: Low cost, great retro feel and hits that have value.
Cons: Autograph design, no ‘71 parallels, and glossy NY NY inserts.
It should be noted that as of June 25th, Upper Deck has not released any statements or commented on their decision to pull the ‘71 parallel cards.
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Ready to be put on the site John and I will definitely ask UD about the '71 inserts being pulled at the Nationals. Thanks for a very interesting review!
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06-28-2009, 11:50 AM #4
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