[giantsfan]

To celebrate myself just becoming a "member" level on here. I was curious on everyones opinions on their favorite card companies and what you like and dislike about them. I will start

Topps:
Likes: I like what they have done with their retail products giving everyone a fair chance at getting something. Example their Topps and Topps Platinum brands. I like most of their products but as for my

dislikes. They seems to be printing on cheaper cardboard, photography not always great, customer service is awful

Upper Deck: Likes: They are the bomb with products and innovation but most importantly great customer service.

dislike: This is a major for me. NOt having an NFL license really hurts them. And Beckett not listing their rookies as true rookies in my opinon is the biggest hurt of all.

Panini: Likes: They have a great connection with their fans especially on their facebook page. Customer service is ok. Product is great.

dislike: What seems to be a lot of redemptions.

These are just my solo opinion. You will have your own. Have fun with it!

[bselje]

Panini - you nailed it - WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too many redemptions, and their CS is the worst of the big 3. Then they take away my favorite set - Classics. Used to be my favorite - now they're nearly off the radar. We'll see what Certified brings this year, maybe they can REDEEM themselves - lol)

Upper Deck - still make nice looking cards, probably THE nicest looking cards - but no NFL license so they are irrelevant to me now.

Topps - Steady, yet unspectacular. Best value in Retail. CS is poor. 90 of my purchases of 2011 products have been Topps - only by default. also, at this point - had the BEST product of the year (Finest) and WORST (or perhaps most disappointing would be a better description) product of the year (Legends).

[joe callahan13]

I agree with Panini- too many redemptions. But I don't mind them as much as everyone else, so that isn't a huge deal for me. I like their products best though, top to bottom.

Upper Deck- Honestly, I don't even buy UD stuff since they lost their license. Shame.

Topps- Some of the BEST products (Inception/Finest/Platinum were all great) And some of the VERY VERY WORST. Marquee (baseball), Lineage (baseball), and Gridiron Legends will compete for the worst products of the year. Just awful. Panini competes with Topps for the best products of the year, but NO ONE can compete with Topps on the worst products of the year. They are in a class all by themselves. I almost forgot to mention how much I hate A&G (baseball again). They really shouldn't even be called baseball cards since half the checklist is either endangered animals, sailors, "floating fortresses", inventors, carnival relics, autographs of employees, need I go on?

[all day baby]

Upper Deck -
Good: Customer service, despite what most people on here have experienced.
Bad: Everything else. Contunially disappointed with their card designs. And as was stated above... losing their NFL License killed them as far as I'm concerned. I don't collect college.

Panini -
Good: How can I complain about a company that sent me a $150 Polamalu auto (redemption)?
Bad: How can I complain about a company that sent me a $150 Polamalu auto (redemption)? Because it was one of 7 redemptions I have/had with them this year. Also because they have the WORST customer service EVAR!!! Their bad CS as DLP got even worse under Panini. Not quite ready to say they should have stuck to stickers, but I am VERY close.

Topps -
Good: Their hig end cards are among the best. Love Triple Threads, for example. Plus, they are finally getting away from Pro Bowl ONLY swatches, and using regular uniform PATCHES!
Bad: Their quality control is HORRIBLE! Miscut base cards, chipping on Inception cards, it's THE worst in the business.

[favre3mvp]

Upper Deck is still around?

Topps....keeps me coming back with the false hope of the pictures they put on the box making me think...
I can pul lthat card

panini...ehhhh

[kennycooks]

I don't buy UD because I am an NFL collector. They make great looking cards though, and I hear good things about Customer Service.

Panini - Most of the stuff they make looks cheap to me, they took away Classics, which was my favorite, and it seems like there are always 30 or 40 subsets in each of their product lines. That of course is a slight embellishment. Positive things - 2010 Classics (until the redemptions expire) I have seen some really nice patches in their products this year.

Topps - I love Topps. I give them big props for including big hits in their retail stuff (Case in point some of the rediculous triple autos from last years magic, or even the Mark Ingram auto/patch book #/d to 25 that I saw this year from Prime) I generally like the look and feel of their products. I think they give great value for the money that you spend on a box......

All that said I do have gripes about Topps as well. I bought 3 boxes of Rising Rookies, I should have stopped at the first. This was probably the worst looking set of the year (I really wanted to pull a Timmons or Woodley GU card though) and the cardboard used to print the cards on was thinner than the foil that the cards were packed in. Legends looks fabulous.....My recent box that had an undrafted LB auto, and 3 single color jersey pieces of RBs that haven't taken a snap yet this season, including 2 of the same card however was very disappointing. Also I have pulled many damaged cards, and probably have pulled at least 100 cards from Topps Jumbo that the edges looked like a crinkle cut potato chip.

[bselje]

Upper Deck -
Good: Customer service, despite what most people on here have experienced.
Bad: Everything else. Contunially disappointed with their card designs. And as was stated above... losing their NFL License killed them as far as I'm concerned. I don't collect college.

Panini -
Good: How can I complain about a company that sent me a $150 Polamalu auto (redemption)?
Bad: How can I complain about a company that sent me a $150 Polamalu auto (redemption)? Because it was one of 7 redemptions I have/had with them this year. Also because they have the WORST customer service EVAR!!! Their bad CS as DLP got even worse under Panini. Not quite ready to say they should have stuck to stickers, but I am VERY close.

Topps -
Good: Their hig end cards are among the best. Love Triple Threads, for example. Plus, they are finally getting away from Pro Bowl ONLY swatches, and using regular uniform PATCHES!
Bad: Their quality control is HORRIBLE! Miscut base cards, chipping on Inception cards, it's THE worst in the business.

+1 on the Topps QC problems. I bought a box of Jumbos and i'd say 1/2 the cards had a dinged corner. Plus i saw a lot of chipped inception, however the one pack i bought was fine.

[giantsfan]

Thanks for your opinions. And for those of you who have facebook and if you like Upper Deck there are pages that are to help them get licenses back. Bring Back Upper Deck NFL cards, Bring BAck Upper Deck MLB cards, Bring back Upper Deck NBA cards. I like these pages to show support. I wouldn't want anyone to lose their license, just think the hobby would be a better place with Upper Deck in it. And i agree with topps chipped. I had a bad time with the Rising rookies stuff. Seemed like every card. And who could forget last years topps chrome issues

[superynaldo]

Me myself do collect VY and Shipley in their college unis, so I LOVE the UD products... Topps products in general as much as I dig the looks, their quality is crap, with all the dings, chipping etc... They need a new QC team for sure...

[pbean]

1) Panini ..... great folks, love they way they interact with and support collectors ..... CS had some issues in past, but they've always come through with the product promised us

Sent in damaged cards ..... replaced and returned products better than we sent in ..... can't complain with that at all

Lower #d auto's ..... while it may be harder to get the player you want, long term I feel this will help BV's rather than hinder them

Could use some help in the design category sometimes, but with so many different products I can see how they'll pay attention to higher end products vs. lower end products.

Score Inscriptions and Select a thing of the past, they were two great products for collectors "on a budget"

2) Upper Deck ..... CS is terrible of late, lost redemptions, keep promising my redemptions will go out soon, same run around every time I call and IT'S IN STOCK !!!

Don't care about college products, I watch and collect NFL teams, 2010 Exquisite was a bust imho, and since they lost their licence their book values on new products blow chunks now.

2011 base UD had way too many hits of players we've never heard of, I guess they're trying to make up for overall lack of interest.

3) Topps ..... hmmmmmm ..... where do I start lol

It's great they're supporting retail, but I feel it's hurting the Mom and Pop shops by having HUGE hits in retail blasters.

2011 product has WAY TOO MANY AUTOS !!! geesh, how many cards can a player sign ??? this is killing the base RC market, and with the flood of the autos it's killing their BV's as well if you don't pull a Cam or Dalton you can't give them away on the bay.

Sweet patches, but it now sets a precedent that all RC patches must be multicoloured ..... just how many jerseys do the new rookies have to wear to keep up this kind of production ???

They killed Finest over the past few years ..... it used to be a "premium" product, it's now totally run of the mill.

Topps Chrome is still the "King" ..... BV's have always held steady, and SP's are hard to come by

Bowman Chrome ..... gone to kill off your #2 product was just dumb imho ..... rivaled Topps Chrome for BV's and chase factor.

Zero interaction with the genpop on FB ..... this could be one of their greatest assets and I feel they totally drop the ball there

Hope I didn't bore everyone too much lol
pbean