So I've been sorting through the contents of the 3 2010 Upper Deck retail boxes I got for Xmas, and I am reminded that the quality and photography of UD is about 1000% better than Topps. Sure they don't pay all their bills and are prone to the occasional bout of counterfeiting but man were their cards just so much better.
I would have to agree. There was something about the photographic quality of their cards that was so much better than Topps. I like the simplicity of the card market right now but I wouldn't mind having UD around. Topps could use a little good old competition to keep them in check and push them towards a better product.
I might be in the minority, but I'm not a huge fan of the Upper Deck card (base) design (for the most part). I do like the variety it adds to my PCs (and I have HUNDREDS of UD cards in my Cabrera and Verlander PCs), but I thought most of their low-end stuff was boring and did not come with the "flagship" cache of Topps. UD had some cool die cuts, and I liked Masterpieces, but the rest wasn't very memorable to me (at least since 2000).
The first year UD set is still one of my favorites. I will never forget the buzz surrounding that product especially the Griffey Jr rc and the couple of error cards. The picture quality and the pictures (poses) were exceptional.
I miss Pacific and Fleer more..
Die Cut inserts etc were all the rage and they had good value for the break..
I loved Upper Deck. I really liked openening their products, and now I hardly ever bust wax because I am not a fan of any Topps products. All of my best pulls came from Upper Deck products, and I am always dissapointed after busting Topps.
Topps products are usually either really high end like Five Star or Tribute, or low end like base brands. I miss the products like SPx or Stadium Club where you got 1 hit per pack, but it didn't break the bank. Sure, the average hits weren't that great but there was a decent shot of pulling something big.
And, I am sick of all this prospect crap. I have been lucky with prospects in the past, but there are so many of them and most prospect don't even pan out.
I liked how their base product's base cards had the photo take up the whole card. I also enjoyed Masterpieces, those were great looking cards. But I think we have to face it, at this point Upper Deck will need a miracle to come back. Remember that last product they did with no photos or anything, I think that may have cleared their sticker auto inventory, so after Topps's exclusive expires after this 2013 season, as long as they lose their exclusive, which might not happen, Panini is the most likely to join them with an MLB license. I like their NFL, NHL, and NBA products, so I don't think they would be too bad.
All I asked for xmas was for upper decks license to be renewed!!!! I miss fleer and pacific a lot too, I loved their inserts!!
I'm with you all the way on this one as well, loved their products and miss the fact that Topps doesn't have any competition whatsoever now. When I was a kid Topps was generic and Upper Deck was the best product around. Topps has always been low end in my eyes, sure there are sets like tribute, triple threads and others which are amazing but their photography and many of their sets are boring. You can tell they use the same photos in between sets, sometimes they use the same photo but at a different angle it ridiculous! Five star is the worst, it costs an arm and a leg and almost every box comes with damaged cards straight from the factory and topps won't do anything about it. GENERIC!
(12-31-2012, 12:52 AM)uvaspina Wrote: [ -> ]I might be in the minority, but I'm not a huge fan of the Upper Deck card (base) design (for the most part). I do like the variety it adds to my PCs (and I have HUNDREDS of UD cards in my Cabrera and Verlander PCs), but I thought most of their low-end stuff was boring and did not come with the "flagship" cache of Topps. UD had some cool die cuts, and I liked Masterpieces, but the rest wasn't very memorable to me (at least since 2000).
I'm with you. Upper Deck made a big splash in 1989 and the early 90s, and really changed the trading card game forever. I don't see a lot that really grab my attention since, though.
I may be in an even smaller minority than you, in that I don't mind the Topps exclusivity. I'm satisfied with the quality and variety provided by Topps at this point. I'm not sure that I'd bother with any other brands, if they were to come back. I didn't in the last few years when others were being released, either.