10-23-2020, 02:39 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-23-2020, 02:52 PM by rjcj2017.)
My Open Letter to Panini
My Open Letter to Panini
Friends, this is what I sent today to Panini. Will let you know if anything comes of it:
Good afternoon!
Long time no talk and I hope you are well.
I am hoping you can help with something, or at least tell me who to contact.
I have been a collector for 30+ years and a Panini customer since my first case of Panini Basketball way back in 2009.
I primarily collect retail and have run into a major problem the last few months.
All over the country there are people who now literally stalk the card distributors (Excel for Target, not sure of the company for WalMart) from store to store and clear out the entire card display the moment it hits the shelves.
Then, they go online and sell products (that normally retail for $19.99 or less) marked up all the way up to $185 for Mosaic basketball blasters, for example.
They literally spend all day, all week, going from store to store, texting each other and checking inventory numbers on apps on their phones to be able to tell which store to go to next.
The card lady was still there at my local Target after they had left the other night and we struck up a conversation.
Some nuggets from our conversation:
- Some people had loitered in the card aisle for several hours that day; this is common at each of her seven stores
- Security had to be called over to the card aisle while she was putting product out to deal with the throng
- She has people that actually know and follow her car from store to store
- One guy offered her $40 cash to let him know when and where she’s going next
- She usually eats lunch in her car between stops and has had people knock on the window asking for certain products … while she’s eating in her car
Based on that conversation, I see at least three actual crimes being committed simultaneously:
- Loitering
- Stalking
- Unemployment fraud – they are supposed to be out looking for work, not using their unemployment funds to pay for gasoline to buy cards
Although I collect all sports, my favorite – by far – to collect is basketball.
I haven’t been able to find a new basketball blaster since the end of February – no Optic, Mosaic or Chronicles whatsoever.
This has been beyond disappointing and frustrating.
While I’m sure the bottom line has been healthy for Panini during this pandemic, the fact is that longtime collectors like myself are being turned away and won’t be coming back if there continues to be a lack of oversight on this issue.
I appreciate your time and would really appreciate a reply.
Thank you,
RJ
Good afternoon!
Long time no talk and I hope you are well.
I am hoping you can help with something, or at least tell me who to contact.
I have been a collector for 30+ years and a Panini customer since my first case of Panini Basketball way back in 2009.
I primarily collect retail and have run into a major problem the last few months.
All over the country there are people who now literally stalk the card distributors (Excel for Target, not sure of the company for WalMart) from store to store and clear out the entire card display the moment it hits the shelves.
Then, they go online and sell products (that normally retail for $19.99 or less) marked up all the way up to $185 for Mosaic basketball blasters, for example.
They literally spend all day, all week, going from store to store, texting each other and checking inventory numbers on apps on their phones to be able to tell which store to go to next.
The card lady was still there at my local Target after they had left the other night and we struck up a conversation.
Some nuggets from our conversation:
- Some people had loitered in the card aisle for several hours that day; this is common at each of her seven stores
- Security had to be called over to the card aisle while she was putting product out to deal with the throng
- She has people that actually know and follow her car from store to store
- One guy offered her $40 cash to let him know when and where she’s going next
- She usually eats lunch in her car between stops and has had people knock on the window asking for certain products … while she’s eating in her car
Based on that conversation, I see at least three actual crimes being committed simultaneously:
- Loitering
- Stalking
- Unemployment fraud – they are supposed to be out looking for work, not using their unemployment funds to pay for gasoline to buy cards
Although I collect all sports, my favorite – by far – to collect is basketball.
I haven’t been able to find a new basketball blaster since the end of February – no Optic, Mosaic or Chronicles whatsoever.
This has been beyond disappointing and frustrating.
While I’m sure the bottom line has been healthy for Panini during this pandemic, the fact is that longtime collectors like myself are being turned away and won’t be coming back if there continues to be a lack of oversight on this issue.
I appreciate your time and would really appreciate a reply.
Thank you,
RJ