I hate redemptions, and replacements for redemptions. It's fraud.
Whenever I pull a redemption now, I just trade it or sell it, regardless of who it's "supposed to be."
I don't bother with it. I couldn't care less. It's useless to me.
Back in like 2000-01, my grandparents sent me a box of Topps basketball, and I pulled an Allen Iverson auto redemption. He was one of my top 2 or 3 favorite players, so I was stoked, especially because it was one of the last gifts they ever sent me.
They were in declining health, and I knew they weren't going to be around a whole lot longer.
Long story short, I waited a year and a half, and after repeated phone calls and promises that he was going to be signing/had signed already/blah blah blah, I got three crap autos — Kwame Brown, anyone? — and like two or three dud jerseys ... but the TOTAL VALUE was supposedly equal.
Of course!
Because technically, if you sent me like 1,000,000 Steve Jeltz 1987 Topps cards, that's the equivalent value of a '52 Mantle, right?
Then, in 08-09, I pulled a DJ Augustin rookie refractor auto redemption out of a box of Topps Chrome ... pretty sweet pull at the time ... waited and waited ... then got a Spud Webb auto out of a different product after waiting several months.
Nice "common vet" auto as a replacement for "one guaranteed Chrome rookie auto per box."
(I know some of you are going to be like, "I'd rather have the Spud Webb auto" — but at the time, Augustin was a pretty major prospect ... believe me, it was a disappointing swap.)
I mean, how is that not fraud, or deceptive advertising?
I understand they have the disclaimer on the back of the redemptions, but to me, the written guarantee on the outside packaging — i.e., "One Chrome rookie autograph per box" pretty much takes care of the disclaimer, no?
It's crap. I despise it.
I swear, if I was a lawyer I would draw up the m-th-r f-ck-r of all class action lawsuits and get literally anyone on the boards who wanted in on it involved.
I mean, maybe we'd all get like 8 cents each, LOL, but at least these companies would get a large, swift kick in the junk.
The only thing I would be OK with is them replacing your card with — GASP! — something better than you sent in.
So, as in the Iverson example, if they sent me a Kobe Bryant auto or something, then, so be it.
Or a Derrick Rose instead of the Augustin.
Now, obviously, the argument against that would be "well, if they did that, these companies would lose money."
So what's ultimately better for business ... the company's SUBSTANTIAL profit margin taking the occasional hit when a redemption doesn't come through — OR THE CUSTOMER GETTING TOTALLY SCREWED, REPEATEDLY?
I mean, I'm sorry, but as long as we all continue buying trading cards — myself included — this is not going to change.
We have the ultimate power, we just don't and won't use it.
Whenever I pull a redemption now, I just trade it or sell it, regardless of who it's "supposed to be."
I don't bother with it. I couldn't care less. It's useless to me.
Back in like 2000-01, my grandparents sent me a box of Topps basketball, and I pulled an Allen Iverson auto redemption. He was one of my top 2 or 3 favorite players, so I was stoked, especially because it was one of the last gifts they ever sent me.
They were in declining health, and I knew they weren't going to be around a whole lot longer.
Long story short, I waited a year and a half, and after repeated phone calls and promises that he was going to be signing/had signed already/blah blah blah, I got three crap autos — Kwame Brown, anyone? — and like two or three dud jerseys ... but the TOTAL VALUE was supposedly equal.
Of course!
Because technically, if you sent me like 1,000,000 Steve Jeltz 1987 Topps cards, that's the equivalent value of a '52 Mantle, right?
Then, in 08-09, I pulled a DJ Augustin rookie refractor auto redemption out of a box of Topps Chrome ... pretty sweet pull at the time ... waited and waited ... then got a Spud Webb auto out of a different product after waiting several months.
Nice "common vet" auto as a replacement for "one guaranteed Chrome rookie auto per box."
(I know some of you are going to be like, "I'd rather have the Spud Webb auto" — but at the time, Augustin was a pretty major prospect ... believe me, it was a disappointing swap.)
I mean, how is that not fraud, or deceptive advertising?
I understand they have the disclaimer on the back of the redemptions, but to me, the written guarantee on the outside packaging — i.e., "One Chrome rookie autograph per box" pretty much takes care of the disclaimer, no?
It's crap. I despise it.
I swear, if I was a lawyer I would draw up the m-th-r f-ck-r of all class action lawsuits and get literally anyone on the boards who wanted in on it involved.
I mean, maybe we'd all get like 8 cents each, LOL, but at least these companies would get a large, swift kick in the junk.
The only thing I would be OK with is them replacing your card with — GASP! — something better than you sent in.
So, as in the Iverson example, if they sent me a Kobe Bryant auto or something, then, so be it.
Or a Derrick Rose instead of the Augustin.
Now, obviously, the argument against that would be "well, if they did that, these companies would lose money."
So what's ultimately better for business ... the company's SUBSTANTIAL profit margin taking the occasional hit when a redemption doesn't come through — OR THE CUSTOMER GETTING TOTALLY SCREWED, REPEATEDLY?
I mean, I'm sorry, but as long as we all continue buying trading cards — myself included — this is not going to change.
We have the ultimate power, we just don't and won't use it.