[y2hood]

In 2012 I won an online auction for a Jimmy Graham rookie auto card redemption from Topps. I scratched it, punched in the code, and everything is normal.

It is now 2015. I still have not received it. I've messaged them in the past to no avail and every time I plan to call them it is after business hours...my fault, obviously.

Well a friend of mine was ALSO have Topps redemption issues so he turned it over to me and a week after I sent them the latest email they emailed back saying my friend's issue couldn't be fixed (he was trying to redeem a redemption card he found in an envelope with another card and it was already redeemed, obviously).

For mine they said that Jimmy Graham has not signed his cards yet, would I like a replacement? I said I would since Jimmy isn't on the team anymore. I then made a list of who I collect (ten players in football, wrestling and baseball) and made it a point to state I want current roster members, for Saints in general, auto if possible since I paid $70 for this redemption.

I even went a step further and mentioned I collect Garbage Pail Kids since Topps is the producer of those as well.

I thought I gave them a LOT of wiggle room to make good. Apparently I didn't.

"you can not request any replacement card for your pending Jimmy Graham because it is a low value card.

All low valued cards are randomly replaced with a card with the same current market value as the card that is being replaced."

A low value card? He's arguably the top tight end in football, and definitely in the NFC at the very least. Hell the Seahawks gave up a first round pick and Max Unger to trade for him. I don't want to get some player I don't collect to put it on eBay or up for trade and go through that hassle just because Topps can't get things done.


Just needed to vent.

[y2hood]

I emailed them back with my concerns, but since I've figured out their emails aren't monitored during the weekend, and they're apparently tweeting from Comic con, I tweeted some concerns towards them.

[savagenate]

That sucks man...it's sad that they are willing to take advantage of people like they do. They obviously don't look at it through a collector's eyes, as they would see, well, this is a piece of crap compared to what they were supposed to get, let's send something else...not to mention that they guaranteed you a card they didn't have in hand yet, so they should be willing to go even higher in my book. I guess they don't care because we just keep buying their stuff anyways. I completely agree with your frustration! Hopefully they hook you up...besides, $70 IS a high value card in my book...I don't have that much to just dump on a card when I feel like it lol. That's a major investment!

[gjhobbs]

that is a major investment for $70 considering I dumped a little bit more into a 1/1 from the National Convention.

I agree that he is definitely one of the top TE's in the NFL, and regardless of what BV or SV is, you've been waiting 3 years. They need to do something to make it right.

[djohn]

This just shows how much the corporate side of the hobby has taken over from the true collectors. A true collector values cards differently then someone who is just looking at the dollar side. They probably looked at what they paid or were going to pay Jimmy Graham for his autograph and it probably wasn't that much. It sounds like you gave them a lot of wiggle room in terms of what you were willing to accept in lieu of the autograph, so hopefully you end up getting something that you collect.

[y2hood]

The response I just got this morning has them quoting directly from the Beckett price guide so I can't post it exactly but basically since the July 14, 2015 BV is nearly 1/3 less than what I paid, they're going with THAT # and in what sounds like something my 5th grade teacher would say, "There is nothing we can do, it's either you wait for your redemption or get it replaced with a random card equal to its current market value."

Never mind what I paid in 2012.

[bojesphob]

The response I just got this morning has them quoting directly from the Beckett price guide so I can't post it exactly but basically since the July 14, 2015 BV is nearly 1/3 less than what I paid, they're going with THAT # and in what sounds like something my 5th grade teacher would say, "There is nothing we can do, it's either you wait for your redemption or get it replaced with a random card equal to its current market value."

Never mind what I paid in 2012.

And this is entirely why I wait about 6 months, and then request a replacement. Back when I did that with some Jerel Worthy autos from 2012, he was still a potential starter and the value was still there for his stuff compared to what they are worth right now. That really sucks that they don't want to help you out.

[y2hood]

I just took a picture of every complete Topps set I have and sent it to the guy in a response to our transmission. My mindset is that if I show them that I'm a life long Topps customer (starting with 1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids, complete sets of random years, and a sickening amount of Frank Thomas baseball rookies) that maybe I'll get through to them.

I also mentioned my complaint that the current beckett price was not the price when I bought it.

[bojesphob]

I just took a picture of every complete Topps set I have and sent it to the guy in a response to our transmission. My mindset is that if I show them that I'm a life long Topps customer (starting with 1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids, complete sets of random years, and a sickening amount of Frank Thomas baseball rookies) that maybe I'll get through to them.

I also mentioned my complaint that the current beckett price was not the price when I bought it.

Not to mention that if he hasn't signed in 3 years, that the price is obviously not going to very high because it will probably never get signed and people know that. Really should give you something worth what it was when they should have had the card actually signed instead of the value of it when it's 3 years old and will never be signed.

[jonathani]

it's sad that they are willing to take advantage of people like they do

But it's Topps. This "taking advantage" is nothing new to anyone. It's a business. I hope things work out, but they really have no reason to do so. Do they care if they lose one customer when they have such corner on the cardboard market? Heck, they put out 10+ versions of the same darn card and we spend lots of money chasing them down. I'm a teacher. If a student kept handing in the same assignment on different colored paper, I don't think it should earn a higher grade. The card business, however, does not work that way.