2012 Topps Turkey Red Football photo variation gallery
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor
Topps released 2012 Turkey Red Football this week – an online-only product. The product shipped over the last couple of days with collectors finding autographs, minis, printing plates and photo variations.
The photo variations were seemingly a surprise. In the preview, Topps didn’t announce there would be different pictures for some of the cards, but it didn’t take long for dealers and collectors to spot the differences.
So far, we’ve spotted 10 football rookies with photo variations. The first card in the picture is what we presume to the photo variation and the second card is the base. However, as more information comes out, this could change.
Here is what we have so far, and we will update the gallery if more variations pop up.
Kendall Wright
David Wilson
Trent Richardson
Robert Griffin III
Doug Martin
Ryan Tannehill
Brandon Weeden
Justin Blackmon
Andrew Luck
Michael Floyd
Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor of Beckett Football. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.
I don’t care what the cards look like. I have been buying cards for many years at the local hobby shops in my area and I think that offering products on-line only is a slap in the face to the guys who own the hobby shops, the guys who are so important to helping keep this hobby alive. The tough economy has made it a rough going as it is and now Topps is doing things like this to cut them out of the equation entirely. Nice going Topps.
I dont see the big deal with why turkey red was online only. It is not a super premium product nor is it a huge hit driven release. A huge waste of time IMO.
I agree with Sandy. I have been dealing with one specific dealer for over nine years now. Now the dealer I purchase from might be cut out by Topps in there effort to increase there bottom line at his and his customers expense.
I can imagine what it will be like having to deal with Topps when there is no dealer to act as a middle man.
I think a lot of us know how long it takes to get a redemption card back from Topps and what “red tape’ we have to go through even though we are the one who purchased the box that had the redemption card in it.
I know one man who fought with Topps for nearly two years to get his Ian Kinsler autographed Redemption Card, think of it two years and that was with the help of the dealer he purchases his cards from.
Think what it will be like if Topps cuts back to say 250 total Dealers Nationwide.
Welcome to the Future…..Sorry to say but the next generation doesn’t visit card shops…(Only old cool dudes like us even know they exist). They shop online for everything…literally!
Topps and Panini are both testing the water with this internet sales thing. But come on guys, this is the wave of the future, in fact its already here. They sell out product in minutes. Sounds like a good business decision to me.
If I sat on either one of those Boards I would have asked years ago about how much money we could save both our customers and our bottom line by selling directly to our customers via the internet. Your right, your local card shop will fold, but what if prices went down 20% because there is no longer a middle man.
Peace
Ed,
I think they tried doing something similar some 20 or more years ago. Although it was slightly different.
The card companies at that time like Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Upper Deck and others decided that if they were making a certain profit level, then if they doubled there production that there profit level might go up say four fold.
Do you recall when the market got over saturated back in around 1993, that was when the companies started over producing along with that thing called a Base Ball Strike or Work Stoppage depending on which side you look at.
In fact I still have a 1994 World Series Baseball that Upper Deck put in there boxes due to the strike that wiped out the World Series.
George
In response to Ed, this may be the future but I believe that the savings won’t go toward making a better product. Maybe overly pessimistic but when companies look to cut costs (like cutting out the local dealer), more often than not, it’s more to increase their bottom line than it is to deliver a better product. Buy like they said in the Godfather movie, “it’s nothing personal, it’s just business.”
Personally, a good part of what I enjoy about collecting the cards is the time spent at the local card shops with other collectors, which I admit probably does make me old school.
In response to Sandy. I totally agree with you. In my case however my local dealer went out of business a number of years ago.
His health declined as he was getting much older. Some friends stepped in and ran the business for a while until his son started signing papers that his landlord sent.
Bottom line, the Land Lord realized that he was no longer there, the lease expired and the land lord really wanted an increase in rent to at or above market level…hence no more store.
There is a store a about 20 miles from where I live, but the Owner is just in it for extreme profits so I hardly ever go there. I know where this dealer gets his wax and I know what he pays for the wax, I don’t mind him marking it up some but having it marked at double what he paid for it…no thanks.
The main dealer that I deal with has a store about two hours and one state away from my residence, so I wait and deal with him when he does the shows nearly every Saturday in my area.
This dealer takes care of his customers, including the dealer mentioned above.
The dealer that I deal with is a Topps Direct Dealer and I am afraid that Topps will want to cut him out to increase there bottom line and like you stated with no improvement in there product.
After all, for the most part, Topps has the exclusive MLBPA contract and by them trying to go direct only the prices only seem like they will go one way…up.
George