Topps Now is a concept that prints on-demand cards and stickers to commemorate special milestones in sports. It really is an interesting concept and it comes with built in scarcity. These special cards and stickers aren't available forever, and in many cases Topps has a time limit before orders are cutoff.
Unfortunately, my first crack at this hasn't gone so well. Back when the Twins were in the playoffs I ordered up a card of my new favorite Twins player - Royce Lewis - which commemorated his hot streak hitting home runs. The card was also to be autographed (on card) and numbered to 99 or less.
There's my order. Yes I ordered this back on 10/4/23 but the estimated ship date was 1/25/24 to 2/22/24. Yes I'm still waiting. Come on Topps!
Fortunately my second attempt faired a bit better.
Back in mid-February I took a shot at ordering a package of hockey stickers because this pack included stickers of the likely winner of the Calder trophy. As you can see in the photo these arrived unharmed in a nicely designed envelope.
The packaging for these stickers is nothing special. Kind of wish they would have wrapped them like a pack of cards. Now the question is do I free them?
Yes I do! Be free my little sticker friends, be free!
I'll start off with two goaltenders at opposite ends of their careers. Decent photos and design. Though I could do with that Topps Now logo.
Next we have a couple of ho-hum milestones. Anything to make a hockey sticker I guess.
We all know the reason Topps made stickers for these guys. They will likely finish 1-2 in order for the Calder. Bedard is the next best thing since sliced bread from what I hear, so that made the Winter Classic announcement instant fodder to make a sticker of him. Faber is a home-town favorite and a solid defender. I'm fortunate to have followed his career from high school to the Gophers and now to the Wild.
Even though the cards can be pricey, the idea of Topps Now is something I find really interesting. However as a set collector, well...I haven't figured out if there is any rhyme or reason to a set here. Instead, if I buy any more of these it will be for player PC's.
And I won't be buying anymore until Topps honors that Royce Lewis purchase. Here's to hoping Topps doesn't pull a Panini.
Hopefully Topps sent a representative to Spring Training and was able to get Lewis to sign those cards for his fans. Good luck. Maybe they'll toss in some bonuses for the order taking so long. At the very least, they could reach out to their customers with an explanation.
ReplyDeleteI pulled a 2023 Topps Now redemption card last year and completed the process for the card. It's an Elly DeLaCruz. Nothing. I haven't followed up and to be honest I really don't expect anything. I guess I should at least reach out and see what they say.
ReplyDeleteI hope they get that card to you. That's something a bit nice for them to botch. Nice hockey stickers though.
ReplyDeleteFavorite line of the post: 'Yes I do! Be free my little sticker friends, be free!'
Legitimately made me laugh when I saw it.
I've been wondering how Topps can do NHL stickers but not the cards. Hope you get that auto!
ReplyDelete