Questions about eTopps
daltex
Posts: 3,486 ✭✭✭✭✭
So I know very little. Perhaps someone can point me to a link that answers most of my questions. I've developed my questions largely from posts here.
In no particular order, How were these distributed? If a card is numbered to, say, 799, does that mean that 799 were produced? Is it possible that the population will increase at some point, that is more cards released from Topps?
I just want to understand these cards!
0
Comments
these were very much like topps now or on demand. however, purchasers were allowed to keep them at topps similar to something like the pwcc vault. you could either keep them in your “portfolio” to trade online or actually request them to be shipped. most kept them at topps in their portfolio because that was kinda the angle that was being pushed.
getting to your numbering question, yes. /799 means thats how many were produced. however, the problem was that a ton of folks kept them at topps. after etopps went defunct, folks just left their inventory and it became near impossible to get them shipped. either it cost an arm and a leg ultimately not even worth shipping the cards, folks forgot their email/log in info and/or they simply couldnt get in contact w anyone to get them shipped. of course the cards plummeted just after going bankrupt and no one even really wanted them. pretty much a perfect scenario for their eventual reemergence especially considering how the overall card market turned into the refractor craze. these were pretty much the first refractor sets. with all that being said, just because a card says /799 does not mean that 799 actually made it out of the factory. some say only 50% made it out. some say much less. i think it all depends on the individual card. some of them are to /599 and ive only seen like 3 ever come up.
good news is that they seem to be coming in their own again. considering how the card market is turning into more of a direct and on demand scenario coupled with the fact that these literally led the way, albeit way too early mixed with the quality & rarity they seem to have, they were pretty much poised for a collecting rebound.
righto -- I was lucky enough to buy a few Durant rookie eTopps cards 4 or 5 years ago for a song off Ebay...also bought some Yao Ming cards, some hockey cards, a few Lebrons and a few Bradys...got a PSA 8 on the first Durant I submitted...I think I got 9's on a Brady and a Lebron...will have to dig up the various cards I have...
So I chose this card https://ebay.com/itm/124795189597?hash=item1d0e5f795d:g:bSAAAOSwRh9giDQq as one that would seem unlikely to sell 999 copies on Topps Now. Did they make 999 of them and stop selling when they sold them all, or sell an unlimited number for a limited time and that number just happened to be 999? If it's the former, how can we be sure they sold out. I mean it was a rookie for Kansas City for crying out loud! How much would this card have cost at issue? Were they sold as sets (like On Demand) or individuals (like most of Now)?
I've attached a screenshot of the eBay page so that it will be useful after the auction ends,
When did the eTopps program start and when did it end? I do not know much about eTopps but bought the UFC set released in 2009. Nice cards... released between the first and second UFC card releases and were focused on UFC 100. Can still find them on eBay.
I'm a big fan of eTopps cards as they are great looking in hand and cheap, cheap, cheap.
I have one that was graded, a pop 2 with none higher:
And some more Romo's in the eTopps sealed holders:
Steve
The Doomsday Collection
Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor | All-Time Dallas Cowboys | Bob Lilly Master | Pro Football HOF Dallas Cowboys
very cool Romo cards
topps printed a set amount per release, some with random print runs, which you can find on tcdb.com. these were loosely based on the number of orders placed. just because they produced lets say 999 copies of one card, I would say most of them are still being held at the Topps warehouse as most buyers never paid the high shipping costs to get them "in hand". although I think lately Topps made it easier for people to get them as they have had a little surge in popularity and value. so the actual liquid amount available are most likely way less than the stated print run since most people never took delivery and probably never will. They were delivered in plastic cases, sealed with a Topps sticker. they were mostly thick card stock and the earlier ones had metallic eTopps logos embedded on the cards surface. The first few years weren't serial numbered on the back, but did have a stated print run.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETopps
I believe the actual years ran from 2001 to 2011. I have the entire run of Derek Jeter's.
I also have a Dwyane Wade rookie
myslabs.to/smzcards
awesome run of The Captain...
thanks! its sad to know most of these will remain with Topps, as im sure alot of people abandoned their portfolios years ago or just won't pay to have them ship. so, I think in the future, eTopps will remain a semi valuable set depending on the year and player due to scarcity in hand.
myslabs.to/smzcards
Thank you. This is all very interesting. It sounds a little like a mix of Topps on Demand and the PWCC Vault.
i picked these up a couple years back maybe. absolutely dirt cheap by todays going rates/offers:
kobe /5:
1st year brady signed /50 total:
they actually produced some of the better looking rookies too:
and definitely trouts best looking rc, imo:
2011 was my favorite year and definitely my favorite Trout RC. they were sold as "IPO's", held in portfolios and were able to be bought/sold/traded remotely with the option of taking actual delivery. kind of cool in a way. almost reminds me of how buying/selling on COMC works too. purchased cards are "moved" from one account to another digitally with the option of shipping at anytime.
myslabs.to/smzcards
it was surprising that until last 5 years the average collector still thought “etopps” were digital cards. which i guess would be half true considering most never did take possession and bought/sold/traded digitally. trailblazers for sure.
Of course that can't really work with cards the way it can with stocks, because cards aren't fungible. My 100 shares of Microsoft are exactly the same as your 100 shares of Microsoft, and a buyer on an exchange doesn't care whose he gets, but my Trout rookie may be seven quality and yours ten. It can't even work for graded cards because your 1963 Mantle might be a high end 4 while mine is a low end 4. This is also why short selling will never be practical here in anything other than sealed cases or BBCE wrapped unopened.