A Deeper Look at the 2021 Topps Update Checklist Gives a Glimpse of Company's Challenges
The last 18 months have taken a toll on card products
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2021 Topps Baseball Update Series arrives this week. Normally, it’s a set that is circled on the calendar since it usually contains rookie call-ups from the first half of the season, players who were traded at the deadline and All-Star Game content.
This year’s release is missing some of those elements or they’re a bit more subdued than in the past (not counting the shortened 2020 baseball season). Taking a deeper look at the Update checklist reveals some hints at the obstacles Topps has faced in releasing this year’s products, and three things jump out.
First: There are early season rookie call-ups in the Update. But we’re talking really early season call-ups. The cut-off to include rookies in this year’s product seemed to be the first week in June. In the past, the All-Star break or close to it was a better gauge of the rookie card cut-off date. This means no Wander Franco, but we already knew that since Franco’s Topps Now cards had a “Call-Up” logo on them versus the RC logo.
Second: There aren’t any players that were traded at the deadline with a card in Update. No Rizzo on the Yankees, no Bryant on the Giants, no Scherzer on the Dodgers, no Schwarber on the Red Sox. But Albert Pujols has a card on the Dodgers because he signed with Los Angeles back in May.
While these players do have Topps Now cards in their new unis, many collectors probably feel this is not a proper substitute. Topps Now cards are nice. Flagship cards are better.
Third: The creation of the All-Star cards is interesting. Previously, the All-Star and Home Run Derby cards were a subset in the base set (I’ve picked the photos for these cards during my time working for Topps). This year, they are actually an insert, not a subset.
To me, this says the cards had to get to the printer sooner than in years past. The insert was likely the last piece of the project needed to be sent to the printer, likely the last or one of the last pieces needed for pack out.
While I don’t have direct knowledge, what this says to me is Topps was completely under the gun to get this Update completed. There is a significant lead time with any product, but usually the last moment to ship out the last base card form (what becomes an uncut sheet) for Update is closer to August 1 to get All-Star Break and traded player content into the product. The rest of the Update has already been shipped to the printer at this point and they’re just waiting for this last pieces.
But Topps couldn’t even wait that long this year.
Things are so strange in the trading card world due to the last 18 months. Cards are in hot demand, and companies can’t even print enough to keep them stocked. Retail has been practically non-existent and prices are way above MSRP.
I know the easy answer for many is Topps should push Update back in the calendar. I agree! But this decision has to be made further in advance, not just a month or two ahead of time or it risks moving everything else in the calendar. And it gets trickier the later in the calendar year that it gets. Everything is crazy right now at the printers -- Upper Deck recently announced it had to cancel some products due to supply chain issues -- and if Topps were to try and move Update back in the calendar, they could also face cancellations.
Again, I know you’re saying, “But Topps changes its schedule all the time.”
Correct, but only when necessary, and due to the high-demand for cards right now, they need to get this out because Q4 is always, always, always, always heavy with product because products get shuffled around -- and this year is no different.
There are at least a dozen Topps baseball products coming out between November and December, which is not even considering the non-baseball releases coming out. There has to be a constant in the calendar and that is Update. With the way the supply chain and logistics have affected everything in the past year, it seems they and the other card companies have to do their best to meet as many deadlines as possible, even if that means missing more than half a season of content in Topps Baseball Update.
Pushing Update even further back would pit it against some new and popular baseball releases, which may not be a problem for store owners as items are flying off the shelves, but it would be a problem for printers getting all of those products out on time. Miss the deadline, and you might miss the spot in the printing schedule.
It’s super disappointing. I was looking forward to seeing flagship cards of some of the traded players, but they’re not coming in Update. Topps Now is the only place to find those cards for now.
In years past, as a collector, I would have been annoyed by this. But, I get it. It’s frustrating, but I understand why this is happening. There’s no telling if this will be fixed next year as we might still be dealing with many of the same issues. But I have to wonder if this is something Topps’ brass wants to fix given the uncertainty and also finality of the future of Topps baseball cards?
Licensing News: Upper Deck Keeps Hockey; Panini Snags WWE
While Fanatics had been gobbling up the licenses for most of the big American sports, the hockey license was still in question.
Not anymore.
The NHL and NHLPA announced it was sticking with Upper Deck as part of a multi-year extension.
It seemed to be received well by most of the collecting community, however, many wondered if this was actually a precursor to Fanatics buying Upper Deck.
We’ll see.
Panini also announced it secured the WWE license away from Topps. Panini Prizm WWE will be the first release coming out early next year. Based on previous debut Prizm releases, this should and will be a hot product.
Trading Card Round Up
A Georgia man used part of his COVID relief loan to buy a Pokemon card for $57,000! It was not a great idea and now he’s paying for it. The only question I have is, which card? Link
Serena Williams NetPro rookie card sells for $44,280 at Goldin, setting a new record for a card featuring a female athlete. Link
Tom Brady threw for his NFL-record 600th career touchdown this past weekend. Mike Evans didn’t realize the significance and gave the ball to a fan in the stands. The Bucs and Brady got the ball back but not before trading some autographed items and 1 Bitcoin. Link
Thanks for the very insightful post. I was wondering your thoughts on the recent 21 Bowman's Best Debacle. I'm convinced it was done intentionally as retribution but based on your experience at Topps is it remotely possible an "error" of this magnitude could occur. Thanks