If you recall the first part of my article, I counted down some of the worst sets or screw ups to happen in the sports card collecting industry from 2000 to present day. Here is part two, the worst five sets or debacles to ever happen in the first fifteen years of the 21st century.
The Top 10 Worst Sports Card Sets of the 2000s pt II
#5. 2014 Bowman Platinum Baseball Cards:
2013 Bowman Platinum was one of my favorite sets of recent memory. I remember having unusual success with the product, including pulling two different 1/1 printing plates from the same store in about a month, and a George Springer auto relic with dirt on it. When 2014 Bowman Platinum was announced, I got really excited. I and other collectors were highly disappointed when this set dropped. The card stock is extremely flimsy and the foil layering is so thin that most cards came with dinged or damaged corners or the foil was peeling off. On top of that the card design seems pretty lazy. For cards that are borderless we only get an image of the player in the center of the card the rest is silver foil (other colors if it’s a parallel). The parallels are far too inconsistent in terms of the odds. The more common versions are too easy to find and the rarer ones are so hard to find those that did find them hold them hostage at outrageous prices. However, nothing irked collectors more than the inclusion of 2013 Draft Kris Bryant autographed cards. For some context, Kris Bryant is arguably the biggest prospect in baseball and when he was drafted in 2013 collectors were eager to get their hands on his autograph. Everyone expected his 2013 autograph cards to appear in the 2013 Bowman Draft sets. However they were nowhere to be found.
When his draft and chrome autographs did appear, they fetched unbelievable prices, about $5,000 a piece plus or minus a few thousand for ungraded versions. So when these cards started appearing in both 2014 Bowman Inception and Bowman Platinum, some collectors rejoiced as they now had a better chance to pull these cards. Those collectors who dropped used car money on the card were livid. In short, Bowman pulled a De Beers. They had numerous autographed cards of Kris Bryant but limited the release of them initially driving sales and creating rarity, sort of like what De Beers does with its diamonds. When you increase supply to meet demand, price will go down. Collectors who shelled out thousands watched helplessly as their cards plummet as more and more autos became available and increased competition. Additionally, this opened a new argument: Is the card from 2013 or 2014? The card is stamped on the back as 2013 and was made in that year but wasn’t released until 2014 with a 2014 set. Cases have been made for both, but in the few times a card has gone through this before, collectors ultimately agree it is from the set it was found in, thus making it a 2014 card.
$95 is pricey for a box that only has three autographs of players who may not have even reached the majors or never will. If you must collect a Bowman Platinum go search for 2013.
#4. 2013 Rittenhouse WNBA Basketball Cards:
It is no secret that the WNBA is nowhere as popular or well covered as men’s professional sports. While some of the best female athletes from college basketball and other places find themselves playing in the WNBA, their fan base is lacking. However, Rittenhouse thought their cult following was enough to justify a WNBA set every year since at least 2005. Additionally, Rittenhouse seems to have a monopoly on this market, has their last competitor was 2004 Fleer Ultra set. I don’t want to undermine these women as their basketball skills are far greater than most of the population including mine (despite the fact I am 6’6). So how did Rittenhouse manage to screw up a set it has been making for almost a decade unchallenged? Despite the league only having 12 teams at a time where there were 11 woman on a roster; Rittenhouse managed to make a set that was missing 21 players. The entire set included a base of 100 cards, regardless of the fact that 12 team rosters X 11 spots each = 121 players. The entire 2013 Rittenhouse set featured the following: 100 base cards and two autographed cards one of Elena Delle Donne and one of Brittney Griner. No inserts, rookies, numbered, refractors, parallels, jerseys, or other autographs. In case you were wondering, none of these autographed cards came numbered or in parallels and no other players had autographed versions. If you didn’t want to search through packs, you could purchase the entire 100 card set to be guaranteed the two autographs for about $70 – $100. Before you think Rittenhouse shouldn’t be at the #4 spot, the set features no rookie cards or cards clearly labeled rookies or RCs. Additionally Rittenhouse knows exactly how to make cards numbered, short prints, inserts, or put the RC logo on rookie cards. They did in their 2011 and 2012 WNBA sets and featured autographs from other players, which led to much greater success than the 2013 set. The cards themselves were rather boring to look at and featured and orange Hawaiian floral border and every card is either a player shooting or not even playing basketball. Instead they are holding the ball and posing for the photo.
#3. 2014 Panini Flawless Football Cards:
If you have kept up with my earlier articles, you may recall an entire article dedicated to Panini and how they managed to defraud collectors with mislabeling cards, putting fake patches in, among other screw-ups. The entire article was over their National Treasures and Flawless set. Don’t get me wrong, the set itself is not on here but rather the huge errors that they made in production is what earned Panini this spot. This is itself one of the biggest debacles to happen as opposed to a questionable set.
Flawless is the most expensive pack at $1,300 a pack, where you get 10 cards per pack. Granted that every card is a hit in the pack, but at $1,300 a pack, one would expect the finest work possible went into producing these cards. You can go look at my other article for a detailed explanation as to what happened, but as a quick refresher here’s what caused the problem. Collectors started questioning the patches on some of the cards. The collectors claimed that the patches were not game worn, due to their lack of stitching and the material. Retail jerseys are made of a thinner material and any logos or lettering is not stitched on as well as ones meant to be used in a game. However, the guarantee/authenticity found on the back of the card, which promises that the jersey is real and game worn, stated that the patches on the front were indeed game worn. At first Panini claimed that this affected only a small number of cards (about 15) were affected. By the time the dust had settled this error impacted 168 patch cards. Panini issued an apology and said anyone who had the cards in question could send them back for an exchange of game worn jersey relic.
Panini also included diamond cards in their Flawless set. The card featured tiny diamonds on the card in place of a relic. Collectors took these diamond cards to jewelers asking them to test the diamond gem inside. The card claimed it was real. However the jewelers ran tests on the diamond and they came back as cubic zirconia. At such a small size, testing the authenticity can prove difficult however it was the fact that they promised the stones as real irked collectors. It’s no wonder Panini America has a grade of “F” from the Better Business Bureau. According to them, 71 different complaints were filed with the Bureau and Panini responded to zero of them.
#2 2015 Topps Tribute Baseball Cards:
Topps released the first high end baseball product of the 2015 season in Topps Tribute. The set costs about $300 a box or $30 a pack, one hit guaranteed a pack. A short time after the release several collectors complained about the product and Topps ordered a full recall of the set. The recalled stemmed from an issue with the majority of the autographs in the product where the signatures had varying degrees of smearing and smudging. Additionally the corners of the cards were rounded, dinged, or bent. In a release, Topps said that it was as a result of UV contamination; however it appeared the markers were faded. Basically the card stock caused the ink from the marker to fade, bleed, or smudge. As for the recall, Topps issued an apology and refunded anyone who purchased boxes or cases from them directly. Collectors who had a damaged card or one with a bad autograph were allowed to redeem the card through Topps for a card of “equal or similar value” as defined by Topps. This is the biggest product recall in the card hobby I can recall in a long time and for a high end product it is disappointing. Topps did not say whether a corrected issue would be released.
#1 2013 Panini Triple Play Baseball Cards:
The 2013 Panini Triple Play baseball cards are the biggest insult to the entire sports card industry to ever be produced or made. The only positive thing I can say about this set is that Panini did not continue making it. I believe this set was marketed exclusively to elementary school children; however it does not justify the existence of this set. What makes this set the worst of the worst? These cards are printed on computer paper for starters. If you tried sticking these in your bike spokes to make noise, the cards would probably rip to shreds. There are no images of players, baseball, or anything related to baseball for that matter. Instead every single card is a cell shaded cartoon of the player looking as if they belong in a Japanese anime show or the video game Borderlands. The inserts in this set feature temporary tattoos and stickers of eye black, baseballs, or even fake mustaches. Believe it or not this set features hits. However no autographed cards, just jersey or bat cards. But don’t expect to find a piece of game used jersey or bat of any specific player from any team in the MLB that year. Instead these are generic, non-game used pieces of equipment, such as jerseys, bats, and gloves that were never used or touched by any professional player. Instead, Panini probably bought the stuff at a local Wal-Mart and put it in the card. The set also features no collectability as in refractors, numbered cards, or any game used or signed cards. Every time I find a pack of Triple Play in a repackaged offering, I don’t even bother opening the packs.
