I don't like the look of auto stickers and I worry about the adhesive eventually letting go. Wouldn't signing on foil also produce more smudged signatures? I think Topps is forgetting, or more likely doesn't care, that there are differences between sport card collectors and non-sport card collectors.
I'm very glad that the major non-sport manufacturers don't want to go this route.
If enough case orders get cancelled, the dealers will report this to their distributors and Topps. It won't make a difference for any sets that are currently being produced, but maybe Topps will abandon the practice for other entertainment licenses.
I just started a company like three weeks ago to allow me to purchase cases at cost. My guy deals in Artbox, Inkworks, Rittenhouse, and Topps. He told me a couple weeks back that Superman was completely sold out. However, just a couple days ago when all the Superman sticker/autos started hitting eBay, he mentioned that Superman cases were available again if I was still interested. I told him that I *was* interested but not anymore since the sticker cards had shown up. He said that he understood this and has already been getting the backlash from people who are upset, and this was the very reason why cases had "all of a sudden" become available. Sure, I suspect that Star Wars will sell just fine - I mean, come on, it's STAR WARS! But I really feel that the reason why these cases (WWF, Superman) have sold so well is that people didn't realize that stickers were going to be used in lieu of the older style auto cards. The more product like this (sticker autos) that Topps puts out, the more I bet their sales will drop in the end.
- Greg
