The Yak Shack Forum

It appears that the HBP set has a release date of June 24 (with a ship date earlier than that).  There are no details yet about the inserts.

Okay, now we have details! :D

Release date: Unknown
Date of shipment to distributors:  June 26, but may change
Print run: 700 cases
Case breakdown:  8 costumes, 5 autos, 4 props, 3 filmcards, 1 case topper
Each box will contain two inserts.

12 Autos
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy dual auto (ultra rare)
Hermione Granger (ultra rare)
Ron Weasley (ultra rare)
Professor McGonagall (rare)
Dumbledore (rare)
Remus Lupin (rare)
Bellatrix Lestrange (rare)
Luna Lovegood
Nymphadora Tonks
Lavender Brown
Amycus Carrow
Alecta Carrow

14 Costumes
C1 Bellatrix Lestrange
C2 Professor Slughorn
C3 Ron Weasley
C4 Hagrid
C5 Gryffindor Student
C6 Professor Slughorn
C7 Dumbledore
C8 Gryffindor Students
C9 Professor McGonagall
C10 Professor Slughorn
C11 Ravenclaw Students
C12 Slytherin Students
C13 Fenrir Greyback
C14 Tonks

12 Props
P1 Slughorn's Christmas Party Lanterns
P2 Advanced Potion Making Book Pages
P3 Cushions from the Burrows
P4 Quidditch Quaffle Ball
P5 Curtains from Slughorn's Christmas Party
P6 Just Like That Hat Boxes
P7 Records from Slughorn's House
P8 Slughorn's Office Curtains
P9 The Skiving Snackbox Boxes
P10 Advanced Potion Making Book Covers
P11 Nose Biting Tea Cup Boxes
P12 Quidditch Bats

9 Filmcards

4 Case Incentives
Ci1 Gryffindor Students
Ci2 Boxing Telescope Boxes
Ci3 Quidditch Bats
Ci4 Chicken Foot Goblets

We're a bit heavy on the Slughorn items, but it's nice to see costumes for Bellatrix and Tonks, as well as new characters Slughorn and Greyback.  The skiving snackbox and nose biting teacup boxes should be popular. :)

Shocked the 2-case incentive is a generic student costume...

I also agree it is a bit much with the Slughorn items. I would have liked to see more of the main casts costumes as well.

This is only just the first wave of info right? It could change.

I don't think the costume and prop line-up will change, since the items have been assigned card numbers.  We will eventually get more info about the rest of the autos and print run numbers for the costumes and props.  I'd like to know how many cases will be produced.

Oooooooooooh... so glad I gave MM2 a miss! I feel the card pulling urge stirring within... however, I'll wait until a bit more info is released ;)

You'd think with the set being less than a month away, we'd have some solid information and a sell sheet (I know it's Artbox, but I can still dream ;D)

Even at this early details stage, this is looking like an awesome set and i'm glad i passed up on getting a MM2 case. ;D
My only tiny gripe is that practically half the prop cards are Slughorn related ???. Even if they do stay like that though i won't mind too much.
I honestly didn't think the release date would be that soon so i'd better get saving QUICKLY!. ;D

The movie premieres are July 7 in Japan, July 8 in the UK, and July 9 in the US, and then the movie comes out July 15.  I'm not so sure Artbox will hold to the June 24 date, but the set will be out before or right around the time of the movie release.

My concern about the Slughorn cards is that HBPU will have a Slughorn dual costume, a Slughorn dual prop, and a Slughorn dual costume/prop, all made from items used in the HBP set. :-\

PM sent  ;D

Artbox has gone back to the regular case breakdown of 10 costumes, 5 autos, 3 props and 3 filmcards. :)

Don't forget the Head of Houses "Quad" with Slughorn, McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick! ;D

 :rofl:  I forgot that one!


Actually, that card wouldn't be half bad. :D

If Artbox use this idea, I demand a free Quad as my commission! :rofl:

Thanks for the list kbmum :) I guess there will also be an HBP update set to following next year! ;D
Some of the props look interesting and i wonder how many Harry/Malfoy dual auto and Hermione auto cards will
be available?I would say (100) of each!

Generally, when WB releases an HP movie in the summer, it releases the DVD in the fall, in time for Christmas.  That would be approximately when Artbox will have an update set.  So, HBPU will probably be out by the end of this year. :)

It does say "Cusions". I think we can safely assume that you fixed it correctly. It would have been
 macabre if they made props out of any of the Weasley "Cousins".  8)

They normally seem to shoot for around 100 of each Ultra, but sometimes they have been as few as 50 (3D 2nd and OOTPU) and sometimes the scarcest items have been 150 or so.

:rofl: Never say never Jeff!

If Breygent can make Dexter props from the hand and foot of the Ice Truck Killer's victims, maybe we could have Death Eater victim cards, too. ;) :P

Here are some images of the original sell sheet, SDCC 2008 promo, and a brand new image of the tin.  Supposedly, the tin will have a bonus card.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Half-Blood%20Prince/hbpSellSheet.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Half-Blood%20Prince/hbpPromoSD08P1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Half-Blood%20Prince/HP6_tin_mock.jpg)

I can see it now. Everybody wants the variant that *isn't* splattered with blood.

Thanks for posting the HBP card list Cindy.  I agree that the 2 case incentive appears ... underwhelming.  But the set looks pretty good overall thus far.  The Radcliffe/Felton auto sounds very nice.

Thankfully! :)

Here is the complete auto list plus a couple of changes to other cards:

Harry and Draco double auto (ultra rare)
Emma Watson (ultra rare)
Rupert Grint (ultra rare)
Maggie Smith (rare)
Michael Gambon (rare)
David Thewlis (rare)
Helena Bonham Carter (rare)
Evanna Lynch
Natalie Tena
Jessie Cave
Ralph Ineson/Amycus Carrow
Suzanne Toase/Alecta Carrow

P4 Quidditch Quaffle Ball
10-case incentive -- Quidditch Bats

The ship date has changed to June 26, but that is not a firm date.

Lastly, the case breakdown has changed.  A case will include 8 costumes, 5 autos, 4 props, 3 filmcards, and 1 case loader.  That's a total of 20 pack-insert premium cards per case.

Although this evens out at 2 specials per box, whats the betting that there are some with 1 and others with 3  ::)

Thanks for the updates kbmum. ;D
This set is looking better and better and i'm really looking forward to it.
I'm over the moon to see that the prop card ratio has gone up from 3 to 4 at last!!. ;D
I know that it's only one extra prop card but i always thought that 3 cards per case was low considering that there always around 12 prop cards in a set.
It does mean that the costumes are going down from 10 to 8 of course but it's still a good number.

It means that a 10-box case has two fewer inserts. :P

Do I have this correct that there will be two 2 Quidditch bat cards and one Quaffle card? 

I'm glad I've waited to consider pre-ordering what cards I want.  I have already pre-ordered my tin though.  I'm a sucker for anything in blue.

Isn't it only one insert less than usual kbmum?.

Although we are losing two costume cards we are gaining a prop card so HBP will contain a grand total of 21 cards (8 cost, 5 auto, 4 prop, 3 film and 1 case topper) compared to the usual 22 (10 cost, 5 auto, 3 prop, 3 film and 1 case topper).
Only one less prop/auto/cost than a normal HP film set and when you consider that MM2 had a grand total of 17 inserts (8 cost, 5 auto, 3 prop and 1 case topper) it's a very good total.
I know that MM2 is only a filler set but the cases still cost the same amount of money no matter how small or how large the insert number is so i'm more than happy with the amount of inserts that will be in this set.

It could be worse you know!. Just think back to PoA Update case insert ratios! ;D. Which i was idiot enough to buy a case of i might add..LOL!

There is one Quidditch bat and one Quidditch quaffle.


I added incorrectly.  Hey, I was tired last night! ;)  But, I was talking about only the pack-inserted cards (since box buyers like me wouldn't get the case topper), so there would be 20 cards instead of 21.

Possibly Artbox is reacting to some collector feedback that there were so many low-numbered props, with several in quantities below 150. By adding one per case, the total for an average prop would rise to about 327, versus 236 in OOTP and 210 in OOTPU. The average for costumes stays the same at 460 since the print run is rising from 600 (OOTPU) to 700 cases.

There were a whopping 18 costume cards for OOTP, which was also 700 cases, and they needed to do that to keep from putting more than one of any single costume in a case (on purpose, anyway).

It looks like the autograph plan is pretty close to the norm for a 700-case run. If there are 100 each of Ultra Rares and 200 each of Rares in packs, that makes it just right for one Ultra or two Rares per case. Add in 500 each for Common autos, and the total is 3600.

What might this mean? Maybe a master set will be a bit easier to complete, if there aren't many low-numbered props and no auto below 100. Maybe there won't be any props or costumes numbered below 200, which might increase demand for the 10- and 25-case incentives. We haven't heard the details, but I expect to see multiple-binder-case incentives again as usual.

You are forgiven kbmum ;D ;)


Whatever their reason, i'm just glad they are giving us an extra prop card as i enjoy them the most!. ;D
I might be a bit disgruntled if i manage to pull all the Slughorn props though (as nice as i'm sure they will be ;D)

Over various sets, there were quite a few props for Umbridge and Lockhart, and now we're getting props for Slughorn.  I wish there had been props for the other DADA professors.  Lupin's office that's seen at the end of POA has lots of nice items.

Some Lupin prop cards would of been great. A piece of his trunk that he packs at the end would of been one idea perhaps.
I don't think we have had any Mad-Eye prop cards either which is a shame too.

I just wish they wouldn't put so many cards to do with one particular subject or character in one set. Slughorn's amount to a quarter of the prop cards available.
I'm sure that a couple could of been used for this set and then a couple more for the update set so that they are spaced out more.

I would of liked to have seen a fur/hair card for Aragog for this set to go with the auto card and leg prop card from COS.

That wouldn't be a patch on the other props  ;D

Booooooooo! ;)

So hands up who is buying this time around! I've not bought anything since OoTP, but I think I'll go for 3-4 boxes this time around.

Me!!!

My hand is so far up, I've ordered cases. ;D

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to invest so much money on a single release, but I have been selling and saving for this set for so long, I couldn't help it. :-\

Does anybody have any recent info on the Mad Eye Moody Auto Redemption cards from OOTPU?

Groan!. That was terrible! ;D (wish i'd thought of it!..LOL!)


I'm treating myself to a case for this set ;D. I have only bought two cases in the past (COS and POA update). Normally i go for one or two boxes as i have have done for every other release.
I was going to get a case of MM2 but passed on it and decided to wait for HBP. As a matter of fact, i just bought my first box of MM2 today to tide me over until HBP and i'm looking forward to getting it. :D

I'm getting a box, but hoping I can upgrade to two boxes.

I'm getting two boxes and one for a friend since I have most of the autographs already. 

Put me down for 4 :)

Just ordered a case, hope it's a good one  :o=

I too am going to get a case. I havent opened any Potter since OOTP and am craving some boxes!!! LOL..

Ditto on a case. I'm still hoping against hope that I'll eventually find an Ultra Rare auto in a pack.  :-\

Gave in and ordered two boxes; itll be my first lot of cards since OoTP...and the Aussie dollar is just so good at the moment  ;D

3 boxes for me! Fingers crossed it's a lucky number 3 ;)

Does anyone know if the 26th is the release date? I have read some listings on  :ebay:, claiming early July.

Also is it bad that I am already looking forward to the set for Deathly Hallows ::)
I have seen many images from the filming (Hermione's dress from the wedding, and scenes shot for Shell Cottage) is it possible that because the movie has been split, that we will have 4 sets??

The latest I've heard is that some distributors are expecting to receive their cases after July 1.

Does that mean that we get more time to save up for more boxes? ;)

Any extra time i can get to save up some more money gets the thumbs up from me! ;D

Will this be the first Hagrid costume card?? I do not think I have ever seen one before..

 The Sorcerer's Stone set has a costume card for Hagrid ;D

The COS set had one, too.

The 26th was never the release date, so far as I know, but the ship date from Artbox to the distributors. If the release date is the earliest credible, 4 business days after the ship date, usually enough for UPS Ground to get things (almost) everywhere in the continental U.S., we're at July 2nd already. They have to ship by Monday the 29th to get it to (almost) all of the U.S. before the July 4th U.S. holiday. Some businesses take the 3rd as a holiday, but not UPS or the U.S. Mail this year.

Does anyone know who is taking pre orders for this set now? :o=




Oink Oink to all pig fans!  :)

Tom Breyer was, but I think he had a deadline of this past Monday. :-\  You could send him an e-mail and see if he can take your order.  I'm sure there are other dealers/distributors who are still taking orders.

Got my 2 cases ordered today! :) I need a beer also >:D

Thanks for the info Kbmum! Funny enough,i emailed Tom earlier and he put my order in late today! :o

What is the best deal on a case???  Im so ready for this set!


[/glow]

I`ve only seen them going between $525 to $575 a case on ebay!Customs Taxes to the UK is a real killer >:().As if we don`t pay enough taxes in life!Will oxygen be next? ???
Can someone answer this please! Why are there no Binders free with every case you buy?Artbox should be able to throw in a free Binder :(

The only cards that I'd be interested in are probably the Harry and Draco dual auto and the Slytherin costume card.  Not worth paying ~550USD + ~186USD shipping per case for just two cards I guess... :P

Hmm... But what if I manage to pull the Harry and Draco auto?  Oh the temptation, the temptation.  Like I don't have a terrifying card statement already!

I wish they didn't pair Draco up with Harry. :-X

I think it's just boils down to if you are lucky or not when it comes to customs.
I think it depends on what type of person is working the day your parcel arrives ;D

I have had numerous HP Gentle Giant busts from the US and a couple of sealed HP boxes as well and all have arrived fine.
Yet when i bought my complete superman returns costume card set which was probably my smallest parcel, it was checked and opened by Customs and i had to go down to Parcelforce's main depot in London to collect the parcel and pay an extra twenty or so pounds on top of what i'd already paid for the cards and shipping.
Not a great amount of money i know but it still made me angry >:()
And if it happened with a big item like an HP case i would hate to think how much i would get charged!!.

Around £75 - £80  :o I know, I've paid it  :'(

You are so right about customs! Packages to East Ham via Parcelforce seem to waver customs charges from the USA,yet Dagenham (Crow Lane).Parcel force charge around 18% everytime! CUSTOMS SUCKS BIG TIME >:()

I am also one of the unfortunates that have to use Crow lane. I can understand (although I don't like it) paying customs duty and VAT, but I do object to the £8 handling charge that customs & excise insist the post office collect. On Saturday, I picked up a parcel that, with postage, cost less that $100 but I still had to pay £18.83 to get it  >:(

It looks like Artbox will be shipping the set sometime this week.  At least one distributor is expecting to receive cases by the beginning to middle of next week. :)

Blimey! :o. That had to hurt :-X
And i got mad cos i had to pay around £20!!. I think i would of cried if i had to pay that much!.

I was quite taken aback when it happened to me because i had already got 4 or 5 parcels from the U.S previously and they had all arrived perfectly and then out of the blue this happened. It was something i wasn't expecting at all.

You just get the impression that it happens depending on which side of the bed the customs person has got out of that particular morning. ;D


Great news!! ;D. I really am getting excited for this set now. I haven't had a case for ages! ;D

Anyone still selling cases?  Thanks    ???

Tom posted on another site that the product is in customs.  I think that means it was shipped from the manufacturer in Taiwan/China to the US and Artbox is waiting for it to come through customs so it can be shipped to distributors.

Whaaat!  They're manufactured in China and yet I have to wait for them to arrive in the US and then have them shipped back to China. >:()
I wish Artbox would get the license to sell in Hong Kong.

Artbox should move to Dagenham,Essex! :)
There would be a break in on the first night and no one would get any cards! :rofl:




Oink Oink to all pig fans!

Well if they did can have first dibs on your spare room if you have one!.
If not then i'd be more than happy to have the garage, a tent in your garden or a sleeping bag in the bath :rofl:

placed my order last week and I'm really excited.  can't wait to shred some packs  ;D

what are you all paying on pre-ordered case prices?

Artbox has shipped the cases.  The release date is Friday, July 3.

 Hi all , Did you notice that there is three gryffindor student costume cards on Toms list that he sent? 2 regular costumes and 1 incentive.
  I do like the different varieties now different signers and all. I just can't wait to open my cases.

Case loader update:  This set will have three case loaders which are crystal cards, available in colors blue and clear (yes, I know "clear" isn't a color, but you know what I mean!).  The cards are not inserted in cases.  They will be shipped separately by Artbox sometime next week.

Given the delays to the movie release, I take it there won't be any redemptions in this set?

I'm sorry, but i've got the 100% confirmed info that we have unbelievable 8 redemptions in this set.

Only Ron, Luna, Tonks and Lavender Brown are already signed.

Yup, it is true and totally sucks. Makes no sense either.

Still waiting for the Brendan Gleeson auto redemption from OOTP    >:()

Also, has anyone received their auto Harry/Sirius from MM2 yet?

The only way it makes some sort of "sense" is if they picked the auto lineup for HBP1 only last month, after they decided the size of the print run and the total # of autos they needed to fill the Ultra/Rare/Common bins. But in my opinion, they could have had a full lineup in hand and the decision would have been only whether one or two of them would be held for Update. It's not like they are on the fence on whether to produce an Update set or not. And they knew the design early enough to distribute the Felton HBP autoat SDCC 08.

I guess it's possible that part of the problem might be whether the autograph negotiation and production chain has to pass through Warner Bros too. There were only a few redemptions for the 24 sets, and none for 24 Season 5. Even the Johnny Depp auto for CatCF was pack-inserted.

I still do not think there is any excuse considering this set was delayed 8 months due to the push back of the movie.

That is beyond ridiculous.  As is the continued delay over the Brendan Gleeson auto from OOTP.  They really should have sorted that out by now, either with the actual card or a suitable alternative.  And a little something extra for those of us still waiting  ;)

As for the 8 redemptions, the film was originally scheduled for Nov/Dec 08 release so they must have decided what the final set would comprise at the time.  Granted, there would undoubtedly have been redemptions (it wouldn't be a Potter set without them) but it's 6/7 months on from that.  Surely they could have resolved more than 8 of them by now.

It does indeed suck...

If anyone is looking for a sealed case PM me! I have a couple available.  ;)

Anyone heading out to Comic Con this year?

...and we now have the first cards listed on ebay.....

Isn't the release date Friday?
I'm still waiting for my case to arrive  ::)

You should have your cases before Friday. However...the release date is Friday. So technically, you should not be selling any cards you receive until that date. It is sellers like those that list early that will stop Artbox from sending out the cases earlier than the actual release date, but it seems to always happen.

Might have mentioned it here
http://www.theyakshack.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,6031.msg98389.html#new
 :rofl:

Incidentally, there are a few minor changes that will result in the original card list. My first box had a prop card with a different number. I'll let Cindy update the lists at the start of the threads. I'll PM her with any changes I notice (and numberings for costumes/props) and (starting the 3rd) I'll note updates in this thread if she's not online.

Cindy has limited access to a computer right now, as she is lucky enough to be on a bit of a well needed vacation! You might be able to update us before she can make the changes. You have me curious now.

Let me know if you'd like anything updated in Cindy's list and I can do it :)

I just hope they're released on Friday in Japan too. :o= I'll be on a plane to Japan 12 hours later and since we can't get the cards here in HK, I'm planning to go to Japan and get a case.

Or do they even have the cards in Japan?  ::)

Thanks!

I've confirmed most of the information from my case and from the early eBay postings. (I see that one seller waited until it was July 3rd in the U.K. before posting, but I think I'll respect my distributor by waiting to post my breakdowns until July 3rd Local time.)

Here's my "working" update for the card list. Anybody can offer updates as we gang up on Cindy. Possibly by morning the rest of gaps will be filled in, and we might reach consensus on what to call the different Slughorn swatches. I don't feel 100% confident on prop names until I or another Yak sees one, and there are three that I don't have any information on. The props' numbers are mixed around from the first reports from Artbox. (It's good to see that Artbox has updated their website, so they are now recognize MM2 as a "coming soon" product.)

12 Autos
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy dual auto (ultra rare) (redemption)
Emma Watson - Hermione Granger (ultra rare) (redemption)
Rupert Grint - Ron Weasley (ultra rare)
Dame Maggie Smith - Professor McGonagall (rare) (redemption)
Michael Gambon - Albus Dumbledore (rare) (redemption)
David Thewlis - Remus Lupin (rare) (redemption)
Helena Bonham Carter - Bellatrix Lestrange (rare) (redemption)
Evanna Lynch - Luna Lovegood
Natalia Tena - Nymphadora Tonks
Jessie Cave - Lavender Brown
Ralph Ineson - Amycus Carrow (redemption)
Suzanne Toase - Alecta Carrow (redemption)

14 Costumes
C1 Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange x/390
C2 Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn (bow tie) x/240
C3 Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley x/380
C4 Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid x/480
C5 Gryffindor Students (maroon) x/630
C6 Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn (jacket) x/580
C7 Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore x/500
C8 Gryffindor Students (blue) x/580
C9 Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall x/490
C10 Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn (long tie) x/780
C11 Ravenclaw Students x/170
C12 Slytherin Students x/570
C13 Dave Legano as Fenrir Greyback x/490
C14 Natalia Tena as Nymphadora Tonks x/400

12 Props
P1 Slughorn's Christmas Party Lanterns x/380
P2 Advanced Potion-Making Book Pages x/380
P3 Cushions from The Burrow x/480
P4 Quaffle x/130
P5 Slughorn's Office Wall Covering x/330
P6 Slughorn's Christmas Party Drapes x/330
P7 Just Like That Hat Boxes x/395
P8 Records from Slughorn's House x/230
P9 Slughorn's Office Curtains x/290
P10 The Skiving Snackbox Boxes x/280
P11 Advanced Potion-Making Book Covers x/240
P12 Nose Biting Tea Cup Boxes) x/295

9 Filmcards  Print run 314 each
CFC1 Ginny & Harry
CFC2 Harry
CFC3 Filch
CFC4 Luna
CFC5 Tonks defending
CFC6 Harry & Luna
CFC7 Quidditch team
CFC8 Slughorn
CFC9 King Weasley

3 Case Loaders
Case loaders are crystal cards that are not packed in cases.  The cards will be shipped separately to case buyers, and will be available
in blue and clear .

4 Box-Topper Metal Cards
BT1 D.M (Draco Malfoy)
BT2 Snape
BT3 Bellatrix
BT4 Death Eater

4 Case Incentives
Ci1 Gryffindor Students (2-case) x/430
Ci2 Boxing Telescope Boxes (5-case) x/220
Ci3 Beater's Bat (10-case) x/130
Ci4 Chicken Foot Goblets (25-case) x/        [not seen]

updates for you



C11 Ravenclaw Students x/ 170

   P6  (Records from Slughorn's House) x/ 230 which is p8 now by the way

 P8  (Nose Biting Tea Cup Boxes) x/  295 which is p12 now

   P12  (Quidditch Bats) x/  ????

Ci1 Gryffindor Students (2-case) x/     430 and very boring

Ci2 Boxing Telescope Boxes (5-case) x/ 220

Ci4 Chicken Foot Goblets (25-case) x/   ????

Ci3 Beaters' Bat /130
Ci4 Slughorn's Christmas Party Chicken Foot Goblets /108

P6 Slughorn's Christmas Party Drapes /330
P8 Records from Slughorn's House /230
P12 Nose-Biting Tea Cup Boxes /295

Thanks, gang!  I updated above. I don't consider this cheating the deadlines, since it will be nice to have a good card list at the start and we aren't showing images.

Hmmm. There were early (since cancelled) eBay auctions by a distributor well known to us for a Ci3 showing "Quidditch Quaffle Ball". It looks like it became P4 instead; the numbers are the same. Maybe they felt they had to have *one* scarce pack-pull prop.

Has anybody seen the tins and know if there are multiple designs? (6 packs + special card)

I told her I was considering driving down with my case to where she's vacating, but she threatened to wrestle my cards away from me.  :o

I may be in Disney World, but I' m watching all of you!  ;). I can't update anything, since I am typing on a device the size of a trading card.  The set looks good from what I can see.  Good luck with everyone's pulls!

And yes, I did tell Jeff I'd be happy to relieve him of his case if he decided to visit with me this week!  ;)

I've updated Cindy's original list in the case/box breakdowns thread with the information in Jeff's list. It seems that they only information we are missing is the numbers for the Ci4

there are 108 of the Ci4 card.

Thanks for the info! I've updated the list to include it. Bit high for the 25 case incentive...

They have to have a heaping handful for SDCC goodie bags, perhaps?

Or maybe they thought about it as a pack-pull card in the beginning. like the 10-case card became a pack card. Or yet another maybe, we'll find out that there are distinct variations for Ci4. There were 120 coins total for TSS and 112 wands total for GOFU. (I don't even mention 172 Whomping Willows for POAU!)  :-\

At least with the coin cards and GOFU wands there were distinct variations, so if you had a Sickle card you could say that it was 1 of 40 or with a Harry wand that it was 1 of 28. Not sure that even with variations of the goblet that people would get QUITE as excited.

It's been a while since my last case and I'll either buy one or 2 or be selling my soul for a Harry+Draco Auto. And the first few of those start popping up when I'm packing to leave for the 11hr flight to London for the HBP premiere :'(.

**If anyone gets a spare or wants to sell one PM me. I'll probably get the odd-stare when/if i start bidding on this card while flying.

The first case-"topper" crystal cards have shown up on eBay. (They were supposedly shipped separately from Artbox.) There was a "Dumbledore (purple)" and "Lupin (unspecified)."

Wow!!. :o
I've only been away a week and already things seem to have happened very quickly.
It was a big shame to come back and find out that 8 of the autograph cards will be redemptions but deep down i suspected it would be like this (although secretly hoping not) as this seems the norm for HP sets now.

I have only just sent my Harry and Sirius Dual Redemption card off to Artbox today. It's my first ever redemption card i've sent so hopefully if i get the signed card back without any problems i will have more confidence in sending the HBP ones.

I must say that i do like the overall look of the cards a lot. I like the colours that have been used, particularly on the film cards.

I am very much looking forward to getting my case! ;D

Hello! My first time post here, but a long time reader, for some reason it took a while to get my account activated, but after a mail it was sorted really quick. thanks for that!

My 3 cases just arrived a few ago, so now waiting for the wife to come home (early i hope) so we can break them open!
The incentive cards are really nice, the bats one is really thick! But i might trade them at some point cause i personally don't see incentives as part as a masterset, only the pack inserted cards!

The redemptions in this set are really weird, they already have 7 out of 8 redemptions back signed from the cast, the only one they're waiting for is the Harry and Draco, the same two they still haven't received back from the MM2 set.

I'll post some scans and box breaks later.

Nice joining this lovely little family of HP card collectors!

Hi tammguid!  ;D
Let me be the first to say welcome to the shack and to our HP family! ;D!.
I'm sure you will be made to feel as welcome here as i was when i first joined.

I hope you have lots of luck when you open your cases!.

I'm hoping to have my case by the end of the week and i can't wait!..LOL!

Just opened the first two and we're rather upset, we had 2 IDENTICAL cases... same inserts in both, even at the same spot in the case and in the box...
Not a bad two cases, both had the three rares in, but 2nd case was no fun to open as after 3 boxes we had the idea they were identical :(

-edit- forgot to saw thanks for the welcome :)

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry about your two cases. That is why I hate these "case clusters". I prefer things be more random.

I can't believe my luck!!  :'(
I bought my case from fellow shacker RichWithCards today and was looking to getting it on friday.
I got the paypal invoice from Rich and paid this afternoon and then got an e-mail from paypal saying that i had paid by echeque and that it will take 7-9 working days to process!.
I couldn't believe it!. I have absolutely no idea why it happened.
I have bought on ebay using paypal for ages and it is always instant payment although it wasn't ebay this time.
I don't know why it went through as an echeque this time.
It's so frustraing!! >:() I now have to wait until at least the 17th of July for the payment to clear!.

Rich is a great guy though and he is going to hold onto the case for me.
I was so looking forward to getting the case on friday. Rich told me it was all packed and ready to go tomorrow!.
Excuse me while i go and cry now :'(

This happened to me before and I think I know why it happened to you. PayPal never told me the credit card I had as back up funding has expired. I needed to go in there and update it with the new expiration date on my card. Check yours, as it may be the same situation. Although, even if you change it right now, it won't effect the payment you just made and you will still have to wait.

Hi all! Has anyone in the a UK received their cases from Tomunique yet?I received my 2 case incentive card today and Tom mentioned that he posted the cases last tuesday :) I can`t what to crack the cases open! ;D

Am in UK and received my case from Tom today will post contents tomorrow. It had the Lupin Crystal Case Topper.

Hi Stoney! I`ve been there before!I wish paypal tell you before your pay! >:()

I received my crystal case-"topper" today too, straight from Artbox. It was the "Dumbledore Clear."

This may have had something to do with it in a way as i have my debit card and not a credit card for my backup funding. It had expired at the end of june but i was told this when i logged onto paypal yesterday so i updated my details just before i paid for the case.
Do you think the purchase of the case was a little quick after i had updated my details or should everything of been ok as soon as the new details were entered?.

My brother suggested that because it is only a debit card it has a limit on how much you can send in an instant transfer (he thought £250).
You see, i have never purchased anything over £100 with paypal before and they have always been ebay items too so maybe he is right. I just don't know.

It's just so annoying! >:() I do remember there being a little circle that you could click on with the word echeque next to it when i paid but i left this blank and never clicked on it as i didn't want to pay by echeque so i was really surprised when i was told that i had sent an echeque.

Oh well...at least the case will be coming eventually. It will just make me look forward to it even more!.
Rich was really understanding about it and is holding onto the case for me until the payment clears and we will be both checking paypal all the time to see if it clears before the specified time..LOL!.

I've had paypal do that to me once or twice, and right now I can't remember what the circumstances were.  I have my paypal account with my checking accounts with a credit card as the back up.

It could be that you paid too quickly, but I am not sure how debit cards work. Believe it or not, I refuse to have one. Makes it way to easy to pay. If I want something, I physically have to go to an ATM machine to get cash. This helps me save money, although, not as helpful on eBay :rofl:

You'll get that case soon.

I think that paying too quickly after updating could be the most probable reason.
My own fault really if it is. If i had logged onto paypal on the 1st of July when the old debit card had expired then i would of updated my details then and that would of given me about 5 days before having to pay for the case.

I am the complete opposite of you rns. I won't get my money out of a cash machine for anything!. I have always been like that. Probably from hearing too many horror stories about all the ways that people can get your card number like using false covers etc..LOL!
If i want to take money from my account i will always go into my building society and withdraw the money over the counter from a members of staff. Even for the smallest amount of money!.
How sad is that! :rofl:

Even though it will be a bit later than i had hoped, i will still be getting the case. And that is the main thing after all. ;D

I got my 5 case toppers from ARTBOX, 3 purple, one of each: 2 clear, Lupin and Dumbledore, only need a clear Harry to have all six.

Still waiting for the case from Tom. The House of Bogleg is not somewhere you would want to go right now. If the Royal Mail was using the Pony Express, it would only have three legs  >:(

Is Sharon on a rampage?

If I was driving a post office van, I'd put my foot down anywhere near our house  :o

Hoping i get my 2 cases from Tom monday! :o=
The annoying thing is that there are cards up for grabs on ebay at the moment and i don`t know if i should be bidding on some of the auto cards like rupert grint or not? :(
I have a third case also due monday so i need those cases asap :o=

Biggest problem at the moment is there is a postal strike in London. Even if the cases are waiting to be picked up at a Parcel Force office, the letters notifing us of the fact are still in a sorting office.

Really boggy? I thought that was just a rumour... maybe it's only in 'proper' London, not for pretenders like me who are just-outside-zone-6 ;)

We had 3 days of strike action here in London last week. Delivery staff walked out on Wednesday, Distribution workers on Thursday Mail centre staff on Friday.

I posted my MM2 Harry and Sirius auto redemption by Airsure on monday not having a clue that there was going to be strike action. I tapped in my tracking number on Tuesday on the Royal Mail website and it said "We have passed your item onto our overseas department for delivery to the United States of America". So i thought great...it's on it's way. But since then nothing has changed. I have tapped in the number everyday since Tuesday and it still says the same thing and it should of changed by now as Airsure is supposed to take 2-4 working days to reach it's destination.
It seems like it has been held up by the 3 days of strikes >:()(i hope so anyway..i do hope my card has not got lost already).

Hopefully things will start moving again from monday and my tracking number info will say something different and your cases will start to arrive. Fingers crossed!

What has happened to Royal Mail? I can never get any really expensive cards sent to my home address as they are either posted to the wrong appartment block or put through the wrong door and then lost! >:()
Why do they employ idiots who can`t read english? >:().Personally,i hope every postman gets the sack and employ people who can can read!

How about the wrong road? I live in BLACKSMITHS LANE and we get letters for OLIVER ROAD and ALEXANDER ROAD  :o Admittedly, they are all for the same number  ::)

My experience with Airsure to America is that it usually about 5 days... never 2 and never 4! Though Tom Breyer did at one time have some magical post route by which he could post on Friday and it would arrive on Monday... amazing! (Whereas if he posted at the weekend it could take much longer... very strange!).

If it says it has been handed to the US Post office it will have been and it won't be involved in the Strike, America is a big place and I think most of our post seems to go via NY, it's a long way from NY to California and you forget that in America if they post a letter standard mail one day they don't expect it to even attempt to get to its destination by the next day. I wouldn't expect it to get there until about the middle of next week under normal circumstances.

Oddly I can post things to Sweden on a Saturday and they will arrive first thing on Monday morning... I wonder if there's any use for this amazing 'power' of mine ;)?

Hey Roz!. Perhaps you could send some of your amazing power across the pond. We could sure do with it! ;D
As for Tom's magical route...are you sure he wasn't using Owl Post at one point?. ;D

You are definitely right about most of your post going via New York Roz.
I checked Royal Mail's website again this morning and got nothing again but the usps website has been updated with a bit more info.
It now says that my item arrived in the United States in ISC NEW YORK NY (USPS) at 4:32am on July 8 2009.
Fantastic news!. At least now i know it missed all the strike action and has now reached the US. I've just to to wait and see if it has made it's long journey to California now! ;D

As for my two fellow Royal Mail haters!..LOL!...Don't get me started on them as well. We could be here all day!.
The amount of times we have had letters put through our letterbox that are for a completely different person who lives at a completely different address, both of which are nothing at all like ours!.

The worse thing that i have had happen though came when i sent a very large and expensive projector by Parcelforce to Oxford.
To cut a long story short, i thought it had not been delivered and got lost. I only found out that it had been delivered because the guy in Oxford e-mailed me to say that he had arrived home from work to find the projector left at the back door of his house by his dustbins!.
The Parcelforce guy had left it there becuase he couldn't be bothered to write out an attempted delivery card which would of meant he would have to carry the heavy projector back to his van and back to the depot and re-deliver the next day!. STAGGERING! :o

Phew! I mean, take a moment to think about that - if it had been rubbish collection day your fancy new projector could be rotting in landfill by now!

Hopefully they can can write, too.  :rofl:

I can laugh about it now Roz but at the time i was as mad as hell i can tell you.
When i rang the Oxford Parcelforce Depot at the time to explain what had happened i was told by the lady on the phone that this was a sackable offence and would i like to make an official complaint.
As it had thankfully turned out ok in the end i didn't make a complaint because as angry as i was at the time i didn't want the guy or girl to be sacked.

Now that i think about it though. What if he or she has gone on to do this kind of thing again and again because i kept him or her in their job!!. ;D
Think of all the poor people's parcels that i may have indirectly caused to go missing or get taken since then! :rofl:

Did anyone see tonight's Top Gear? They raced a £100,000 Porsche flat out against a 39p stamp from the Scilly Isles to Orkney... and lost! 39p (isn't it 40p now??) means that a small picture of the Queen is in fact faster than a Porsche.

Apologies... dreadfully OT, but my cards haven't arrived yet and I have to entertain myself ;)

Hi,

I know this if off subject, but does anyone have a scan that shows the entire cover to the Advanced Potion Making Book?

There have been posts of other props posted elsewhere on the site, but I could't remember which thread they are in.

Curious to know what it looks like  ;D

Thanks

P.S.
My sympathies to all who are having trouble with the Post  (:D#

Hey Roz!. Take a bow ;D
You were right about Airsure usually taking 5 days!. I got a notification e-mail from USPS this morning telling me that my Harry and Sirius Auto Redemption card was delivered yesterday at 12:26pm and that would mean that it was delivered on the 5th working day after it was posted!.
I'm glad that it has arrived safely as i was a bit worried with this being my first redemption card and being such a rare one at that!.

Does anyone think it would be worth e-mailing Artbox to get them to confirm that they have got the card?.
It's just that i have e-mailed them 3 times recently about a different subject but they have never replied.
Is their sales department the only e-mail address you can contact them on?.

Hi Stoney,

I posted the same card back in April, also with an email asking if the auto was even in yet.

Artbox has still not replied, however I know they received the Redemption Card, as I sent it with Delivery Confirmation.

Also sent out some recent Redemptions from HBP. Does anyone know if all the autos are in for the set?

Still waitingggggggggggggggggg for Mad Eye from OOTP.

I wish Artbox would stop using REDEMPTIONS >:()

For MM2 only the malfoys auto is still not in and for HBP the only auto not in is the dual, in both cases, they're waiting for Felton to send them back (or his agency?)

 ;D Does this mean that the Harry and Sirius Dual Auto will soon be on it's way!! ;D
I do hope so.
HEAR...HEAR!!. I will second that Fizzingwizbee!.

I'm quite sure that it has been delivered to the right place. It says on the USPS website "Your item was delivered at 12:26 PM on July 13, 2009 in SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92673".
I have e-mailed Artbox as well. You never know..they may e-mail me back. I also asked if the Harry and Sirius Cards are in yet but if tammguid is right then at least that's one question answered! ;D

Wow!. The Mad-Eye OOTP one seems to have been going for ages now. Do you think they will ever be signed?.

Hey Stoney,

I'm so glad your card arrived, I hope it is returned as the Auto, just as quickly!!

As for Mad Eye, seems like Artbox should offer some type of repalcement card, or compensation?? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

My favorite Auto card this set, has to be Evanna Lynch. I know that it is not rare, and that the signatures are rather messy, but the I think the card is fabulous  ;D
 
 

Thanks Fizzingwizbee!. I hope you get your Auto quickly too.
I know you sent your redemption to Artbox back in April so technically you haven't had yours returned quickly..LOL!.. but now that hopefully they are in you know what i mean! ;D

You would think that Artbox would of come up with something by now wouldn't you for the Moody Auto.
The OOTP Update set was released in Dec 07 wasn't it?. So the expiry date would of run out in Dec 08 at least i think.

I like the Evanna Lynch Auto too. I like the particular photo of Luna that they have used for the card. I do like a lot of the Auto cards for this set.
We have not seen all the Auto cards but from the scans i have seen on the shack the only one that i don't like as much is the Emma Watson Auto Redemption.
I think it's because they have used a drawing or painting of Hermione instead of an actual photo like the others.
I thought it may have been because it was a redemption card but it can't be because the other redemptions have photos.
I haven't yet seen a Rupert or Dan Auto card so maybe they have pictures as well and it is a trio thing ;D
If not i wonder why this card is the only one. They must of had at least one photo of Hermione from HBP surely!.

San Diego Comic-Con is coming up July 23-26, at which Artbox will have a booth.  I wouldn't be surprised if no one hears from the company until after the show.  However, if anyone is going and plans to drop by the Artbox booth (*cough* Boggy *cough*), that might be a great time to ask questions about the Moody auto and the reasons for all of the redemptions.

The expiration date for the OOTPU redemptions has long passed.  At this point, I think Artbox has to face the fact that they will never get the Moody autos.  It's time to come up with a suitable replacement.  Hopefully, they won't go the same route as Strictly Ink did when Gary Sinise reneged on signing autos for the CSI New York set.  SI printed up facsimile autos of two cast members and mailed them to everyone who had turned in a Sinise redemption. ::)  The kicker is that Sinise has signed stickers for cards in Donruss Americana sets.

There are Rupert autos on eBay right now.  It's hard to tell from the scans (I absolutely HATE eBay's new listing format), but the image of Ron appears to be a drawing as well.

I hate the new listing look to. Qhy would they use drawings for the cards? Makes no sense.

Maybe it isn't a drawing, but an effect added to a photo to make it look like a painting.

Perhaps you could be right kbmum.
I had a peep on ebay at the Ron Auto and it was hard to tell if it was a pic or photo.
I spent so long looking at it my eyes went funny in the end i i got a headache! ;D
So maybe it is some kind of effect.
I wonder why Artbox did this and didn't just use photos as they have always done. If you look at page one of the comment and scans thread you can really see the difference between the Emman Watson card and the Jessie Cave card

Its a photo; its just got a very "airbrushed" look.

I might give a glance in the Artbox direction. The worn carpet from 2 years ago is now a landmark (..."take the first left by Bogleg's feet and there's the Marvel stand" )  ;D

BTW, I have just picked up Sharon's case. I had to phone Parcelforce head office to get the tracking number as the letter that should have told her that it was there is still on route  >:(

Good news concerning the case. At least you now have it despite the all too familiar problems that come with Royal Mail and Parcelforce.
Do you have the same affection for Parcelforce that i do Boggy. ;D
NO SWEARING THOUGH PLEASE! :rofl:

Got my cases today from Tom! :) WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Had to pay £26.37 GBP to Parcelforce for my items but YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :)

I think that between Parcelforce and HM Customs, they make it up as they go along. Sharon's case, I assume the same weight and cost declared, was £22.78. As usual, £8 of this is a handling fee that Parcelforce have to pay to customs  >:(

So chaps what's IN these marvelous cases ;)?

I'm sure all that bad Parcelforce feeling will melt away once you crack open those cases! ;D

Not long to go now for my stupid echeque to clear and then i can join you guys. It should clear friday at the earliest so i'm keeping my fingers crossed :o=

Has anyone purchased a tin, and if so, what is the bonus card?

I preordered a tin from Digital Hero.  He said it would be the middle of July before they would be delivered, so I'm still waiting.  I've got my fingers crossed that I might get a premium card.  This tin has the cards like the Hobby Boxes.  I'll post the card when I get my tin.  It may not have one though.  The OOP tins did not have special cards exclusive to the tins.

Thanks!

i thought the tins had retail cards. did any one else hear this? ???

i just checked  :ebay:. there are 4 listed there; in cluding one by digital heroes. if you use the zoom feature, you can read the sticker on the wrapper. it definitely says retail packs.

 

here is the description from one of the listings:

"For sale is one, awesome collectors tin from a movie icon.

This auction is for one, retail metal collector tin from the current hit movie, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.  Tin is factory sealed, contains 6 packs with 8 cards per pack and 1 extra card in the tin.  Chase the beautiful foil card inserts and complete the regular card set."

the listing shows a tin, but no picture of the card though.

 

Sharon was presented with a second case from my mum as an early birthday present. Not a bad case, but there was a hiccup - one box only had 1 prop and 2 foils. Another box had 2 costumes, 1 prop and 8 foils  :o
I know this evens out to make the case break right, but there would have been two very mixed emotions if people had bought these separately.

Whomever gets the first cards from tins, please let us know what card-odds are printed on the packs!

As for stoney's travails in tracking the package to Artbox in the U.S. -- for a long time, everything sent to me by Airsure or Recorded Mail or ISF was taking nearly exactly 3 weeks to be delivered. Royal Mail tracking always showed it quickly "transferred overseas." The same tracking number can also be used on the U.S. Postal Service website, and they agreed. I asked our local P.O. if they knew whether there was a quarantine or something that was making "expedited" service ("handled as Registered Mail when received in the U.S.") so slow, and they had no good suggestions.

The delays seemed to have gone away recently, but maybe they're back. You might check to see if it's been delivered if you use the tracking button at usps.com instead of Royal Mail's.

Hey allender!.

I was pretty lucky. My package only took 5 working days to deliver.
I found that using the usps website was much better than royal mail's.
The updates were really good. Telling me that my package had left the UK, that my package had arrived in New York and that it had arrived in San Clemente.
Not only that but i received update e-mails as well.
Whenever i entered the tracking number on the Royal Mail website it never changed from your item has been passed on to our overseas department for shipping to the united states of america.
I was lucky in the fact that i knew i could use my tracking number on the usps website but for someone who doesn't know this they could be sitting there thinking that their package hasn't arrived.

Almost forgot!.
My echeque cleared this morning at last...Yaaaaayyy!.
Which means that Rich will be posting my case on monday and i should get it on tuesday ;D.

And of course, having Royal Mail saying "delivered to our overseas department for shipping" doesn't help if the overseas department is also on strike.

Got just another one this week. Postmarked 03 July, announced received by USPS in New York 05 July, delivery attempted to me on 14 July. It's not as long as the 3 weeks I was seeing previously, but now I assume now that AirSure or International Signed-For can take considerably longer to arrive than regular Royal Mail post ... and the delays are always after it's received in the U.S. Parcels are supposed to be handled as Registered Mail once they are over here, but I've never seen similar delivery delays for items posted in the U.S. Maybe there's a NYC overseas quarantine that applies only to bubble mailers.

Your latest item got to New York 2 days after it was posted which is exactly the same number of days that mine took. My package was posted on the 6th and it got to New York on the 8th. So it does seem that items are being held for different periods of time when they arrive in New York.
I must of been very lucky with mine as it got to San Clemente only 3 working days (13th)after arriving in New York whereas your one took 8 working days after New York.
If there is an NYC overseas quarantine that applies only to bubble mailers then mine must of made a break for it when the coast was clear! ;D

It's not going to get any better for people here in the UK posting overseas again. Whilst writing this i have just heard on news that Royal Mail have announced 3 more days of disruption next week. >:()
I'm just glad that my case will be coming by courier and not Royal Mail next week. :)
I'm not sure of the days though.

I just found out some more on the postal strikes.
Yet again the disruptions will only be in London! >:()
It's not really next week as i first thought but more the week after.
The 3 days are Sat 25th, Mon 27th and Tues 28th July.

THREE CHEERS FOR ROYAL MAIL!!

Hey Fizzingwhizbee!. I have just received a reply from Artbox telling me that the card is availalable for redemption. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery! ;D

My original e-mail was an enquiry to confirm that they had received my card.
Are they telling me they have got it and it will take 4-6 weeks for delivery or are they just basically telling me that the card is available for redemption if i wish to now send the card off?.

I'm not sure as they haven't really answered my question.

If Kay didn't specifically say that she received your card, then all she's telling you is that the Harry/Sirius auto is in.

It was definitely a reply e-mail to my one asking if they had received my card as my original e-mail questions were at the bottom of this e-mail.

I gave my name and address, the date it was posted and the tracking number that was on the front.

I can't see why Artbox wouldn't have it. It definitely got delivered in San Clemente.

I might just send another e-mail to see if Kay can confirm for me that she received my card.

Kay is probably very busy at SDCC09. This may be the reason for no fast answer.

You are quite right. The poor woman has probably got enough to be getting on with without me pestering her. ;D

I'm sure the website says that it takes about 7 days for a reply anyway so i wasn't expecting a quick reply.

My HBP case should be arriving tomorrow too!. ;D. It's been a long and agonising wait thanks to that wonderful thing we call an echeque but tomorrow it will of all been worth it. ;D

Is Kay the person that would be answering my e-mals to the sales department?.
If so i would like to say a BIG BIG thank you as i have just received an amazingly quick reply to my e-mail that i sent yesterday considering she must be very busy at the moment and i have been told that my redemption card was definitely received and will be posted in 4-6 weeks! ;D ;D ;D

Hey Stoney,

That is Great news Stoney! I really do hope you have an excellent case. ;D

I have to say, that I spoke to Kay on the phone last week(just a lark that she answered), and say that she is an absolute angel  0:)

I had a bunch of inquires, one about a damaged card I received, and others about the redemptions, and which ones were in.

I also asked the dreaded question about the Moody Redemption, and she was soooo very kind in her response(even though I'm sure she has been hounded with that one for a while). She repeated that they are in negotions with Warner Brothers to try and get the contract for that card resolved.

She was amazingly nice, and if anyone on the Shak has ever had to work a customer service job , you know how difficult that can sometimes be.

In sending in a recent redemption for the Maggie Smith Auto , I added a little note to the bottom line of the paper  enclosed proclaiming that ARTBOX should give her a RAISE IN PAY, and thanking her for her very kind and patient help.

Three Cheers For Kay  :D

Thanks Fizzingwizbee!. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a great case ;D


Hip Hip Hooray!! :)

Good idea about the pay rise. Do you think if we all put notes in with our redemptions and Kay gets enough, do you think that Artbox will take note! ;D

Good to see that Artbox are trying their best to get the Moody redemption sorted out with Warner Bros.
How will they track Brendon Gleeson down to get him to sign at long last?.
I wonder if they will have to follow him down the road, grab him, stick a sack over his head and bundle him into the back of a van!..LOL! ;D

YAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!.
Right in the middle of this post the TNT guy has just knocked with my HBP case!.
Joy at last!!.
I will now go and spend the rest of the day opening up all my boxes. ;D

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaave fun!!  ;D

Thanks tammguid..i will do!.

I have resisted the urge to open the boxes straight away. I'm going to sit down this evening, take my time and have the HBP soundtrack playing while i open them up. ;D

God... can't believe you're able to do that!
When mine arrived i didn't know how fast to stop working and start opening them!
But then I had to wait for y girlfriend to come home lol  :'(

Atleast i had the incentives to look at and all the binders to put all the other series in.

I hope you get some great pulls!

Trust me tammguid...it hasn't been easy!..LOL!.

Normally i tear into my boxes and even on the odd occasion when i have treated myself to a case all ten boxes would be opened within a couple of hours!.

Seeing as this will be my one and only case of HBP though, i have decided to savour every packet!!..Ha..Ha!. ;D

well... well... well... what did you get?  ;D

Ha..Ha..Ha!.
I started later than i thought i would last night so i only got through 5 boxes before getting too tired to carry on!..LOL!.
I'm going to open the other 5 in a bit and then i will post my case breakdown. ;D

So you're gonna make us wait even longer?  :rofl:
At least you coulda told us what was in the first 5  >:D

My case breakdown has now been posted ;D

whoopie! that was a decent case!
I'm thinking myself getting another one just for fun lol  >:D

I had 2 of each incentive, so selling one of those off now and from the money i've sold all my double stuff i could easily get two, or i could just buy the one auto I'm missing, what to do, what to do....  :-\

Thanks tammguid. I was pretty pleased with it. :)

It will be just the one case for me though.
I don't know if i am going to go back to buying single boxes of different sets or slowly card by card get myself to a Master Set of HBP.
The only problem...is that the cards i have left to get (particularly the Autos) are all the rare and expensive ones! ;D

Hi Everyone,

Has anyone noticed, or had a problem with the quality of the Metal Box Toppers from this set?

I sold a set on  :ebay:, and when the buyer received them, they left me this message:


i received the cards today - each in their individual package and envelope - and they arrived safely - however, every single card has scratches on the metal - underneath your plastic.
i have no idea how they got scratched by you - but they are still in your sealed plastic
do you have another set? id like to exchange these for an undamaged set.



The set I sent the buyer had never even been removed from the plastic sleeves.
Upon inspection of my other Box Toppers, I noticed that the plastic was actually a little scrachy, and some of the metal cards actually do have an occasional knick.
The imperfections appear to have occured during manufacturing, and not shipping, as the paper sleeves are in great condition, and were pulled directly from the boxes and shipped to the buyer surrounded by cardboard in a padded envelope.

Please let me know if you have seen this with your own Box Toppers.

I sent the buyer a  full refund, and apologized.
However aside from being out the purchase price , listing, final value, Paypal, and shipping fees, I hate the feeling that all the cards are probably the same, and I lose no matter what I do. :'(

The quality of Artbox's cards has steadily gone downhill since they switched to a manufacturer in China.  I just pulled a Tonks auto that is dinged on three corners and has rough edges.  I'm going to contact Artbox after SDCC to see if they have any replacements.

It stinks that the buyer thinks you damaged the items, then sold the cards.  I've found that when I want to sell Artbox cards, I have to really look them over and be specific in the listing about the condition.

I too have noticed the card quality to be much less than perfect, in recent sets.

I used to be able to use the terms Mint/Near Mint in the descriptions, however the expectation of those terms  no longer seems to apply to most of the cards. As a result I  refer to the condition of cards only if there is a noticable flaw (edges,surface or other),  anything I as a buyer would want to know about.

It didn't really occur to me to closely inspect the Box Toppers ::), 
My mistake, lesson learned.
Although if all the Box Toppers are of the same quality as I received, should the buyer really expect to find a set without imperfections?

Argggggggggggggggggggggggggggg (:D#

Sorry to hear about your cards guys. I may have to join your club >:() >:()
I have just checked all my box topper cards more closely and some of mine have scratches too.
One of them is in a completely different plastic bag to the others too. The others are all smooth and neatly folded down at the top whereas this plastic is completely creased, roughly folded down and twice the size of the others! ???

My Jessie Cave Auto card is also not perfect and has rough edges at the top and bottom. Nothing major and only a minor gripe but still...the card shouldn't be like it.

It is very annoying when you know yourself a card is mint in the fact that it is brand new as you have just pulled it and placed it in a protective cover straight away but looks damaged through no fault of your own.
Which leads me nicely onto my last question ;D

The other thing i would like shacker's opinions on is my Just Like That Hat Boxes card.
I have included a pic of it so that you can see what i mean.
The swatch itself is black shiny card but has two white crease marks (one a lot bigger than the other) where the card has clearly been folded or bent.
I'm not certain if this has been damaged or if it is supposed to be like this. The card itself is perfectly fine and in mint condition. It's just the swatch.
So if it has been damged then it has been done before placing it in the card.
I just wondered if you thought the piece of prop is meant to be like this or if any fellow shackers have the same card with similar swatches or do you think that someone has damaged it and still place it into the card.

Sorry that the photo is blurry. I always have trouble with closeups but you can clearly see the crease marks.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/MichelDelving/cards/DSCF4734-1.jpg)

There was definitely a drop in quality from GOF to GOFU (if I recall correctly this was the first Chinese Set)  but in defence of China's honour no artbox set, or really no single artbox card could ever really be described as 'gem mint' right from PoA!

*Edit*

Stoney, If they are hat boxes they will have been 'broken down' or unglued and folded to be put into cards. Surely there will be some with folds/edges/oddities and you just seem to have one of those. Perhaps a little annoying? But with some cards which naturally have very boring contents a bit of edge tends to brighen them up a bit...  :-\

Very true.  I won't say that the quality is bad necessarily because it's produced in China, but perhaps it's due to not having direct oversight from Artbox during the manufacturing process.  When the printer was in the U.S., people from Artbox could go to the plant and have an easier time dealing with any issues.

Stoney, I think you have a section of the hat box that had a crease in it, possibly from an edge, and was straightened out for the card.  I've seen at least one other on eBay that was very similar.

FW, the buyer probably will not be able to find box toppers without defects, but won't know that until he buys them from other sellers.

What were the order of the set releases? 

A good but surprisingly tricky question ;)

Something like -

PoA
PoAU
SS
GoF
GoFU
CoS

Then it gets fuzzy in my mind...

I think

MM
Wo3D
OOTP
OOTPU
MM2
Wo3D2
HBP

Though please do correct me Cindy ;)

Or was Wo3D after OOTP?

Thanks Roz and Kbmum! ;D
If you both think that it's supposed to be like that then that is good enough for me!.
Your answers about breaking down the boxes and straightening them do make a lot of sense.

It's good to know that my card isn't the only one out there kbmum.
Can you remember if the seller didn't realise or wasn't sure like me and put in the description that he/she thought the card was damaged?.

I wonder if we are going to get a number of irate buyers complaining that they have received damaged Hat Box cards. ;D

Hey Gallifrey!.
I think this is the right order of set releases.

PoA
PoAU
SS
GoF
GoFU
MM
CoS
Wo3D
OOTP
OOTPU
Wo3D2
MM2
HBP

I just know i've got it wrong! :rofl:

Hi Everyone,

Hey Stoney,

Some (swatches) with creases or crinkles could been considered a variant :), as was the case with the Flying Memos Prop card swatches from OOTP.

Those swatches ranged from a full Ministry gold seal :o, to some with writing, and then there were folds or creases, followed by some with just plain purple paper.

I have not seen many Hat Box swatches other than the black. The one I pulled has light yellow paper with a little black line.

I did pull a Burrow Cushions where the card itself was very damaged, and Kay at Artbox said to send it back and they would attempt to replace it.

I don't think I have the heart to call back and complain about the Box Toppers though, and I think kbmum is correct that my buyer probably won't find them (Mint) from anyone.
After all they are (metal etched), and I would think that process itself would lead to imperfections on the surface ???

It's just a very strange card to have. The card itself is perfect but if you didn't know exactly what was involved with making the swatch (see Roz's & kbmum's explanations ;D) you would definitely think because of the swatch "oh..this is damaged".

It's a shame my photo isn't better. It's very hard to see exactly what i'm talking about.
If you rub your finger over the swatch the hat box prop material is very bumpy and then you have the two scratches/lines down the middle.
My best way of describing them is this. It's like when someone has scratched your car with a key and you get the white line underneath where the paint has been scratched off the top. ;D

Stoney is correct about the set order and Roz was close. :)

POA (May 2004)
POAU (November 2004)
SS (May 2005)
GOF (November 205)
GOFU (May 2006)
MM1 (October 2006)
COS (December 2006)
WoHP 3D Series 1 (June 2007)
OOTP (July 2007)
OOTPU (December 2007)
WoHP 3D Series 2 (June 2008)
MM2 (April 2009)
HBP (July 2009)

Stoney, my biting teacup swatch is sticky, as if there was once a sticker on it that was taken off. Your card is not damaged at all. I think the ones with creases on eBay are selling for more than the plain black perfect swatches, if that helps you any.

I am very happy with my card now thank rns. ;D
I just wanted some reasurance and opinions from fellow shackers who are more knowledgeable about cards than i am that the card wasn't a damaged one.


Do i win a prize?. ;D

Yes... what would you like? I can get a cup of tea on...


That'll be why CoS seems a 'new' set to me... even though it's 2.5 years old! Wow! 2.5 years eh?? Amazing!

Of course, don't forget:

Literary Collector's Card Set (June 2005)
Posters Set (August 2006) [premiere and SDCC versions, 1100/200]

I think those months are right, or at least that's when I got mine. They might not have been distributed in packs, but they ought to be part of the "sequence."  :D

That's probably the only cup i'm ever likely to win in my lifetime Roz! ;D


Wow!..Time certainly does fly by. It feels like ages ago now to me since i opened my Cos Case.This set holds some very fond memories for me. This was the first Harry Potter case that i ever bought back in June 2007 and it was also the subject of my very first post here on the yakshack the day before the case arrived on the the 15th June 2007. ;D