As a legendary figure in the sports card collecting space, Topps calls the shots, not just for the cards it pushes into eager hands, but also for industry norms that have been static for too long. Latest development involves the word ‘redemption’ —a term familiar to any ardent collector. In a transformative move set to redefine the sports card collecting experience, Topps has extended redemption card expiration dates from a meager two years to a resounding ten years. Spread this out on a calendar, and that is an extra 2,920 days for collectors to redeem physical sports cards attached to their digital redemption cards.
To the uninitiated, a redemption card is a placeholder for an actual autographed card not available at the time of packing. The idea is simple. You unpack a redemption card, and you exchange it for the real deal once it’s ready. However, the thrill of this pursuit has continually been marred. By what? The expiration dates. An expired card loses its worth, leaving collectors with a sense of dissatisfaction. However, by extending the validity of these cards to ten years, Topps has given a whole new lease of life to those having these previously muted pieces of cardstock.
Given this change, if a card promises redeemability in arm with a 2022 release date, it will now stay valid until 2032 rather than ending its journey in 2024. As a result, products carrying these redemption cards will inherently carry their market value for a more extended period, giving collectors the luxury of redeeming their autograph cards at their pace without the looming clouds of expiration.
Those immersed in this arena know that it’s not just the ticking countdown clock that has been a pain; the other hiccup is the time taken by Topps to wrap those deals up with sports stars to get the actual autoes. Delays often occur due to negotiations over athlete compensation, among other factors. However, with Fanatics bagging the exclusive licenses with major sports player unions starting 2025, there’s growing optimism that the timeline to obtain autographs will see a significant cut, leading to more timely and efficient transactions.
Additionally, Topps has seemingly begun to step up its game. The company has managed to trim down its backlog of unfulfilled redemptions from 70,000 to a mere 10,000 within the past year. This indicates a focused effort towards addressing the hobby’s famously evergreen problems and reinstating collector faith – a characteristic key in pushing up product sales and assuring benefits reach every part of the sporting triangle.
With this move, Topps has given a face-lift to a tradition as old as the hobby and hit two birds with one stone—boosting the value of its products and making collectors rediscover the pleasure of the game. The future of sports card collecting, it seems, is glistening brightly under the new Topps-pioneered alteration. Happy collecting, folks!
