Instead of doing a regular "vanilla" type of review, Cardboard Junction has decided to add a different twist and flavor to wax reviews. Whenever a new product comes out, we're going to have two collectors offer their different views on the product based on certain categories in what we call the Point/Counterpoint Review.
The 2009 Topps Heritage Baseball review will be done by two collectors: Tim and Brent. Both have been collectors for years, and both also break multiple cases of this product every year....They will be reviewing the product on a scale of 1-10 based on the following categories: Card Design, Target Audience, Collation, Checklist Value, Content Value and will be providing their overall review of their product.
2009 Topps Heritage Baseball 
Card Design
Tim (9)
Topps has done a tremendous job recreating the look of the 1960 design. The appropriately thick card stock and the gorgeous fronts of the cards are a welcome change to the seemingly endless displays of modern-looking sets that appear each month.
Brent (8)
I agree with Tim that Topps has done a great job at reproducing the 1960 set design. It is one of Topps best designs historically and is favored by many longtime collectors. And yes, the card stock is nice and of appropriate thickness. My only knock on the card design would be that of the insert subsets. Of course the original 1960 set did not have inserts, so these designs are made with an older feel, but to me they are not as well done as in years past. The inserts are very bland to the eye. The Then & Now insert set is my least favorite by design simply because the pictures are not very big, and the bright blue and red coloring just throw it off for me. I'd like to see Topps do some of its “famous photo magic” like UD Masterpieces did in football this past season and create cards with the two players appearing together in the same photo, instead of making the names and colors so prevalent.
Target Audience
Tim
This product is unique in that it does not have one singular target audience for whom it is "best." Set builders, collectors and even case flippers (if done early) will benefit from ordering Topps Heritage.
Set builders can open a box or two and have fun putting together a set. They can also open an entire case and have fun putting together a master set.
Collectors can choose to just buy a base or master set and put it away for their children or themselves, or they can enjoy looking through the cards and being reminded of their youth when they not only collected cards but they collected cards that looked and felt just like these do.
Brent
This product does target all baseball card collectors, both old and new. It has the excitement of big hit potential plus the thrill of chasing cards to complete sets. If there is a target audience it would be die hard baseball fans, especially those who appreciate the history of the game and the history of baseball cards. It is geared to set collectors, especially those who have been collecting since they were much younger, but the set also offers the big hits and innovations (such as autographs and chromes) for the younger generation. Plus, this is one of the rare sets where older collectors can get the first autographs or relics of their longtime heroes and legends of the past and present in one set. Heritage offers many first-time autographs of players from the ‘50s and ‘60s, and that is something that can target both younger and older collectors.
Collation
Tim (2)
I opened three cases and still do not have a master set. That is very disappointing. I have dinged and damaged cards, and I had three "dead" boxes containing zero relics or autos. I still do not know what a black chrome card looks like in this year's release. All of this is absolutely inexcusable, and it continues a disturbing trend during the past two years from virtually all Topps products: bad quality control.
Brent (8)
I feel for Tim but disagree about the collation and quality control issues. I open more Topps baseball products then anyone I know and have not experienced the unfortunate things that Tim has. In 15 cases, I was able to yield 14 complete master sets with inserts. Plus, I was just 13 SP cards away from making four more, which I did complete through trading. There are 75 SP cards, and each case should yield 96. Again, with one or maybe a few cases your collation might be off. But with larger amounts, it will not be most of the time. I have opened at least 15 cases of this product every year for the past six years and have studied it to great lengths, and I have found 12 to 18 cases are best. In regard to the quality control issues Tim has experienced, I have not seen the same. I did not have one noticeably damaged card this year from Heritage.
Checklist Value
Tim (3)
Topps did another bait and switch and released a checklist different from the sell sheet (no Ryan Howard/Sparky Anderson dual auto, for example). The auto checklist is weak, and the relic checklist, considering all the old timers Topps now has signed, is also weak, Mickey Mantle notwithstanding. But to be fair, this is not a product about big hits. And Topps did include some super rare SP cards.
Brent (5)
I agree that the checklist is weak this year, the weakest it has ever been, but I do not agree with the “bait and switch” comment. Tim mentioned one card, and that is the only card in the checklist that has not been pulled. But back to the checklist; it is beyond weak. Last year there were 72 jersey and bat relics in the single player set, which included some nice, although rare, retired players that commanded premium prices. This year there are 24, and none are very tough to pull; in addition, the players that are included are not the greatest, except for the Red Sox players and Manny Ramirez. Regardless, the checklist is very weak. The single player autograph checklist is also smaller than years past. Not one big retired name was included. The checklist is much stronger in the dual autographs, dual relics and flashback stadium seat sets. They do include retired legends, and with the lowered production of the base set, they are not impossible to pull. I would give the master set checklist high marks, but as far as the hits, Tim is correct that it is very weak. But even a weak Heritage checklist can lead to some nice coin for some minor or no name players. And where are all those deceased HOF legends that Topps recently acquired the rights to? Not even a subset for some of them, or variations in the base set like with Topps Series 1? I realize that it is not part of Heritage's history to include the older players in the base set, but they could have made very interesting subsets or rare SPs.
Content Value
Tim
Content Value -- box (3)
Content Value -- case (6)
Content Value -- multiple cases (8)
Heritage is priced relatively low, but opening an individual box or two is not the way to go for content value. Autos run about one per case, and most of the other one-per-box "hits" are $1-$2 relics. The value in Heritage is in the base sets, SPs, chromes and parallels.
Brent
Content Value -- box (2)
Content Value -- case (5)
Content Value -- multiple cases (9)
Tim is dead on about the box value of this product. Sure they are neat cards and the price point is inexpensive compared to the average product, but anyone who opens a lone box will end up mostly disappointed unless they pull a monster hit. There is not even a hit/SP/insert in every pack. You are not able to come close to a base set. The autographs are also tough, and the ad panel box toppers don't add a whole bunch of value as some past toppers have. As far as Heritage by the case, it is a relatively inexpensive case, but again, you may only receive one big hit, so it better be a good one. (Luckily, most Heritage hits are better than in an average product.) Again, with one case, you may put together a master set with inserts but only with perfect collation. With multiple cases is where Heritage’s value is unsurpassed (with the exception of perhaps Allen & Ginter). A breaker will not only get several master sets and rare pulls to add value but also will be able to put together tougher sets of relics, box toppers, chromes and possibly even refractors. Some of these items are rarely seen in complete sets and add tremendous value. Plus the rarer pulls are worth more than would be expected because of the Heritage brand. One word of caution about large breaks: While the value does increase with multiple cases, there is a breaking point. Eventually too many cases are just that: too many cases. I learned this three years ago when busting 33 cases. Eventually, the hits and sets decline in the secondary market after release, yet I still paid the same for each case. So while the first 15 cases may have produced nice sales of sets and pulls, those same sets and pulls did not result in the same nice sales after a certain time period. It is best to wait for the case price to drop (if it does) and go back and pick it up cheaper to continue breaking, because sets and SPs sell well for months, especially as baseball season begins and the number of low and midrange releases drops.
Overall Review
Tim (7)
It's hard to give this product too low of a rating because of the consistent popularity and truly nostalgic feel it brings to the table each year. A "good" year would get a rating of 10; an average year would get a rating of 8 or 9, and a "bad" year would get a 6 or 7 from me. This year's quality control issues have left me cold, but the overall beauty of the cards themselves counts for a lot, too.
Brent (8)
It is hard to knock the overall product as Tim stated. It is one of the top moneymakers for large case breakers each year. And even with a weaker checklist this year, it will still do quite well. The weaker checklist is the only reason the scores are lower this year. With Topps cutting back on production because of fewer orders, it has messed with the checklist a little; however, it also has some positives. Besides less supply of the product, the odds also improved from recent years, resulting in chromes, refractors and big hits coming more often. With Heritage there is just so much offered: base, SPs, inserts, chromes, refractors, box toppers, autographs, relics, great classic design, bright colors, excitement of building a complete master set, HOF and retired players, rare SP variations and, of course, gum.
Want to check out Tim and Brent's Heritage auctions? Click on the following links!:
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