Tag Archives: basketball

Review: 2012 Panini Golden Age Baseball

  By Sports Card Blog | January 11, 2013 - 11:13 am | ,
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Panini’s answer to Allen & Ginter and Champions is here with Golden Age. Like those other products, this isn’t necessarily a baseball product per se, as it does have several non-baseball cards in it, but the majority of cards do have baseball subjects. Each box contains one autograph and one memorabilia card, with autographs and memorabilia spanning the entire spectrum of the product. From baseball players to celebrities and historical events, this product has a lot of features that pay homage to the Golden Age of baseball and history. Let’s see what we got:

 Design:

4 and half stars blue

Panini has showcased that they are very creative when it comes to creating designs that look like they came from the early part of the 20th century. Cooperstown was a great example and now Golden Age continues that trend. The cards look like they came from an age long ago, perhaps a Golden Age. The card design does utilize light colors which adds to the look of an old time set. Paying homage to earlier sets as well, you can find stand ups in the product at a couple per box. Really, the only thing that I didn’t care too much about were the box toppers. Now I love box toppers and pennants are a cool idea, but they just look and feel cheap. I know they were based off a product from 1916, but they don’t feel like it. Eh, could of been better.

Checklist:

4 stars blueBeing a Ginter/Champions like product, you can find a ton of different celebrities of the past and players from multiple sports in this product. There is more baseball than the rest which is good. But the real issue I have is the lack of actual sports memorabilia and autographs. I know you can find celebrity items in other products, but Panini also has their Americana line for those types of cards. I would have like to have had at least one baseball related hit in my review box, which I didn’t get. It’s a bit too much like Americana with baseball cards added. Oh, and don’t forget all the beautiful ON CARD autographs found in this product. Makes them look that much better.

Value:

4 and half stars blue DA Card World is currently selling this product for $72 a box. Actually, that is not a terrible deal at all compared with the rest of the products out there. It actually runs about the same price as Americana with baseball cards. With two hits in a box, it’s not a terrible price and I think it has some value if you can get some of the bigger celebrity, historical, or baseball hits. My hits weren’t fabulous, but female celebrities tend to do better on the secondary market in trading card products so I wouldn’t be surprised if these did well. At a price of $72, you can afford to give this product a shot and try and build a pretty robust set at the same time.

Overall:

4 and half stars blue

Overall, this product is exactly what you would imagine it to be. Panini’s twist on Ginter or Champions with a little bit of Americana in it. If you aren’t into those types of baseball products put out, than this product isn’t for you. I wasn’t even able to pull a baseball player related hit from the product so if that is what you are looking for, it’s not for you either. However, it is a product that is filled with multiple sports figures and major American personalities from the early to mid 1900s. It is a great look at the past and pays homage to the celebrities and trading card industry. Worth the money for a box? If you’re into it, definitely go for it.

A big thank you goes out to Panini America for providing this product for review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

You can find the full checklist including all the SP (short print) information over at Cardboard Connection.

And here’s what we pulled from the box…

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Review: 2012-13 Panini Totally Certified Basketball

  By Sports Card Blog | December 16, 2012 - 10:12 am | ,
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Totally Certified? Yes, it has returned again with the bright colors and all the hits you could ask for in one box. The parallels have returned as well, featuring some of the most collectible non-auto/memorabilia cards in the business today. Basketball collectors are unlike a lot of other collectors in that they go ga-ga for low numbered parallels. Panini fills every void with this product at multiple hits per box and multiple parallels. Let’s see what we got:

Design:4 stars blue

Not a ton has changed since the last installment of this product, but the design is still a solid one. The starburst style of design returns, but it feels like it is more…shiny than the last time this product came out. I really liked the more of a matte feel on the last ones as foilboard isn’t the answer to everything. I do really like the slight changes in the parallels as well. Very sharp looking and easy to distinguish. I just think there are enough foilboard products out there that this could use a change of direction. The colors are still bold and bright however which looks nice with the player featured. The design on the rookie autographs I can’t quite put my finger on them, it looks like it’s meant for a sticker autograph but they were on-card…kinda strange. But all together, a solid design.

Checklist:4 stars blue

The checklist is similar to the last go around as well, but this time I’m guessing there are just going to be more rookie signatures because of the double rookie class. It’s something I’m not a fan of, but probably will have to get used to for the rest of the season. In order to fit all of them in, you have to take out something. Oh well. The rest of the product is again filled with veterans and legends alike, like the sweet Lakers patch we pulled. You’ll have to check the video for that.

Value:4 stars blue

Value is again a little rough, but what makes up for it the possibility for some high valued parallels and some great rookie autographs. This is a tough product to judge because while it does have some plain jerseys in it, the autographs and parallels make it hit or miss as well. While we didn’t hit any low parallels, we did hit a low rookie parallel autograph, numbered to 15. The patch was nice as well from a Lakers old timer. It’s just trying to fill out everything else that makes this product difficult to judge when you purchase it for $120 at DA Card World.

Overall:4 stars blue

Overall, the dynamics of the product really hasn’t changed much since the last time it came out, and that is a bit disappointing. I do slightly miss the rookie/jersey autographs that all the rookies were featured as and I still wish the hit content was a bit better. The parallels though continue to shine, and that was a pleasant surprise last time around. I’m glad to see that trend continue in products like this that needed that extra bit of value.

Thanks to Panini America for providing this box to review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can find the full checklist of this product over at the Cardboard Connection.

Check out the video to see our sweet hits.

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Review: 2012-13 Panini Prizm Basketball

  By Sports Card Blog | December 13, 2012 - 9:19 am | ,
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2012-13 Panini Prizm is the newest product from the Panini basketball team that features a “chrome” like appearance with the shine and etching that makes a product exciting to go through. Prizm is the perfect name for the product and it looks to be a great new addition. Each box contains 2 autographs and contains some of the new Prizm parallels, or Prizmatics as I call them. Want to see what you can pull in a box? Well look no further.

Design: 4 and half stars blue

The design on this product is a design style that will last a long time for this product. The look of the etchings throughout the cards is something you normally only see in another specific product that is a bit similar. The same with the coating, although I much prefer this coating than that of the competitors. It doesn’t smell, it doesn’t warp the cards to bending (at least not yet) and it has a much smoother, almost glass like feel to them. The design is practically flawless. My only issue is that it is possibly TOO shiny or reflective. It’s really a spectacular level of reflectiveness on the product. But the “Prizms” as they call it, “Prizmatics” for myself, are beautiful all the way from the regulars to the golds. Bravo.

Checklist:4 and half stars blue

The checklist sort of surprised me. 300 total cards. With Panini coming out with their “staple” brand later this year, the one where you want to build the sets and everything, was this really necessary? I think this SHOULD be the flagship brand as it is that good and the set up is that good as well. A product featured with rookies, stars, and legends of the game. A little bit of everything for everyone. The autographed rookie checklist was interesting, and I would like to see more veteran autographs but the double rookie class probably put a damper on that. Either way, it’s what you want and what you’d expect.

Value:4 stars blue

The value is definitely there in this product. Could it be better? Absolutely. Right now you can find the product for $100 at DA Card World. Some of the highlights include some of the top rookie autographs, superstar autographs, and the “Prizmatic” cards. The parallels are selling quite well on the secondary market, especially the gold prizms. That raises a question though, why not more colors? Let’s use ROY G. BIV here and get all sorts of colors of parallels. Putting together a rainbow is always fun, but the lower numbered cards always add a bit of value. Imagine a gold prizm auto of Kyrie Irving…sweet right? Parallel the autographed cards more than just the regular parallel to 25. I would love to see some additions to the product that include some more color! It would break up that bit of monotony with just a lot of really silvery and shiny cards.

Overall:4 and half stars blue

Overall, Panini Prizm is going to be the breakout hit and maybe the basketball product of the year from the company. The design is beautifully done, and many argue better than that of it’s competitors. The checklist is expansive and good enough to build sets and the perfect number of inserts for a product this size. The parallels are a great addition to value, but I’d like to see a bit more in the veteran side, but the rookie class makes that difficult with “double rookies” from Panini. Either way though, I REALLY look forward to seeing this product next year.

Thanks to Panini for providing this product for review. You can find them online at their official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook. Give them a shout.

You can find the full checklist over at Cardboard Connection.

Below is the video from the product break. Let me know what you think of the product. And make sure you subscribed on YouTube, I need more subscribers over there!

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Review: 2012-13 Panini Threads Basketball

  By Sports Card Blog | November 27, 2012 - 5:58 pm | ,
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2012-13 Panini Threads basketball is back after a year off and it looks like that year has paid off with a solid product all around this year. This year features the double rookie class with a ton of rookies autographs, as well a nice selection of inserts and game used cards. You should get about 3 autographs and 1 memorabilia card per box, let’s see what we pulled.

Design:

The design for threads this year is pretty solid. It actually has kind of a SP Authentic feel to them, with a Panini twist with the foil letters. Personally, the one thing I don’t like about the design is the foil lettering. I think it takes away from the rest of the card. Maybe it’s the color chosen? I don’t think it works with the rest of the card. As far as the inserts go, the Photoshop work on the photos and the design on the inserts are great. It adds a nice feel to the imagery, something you don’t see a lot of in cards. It’s not new, just under utilized. The die-cut jersey cards are cool, and I know there are autographed parallels of those, but I would just stick with the plain jersey style cards. The hit or miss addition is the wood stock autographed cards. Signed on card, they look and feel pretty cool. The only issue with some of them is the cut on the card, see what I mean below.

Checklist:

This whole season is going to be a rookie laden checklist in all the products due to the double rookie season. This is both good and bad. Kyrie Irving and some of the standouts from last season get their due, this strong new class has some great additions, but you’re probably going to find more filler this year as well. Threads does just that. But as Panini always does, there is a great group of retired and legends in the product as well with the inserts and some of the autographs. That’s something you can’t really complain about.

Value:

You’ll be able to find this product for about $100 at DA Card World. With the rookie heavy autograph checklist and not much else in terms of value, it’s still a tough sell even with three autographs. It’s not a bad correlation from hits/price, but I still think it’s a bit high. $80-$90 feels better to me if I were to buy this product. I still feel like if you want to price a box that high, more veteran autograph content should be inside. 2 rookies and 1 veteran auto? $100 sounds better. Maybe it’s just me…what do you think about guaranteeing veteran autographs?

Overall:

Overall, Threads is a solid product from Panini. The design and checklist are definitely a lot better than they have been in the past. The double rookie checklist means there are more autographs, but it could also cause an issue with the value of the cards. Should guaranteeing at least 1 veteran autograph in a product help you pay an extra $10-$20 for a box? That’s something I’d like to think about, it will probably end up in a post eventually.

Thanks to Panini for providing this box for review. You can find them online at their website, blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can see the full checklist of this product over at the Cardboard Connection.

Still having trouble uploading photos, so check out the video in the mean time…

 

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Panini Continues Their Exclusive Deal For NBA Trading Cards

  By Sports Card Blog | October 29, 2012 - 6:09 pm |
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Just announced within the last couple of hours, Panini America has extended their exclusive deal as the sole company to provide NBA basketball cards to collectors out there in a new multi-year agreement.

Most of the responses on the Twitterverse have been positive, with several congratulatory messages to the only company to have a presence in all four major sports along with FIFA and several entertainment ventures. Even Kobe Bryant got in on the announcement where he stated, “[Panini] brings trading cards back to having a cool factor” and “Panini will be on the cutting edge of what they do.”

Personally as a collector, I’m not a huge fan of exclusive deals because I like the variety of products. I say the same thing when it comes to baseball cards. On a plus note, there are less rookie autographs out there so it helps with the value a bit. Did you see the Kyrie Irving autographs earlier this season on eBay? Wow. Or the Jeremy Lins last year? Two very good examples on how it shapes the market. As a business move, it’s a great move for Panini in securing those rights, so kudos on that. And with the expansion of products into China, Panini is moving into a strong Asian market for basketball collectibles.

Panini is here to stay in the NBA trading card arena. For more information on the deal visit their official blog.

 

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