Recently, it came out that In The Game made a huge mistake with their 2010-11 Between the Pipes Masked Men III set, specifically the emerald versions. There are supposed to be 340 of each emerald version, but each emerald card has "1/1" written on the back.
Here's some of what Dr. Price of ITG had to say on his blog:
"There is an explanation for this event but not an excuse. The card went through the normal proofing process that all our cards do before they are released and no one caught the small 1/1 designation. Probably because they were not looking for it. There never was supposed to be a 1/1 Masked Men III card in the product."
"I know that there still will be issues to deal with. We made a mistake for which we are truly sorry and apologize profusely."
First of all, it's nice to see that ITG came out and let collectors know about the mistake, even if it was just before the product went live.
While that's all well and good, it still doesn't help the problem we as collectors are going to deal with on the secondary market with all of these illegitimate 1/1's out there.
Hopefully, now that this information is out there, nobody will be ripped off by sellers still claiming these are actually real 1/1's.
All that being said, do you think collectors would pay a premium for these over any other card similarly numbered (i.e. /340), just because of the novelty factor? I definitely want a Jimmy Howard "1/1" emerald version for my collection just for the novelty of it.
I appreciate the fact that they put the information out there as soon as they could instead of waiting and delaying a response.
ReplyDeleteThe novelty factor may garner a minor price increase, but it shouldn't be anything obscene.
Unfortunately, there are some who have already overpaid.
ReplyDeletesome ebay realized prices include a Carey Price emerald for $61 and a Tuukka Rask for $31.
Not much one can do but try and get the word out.
It's a real tough one for ITG (who I feel takes great pride in their practices).