2015 Traders review

Brendan_B

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Hi folks,

I had a spare half hour and thought I would throw together a quick review on 15 Traders. I would love to hear some replies and get some chat happening on this forum again!

2015 Traders Review

Commons -
I like the downsizing of the commons in series 1 and the general appearance. I am not an IP collector but would imagine the lighter backgrounds used would make the signatures stand out more. I would like to see each team set be 9 in total including the logo with the logo numbered so that it would appear in the center of the page. This would allow 17 player cards over the two releases which could basically be your top 17. I wouldn't mind the odd subset either like Dynamic had, something to mix up the commons!

Parallels - Like everyone else I think having 2 varieties of these in the one release using the same image is ordinary. I understand the need for a Traders release to be perceived as being 'value for money' but I would prefer getting rid of silver parallels and just having the blacks with a different image and the club logo.

Faces of the Game - I am not a fan of these at all. They look very plain, basically another common and seem to have been placed in the release just to bulk up the numbers. The one thing going for the FOTG is the panel on the rear for a signature. Move this onto the front of the card and it would almost be like the old Scanlens and have a 'retro' feel to it.

Season to Remember - I quite like this set. It is very low end and relatively cheap to complete and looks quite good. I am glad that it is numbered to 45 this year so it fits perfectly in 5 x 9 pocket sleeves. There are some good names and the odd card for the lower profile players also. Instead of the Academic TOTY and awards maybe they should have had Club Players of the Year.

Pieces of the Puzzle - I think these are another very plain looking card and good have been dressed up a little bit more considering they are only 3 per box. I like the puzzle concept and again it gives a nostalgic feel to the set just like the old Scanlens releases.

Thunder & Lightning - These are a nice looking card however I believe they are let down by the symbol just above the 'Thunder & Lightning'. This just looks quite cheap to me and I think that the cards would have looked much better without this symbol.

Galactic Stars - I can take or leave these. I think that the 15 Traders Galactic Stars look a bit better than 14 Traders and I understand that this kind of card is targeted at a younger audience. The header cards for these are a great concept and I am sure that all together they look quite good. In terms of value for money the album GS are a great idea and really make ti worthwhile buying a couple of folders.

Retirements - These are an excellent looking card. My biggest concern is how often they come out of the packets damaged. This release was tarnished by being 1:9 in 13 Traders. If they had started at 1:72 I think they would maintain a much more consistent price. I am happy for these to be in future releases as it allows players who might not normally get an insert card a half decent one.

Club Leaders - I am a big fan of these. They are a great looking card, very clean appearance and the silver logo looks excellent. My only issue with this release was that every card should have been the 2015 Captain. These might also have been better at 1:108 like the Indigenous cards from 14 Traders.

Dynamic Duos - These are a good concept and are still fetching top $$ considering they are unsigned. I think this would have been better had they been say 1:6 boxes and reflected every club.

Legends Signatures - I love these cards! It is nice to have some high end signatures to chase in a series 1 release and so far the player selection has been quite good. I would like to have seen the player selection stay in line with 13 Traders where they went for a legend from yesteryear and then a more modern legend.


Overall I think this release gets better by the year. It is very difficult for the master set collector (there doesn't seem to be many left) but the value for money, availability and quality are good. I had many damaged cards from 14 Traders but there seems to be far fewer this year.

Please feel free to agree, disagree, add your own opinions below.

Bring on 15 Elite!
 
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Great review and spot on I think!
Good for kids but still some nice cards that yet again enticed me to buy more than my fair share.
If I was smart I would have just got the legends here or on ebay but I just like busting packs too much!
 
Good write up, its always nice to see people posting reviews like this!

I think overall its not a bad low end release.

There are a couple of my thoughts:

1) I would have probably capped the larger insert sets at 32 cards each (2 per team) which would have made the sets still a good size but more attainable.

2) I would have definitely had the dynamic duos as one per team. Adds a lot more value (would be easier to pull) and something tough for ALL team collectors to chase.

3) One thing I think could be improved is marketing the release by the NRL. Not a lot of fanfare about it initially, especially in comparison to the micro figures which the NRL plug quite a bit. The 2 cases which we were able to give away here (thanks to ESP) seem to have created a bit of buzz around the product again here.

4) A lot of people are saving up for Elite which is no doubt putting pressure on sales of Powerplay and Traders. I think this is why we may not hear too much about Elite for a while. Lets hope Elite can deliver on a lot of the early hype we are hearing!
 
Couldn't have said it any better, only thing that I would bring up is the reason the club leaders weren't all captains was due to some teams naming there captain's not until this year (they managed to get jake friend correct) which is too late to change
 
Couldn't have said it any better, only thing that I would bring up is the reason the club leaders weren't all captains was due to some teams naming there captain's not until this year (they managed to get jake friend correct) which is too late to change
They actually managed to get Inglis (before the Arizona incident and despite Sutton winning us the comp), Gidley, Mannah, Creagh, Myles and I think Hodges correct as well. I also believe Scott is co-captain.
 
Hi folks,

I had a spare half hour and thought I would throw together a quick review on 15 Traders. I would love to hear some replies and get some chat happening on this forum again!

2015 Traders Review

Commons -
I like the downsizing of the commons in series 1 and the general appearance. I am not an IP collector but would imagine the lighter backgrounds used would make the signatures stand out more. I would like to see each team set be 9 in total including the logo with the logo numbered so that it would appear in the center of the page. This would allow 17 player cards over the two releases which could basically be your top 17. I wouldn't mind the odd subset either like Dynamic had, something to mix up the commons!

Parallels - Like everyone else I think having 2 varieties of these in the one release using the same image is ordinary. I understand the need for a Traders release to be perceived as being 'value for money' but I would prefer getting rid of silver parallels and just having the blacks with a different image and the club logo.

Faces of the Game - I am not a fan of these at all. They look very plain, basically another common and seem to have been placed in the release just to bulk up the numbers. The one thing going for the FOTG is the panel on the rear for a signature. Move this onto the front of the card and it would almost be like the old Scanlens and have a 'retro' feel to it.

Season to Remember - I quite like this set. It is very low end and relatively cheap to complete and looks quite good. I am glad that it is numbered to 45 this year so it fits perfectly in 5 x 9 pocket sleeves. There are some good names and the odd card for the lower profile players also. Instead of the Academic TOTY and awards maybe they should have had Club Players of the Year.

Pieces of the Puzzle - I think these are another very plain looking card and good have been dressed up a little bit more considering they are only 3 per box. I like the puzzle concept and again it gives a nostalgic feel to the set just like the old Scanlens releases.

Thunder & Lightning - These are a nice looking card however I believe they are let down by the symbol just above the 'Thunder & Lightning'. This just looks quite cheap to me and I think that the cards would have looked much better without this symbol.

Galactic Stars - I can take or leave these. I think that the 15 Traders Galactic Stars look a bit better than 14 Traders and I understand that this kind of card is targeted at a younger audience. The header cards for these are a great concept and I am sure that all together they look quite good. In terms of value for money the album GS are a great idea and really make ti worthwhile buying a couple of folders.

Retirements - These are an excellent looking card. My biggest concern is how often they come out of the packets damaged. This release was tarnished by being 1:9 in 13 Traders. If they had started at 1:72 I think they would maintain a much more consistent price. I am happy for these to be in future releases as it allows players who might not normally get an insert card a half decent one.

Club Leaders - I am a big fan of these. They are a great looking card, very clean appearance and the silver logo looks excellent. My only issue with this release was that every card should have been the 2015 Captain. These might also have been better at 1:108 like the Indigenous cards from 14 Traders.

Dynamic Duos - These are a good concept and are still fetching top $$ considering they are unsigned. I think this would have been better had they been say 1:6 boxes and reflected every club.

Legends Signatures - I love these cards! It is nice to have some high end signatures to chase in a series 1 release and so far the player selection has been quite good. I would like to have seen the player selection stay in line with 13 Traders where they went for a legend from yesteryear and then a more modern legend.


Overall I think this release gets better by the year. It is very difficult for the master set collector (there doesn't seem to be many left) but the value for money, availability and quality are good. I had many damaged cards from 14 Traders but there seems to be far fewer this year.

Please feel free to agree, disagree, add your own opinions below.

Bring on 15 Elite!

I agree with pretty much all of this.
Like the retro Puzzle, Retirements, Leaders, 9-card base set and Legends.
Too many parallels.
Can take or leave the Season to Remember, Galactic Heroes and Dynamic Duos.
Thought the Faces of the Game could have been more interesting with non-players: coaches, famous fans, Ronnie Palmer...
I like the Thunder & Lightning idea, but compared to Fast & Furious or Master & Apprentice they don't look as good.
 
One thing I take out of Brendan's review is that there are too many cards.........another thing we, as collectors, should all be worried about is that ESP product is not holding its value. There is still a hell of a lot of traders from all years left unsold and I think Elite will go the same way.
 
This is the first time i have actually started to collect since i was at school so i really dont know what im talking about but... I think the teams should definately have the logo in the middle as it doesnt look right the further you go along. The parrallel and special parallel arn't needed i don't think. Delete the plain parallels its just annoying. Like the puzzle pieces and thunder and lightning.
Has anyone actually tried to get the whole set. Im maybe 90% the way there but wow there is a lot to collect and the $$$ are adding up. Im keen to try elite also but dont know if i will have the bankroll to do both.
 
I'm not a fan of the series. None of the traders since their release.

I don't like landscape layout cards, at all. So the retirements & the duos were a miss for me. The duos esp. Not a very good design.... AND. Put me back $$$.

I still feel like there is a flooding of cards. I'd prefer the two releases.

First release.
18 card team
3 card team insert.
2 card team insert.
1 card team insert.

Second release.
9 card team set (with logo)
3 card insert.
2 card insert.
1 card insert.

The 1 card insert should be a signature card. Even if the first series was a young gun. Second series was a legend/league sensation. Even inserts. Everyone should get a hit. And VISUALLY PLEASING sets. I can't stamd uneven inserts.... Sets my OCD off...

Not looking forward to future releases. At all.

M
 
I'm not a fan of the series. None of the traders since their release.

I don't like landscape layout cards, at all. So the retirements & the duos were a miss for me. The duos esp. Not a very good design.... AND. Put me back $$$.

I still feel like there is a flooding of cards. I'd prefer the two releases.

First release.
18 card team
3 card team insert.
2 card team insert.
1 card team insert.

Second release.
9 card team set (with logo)
3 card insert.
2 card insert.
1 card insert.

The 1 card insert should be a signature card. Even if the first series was a young gun. Second series was a legend/league sensation. Even inserts. Everyone should get a hit. And VISUALLY PLEASING sets. I can't stamd uneven inserts.... Sets my OCD off...

Not looking forward to future releases. At all.

M

You will just have to wait for the Premiers Set at the end of the season, I have a feeling it will feature a team in your favour this year ;-)
 
I've learnt to take each game as it comes with the cowboys. Even if they didn't make the top 8, I'd be happy as for them. They've done so well this year!

M
 
I've learnt to take each game as it comes with the cowboys. Even if they didn't make the top 8, I'd be happy as for them. They've done so well this year!

M

It's a great run they're on, even if it doesn't lead to a premiership ...I'd be enjoying the hell out of it if it was the Knights doing that!
 
Take it from me (hey - that was a great song back in the day) - having supported a team that didn't make the finals between 1990 and 2006, and cheered every single moment of a final round game at Shark Park in 2005 hoping to hand off the wooden spoon to a lowly Knights outfit, you take each and every week as it comes...even every set of six.

Hell, even with a decent team in 2012-2014 and even a Premiership in 2014, I still don't ever, EVER let myself get excited.

Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha.
 
Hi folks,

2015 Traders Review
I am a Master Set Collector and it seems one of the few that are left. While the majority of cards are quite nice there are just too many these days. The cards in the current series I am not a fan of are the Parallels and Faces of the Game.

I like most people agree with you and feel the 2 levels of parallels is overkill, especially given it is the same pic. At the very least make it a "non-parallel" (being a different pic it is no longer a parallel) buy using different jersey's the commons can be home jersey's, silver's away jersey's and black's alternate jersey's ie Anzac, Women in League, Heritage, Indigenous etc. I have heard a number of people say it is about only having to pay for the one player image but surely something can be sorted out.

Faces of the Game I also feel was an insert for the sake of an insert. One of the inserts I liked last year but felt a little let down by was the milestone cards in that they only used 1 player per club. I feel any player that made a milestone moment should have received a card. Team collector's may complain because they didn't get as many cards this year as other team collectors but over the long term it should even out as you may get 1 one year but 3-4 the next. While the team collector that got 3-4 this year may only get 1 the following year.

All the other cards are quite nice don't quite understand Thunder & Lightning. Master and Apprentice made a bit of sense a senior player and a junior. I like the cards just not too sure what makes a player Thunder and another Lightning. Maybe someone here can clear it up.

One other thing cards 161 & 162 felt a bit wasted. I think they could have put an insert checklist. As they currently stand these cards seemed to be cards just to ensure a 9 pocket page was filled for anyone who held a complete base set.

All in all not a bad release.
 
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My thoughts were that Thunder resembled a big rumbling / destructive forward and lightning was a speedy/agile outside back. I liked this card aside from that 'cartoon' like image of the Thunder cloud in the lower middle of the card.
 
One thing I take out of Brendan's review is that there are too many cards.........another thing we, as collectors, should all be worried about is that ESP product is not holding its value. There is still a hell of a lot of traders from all years left unsold and I think Elite will go the same way.
In my opinion I think the reason it is not holding its value is because there are so many cards people are becoming team collector's so they are chasing fewer cards and different cards to other team collector's.
This series if my maths is right was 697 cards. If your a team collector it is about 40-45 (Retirements, Season to Remember, Dynamic Duo and Legends vary it a little bit). So unless you were chasing the Dynamic Duos and Legends you could be done in a week and sit back and save for Elite.

I like Noark-99 idea on the set size and it also might make people more willing to take on the challenge of going for a Master Set which could help the product hold its value as there will be more people chasing the same cards for a longer period of time.
18 card team
3 card team insert.
2 card team insert.
1 card team insert.
M
Only my thoughts.
 
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