I thought I would post a review on the new 2013 NRL Traders release from ESP which was released to the market today. This is ESP’s first mainstream release after the introductory Limited Edition set released late last year.
I purchased a box of 2013 NRL Traders through a local newsagency who said that they had sold all of their allocated sealed boxes, aside from 4 boxes used for loose packs. I also purchased another 9 packs from the local BP Service Station (from 2 open boxes) on the way home from work.
My first impressions were that the base cards look good with a nice design based on the team colours. For my team the Panthers, there were a couple of players included who hadn't been part of previous releases over the past few years which was good to see.
For the one per pack parallels I have to say really like them. I think this may be the set I chase after. They are a base card with a refractor/atomic refractor type finish.
Out of my box I pulled 4 Retirements Cards (Lowe, Hornby, Burt & Civoniceva), 2 Chart Toppers (Benji Marshall, Anthony Minichiello) and the 1999 Melbourne Premiers card which ironically was the first ever Grand Final I attended.
The Retirements cards look amazing! Very well designed and the gold foil really stands out. The Chart Toppers and the Premiership cards have a nice shiny chrome look to them.
Out of the additional packs (from different boxes) I did very well, I pulled 2 x Scott Geddes and 1 Aaron Payne Retirements card along with a Feleti Mateo Chart Toppers.
Overall it was a fun break, I pulled some nice cards for my personal collection and some cards I can trade for other cards I need.
What I think works:
Happy to hear your thoughts on this (and be kind)!
Cheers
Matt
I purchased a box of 2013 NRL Traders through a local newsagency who said that they had sold all of their allocated sealed boxes, aside from 4 boxes used for loose packs. I also purchased another 9 packs from the local BP Service Station (from 2 open boxes) on the way home from work.
My first impressions were that the base cards look good with a nice design based on the team colours. For my team the Panthers, there were a couple of players included who hadn't been part of previous releases over the past few years which was good to see.
For the one per pack parallels I have to say really like them. I think this may be the set I chase after. They are a base card with a refractor/atomic refractor type finish.
Out of my box I pulled 4 Retirements Cards (Lowe, Hornby, Burt & Civoniceva), 2 Chart Toppers (Benji Marshall, Anthony Minichiello) and the 1999 Melbourne Premiers card which ironically was the first ever Grand Final I attended.
The Retirements cards look amazing! Very well designed and the gold foil really stands out. The Chart Toppers and the Premiership cards have a nice shiny chrome look to them.
Out of the additional packs (from different boxes) I did very well, I pulled 2 x Scott Geddes and 1 Aaron Payne Retirements card along with a Feleti Mateo Chart Toppers.
Overall it was a fun break, I pulled some nice cards for my personal collection and some cards I can trade for other cards I need.
What I think works:
- First and foremost – Availability! It is great for us collectors to be able to go into almost any newsagent, service station, retail outlet and find boxes, starter packs, albums etc. Previously you may have come across some random places that sell loose packs, but to have them available in lots of different places is great (possibly not for my wallet). It’s clear that ESP knows how to get its products into the market.
- The Design. A majority of these cards are visually appealing and although I didn't pull one, the Young Guns cards are well designed with enough space to highlight the signatures on the card.
- Having just seen a Legends Auto posted here on Ozcardtrader...WOW!
- The Parallels. I kind of like them.
- Numbering. This was probably the biggest let down for me that the Young Guns aren't numbered. While its been confirmed that the print run on these cards is 260 cards per player, its the little things like this that can potentially make or break a release.
- Ratios/Value. Overall the only change I would have like to have seen was the Young Guns be reduced to 1:72 and the premiership cards increased to 1:72 packs. This gives you either a box with a signature or a box with a Premiership card. Both of these would be serially numbered. I don't mind that the legends cards are extremely hard to pull that's what gives them their value, but to get people to keep coming back and buying packs for those harder to find cards I believe there is too much of a gap between a 1:36 and a 1:210 insert.
- Insert set sizes. The one thing that may stop me buying more packs is the size of the insert sets. The Retirements cards look great but after busting a box and 9 extra packs, I am 75% of the way to a full set. For the Chart Toppers I'm a third of the way there. If the insert sets have 20-30 cards in them, there is a greater likelihood of me pulling something I don't have from any new packs I am buying, The premiership cards tend to appeal more to the collectors of the specific winning teams, so for me I would rather buy the one card I am after (Panthers) than try busting more packs for the cards I need.
- Protection of the Case cards. Reports are that people are finding these damaged when they open their cases. A simple top loader would fix this.
- Release information. The thing that a lot of people seem to be upset by is the lack of key information which was only released in the last day or so before the cards hit the market. A lot of people went into this release blind about what was going to be included and there have been some people second guessing their choice to buy cases. What would be great to see is the checklist/release info/ratios put out at least a few weeks prior to the release. This would help all collectors.
Happy to hear your thoughts on this (and be kind)!
Cheers
Matt
the Chart toppers for some reason remind me of the Telegraph foil cards though?????? i dont know why they just do.
