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When I first heard of the idea of inserting graded cards in packs I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. While I don't send many cards in for grading I do like seeing how valuable a card can be just because it's sealed in a holder with a number on it. I figured the general fun of gambling on a pack of cards would be even better if you knew that one of the cards was going to be graded. Then came Collector's Edge Graded. If you haven't read that feature then please check it out before you read on.
Following the Edge Graded disaster I received many emails and on a couple occasions I promised that when the next product with graded cards made its debut I would take a good, non-biased look. Here comes Donruss Preferred QBC. Playoff has been one of my favorite brands in recent years because they have been quick to jump on an idea and push it to the limit. While they weren't the first company to make memorabilia cards they were quick to take the idea to a new level with some products having hundreds of different jersey cards.
Playoff has joined forces with Beckett Grading to get into the graded card per pack game with Donruss Preferred QBC. This product is actually quite different then Edge Graded, but each share a pack price of between $20 and $25 for one graded card and a few (4 in the case of Preferred) non-graded cards. The only other common ground is that both go a long way to proving the point that graded cards are not enough to make a bad product good.
In order to be fair I will
say that Donruss Preferred QBC would not be a terrible product if it was $2.99
per pack for five ungraded cards. It wouldn't be great, but as with most
Playoff sets the inclusion of some cool autographs and game worn cards would
help rescue it from the bargain box table. The problem starts with three
letters, QBC. For those who don't know, it stands for Quarterback Club
which is one interesting (and apparently exclusive) organization. While
not limited to just quarterbacks, the club is also living in the past. No
rookies were allowed in this season, but you won't have any problem stocking up
on cards of past hobby disappointments Bernie Kosar or Jim Everett.
In addition to the odd checklist is the fact that the set is somewhat boring. Playoff has already released two or three sets this season with better players and cooler inserts, not to mention lots of rookies. If they wanted to try out the graded card idea then they would have been smart to use one of their Playoff branded products (Contenders could be a good choice).
The problems really don't stop with just poor player selection and no
rookie cards. As I pulled up to my local comic & card shop, Fred the
mailman (who not only drops off the mail, but buys a few packs every day) was
coming out with this amazing card up on the left. It is a redemption for a
graded Junior Seau autograph card that came sealed inside a BGS holder!
You have to break it out of the holder so you can fill it out and send it
in. We all hate redemptions, but this has to be one of the dumbest ones
I've ever seen. I'm just waiting to hear from the first person to injure
themselves with a hammer or chisel trying to free their precious redemption
card.
Maybe the most telling story is in the graded cards themselves. Playoff decided to have Beckett grade a percentage of each type of card in the set. This idea sounded great when I first heard it, but once again selling prices are telling a different story. No one is getting excited about the grades. I have yet to see or hear of a 10, but a number of 9.5's have hit Ebay and the prices are just as unimpressive as Edge Graded. Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and John Elway cards in BGS 9.5 Gem Mint selling for between $20 and $25 is not good when the packs cost that amount.
I was sure that the graded insert cards would make the difference, but even that's not the case. While only 20% of the autographs and jersey cards were graded, the only ones I saw selling at a premium were the few 9.5's and that's no surprise as it is tough to get any autograph or jersey card in Gem Mint condition. Most of the 8.5's and 9's are selling for only slightly higher then their non-graded counterparts, and the other inserts are showing almost no bonus for the graded versions. This brings us back to the same question we had with Edge Graded. Why bother with the graded cards?
In direct comparison I'd probably buy another pack of Donruss Preferred QBC before I'd buy any Edge Graded, but I'm sure that I'd rather buy four packs of SP Authentic (coming out this week) instead. The inclusion of so many inserts, and the fact that they graded some of the inserts will keep Donruss on top for now, but I'd rather see the graded card packs stop. I guess for that to happen we'll need a new gimmick. Lucky for us the manufacturers are ready to try one memorabilia card per pack any day now (Ugh! Stay tuned in December for more).
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