Topps’ mini sticker cards make their return

By Paul Angilly
Special to The Herald

Topps is re-introducing a once-popular concept this
month that could very well turn out to be just what
the trading card hobby needs -- a dose of pure fun
among all the short-printed, serial-numbered,
game-used and autographed card glitter.

Due out Monday, the Topps 2003-04 NBA Pocket
Collection is a set of mini stickers designed to be
placed inside a corresponding mini album. If that
concept sounds familiar, it’s because Topps first
introduced stickers-in-album collecting to the U.S.
market with a baseball set in 1981 -- and it proved to
be a popular pursuit for many young collectors
throughout the ’80s and early ’90s.

Actually, the basic concept dates back to at least
1961, when Topps issued a series of baseball player
stamps as inserts in packs of its regular baseball
card set that year. An album in which to place the
stamps was sold separately at retail outlets. Topps
followed that up with a similar insert issue in 1962.
In 1969 and 1974 Topps issued stamps as a separate
issue, with a different album for each team.

For many years an Italian company called Panini, among
others, had been successfully issuing various series
of collectible stickers overseas. Unlike North
America, which has always embraced cardboard, stickers
and the albums to place them in have long ranked among
the most popular collectible items for both sports and
non-sports subjects in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Topps was hoping that popularity would carry over to
the U.S. when it introduced its inaugural baseball
sticker set (made by Panini) in 1981. There were 262
stickers in the entire set with a color photo on the
front and the sticker number, player’s name and
position on the back. The stickers were printed on
very thin backing paper, obviously not intended to be
saved outside the accompanying album.

The stickers came four per pack for 15 cents, while
the album cost 25 cents. The album included a blank
space for each sticker, with basic player statistics
underneath. Each team had a separate page, with other
pages reserved for league leaders and foil All-Star
stickers.

Like many young collectors at the time, I jumped at
the chance for something different to collect. I
bought an album and all the sticker packs that I could
afford and dutifully removed the thin backing for each
sticker I didn’t already have and placed it in its
proper place in the book. When my duplicate stickers
started piling up, I bought a second album and started
filling that one up too. I think I still have those
albums not-quite completed in a dark closet somewhere.
They may not be valuable, but they were certainly fun
to collect.

Other sets followed: Topps continued to release
baseball stickers through 1990, adding hockey stickers
(along with O-Pee-Chee) in 1981-82 through 1989-90 and
football stickers from 1981 to 1988. Fleer also jumped
into the fray, issuing a baseball stamp set similar to
the early ’60s Topps issues in 1982 and baseball
sticker sets with albums in 1983-1985.

After making cards for Topps in the previous years,
Panini began releasing its own sticker sets in the
U.S. beginning in late 1987. Panini issued baseball
sticker sets (and albums) in 1988-1996, hockey
stickers in 1987-88 through 1993-94 and football
stickers in 1988-1990.

Panini also introduced collectible stickers to NBA
fans in the late ’80s with rare Spanish-language sets.
The company went on to make more common
English-language sets in 1990-91 through 1996-97.

Now the idea is reborn in mini size with the new Topps
NBA Pocket Collection set. With 24 mini stickers (3
sheets of 8 each) and two larger-sized stickers
(wrapped around chunks of bubble gum) per $1 pack,
this is a set sure to appeal not only to younger
collectors, but anyone who is still in the card
collecting hobby just for the fun of it.

The complete set has 218 stickers, including 30 of the
larger-sized versions -- six mini stickers and one
large sticker per team. Included are four mini logo
pieces and one large logo sticker for the new
Charlotte Bobcats, which begin play in 2004-05. There
is just one subset -- 10 Topps "Honor Roll" picks.
Included as part of the basic set are 15 rookie
stickers, including LeBron James (2 different) and
Carmelo Anthony.

Each display box (presumably intended for retail
outlets) includes 26 regular packs plus 10 starter
kits, which each include one pack plus the 32-page
mini-album which has spaces for all 218 stickers.

It’s unclear how many different combinations of the
eight-sticker sheets will be made, but the 188
available mini stickers do not divide evenly into
eight, so each individual sticker will likely be found
on sheets in various combinations with other players.

Topps has not yet announced any future sticker series,
but it’s probably a safe bet that unless the concept
completely bombs among basketball collectors, a
baseball set is likely to follow this spring or summer
with a football set in the fall. A future hockey set
may also be a possibility if there is no lengthy labor
dispute.

If you’re looking for something that may shoot up in
value, I suggest you ignore the new Topps mini
stickers. But personally, I’m looking forward to
buying some cheap packs, peeling off the stickers and
placing them in the album until it’s full (even though
that will virtually eliminate what little value they
might have) and maybe even enjoy chewing some bubble
gum while doing so.

Does it get any better than that?

eBay fees increasing: Beginning on Feb. 2, insertion
fees and various other fees for selling items on eBay
will be increasing.

Currently, it costs 30 cents to list any item with a
starting bid of less than $10. After Feb. 2, items
starting under $1 will still have a 30-cent listing
fee, but items starting at $1.00-$9.99 will have a
35-cent listing fee. Also, items starting at
$10.00-$24.99 will increase from a 55-cent to 60-cent
listing fee, with similar increases in higher price
ranges. Among other increases, the additional 10-day
listing fee is increasing from 10 cents to 20 cents.

Paul Angilly is a Bristol Press sports reporter, and
has been collecting sports cards and memorabilia for
more than 25 years. He is not a dealer, nor does he
make a profit from buying and selling cards. He can be
reached via email at pangilly@... or by
phone at 584-0506, ext. 271. All questions and
comments are welcome, but please do not call to offer
your items for sale.



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