Premiership Predictor Redemptions

At the end of each season, after we’ve celebrated the Grand Final victories, it’s time for us football card collectors to gather up all our Premiership Predictors and send them in to be redeemed.

It’s important that you carefully follow the instructions on the back of the cards.

This year for both AFL and NRL you send your cards to:

Mailguard Services
Locked Bag 11
PO MONA VALE, NSW 2103

We highly recommend you send your Predictors via registered mail for your own peace of mind — these are valuable cards after all.

And remember to send your redemption card with a Stamped Self Addressed Registered Mail envelope. At Footy Stars we encourage you to carefully follow ALL the instructions to avoid disappointment.

Geelong Predictor St Kilda Predictor North Melbourne Kangaroos
Melbourne Storm Predictor Parramatta Eels Predictor Wests Tigers Predictor

We recently received this year’s Predictors back from Select along with the limited edition redemption cards. They are all available to you right now.

Firstly, the most sought after cards are the Mini Premiership Redemption Sets.

The Geelong Mini Premiership Set looks like this:

Geelong Premiers Geelong Premiers Geelong Premiers

And the Melbourne Storm Mini Premiership Set looks like this:

Melbourne Storm Premiers Melbourne Storm Premiers Melbourne Storm Premiers

Because we redeemed the set of 16 Premiership Predictors we received the extra cards too.

The 16 x NRL Predictors redeemed a Top Try Scorer subset as shown here:

Top Try Scorer Top Try Scorer Top Try Scorer

And the 16 x AFL Predictors redeemed a subset of Rookies (one per club from 2008) as shown here:

AFL Rookie AFL Rookie AFL Rookie

The Top Try Scorer and AFL Rookies are both available in our store by clicking here:

We also recently redeemed another set of 2008 AFL Classic Predictors and the 2007 Rookie cards they redeemed are also available now here:

Most people collect the card for their favourite team… have you got yours yet? With only a few of each available get in quick… or miss out.

Posted on Sunday, 6th December 2009 by Ian

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AFL Pinnacle Series 2009

AFL Pinnacle information has been leaking out slowly ahead of the release next week… and it seems Select are on track for release on Monday, 13 July.

We’ve updated our online shop so you can pre-order your AFL Pinnacle cards, sets and folders now so you will be one of the first in the country to have them. All orders received before 13 July will be sent as soon as they arrive… so order yours now.

We received more details on the AFL Pinnacle Set after sending our last newsletter. Here is a look at this years Case Cards. Only available with the purchase of a Factory Sealed Case (16 boxes) of AFL Pinnacle, these case cards are limited and individually numbered to 200 for each player.

Doug Hawkins from the Western Bulldogs and Dustin Fletcher from Essendon are featured on the Case Cards which recognise players who reach the 300 Game milestone throughout their career.

AFL Pinnacle Case Cards

And as an added bonus for those lucky enough to find one, 1 in 8 Cases will have a Signed Case Card of Dustin Fletcher.

Only 50 Signed Case Cards have been produced but you can see the design here (shown without the signature).

AFL Pinnacle Signed Case Card

If you are planning on busting open a factory sealed box of AFL Pinnacle yourself, here’s a look at the most valuable card in the collection… the one we all want to find.

It’s the Captain Signature Redemption card which you can redeem for one of only 60 personally signed Captain Signature cards.

AFL Pinnacle Redemption

In the last issue of the “Collector’s Edition” newsletter we let you know the Premiership Predictors were again in the Series.

We can now tell you what you will receive when you redeem either the entire set, or just the winning teams predictor.

We have confirmed with Di at Select, that you will receive an exclusive 16 card Rookie Sub Set along with a 3 card Mini Premiership Set of the winning team when you redeem a full set of 16 Predictors.

If you only redeem the winning teams Predictor you will get the 3 card Mini Premiership Set of the winning team and their Rookie Card.

We also have full details on the Double Trouble cards. Here’s a new image along with the full list of the players featured on each card.

AFL Double Trouble Cards
  • Adelaide Crows - McLeod and Porplyzia
  • Essendon Bombers - Lucas and Lloyd
  • Fremantle Dockers - Pavlich and Sandilands
  • Kangaroos - Harvey and McIntosh
  • Melbourne Demons - Miller and Davey
  • Port Power - Motlop and Salopek
  • Richmond Tigers - Morton and Richardson
  • Sydney Swans - Goodes and Hall
  • West Coast Eagles - Cox and LeCras
  • Western Bulldogs - Johnson and Griffen

In the last newsletter I took a guess at the names of the players featured in the Rookie Sensation cards which are inserted 1 in 4 boxes. Unfortunately I missed the mark… but here are all the confirmed Rookie Sensation players.

  • Aaron Joseph from Carlton
  • Dayne Beams from Collingwood
  • David Zaharakis from Essendon
  • Liam Picken from the Western Bulldogs
AFL Pinnacle Rookie Sensation

Well that’s about all the information we have for you on the new AFL Pinnacle Series. All that remains now if for the cards to be released.

If you like the look of the Pinnacle cards please go ahead and pre-order the cards or boxes you want. Every indicator points to this Series being completely Sold Out by the end of July at distributor level. So don’t wait because you could miss out.

Would you like to see the Official Flyer? Click here to download the 2009 AFL Pinnacle Checklist in pdf format.

Posted on Wednesday, 8th July 2009 by Ian

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2009 Series 2 Footy Cards Are Coming

With the release of Series 2 next month trading card collectors start getting really excited… because Series 2 means PREMIUM quality cards are back.

By Premium we mean:

  • More cards in a packet,
  • Better quality card stock = thicker cards that are harder to damage
  • Premiership Predictor redemptions
  • Signature inserts (real signatures not printed ones)
  • Limited box release (unlike Series 1 which at times seems unlimited)
  • Signature redemptions, and of course
  • Higher priced packs to cover the additional production costs.

Let’s see what this means for the new 2009 AFL Pinnacle Series.

Each pack of AFL Pinnacle will contain 8 cards plus 1 Holographic Guernsey Die Cut card (2009 Champions had 7 plus 1 GDC). There are 195 cards in the Pinnacle common set which is 11 cards per team plus a team logo.

Here’s a look at the common cards…

The Holofoil Guernsey Die Cut set is a 195 card parallel set to the common set, it’s just harder to complete because you only get one per pack.

Series 2 are always printed on thicker card stock. See for yourself by holding a card from each release. It will be obvious which is thicker.

One of the regular feature insert sets in Series 2 has been the All Australian sub set.
All 22 players named in the 2008 All Australian Team are included in the set. They are:

  • Scarlett - Geelong
  • Morris - Western Bulldogs
  • Harley - Geelong
  • Hodge - Hawthorn
  • Bock - Adelaide
  • Fisher - St Kilda
  • Bartel - Geelong
  • Corey - Geelong
  • Cooney - Western Bulldogs
  • Johnson - Geelong
  • Riewoldt - St Kilda
  • Harvey - North Melbourne
  • Fevola - Carlton
  • Franklin - Hawthorn
  • Medhurst - Collingwood
  • Cox - West Coast
  • Judd - Carlton
  • Ablett - Geelong
  • Enright - Geelong
  • Pavlich - Fremantle
  • Richardson - Richmond, and
  • Sandilands - Fremantle

Here’s a sneak peak at the design which is inserted 1 card every 8 packs…

Medal cards are another regular feature sub set in Series 2. They celebrate the 5 major medal winners from 2008.

The Pinnacle Medal Cards are inserted 1 in 36 packs and will include:

  • Adam Cooney - Brownlow Medal
  • Lance Franklin - Coleman Medal
  • Luke Hodge - Norm Smith Medal
  • Rhys Palmer - Rising Star, and
  • Gary Ablett - Leigh Matthews MVP

Premiership Predictors are back again. Inserted 1 card per 36 packs, you will be able to redeem a full set of 16 for a limited edition 16 card sub set which should be limited to 400 (or less).

This year, the Predictors look like this…

Draft Pick Signatures featuring REAL signatures are again included in the Series 2 release. Pinnacle includes the first 16 draft picks from the 2008 National Draft and are inserted 1 card per 36 packs.

  • Jack Watts - Melbourne Demons
  • Nick Naitanui - West Coast
  • Stephen Hill - Fremantle
  • Hamish Hartlett - Port Power
  • Michael Hurley - Essendon
  • Chris Yarran - Carlton
  • Daniel Rich - Brisbane Lions
  • Tyrone Vickery - Richmond
  • Jack Ziebell - Kangaroos
  • Phil Davis - Adelaide Crows
  • Steele Sidebottom - Collingwood
  • Lewis Johnston - Sydney Swans
  • Tom Lynch - St Kilda
  • Ayce Cordy - Western Bulldogs
  • Mitchell Brown - Geelong, and
  • Ryan Schoenmakers - Hawthorn

The Draft Pick Signatures for 2009 are limited to 400 cards per player and look like this (proofs shown without signatures)

Double Trouble Cards are a new addition to Series 2, but they have been in Series 1 before. In fact, there are 10 Double Trouble cards in the AFL Pinnacle release which completes the set started with the 6 Double Trouble cards from AFL Champions 2009.

They are inserted 1 card for every 72 packs (which is 1 card per 2 boxes) and are sure to be highly sought after. We don’t know who appears in all the Double Trouble cards but here’s a look at a couple of cards so far.

 

Another new addition to Series 2 is the inclusion of 4 Signed Rookie Sensation cards. These are REAL signatures again and are inserted 1 card per 144 packs on average. That’s 1 card per 4 boxes with each card limited to 400. The names of the featured Rookies haven’t been released yet, but I think I recognise 3 of the 4 players from the early release photos. EDIT: Names now corrected.

Aaron Joseph from Carlton and Dayne Beams from Collingwood

David Zaharakis from Essendon and Liam Picken from the Western Bulldogs

And lastly… the Pinnacle of the 2009 Pinnacle Series will be the Captain Signature Cards. There are 7 in the Series with just 60 cards signed by each of the featured Captains.

These will be the hot items because of the low number of cards per player (scarcity) but also because they feature many of the games top players (demand). The 7 featured Captains include:

  • Chris Judd - Carlton
  • Jonathan Brown - Brisbane
  • Matthew Lloyd - Essendon
  • Matthew Pavlich - Fremantle
  • Sam Mitchell - Hawthorn
  • Brent Harvey - Kangaroos, and
  • Nick Riewoldt - St Kilda

The Captains Signature cards feature the same design as the 2001 Select Authentic Series which remains one of the most sought after sub sets in recent history. Here’s is what they will look like…

The 2009 AFL Pinnacle Series will see a new type of official folder released. These red vinyl folders are the perfect way to store your cards… but unlike previous years these are limited to just 1500 folders. They look fantastic don’t you think?

AFL Pinnacle Folder

There’s only two weeks to wait for the release of the 2009 AFL Pinnacle Series. Release date is expected to be Monday, 13th of July. We will write to you again soon with the opportunity to pre-order most cards in the Series, including sealed boxes. So stay tuned.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Pinnacle Series is a limited release Series. Only 400 cases will be released which is 6400 boxes in total.

Last year the AFL Classic sold out in just a few weeks and I expect the Pinnacle Series will be no different. If you’re keen to open sealed boxes you will need to move quickly to secure them early.

Details of the NRL Classic series will be released very soon.

As soon as we get more detail we will write to you again and we should be in a position to give you full prices and pre-order opportunities for both the AFL and NRL releases.

Posted on Monday, 29th June 2009 by Ian

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What Errors Were In the 2008 Series Cards?

We have written about errors and error cards a few times now… and the subject has come to the surface again in 2008 because collectors have found a number of errors in the Classic and Centenary Series footy cards.

For a quick catch up on the previous error card articles take a look here…

What’s an Error Card? from August 2007

Error Cards in the 2007 Supreme and Invincible, also from August 2007, and

The Mother of ALL Errors from February 2008

Error cards usually don’t change the value of the card unless a reprint is produced by the card manufacturer.  None of the cards highlighted below have been reprinted, nor do we expect them to be reprinted… but nonetheless, it’s interesting to see what errors were released.

Here is a brief list of the error cards we have found in the 2008 Series 2 releases.

2008 AFL Classic Errors

Let’s start with the Big Ones… the Platinum Draft Pick Signatures.

The Rhys Palmer Platinum Draft Pick Signature card (DPP7) has a number of related errors on the back of the card.  The details on the back of the card all refer to Cyril Rioli.  It has Rioli’s Club, Date of Birth, Height, Weight and Junior Club.

Another similar error occurred on the Ben McEvoy Platinum Draft Pick Signature card (DPP9), again involving Rhys Palmer.  This error mentions Rhys Palmer in the Certification section on the back of the card.

Neither of these cards are going to be corrected by Select, so all cards retain their normal value regardless of the errors.

There are two more errors in the AFL Classic Series that we have found so far… and they both involve Matthew Scarlett.  To be fair, these may not even be considered errors… but they are definitely inconsistencies that don’t match other cards in the same series.

Matthew Scarlett Common Darren Glass All Australian

The first error is shown on the common card on the left.  The Cats logo is featured in the Top Right hand corner of the card.  Scarlett’s card is the ONLY All Australian card to feature the players club logo.  See Darren Glass’ card has no Eagles logo.

The other error, or inconsistency that relates to Matthew Scarlett is his All Australian Holofoil card.  EVERY other player in the parallel holofoil sub set features the same picture as their common card.  You can see below that Scarlett’s picture is different to his common card.

Matthew Scarlett Holofoil

What other errors have you found in the 2008 AFL Classic Series?  Add your comments by clicking on the comment section below and share your find with other collectors.

Now… let’s move on to the 2008 Rugby League Centenary Series.

Most of the “errors” we’ve found in the Centenary Series are simple factual errors, typos or a lack of attention to detail… here is what we’ve found so far.

Tonie Carroll from the Brisbane Broncos (card #120) has his debut listed as 1986.  Not bad, he would been the youngest ever debutant in the NRL at 10 years of age if you believe his Date of Birth (1976).  His actual year of debut was 1996.

Hazem El Mazri from the Canterbury Bulldogs (card #125) has an extra unnecessary space in his Date of Birth and an leading zero that no other player has.  His DOB is listed as 01.1.19 76.

Matt Orford from the Manly Sea Eagles (card #147) is similar to El Masri above… his Date of Birth has an extra unnecessary space.

Israel Folau from the Melbourne Storm (card #151) gives us the hat trick of the same error.  His Date of Birth also has an unnecessary space.

Jarryd Hayne from the Parramatta Eels (card #167) is an unusual “inconsistency” that was hard to find.

Typically the Series 2 releases feature player photos taken from the same year.  Hayne’s photo is clearly from 2007, you can tell because his jersey doesn’t have the Centenary Logo, and the sleeve sponsor is different from all the other Eels players.

Krisnan Inu also from the Parramatta Eels (card #168) is a talented footballer, but did you know that (according to Select) he made his debut 82 years BEFORE he was born.  In fact, he started playing Rugby League BEFORE rugby league even existed in 1905.  Now that takes talent!  ;-)

Dale Shearer played for a number of NRL clubs including Manly, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, but he was selected as a Past Hero for the Gold Coast club in the Past Hero sub set (card #PH9).

Dale Shearer

It’s a mystery to us WHY Shearer is shown wearing a Manly jersey from the 1987 Grand Final, the year before the Gold Coast entered the competition?

In the same vein, we couldn’t skip a discussion on error cards without also asking why the two Cronulla Sharks Past Heroes are shown wearing NSW Blues jerseysGavin Miller and Mark McGaw are shown wearing the Sky Blue NSW jerseys rather than the Sky Blue Sharks jersey.  Simple error?  Yes.

Gavin Miller Past Hero Mark McGaw Past Hero

And to finish off… it seems odd to me, that the Past Heroes sub set, which was, according to Select supposed to highlight heroes from the past three decades.

How do Jack Rayner and Ian Moir get to represent South Sydney when they finished their careers in the 1950’s?  Their photos are in black and white which was probably the biggest give away.

Jack Rayner Past Hero Ian Moir Past Hero

And Bill Mullins for the Roosters… he just makes it because he finished his career in 1978, despite his photo also being in black and white.

Bill Mullins Past Hero

There are probably dozens of other mistakes, errors and typos in the 2008 Centenary Series.  Have you found any others?  Add your comments by clicking on the comment section below and share your find with other collectors.

LATE ADDITION:

Following on from Paul’s comment below… here is a photograph of the card he is referring to.  If you have the 2008 Champions cards take a look at yours to see if you have the same error.

Hornby Covell Error

Posted on Sunday, 16th November 2008 by Ian

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What Are Insert Cards?

A lot of new footy card collectors start out by collecting the base set of cards.  It’s a great way to get into the hobby (this is exactly how I started too).

Then one day, you realise there is more to collecting footy cards than just the common cards.  There are these other cards known as “Insert Cards”.

Collecting insert cards is a great way to expand your collection and to increase the value of your collection.

But not everyone knows what an insert card is.

An insert card is a card that is “inserted” in to packs randomly at a pre-set ratio at the time of production.

For example, a standard pack of AFL Classic footy cards has 10 cards in it — 9 cards plus 1 holofoil card.

Geelong Holofoil Collingwood Holofoil Team Set

The holofoil is the most basic of the inserts in this release… but there are a few more too.

The Hall of Fame Tribute Match cards are inserted 1 card in every 6 packets.

Jonathan Brown Tribute Match Lance Franklin Tribute Match

Then there’s the Draft Pick Signature Gold cards which are inserted 1 card in every 36 packets.  Making them harder to find than the Hall of Fame Tribute Match cards.

Chris Masten Signature Gold Cale Morton Signature Gold

But the cream of the crop are the Signature Redemption cards which are inserted 1 card in every 360 packets. These are very hard to find.

James Hird Tribute Signature

Because these cards are hard to find in packets, they are relatively scarce.  As I’ve said on many previous occasions Scarcity is one of the main factors that drives the value of a footy card.

The other factor is DemandDemand relates to how many people want a particular card.  A popular card that lots of people want would have high demand… but a common card that is widely available would have low demand.

When the two factors of scarcity and demand combine… values really start to increase!

This is exactly what happens with the Signature Redemption cards.  They are relatively scarce (only 100 of each card produced) and because a lot of collectors like to chase these cards the demand is relatively high.

But hey… not everyone can afford to spend $500+ on a card… so if your budget is more modest how can you get involved in collecting Insert Cards?

First of all… you can chance your hand opening packets! You MIGHT get lucky… and you might not — they are scarce remember!

I think the easiest way is to take a look on our site.

We’ve opened all the packets for you, so you can pick and choose ONLY the cards you want without wasting any of your money on unwanted cards.

You could get started by collecting your team only. For instance you can get the Holofoil Team Set for your team if you’re an AFL collector.

You can get the Past Heroes inserts if you’re an NRL collector (there’s just two cards per club).

Gorden Tallis Paul Harragon 

Start small and dip your toe in slowly with the cheaper cards until you become more comfortable.

Once you’re comfortable collecting the lower value insert cards you can move on to some of the other footy cards such as the:

If you would like some advice on where to start please feel free to email me.  My email address is: ian[AT]footystars.com.au

We’re always happy to provide free advice.

Click here to tell us what insert sets you’re collecting in the comment section below:

Posted on Sunday, 31st August 2008 by Ian

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Individually Numbered Cards - Is It Important?

In the last issue of the “Collectors Edition” newsletter we wrote an article titled
“What You Would Like To See Included In Series 2″.

We shared the wish list of a few subscribers and asked for your comments and suggestions too… well one common theme of the discussion was the Individual Numbering of cards.

Daniel H made the suggestion first to have a few limited edition parallel sub sets that we’re all individually numbered (to /24, /48 and /100).

Then I added that it would be easy for Select to add the sequential numbering to their existing parallel sub set to the Jersey and Guernsey Die Cuts, Holofoil Parallel Sets, and the Footy Face Die Cuts for instance.

Adam agrees and left his comment in the newsletter archive saying:

… for me the biggest thing is NUMBER cards # of 450. I’m sick of seeing cards only written on the “this card is 1 of 450?. Give it an exact number!

And cards like the Rookie Predictors Redemption cards that aren’t numbered at all! I mean come on, now how do we know what they were limited to!!!???

It is something that can become a bug bear for many collectors. But is it important?

I believe it is, but I will explain my reasoning in just a moment.

Before we get into the reasons why, lets take a look at some recent examples.

We are told by Select that the cards are limited in number, but they don’t always make it absolutely clear to everyone by including sequential individual numbering. Clarity is what we’re seeking.

Please let me be direct — so I can avoid any confusion. I DO believe that Select are honest and limit their cards to the numbers that they say they do… from all my years in dealing with them, I’ve got absolutely NO reason to doubt them. After all their reputation (and therefore their very existence) depends on their integrity!

If you’re not sure what I’m referring to when I say Individual Numbering here are a few examples.

These two cards are from the Limited Edition Premiership Redemption Sets from 2007 Supreme and 2007 Invincible releases.

Tyson Goldsack Antonio Kaufusi Enforcer

The card on the left is a Rookie Predictor Redemption card (the kind that Adam mentioned above) which is limited to 450 cards… but nothing is mentioned on the back of the card. Likewise, the card on the right is an Enforcer Premiership Redemption card which is limited to 350… but again nothing to provide this information on the back of the card!

These cards are not numbered at all - despite being limited edition cards.

Another example is where the cards simply have “1 of 240″ printed into the card design. It’s not sequentially numbered but every card says “1 of 240″.

Wests Tigers Playmakers

If you look closely at the above card, you can see this card has “1 of 240″ printed in the bottom right hand corner.

Adam Goodes Golden Draft Pick

And you can see it again in the above Golden Draft Redemption card. At the bottom right of the card you can see “1 of 440″ printed… and yes, that’s what they ALL say!

The following examples show the sequential individual numbering… this is what we would like to see for ALL limited edition cards.

Darren Lockyer Case Card

Brendan Fevola Coleman Medallist Signature Redemption

You can see the individual numbering on the two cards above. The Darren Lockyer Case Card is numbered “008 of 225″ which is an extremely LOW number. Because of this low number, it has a perceived higher value than say the same card numbered “215 of 225″.

The Brendan Fevola Coleman Medallist Signature is numbered “047 of 100″ which also affects its value. Almost anything limited to 100 will be even more valuable than something limited to 225 and is certain to be more valuable than something limited to 500.

Bryce Gibbs Draft Pick Signature Ben Smith Top Prospect

Here are a few more cards where you can see the individual numbering. The Bryce Gibbs Draft Pick Signature card on the left is numbered “286 of 450″ and the Ben Smith Top Prospect is numbered “362 of 500″.

Both of these cards are valuable but their value does not come from the numbering itself. The Player featured on the card drives a lot of the value.

The Bryce Gibbs card is $110 whereas the Ben Smith card is $47. Bryce Gibbs was the Number 1 Draft Pick in 2006… picked ahead of the other 3000 nominated players.

The prestige of being #1 drives the value of this card and the expectation that he will be a future star is high. His card is more likely to be in high demand which means the card value is more likely to increase over time.

Ben Smith on the other hand, while recognised as a promising talent is not recognised as the best talent in the NRL - demand is lower so the value of his card is more middle range.

Just two things determine the value of footy cards… Scarcity and Demand.

Individual numbering tells us just how Scarce the card is… and the popularity and skill of the player drives Demand. Find a card that has both and you have a sure winner on your hands!

I’m pleased to see that a few of the sub sets in the new 2008 AFL Classic Series and the 2008 NRL Centenary Series are individually numbered… and we hold our hopes high that in future releases ALL limited releases will be.

Let us know what you think… share your thoughts and leave a comment in the comments section below.

Posted on Saturday, 5th July 2008 by Ian

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Newsletter Archive Launched NOW!

In the last issue of the “Collectors Edition” newsletter I told you I had planned four new things for you and our other subscribers.

You will be glad to know the first of the four new additions is now ready for you!

I’m certain this new addition will please the handful of readers that email me each week asking for it… and I’m hoping it will help you even if who haven’t asked for it directly.

“Get on with it and tell me what it is” I hear you say!

We’ve finally gotten around to publishing ALL the previous issues of this newsletter on our site.

Now you and all our other footy card collectors have the ability to go back and read any issue that you might have missed (or deleted from your email)… but it’s even better than just that…

Now, the newsletter archive includes these features:

  • Photos and images of the cards we discuss (not just text)
  • The ability to Rate Each Article - how good (or bad) it is
  • The opportunity to Comment on each Article, and have your comments seen by all the other readers
  • You can subscribe via RSS as well as email
  • You can share your favourite articles with sites such as Facebook, Digg, del.icio.us, Newsvine, Technorati and others (using the “Share This” link at the bottom of each post), plus
  • Participate in reader Polls where you can have your say and vote

The newsletter archive is now permanently available at:

http://newsletter.footystars.com.au

The newsletter archive is fully searchable too. You can search for keywords, by category or by date using the links down the left hand side of the page.

It’s the perfect resource for both new and experienced collectors because it’s loaded full of news, tips and advice about footy card collecting.

It’s all here for you right now. I hope you like it, and remember there are still three more additions on the way!

Let me know what you think… leave a comment in the comments section below.

Posted on Monday, 19th May 2008 by Ian

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The Mother Of ALL Errors

In the last few issues of the Collectors Edition in 2007 we were discussing Error Cards… and little did we know Select had the Mother-of-All-Errors just around the corner for us in the 2007 Series release of the Predictor Redemption Cards for both AFL and NRL.

What was the problem I hear you ask?

It’s a pretty simple error, but nonetheless a BIG one.

Tyson Goldsack Rookie Antonio Kaufusi Enforcer

The Graphic Designers at Select put the 2007 Series 1 Champions Logo on the front and back of every Predictor Redemption card rather than the correct Series 2 Supreme 2007 Logo or the Invincible 2007 Logo!

Why is it important?

Because the Champions Series cards are the cheaper, lower quality cards sold via newsagencies, whereas the Series 2 releases (Supreme and Invincible) are more expensive, better quality and more collectible set (because of the inserts) available only through Hobby Stores and Specialty Retailers like Footy Stars.

The Champions cards are a cheaper (and in my opinion) inferior set which means the NRL Enforcer cards and AFL Rookie Cards are potentially devalued by having the Champions Logo included.

As soon as our Redemption Sets arrived we emailed Select to see if they were going to reprint corrected cards?

The answer we received was:

“…we are not reprinting at this stage but I will let you know if we do.”

I was; and I remain, pretty disappointed that a simple and VERY obvious error like this can slide through the entire production process and NOT get spotted… IN BOTH AFL and NRL RELEASES!

I still hold out SOME hope that Select will reprint the cards… but I get the feeling it will take a lot of support and energy to get them to do it.

If you would like to put your energy and support behind the cause here’s how you can do it.

Think of it like an electronic petition… please email Select and encourage them to reprint and redistribute the Predictor Redemption Sets with the correct Logos.

The email should be directed towards Di Nash , the NSW Licensing Manager for Select using this email address:
info[AT]selectaustralia.com.au

While we’re at it.. these cards were released WITHOUT any numbering on the back of the cards too. As collectors, we have no way of knowing they are limited release, let alone how many cards were created.

In my opinion, these cards should at least have 1 of 350 (for NRL) or 1 of 450 (for AFL) on the back of the card, so we know just how scarce they are.

If enough people email Select and voice their disappointment we MIGHT see them respond positively. 2007 was a hellish year for the team at Select, one I’m sure they would all like to put behind them. We’ve seen a number of errors slip through their quality control processes in 2007 and included in this list of errors are:

  • 4 x AFL Legend Hall of Fame cards - Wrong Numbering
  • Craig Gower - Wrong Picture
  • Darren Glass - First name spelling error
  • Brad Fittler - Surname spelling error
  • 16 x AFL Premiership Redemption Rookies - Wrong logo
  • 16 x NRL Premiership Redemption Enforcers - Wrong logo

We certainly hope some changes have been made to their quality control and proofing processes for 2008, and I for one hope they have a MUCH better year.

As they say…

The proof will be in the pudding!

Posted on Sunday, 17th February 2008 by Ian

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Are My Footy Cards Valuable Or Not?

We get the occasional question through our web site from a Mum or Dad that goes a little something like this…

“I was just cleaning our my son’s bedroom when I discovered a set of Footy Cards from (insert a year in the 90’s here) and I was wondering if they a valuable or not.

Can you please tell me what they are worth?”

Not being able to see the cards ourselves we usually ask for a description of the condition of the cards and a description of what cards are included in the set.

Both answers are important in determining the value of the set! Let me explain…

The condition is probably THE MOST important aspect.

If the cards have been well protected and stored they are likely to be somewhat valuable.

On the flip side, if the cards are bent, creased, have “dull corners” or dented edges chances are the cards will be much less valuable.

So a quick tip for all our readers is, start planning for the future now… we recommend Ultra Pro accessories for the best protection of your cards.

The answer to our other question is what usually determines the ACTUAL value of the set.

What cards are included in the set?

More often than not the set is the complete common set.

Now there is nothing wrong with that, but it means the value is going to be pretty modest in most cases, and it’s usually worth keeping rather than selling.

Occasionally, Mum and Dad write back and they tell us the set includes Signature Cards, All Australian, Best and Fairest, Mark of the Year or a range of other insert cards.

Now this can really INCREASE the value of the collection.

By their very nature, insert cards are more scarce than the common cards. They are “inserted” into packets at a ratio of say 1 card in four packets (1:4), 1:8, 1:18, 1:36, 1:72 or perhaps even 1:432 (one card per case).

Long time readers of this newsletter will remember, just two things determine the value of footy cards…
Scarcity and Demand.

Inserts take care of the Scarcity… and if there is sufficient Demand, you have a valuable set on your hands!

So there is the tip… improve the value of your footy card set by adding the Insert Cards to your collection!

You may be unsure what Insert cards are included in the 2007 releases, so here is a small sample to tide your appetite.

Some of the Insert Cards from the AFL Supreme Series include:

And the Insert Cards from the NRL Invincible Series:

Posted on Monday, 8th October 2007 by Ian

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What’s An Error Card?

This month we’re going to take a look at Error Cards.

You might be asking, “What’s an Error Card?”

They are cards that simply contain an error. There are many different types of error cards… and all of them are possible despite the best checking processes, including proof readers and fact checkers.

Some of the more common error cards involve:

  • Text Variations
  • Graphic Design Errors
  • Wrong Backs
  • Mis-cuts
  • Blank Backs
  • Mis-Prints

And in case you’re wondering… errors are not new… they happen in virtually every release, although they are sometimes only small and less obvious.

Text variations include things like name mis-spellings, incorrect facts and incorrect statistics. These are somewhat common and occasionally go unnoticed.

I can give two recent examples of this.

David Wirrpanda’s card in the 2006 Supreme Series shows no space between his first name and surname name. It’s card number 172.

David Wirrpanda

The other, from the same series is the Draft Pick Signature card for Jordan Russell (DS9).

Jordan Russell Jordan Russell

The card lists his Date of Birth as 6.11.80 when in actual fact he was born in 1986. You can see for yourself by visiting his Player Profile on the Carlton web site

The misplacement of a logo or some other graphic design element are a little more obvious and as such are usually picked up by the proof readers prior to production. Some still get through however.

For an example of this see the card for Jason Saddington of the Carlton Blues from the 2006 Supreme Series. It is card number 29. The Carlton Logo in the bottom right hand corner is positioned differently to EVERY other card in the series.

Jason Saddington

Another common example is the card featuring Tim Clarke from Hawthorn in the 2005 Dynasty Series. His card is number 93 and on the front right hand side you will notice that one of the graphic borders has been misplaced. It appears higher and to the left of where it should be.

Tim Clarke

Wrong backs are exactly that… they have the wrong information on the back of the card . They have one player on the front of the card and anothers info on the back.

In the 2004 NRL Authentic Series 3 cards featured the incorrect player image. All three were re-printed and distributed to correct the error.

Another variation of the Wrong Back is a colour variation. This happened more often in the 1970’s and 1980’s and rarely happens any more. This is when a card should be printed in say Red text on the back and is actually printed in Black.

Mis-cuts are also a descriptive name. This is the term we give a card that has been cut incorrectly by the guillotine. It might be noticeably shorter than it should be, it might show some of another card down the edge.

I’ve even seen a few cards like the Jersey Die Cut card below that was cut upside down. This would be classified as a mis-cut.

Error Jersey Die Cut Back Error Jersey Die Cut

Blank Backs are a lot like Wrong Backs… except… you guessed it… they have nothing on the back of the card. They are blank! This is pretty rare nowadays… but certainly still possible.

Mis-prints happen during the printing process and they are usually picked up by the quality controllers before being packaged up and distributed. This happens when one of the print plates slips and causes the card to be printed out of alignment… almost like a 3D card.

Port Adelaide Power

These are more likely to be one-offs and will be replaced by Select as a printing error — just as this one was.

In the following section we will discuss some of the error cards contained in the current releases from Select.

As I mentioned earlier… errors aren’t new. They occur in virtually every set released. So with that said, what errors have you noticed in the 2005, 2006 or 2007 AFL and NRL releases?

Click on the Comment Link below and share the details of the card number, player name and a description of the error that you’ve spotted (email me a scan of the card too if you can and I will post it for you).

Posted on Wednesday, 22nd August 2007 by Ian

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