Manufactured Madness!

Six years ago when I opened a box of 2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot baseball, I saw my first manufactured patch card.  Little did I know that this was one of the earliest stages of an epidemic that has swept through the hobby.

In recent years, more and more manufactured patches have entered the hobby.  Some of them being autographed and others not.  One of the biggest problems I have with manufactured patch cards is the fact that card manufacturers are starting to consider them actual "hits".  When the outside of a box states "At least one relic card per box" I'm looking for an actual relic from a game, not just some random piece of cloth packed into a card.  I'm not saying that these commemorative patches don't have their place in the hobby, but I wish that companies wouldn't consider them actual "hits".  Lets take 2008 Topps Letterman football for example.  Each factory sealed hobby box contains three mini-boxes.  Out of those three mini-boxes you are suppose to pull at least two autographed manufactured patch cards.  That means the third mini-box will contain just a plain unsigned manufactured patch.  I don't know about you, but spending $75.00 for an unsigned manufactured patch seems a lot to me.  Another problem I have is that new collectors can get confused an actually think that these cards are really "game-used".

I think the major card manufacturers have pushed these type of cards way too far like they do a lot of things.  They have overproduced them to the max.  In the end, I can't say that I dislike them too much.  Within my personal collection I have a Walter Johnson 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot commemorative patch #'ed/10.

What are your thoughts on manufactured patches?

Andrew Chrisman runs Sports Card Info, http://sportscardinfo.wordpress.com/
A blog that provides hobby news, stories, thoughts, and fake card information.