Prime 9 Redemption Time
(…I drove an hour round-trip for this…)
During BoBuBingo, the very last card I pulled was a Prime 9 redemption card for Week 1. For those not in the know, it’s a little program Topps does to attract more business to the LCS’s of the world. LCS? No, not League Championship Series. Local Card Shop. Don’t worry. It took me a while to figure it out, and I’m a freakin’ card blogger. Back on track… You can only redeem your Prime 9 cards at a Topps HTA (Home Team Advantage) LCS, and you can only redeem the particular redemption cards you pull within the specific dates listed on the front of those cards. The thinking is that this program will get collectors into the brick and mortar shops to buy stuff from them instead of from online sources.
This year’s Prime 9 cards are centered around Home Run Legends. The first in the set, which I pulled, is long-time Home Run Champ, Hank Aaron. The redemption window was supposed to be open from Monday February 13 until Sunday February 19. It took me until today to finally find a shop here in The Cities that had them. According to the shops, although the window was opened on Monday, the cards were not even shipped out until Tuesday. And so today somewhere between 3 and 4 pm, the UPS truck dropped off a shipment of Prime 9′s to the HTA LCS I would eventually venture to. I left my house at about 10 after 4 and arrived at Three Stars Sports Cards at around 4:30. I got in, handed in my card and watched the dealer open his box of Prime 9′s for the first time before he slipped my new card into a penny sleeve. We made chit-chat small talk while the card was handed around, since we were the first to see them. I left the store, sat in my truck, snapped a quick photo of my new shiny card for twitter, and then made my way back home.
WORTH THE WAIT?
I got home from my journey for a fresh chrome refractor of a camp-ily designed insert-style card of Hank Aaron at a little after 5pm. I can’t help but wonder if the gas I used was more valuable than the card I now possess. This was a card that I could have had four days ago had things gone to Topps’ plan, but as it stands, I have it four days late. Was this card worth waiting for? Was this card worth an hour’s-worth of driving? Well, as all we collectors know, a card’s worth and value is purely and simply subjective. Where the card itself may have failed in its presentation, and where its providing company may have failed slightly in its promised delivery, both the card and its company did succeed in their mutually intended goal. It got me out to an LCS.
That really is the entire point of this program. Now I’m aware of another local shop that, while still a bit of a drive away, is closer to my home than most other shops in The Cities. While I didn’t spend a red cent there today, the chances of me returning to make a purchase increased exponentially today simply because of a redemption card. While perhaps I may have felt more justified making that trip to redeem an autograph (and not necessarily of Hank Aaron–though, come on, that would OBVIOUSLY be cool), these cards are nice enough to get a few collectors to become new patrons of a store they never knew existed. When all is said and done, I’m of the opinion that this program is a very smart move on Topps’ part. Let’s keep the LCS’s alive!
TRADE BAIT
For anyone who doesn’t feel like going through the hassle of paying for one of these cards, I’ve put my Hank Aaron up for trade. You can find it in the “Trade Bait” section at the top of the blog. Remember, it’s a chrome refractor, it’s the Week 1 card, and it’s the very first Prime 9 redeemed at Three Stars Sports Cards! So go on and get it, and HAPPY TRADING!
