General Forum

I also agree with you. All these parallel sets and insert set drive me crazy. I mean don't get me wrong they look cool but I just want to collect to complete sets now look for them most valuable card in them

I also agree with the chorus. I like the occasional parallel or insert, especially if it's a nice looking card, but it's too the point that's it's just too much.  When I open the pack, it feels like a third to half the cards are nothing but inserts or parallels.  When I buy a pack, I'm buying it for the base set.

I agree with majority. It has gotten so crazy even the regular inserts have multiple parallels. I miss the simplicity of a few inserts and and maybe one or two parallel sets like 90' Topps and Fleer Ultra Sets.So now I just focus on the base sets and inserts and for Topps the Gold sets.

I'm a collector with many completed sets between 1968-1993. Then I got married and had kids and the cards were not a priority in my life. So now I am trying to finish off those pre-68 sets and post-93 sets. I only buy affordable stuff so I don't worry about the cost of the parallels. Maybe someday after I finish off all of the base sets. I am also working on using Google Sheets to manage my checklists. It is mind-boggling to understand the enormity of the task of creating a checklist for the main Topps product, including every parallel and insert and mail-in and redemption/exchange set. I am recently retired, but working on this checklist is like having a full-time job. It took me about a month to finish it off.

I've been saying this for years, and I finally drew the line and am not collecting 2021 Topps flagship.  I generally like to collect the obtainable inserts with my base sets.  But this year, the inserts are absolutely nothing but reprints or new players in old designs.  Only one insert with some original thought behind it.  And you can hardly find those.  Previous years inserts are chock full of more shiny cards of the big stars and not much else.  And then they started putting less inserts in each pack.  And I agree that parallel inserts are completely useless.  And annoying when you can't tell it's a parallel because only a little sliver of one corner is the other color.

I'd really like to know how much of a product like Big League they sell compared to the other shiny rookie saturated junk they put out.  I'll bet it doesn't do that bad.  They cater to the chasers and the hype machine, but I bet there are plenty of us that would be happier with just simple products that are easier to complete in a couple boxes.  I'll stick with Ginter, which at least has some creativity in it's content, and maybe not even that every year.  I'm done with flagship.  They've "jumped the shark".

I use to be a set builder back in the late 90's early 2000's but got Disillusioned with the short printed cards in the base set. I never worried if they wanted to have 1 of 1 cards or what ever but make them inserts. I did complete the 94 collectors choice and 95 coll. ch. SE silver sigs.