Card Identification Forum

1978 Big T/Tastee-Freez Discs

These are considered "trading cards"?  Not published by a trading card company, not inserted into packs of trading cards, and not sold by a major retailor.  Guess I should report it for removal??  The only thing it has going for it is the printed on cardboard.  I am not trying to stir the pot, but we have a lot of "trading cards" on this site that seems to be on here to document their existence more than to honor their nature of being a trading card. I mean we have playing cards, phone cards, postcards, dog tags (not inserted with cards) on the site and we accept those because they have pictures of sports people on them. Sorry, but like I said earlier, add these to the site and let Admin decide to take them out of the database, but we open a can of worms because there seems to be a lot of non "trading cards" that should be removed. 

Along with pins, matchbooks, pennants, cup lids, stamps, etc.

Dan--Where does it say on the site that is has to be "card stock"?  If it says so, then let me know.  That's the type of feedback I was hoping for (but have not recieved). More importanly--What is "card stock"?  What is the specific thickness that you require to be "card stock"?  Does it have to be paper or can plastic or cellophane  or metal be "card stock"? I would think that if it was that important the site would have defined that years ago. Again, maybe it is, just show me where.  I have not seen that definition on the site, but would happily abide by it if you could point me to the definition here in the site (even though PSA defines it differently).  I could just as easily (and quite frankly more likely) call a lot of the cards on here already as being, "photo stock", "postcard stock", "slightly thicker than loose leaf paper stock",  "box stock" or "carton stock", not card stock as its not defined here. Also Dan please answer my question as to why you reference PSA being an authority on this subject (via your referral back to Ed's comments), yet now you are suggesting that you are a higher authority than PSA on what a card is since PSA obviously considers cards cut from newspapers to be cards since they have such sets graded as cards?  And by the way its not that I don't like the answer I just want a logical answer that considers all the facts.

Not trying to be a jackwagon here, but to suddenly after years of seeing multiple sets that don't meet some undefined criteria ("card stock") to be listed here, to have this kind of push back is strange, particularly when one of the initial golden points I was for some reason referred to (PSA) supports my point.  
 

And I hope the Admin does not start removing all the sets that don't meet your personal "defintion" or even suddenly coming up with a defintion (that would exclude a lot of these sets) as that would be a disaster for the site as it would no longer be the definitive place for collectors to go.
 

Thank You.

Please stop reporting sets that have been graded by PSA, SGC, etc. Admin will not remove them.

First of all I appreciate the civility of the discussion albeit with tension due to the passion of the collector. For the record I believe this set should be included. I believe it to be in the spirit of "card" collecting.

Secondly I've always understood that this is Admin's site and what he says goes. Whether I agree or disagree doesn't matter. And frankly neither does what an L8 (Ed, Dan, or anyone else) believes unless one happens to be Admin. 

I suggest sending Admin an email as I did once when I was in a similar situation with strong opposition to inclusion of a set that I believed belonged but others didn't due to the letter of the law. You'll get the answer that matters, and it may not be to your satisfaction, but it's his site. My set was okayed for inclusion and is part of the vastness that is TCDB. But it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't reached out to Admin and requested his authorization.

Here, here!  I think ultimately the only resolution is to hear what Admin thinks and lets us know.

Having said that, I personally don't think these should be included.  Those scrapbook ones shouldn't either in my opinion (I think and arguement could be made for the other paper one because it looks like they were meant to be folded).  I wasn't aware pennants were on the site, and despite being pretty cool I don't think they should be included either.  Then again, I've disagreed on many other inclusions before and here they are.  In the end, its good you brought up the topic for discussion before just adding the set making for more work IF they aren't allowed.

Agree. Personally I would say no, but if it were up to me there are a bunch of things here that I wouldn't include, so take that for what it's worth. 

I would argue that this is the line that is important:

"Other items made by card companies, sold via card retailers, and authenticated by card grading companies are also allowable."

"Cards" intended to be cut from newspapers or magazines, with the express intention of being collected do not fit into the next section about t-shirt, plates and coffee mugs, that just seems to be about merchandise depicting images of cards. 

I think Admin needs to weigh in on this one personally.  If PSA grades "newspaper clippings" that are intended to be collected, then that would argue for inclusion based on that one line from the FAQ. I couldn't find anything on PSA's site about no longer grading those types of items.  I think the current guidelines are simultaneously too narrow (card companies, sold via card retailers - this would exclude a LOT of what is already listed here) and too vague (exactly what is a "card").

As per the very first item in the FAQ:

"The Trading Card Database is an archive of trading cards and all things trading card related."  

I would argue that these are definitely "trading card related".

But while we are here, it would be great to get a firm up/down ruling on pins, pinback badges and the like.

vrooomed wrote:

From the FAQ about "Other Collectibles":

Other collectibles that are inserted into packs or boxes of traditional trading cards are allowed to be listed in order to fully document the inserts that were included.

Other items made by card companies, sold via card retailers, and authenticated by card grading companies are also allowable.

Listing items created by third parties printed with the likeness of cards (like plates, coffee mugs, and T-shirts) goes beyond the scope of the site

The set you describe doesn't meet any of these criteria.

And just because other items have been added here DOES NOT mean that they should be here. THe site is crowd-sourced, so anyone can add items that do not meet these criteria. Having these discussions helps us keep these types of sets off of the site.

I think I would lean more toward it should be included.  We have other "cards" that were inserts in magazines and other sources.  This may not be a traditional trading card but it technically is a "card".

Of course I lean toward believing it is better to have more listed than less, even obsucre "cards" assuming they aren't bootlegs or artistic one card design customs.

Admin will only remove what Admin deems to be not eligible. He has allowed many sets to be listed and to remain that do not fall within his own rules and guidelines. I am only basing my answers from those R&G.

It does not state card stock anywhere but does (somewhere I can't remember exactly where) that images on photo paper are not allowed. That also includes (and Admin has removed) pictures cut out from magazines on regular paper, not the special card stock inserts with cards on them.

I never stated that PSA (nor I) is any sort of authority on "what a card is". Since Admin put that in the FAQ, we have discovered that PSA has been known to grade non-card items (items that Admin has expressly forbidden here). So, even that is tenuous at best.

If you can answer Yes to the following question, I'd say they are eligible for inclusion here, if No, they are not:
Is the set you're looking to add listed at COMC or Beckett? (And we know Beckett has been more relaxed on their criteria for inclusion, and we have been known to relax ours if they have it listed, which is one reason for the caps and pins that are listed here - not to mention that a good portion of those ARE made by card companies.)