Hey @fanatics @michaelrubin , the promise of buying @topps has been improved product, fewer redemptions, and flow. And sure, the F1 season starts March 2, and sapphire launches on March 1, but this is a forced launch given F1 Chrome launched today. Where's the flow management?
Launching two products within two weeks in the same genre (not even talking Dynasty here) is sub-optimal for collectors, breakers, and LCS. In other words, for the hobby.
This comes on the heels of Bowman Draft/Topps Heritage/Bowman Black/Bowmans Best stacked on top of each other during an inane holiday rush.
This means consumer spending is crunched, and will have to impact sales flow. Day 0 for F1 Chrome was a new experience on @fanaticslive , but let's see how the pace of fills continues on Days 1-5, and 6-10. F1 fans may quickly turn the page toward Sapphire and means inventory levels of F1 Chrome will flip the conversation from the launch window to "the art of the long view" and "long tail" discussions.
And this is without even getting into pricing. F1 sapphire at $259/box at launch last year, and Montgomery club sales this year already at $389/box but value prop not easily or clearly defined beyond (hopefully not sticker) autos.
The opportunity is there, but the execution needs attention. The promise and upside of what Fanatics can bring to the table is great news for consumers, but the message gets muddled when the product car crashes happen. (Insert your own Crashtifi joke here. lol)
Sincerely, P.J.