Panini announces their plan for 2011'12

[Hands]

From Beckett:

NBA fans, your wait for trading cards is officially almost over.

Panini America announced its plans for the 2011-12 NBA card season on Tuesday with what it calls a “completely overhauled roster” of products.

The company, which is the lone NBA card licensee, will launch its offerings with the high-end 2012 Preferred coming in late-February. That high-end product will include three autographs and one six- or eight-swatch booklet card in every pack. Its price — $200 a pop.

“We are excited by the return of the NBA and look forward to delivering NBA trading cards to basketball fans around the world with the release of our 2011-12 NBA products,” said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop. “There was so much excitement for the NBA and its players last season and we are looking forward to picking up where we left off. The time away has only strengthened the demand for Panini NBA trading card products and we’re confident that our new product roster will be well-received.”

Up next will be 2011-12 NBA Hoops, which returns after several years on the bench. That brand, arriving in March, will carry a suggested retail price of $1 a pack and include autographed buyback cards from the inaugural 1989-90 NBA Hoops set. It also will have a hobby version costing $2 a pack which will include two sigs per box.

Planned products for later in the year include 2011-12 Limited, arriving in May, 2011-12 Past & Present (set for June) and 2011-12 Gold Standard set to arrive in July. The last two products will include redemption cards for the first cards from the 2011-12 rookie class as well as redemptions for the 2012-13 NBA Draft picks.

The five brands — six if you count hobby Hoops as a “different” product — are the only sets the company presently plans to produce. That’s down from 16 brands, plus the Adrenalyn gaming set, last season.

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Hoops will be a hit for sure with those sentimental collectors.
I wonder which buyback autos they will have?
Spurs fans will go NUTS if they have a David Robinson RC buyback auto.

I think it is awesome that they have reduced the number of products.
I'm surprised that they have omitted National Treasures.
I have never been a fan but many basketball collectors will be gutted.

[camaropat]

".....and we are looking forward to picking up where we left off."

This is one of the scariest quotes in the whole press release. I hope they dont pick up where they left off, lol.

In all seriousness though, I think that halfing the products they put out will help with their quality control problem, I hope. Gold Standard Im guessing wont live up to its name again this year though, especially if its boxed autos that are cut off and delivering a box full of no-name rookie hits. I saw horror stories about Gold Standard last year and it made me not want to ever buy any.

As for Hoops, I think its a good idea to bring back a dead set for nastalgia collectors but to make it so low-end is a mistake IMO. Its like if UD brought back Collectors Choice, they werent worth buying then, and are definately not worth buying now, lol. The Robinson buyback would be AMAZING though, but too bad there will be no Jordan.

[Hands]

The Hoops $1-2 packs will be good for the kids.
That is how I started lol

Don't think I will be busting any Panini stuff this year.
Nothing grabs me eh?

[camaropat]

Yeah, Im not really too keen on busting any Panini next year also. I may bust a bit to pick up a few of the Nuggets rookies (Jordan Hamilton and Kenneth Faried) and check out the Hoops, but will most likely be buying a few singles and staying with busting football, lol.

I started the same way, with Collectors Choice, thats how I know none of it is worth anything, even the Gold parallels arent worth much, lol.

[posluzny09]

In my opinion Collectors choice had some nice cards. I know the bv isnt really all there but think of how hard it was to find a gold sig. of a player you collected at one per box. How many cards in a set? 250-300? Try putting that gold sig set together at one a box. I am big fan of a lot of 90's one box inserts.