It’s a good news/bad news kinda thing. You’ve just won something in that unopened pack of cards, but you’re going to have to wait for it. Topps is hoping its new internet program will speed things up.

In an effort to improve the ease in which consumers can exchange redemption cards, Topps announced today that 2008 Topps Baseball Series 2 will mark the launch of Topps Online Redemption Program.

"Our number one priority is to completely eliminate redemptions from our products,” Marketing Director Mark Sapir said. “Although we have made progress in this direction, sometimes redemptions are unavoidable. We believe this new online redemption system will allow for a quicker, easier and improved redemption process for our collectors."

Beginning with Topps Baseball Series 2, all redemption cards (see attached) will contain a unique alpha-numeric code on the back that can be entered at www.topps.com/redemptions. After entering the code, the site will allow customers to track the status of their redemptions and send an automatic update when redemptions are shipped.

"We believe this is a step in the right direction and we will continue to focus on improving our customer experience across all facets of our business," Topps General Manager Warren Friss said.