The old adage ‘good things come to those who wait’ has been an unfulfilled promise for thousands of collectors who pull autograph IOUs in packs. The dreaded redemption cards that take the place of signed cards when the autographs aren’t available when the product is packaged have been a bane of existence for collectors for many years. Most come with expiration dates, meaning an older product that surrenders a redemption card loses value after that date.
Now, Topps is letting those products breathe a little.
The company announced Monday that it would be extending the expiration window for redemption cards from two years to ten years. That promise is good for all sports card releases branded with 2021-22 dates or later. In other words, a redemption card issued with a 2022 product that was set to expire this year will still be good until 2032, not 2024. The ten-year expiration window will be true regardless of what expiration date is stated on the card.
The move should mean products issued over the last two years will maintain their value longer if collectors know that an autograph redemption card pulled from the box can still be redeemed. 
Of course, that’s all assuming the autographs are eventually acquired by Topps. One of the major issues with autographed cards in products is that athletes either don’t return the signed cards in time for the product’s release or they don’t return them at all. Sometimes the player or his agent feels their compensation wasn’t adequate and tries to extract more money in the deal. If Topps or another manufacturer balks, the deal can fall apart or be delayed by months or years.
The major sports player unions now part of the upcoming exclusive licenses Fanatics has acquired beginning in 2025 and ’26 so the hope is that they’ll be more diligent about signing cards, knowing successful products mean more sales and consequently, more money for them. Topps stated Monday that the amount of redemption cards going into products is down substantially.”
Topps also stated Monday that in the last year, it had cut the number of redemptions owed to collectors from 70,000 to less than 10,000. That’s still a lot, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.
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Panini Set to Automatically Fulfill Some Older Autograph Redemption Cards This Fall
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Notes: Dating Michael Jordan Rookie Card Photos; Big $ for ’69 Basketball; Fanatics Jobs; Tim Talks Autographs
