A letter about Panini - and a retraction

I wrote a pretty scathing piece about Panini and Beckett this morning.  I thought about modifying the piece - but in the end, I found it wasn't coherent enough to really remedy - so I thought I'd start from scratch.

What was in the piece this morning:

1) I posted a video of Beckett's review of Court Kings basketball.  You can watch it here.

2) Beckett, in the video, pulled an amazing Kobe Bryant on-card auto numbered 8/24.

3) I blasted Panini for sending a "loaded box".

My actions after the piece was written:

1) I went first to Panini's twitter account and asked why they would sully a great product with a loaded box Beckett.

2) I went to Panini's facebook page and asked again why they would dirty up a great product with a dirty dealing with Beckett. 

3) Finally, I wrote an email to Scott Prusha asking him if he'd seen the Beckett video and why Panini would do such a thing as send a "loaded" box to Beckett - especially in the wake of the bad press they're taking after the Stephen Strasburg 9.5 grade they just gave.  Now I have no idea who Scott Prusha even was - I'd never had any kind of contact with him before, but his name was always attached to the press releases.  So I wrote him.

And do you know what?  Mr. Prusha called me - at my house - to discuss the issue.  And I asked him point blank if he sent a loaded box to Beckett.

And he told me, "no".  Point blank, he told me that the box was sent from a random seeding in a sealed case.

So Mr. Prusha and I talked on the phone for about ten minutes to hash the thing out.  And first and foremost, I know that I'm not a "big player" in the hobby.  There are sites like mine out there that actually generate their own revenue - sites that talk to card company insiders on a regular basis.  I am not one of those sites.  So I was a bit taken aback that Mr. Prusha took the time to call me.

And here's what we touched on: 

1) Mr. Prusha himself sends the boxes to Beckett.  And he says there was no conspiracy to get a loaded box into Beckett.  And you know what, I'll take him at his word.  I've got no reason to think he's going to lie to me.  I'll give anybody a fair shake their first go 'round with me. 

2) I did express to Mr. Prusha though that there is a large community that still abhors Beckett (myself included) - and any dealings that Panini has with Beckett will more than likely be viewed through a person's view of Beckett.  And that's just how it is.  Beckett is a powerhouse in the hobby.  They get the most views - so they get the most play from the card companies.  It's a simple mathematical equation really, and the logical part of me does understand that.  But the collector in me will never overlook what Beckett has done in the past.  I can't overlook the Strasburg 9.5 grade.  I can't overlook the Upper Deck 1/1 scandals of the past.  And I can't overlook that Beckett prices cards and that people quote "book values" from these magazines they print.  Magazines full of prices that don't match actual market values as seen on internet marketplaces.  So in that respect, Mr. Prusha and I will have to agree to disagree on the principles of Beckett.  Does the card company need Beckett for mass exposure?  Yes.  But do a lot of collectors feel that Beckett literally is the DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE?  Yes.  Agree to disagree.

And so I do apologize for taking my crusade to denounce Beckett to Panini's public sites.  That wasn't the way to handle it.  But if I would've known that I could write a person like Mr. Prusha and recieved a response, I wouldn't have gone that route. 

And this time, I'm going to take Mr. Prusha at his word.  He tells me point-blank that he grabbed two boxes out of a case and mailed them?  Okay.  It's not a trend yet with Panini that I could build on to accuse them concrete of collusion yet.  Not like Upper Deck's handlings with Beckett.

Do I like the fact that Beckett has a wonderful card like that?  No.  And I'll never change on that.  My ire is so much more with Beckett at this point.  But I would've been equally pissed if they would've had an on-card Batum  auto or something.  Hell, I just don't like the fact that Beckett has cards.  But that's my issue.  Not Panini's.

And finally, Mr. Prusha and I ended on a bit of levity.  After talking it through, I told him I would print a retraction and set the record straight as he gave it to me.  And he laughed and said that he would put me back on the mailing list - a list I was taken off of for a moment due to my wee rant on facebook this morning.

Cooler heads have prevailed - and this is my official response to the issue.