Is Panini going greedy? Mad? BOTH?

[dantzig]

Here's another rant thread! Hey, I did it with Topps, so why not Panini too after recent events?

So here's the deal: Panini is pushing hard on their online prices. I noticed when Premier League cards were way more expensive than usual, to the point where a Golden Baller is now costing 15€ (first time I saw a week ago, it was 11€).

Now I got the news that complete sets in Panini footbal albums increased from 80 to 130€... It's "just" more 50€, who cares right?

So I went to check if Panini in my country has increased prices... and they did of course, most notorious is Futebol stickers, which last season cost 20 cents per sticker, started this season with 25 cents and now it's 30 cents... Considering this escalation, I would say it's not over.

I have my own opinions about why this happens, will say briefly it's about what's more likely: covid, brexit, rookies.

Have to say I got a pretty good idea where this will end, but let's not make 2021 as depressing as last year

Looking forward to know your opinions. Stay safe all!

 

[levivo]

oh, in germany too. From 70 euro to 130 euro. LOL thats crazy!!!

For example: The women euro 2017 complete set has the price of 130 euro now. It got 334 Stickers. Which means approx. 39 cent for each sticker (despite the album is free).

Thats really insane!

 

[redwhite]

Indeed, in 2014 we could buy easily a factory sealed set for 60 EUR, later it went to 70 EUR, but now it's a very high increase.

Here in Belgium on Monday the 4th of January all prices for football related factory sealed sets went from 70 EUR to 130 EUR, cycling increased from 70 to 90 EUR while during the rest of the hole week in every other country they could still buy the same items for 70 EUR. But since last Sunday the 10th of January also the prices in those countries increased to 130 EUR.

At least we can say it's a shock!

 

[levivo]

I have to admin, indpenedent from this Thread i wrote a 2 pages letter to the customer responsible in germany panini. I just have to print it out and send it the next days.

I am argueing about the bad customer service, in which they don't read the questions correct and answer with a copy paste sentence. I also spoke about the possibility to buy for example premier league sticker on the german panini online shop, but no missing stickers. That this is a kind of naughty way to get customers to buy another display. They have to inform the customers before buying.

 

[Helios]

I already know the answers you will get:

We are sorry...
We have no influence on headquarters decisions.
Due to licensing restrictions we can not provide missing stickers service for any foreign country published edition.(customers needs is an unknown task for us)
It’s an improvement that we can offer albums and boxes of these series at all (!) - (don’t be as greedy as we are..)

Here you get 2 free sticker packs, (so be quiet..)

Happy collecting (!) (keep on buying)

 

[Makhno]

Well Panini France increased the prices the same way... I thought it was a joke but no...

 

[Ceesmk]

Price for missing stickers is crazy too! For example, I wanted to buy for a child his last missing stickers for "Mickey 90 years" released in 2018 because I make an order for my last French Foot 2021. And the price is... 0,70 !!!!

 

[redwhite]

Indeed, the price for missing stickers increased also.
The stickers of the recent releases increased with only 0,05 EUR while others increased with 0,60 EUR.
For example:
FIFA365 2016: 0,40EUR->1EUR and the rarest images are sold out.
and stickers as USA 94 are now 2 EUR! I thought before it was 1,5 EUR

 

[Jamiepr74]

Look at the comparison in prices since my order last year.....it's doubled!

Panini are going to price themselves out of business if they carry on like this!

 

[Dieter]

That's not even a slight increase of price it's insane. Wonder what their packets will cost in the collections this year... Will they increase the prices in the same way?
@redwhite they where 1,5 before indeed, now all are 2 euro.

 

[levivo]

i am so much pissed. I just wanted to order many stickers which are missing in my collections. Now the price is too much. I think thats kind of nasty to nearly double the prices.

 

[gaspy]

Well, I made just a little count.

The Calciatori 2020-2021 collection includes 884 stickers (with full updates).
The 150 packet box costs € 99,90€, meaning € 0,1332/sticker (this is the cheapest option if you buy official produts).
At best the sticker set would cost around € 118.

Actually I will necessarily spend more, because of the swaps I need to make and for the (possible) purchase of missing stickers and updates.
Not to say that I also purchased the complete 6 tin box set and the hardcover album. However these products are not part of a complete set that Panini will sell for € 130.

In my opinion, in this way the price for Calciatori sets is closely aligned to reality, not so previously, when many collectors found it cheaper to buy the complete set rather than 'build' the collection sticker after sticker.
Of course, the situation is quite different for the many collections that have a significantly lower number of stickers.

In any case it is no longer so convenient to buy the complete sets that will be made available, in a few months after their release, on the online shop. Panini's purpose is to sell pack after pack of stickers NOW, in each country where the collections respectively are released. Collectors who previously could afford to buy the complete collections released in other countries through the online shop, will now be forced either to spend much more, or to rely on local collectors (but basically that's what all of us hard collectors have been doing for years: asking for other collectors' help).

The issue of rookie stickers may have impacted the recent dramatic increase in the cost of full collections. It is well known that a seller could buy a complete set for € 60 just to resell those 4/5 rookie stickers for 100 times the original price after a few years. Now this (hopefully) will no longer be possible.

 

[dantzig]

Aha! Now this thread took off

It's clear the stickers/cards now are more valuable, because of the rookies and good players. The 2020 demand surge made Panini realize there's much more money to be made.

IF the problem is indeed the huge demand for the rookies, maybe retail sales are saved from those new prices. One small hope that next Euro sets will still have affordable prices.

Let's not forget though that Panini CAN fight this back without "punishing" all collectors. Some stickers are ordered more? Print more. What, it's much much more? Print much much more. Flood the mf market with those stickers, offer will be so high that'll slowly drive away those hoarders and speculators.

 

[Jamiepr74]

In any case it is no longer so convenient to buy the complete sets that will be made available, in a few months after their release, on the online shop. Panini's purpose is to sell pack after pack of stickers NOW, in each country where the collections respectively are released. Collectors who previously could afford to buy the complete collections released in other countries through the online shop, will now be forced either to spend much more, or to rely on local collectors (but basically that's what all of us hard collectors have been doing for years: asking for other collectors' help).

The issue of rookie stickers may have impacted the recent dramatic increase in the cost of full collections. It is well known that a seller could buy a complete set for € 60 just to resell those 4/5 rookie stickers for 100 times the original price after a few years. Now this (hopefully) will no longer be possible.

That is a very good point about the complete sets instead of buying the packs of stickers - and as for the rookie situation, we've all been saying it, print more of what's in demand. Otherwise Panini are now just as greedy as online sellers buy pushing their prices up as the sellers are making more money than them.

 

[LFC1892]

$15 for a Invincible card from AXL 2021. I pulled about 8 of them in boxes and packs. While the Top Masters are only $6 and some of them are hard to pull. Oblak & VVD come to mind.

What are they smoking at Panini?

 

[dantzig]

$15 for a Invincible card from AXL 2021. I pulled about 8 of them in boxes and packs. While the Top Masters are only $6 and some of them are hard to pull. Oblak & VVD come to mind.

What are they smoking at Panini?

Nah, Oblak and VVD have the same ratio as the other six, you just had bad luck with them... If anything, it's again people chasing Messi and Ronaldo (maybe VVD too) that makes these a bit more rare.

But the Invincible card is indeed quite easy, which is another proof how disconnected the departments are, just like Topps. Whoever is in charge of online store doesn't know jack about what production department decides to be rarer or easier.

In that 365 particular case, we know that Invincible card is damn easy to get, but Panini prices the card only looking at their ratio... and what do we see in 365 2021? Invincible card with 1:50! Therefore, for Panini Online Store, "Rarer ratios means rarer cards!"

They do this EVERY-SINGLE-TIME, though obviously they are right in many cases (2018 World Cup Top Masters were indeed the rarest cards)... And when they're completely wrong, it's quite amusing to see them asking a lot for something everyone has.

 

[LFC1892]

Nah, Oblak and VVD have the same ratio as the other six, you just had bad luck with them... If anything, it's again people chasing Messi and Ronaldo (maybe VVD too) that makes these a bit more rare.

But the Invincible card is indeed quite easy, which is another proof how disconnected the departments are, just like Topps. Whoever is in charge of online store doesn't know jack about what production department decides to be rarer or easier.

In that 365 particular case, we know that Invincible card is damn easy to get, but Panini prices the card only looking at their ratio... and what do we see in 365 2021? Invincible card with 1:50! Therefore, for Panini Online Store, "Rarer ratios means rarer cards!"

They do this EVERY-SINGLE-TIME, though obviously they are right in many cases (2018 World Cup Top Masters were indeed the rarest cards)... And when they're completely wrong, it's quite amusing to see them asking a lot for something everyone has.

I did pull both Oblak and VVD around 3 or 4 times it's just I pulled more of the others. CR7 & Messi & GOALandowski & Neymar were more common for me. Agree that whoever does the single cards section on the Panini site hasn't a Scooby WTF is going on with the releases.

 

[Jamiepr74]

After asking Panini by email why they’ve effectively doubled their prices.....this was their reply. Astonishing that they didn’t even tell my why!

 

[dantzig]

After asking Panini by email why they’ve effectively doubled their prices.....this was their reply. Astonishing that they didn’t even tell my why!

View attachment 17022

"Oh, what a tragedy... You sad? Want a tissue? We don't care what you think, so stop whining and go buy some more, we know you'll do it!"

Probably a decision made by comercial department with the bosses approval, so customer service mustn't know anything too.

An almost 60-year company deserved much more.

 

[Helios]

Wow..not even trying to explain with reasons as higher costs due to environmental change, global warming, melting poles, covid crisis, Juve not winning the scudetto, Tom Brady not retiring..