Leaf's Take On Redemption Cards

Many collectors will agree that redemptions are a serious problem within the hobby. The companies are excited to include a player in the auto checklist only to get put in to a position when the player does not return the cards/stickers in time for pack out. Sadly there have been situations where a player eventually skips signing the cards or even has someone else sign for them (we all know it happens no matter what the card companies say). I remember last year hearing about an athlete losing a stack of autograph cards, which could lead to a whole new problem if it happens more often.

 

Not that redemptions are going anywhere any time soon, they are a part of the hobby now just like sticker autographs. While these problems could be relieved by companies not including players on the checklist unless they can ensure the player will sign before the release date or have the autographs in hand before adding them to the checklist but at this point it seems to be a useless argument on our end.

 

But recently we have seen attempts by a couple of the companies to make amends with the collectors who support them. Leaf if one of those companies. It has been noted before that Leaf has worked hard to ensure that all autographs are packed out but obviously it is not always possible and they realize this so with the upcoming 2012 Leaf Metal Draft Baseball release that comes out next week they have set up what is being called “Hot Redemptions”.

 

To compensate collectors who will pull a redemption card they have set up a program to reward the collector with up to 5 signed cards from the particular player. If you do pull a redemption you sign up through their redemption link at Redeemleaf.com and key in the info and you will see a virtual online pack that you get to open and you will immediately see what you will receive for the redemption.

 

I know it does not fix the redemption problem but it helps if you know you are getting five autographs from Carlos Correa or Mike Zunino instead of just one card. Though the down side is that if the autographs get delayed then you are waiting on five autographs instead of one.