General Forum

Life is like a pack of baseball cards. You never know what you're gonna get. 

The only thing I could see is the small window to redeem exchange cards. You pull a highly desirable 1/1 exchange card only to find out you are 6 months past the redemption period so you don't get the card. What happens to the card at the factory? Are there stacks of cards sitting at headquarters never to be distributed because the redemption cards were never mailed in? That is the real crime.

Topps portion of this will be thrown out almost instantly.

Topps covers themselves under sweepstakes law by providing a free method of entry into the chances to receive any specific card as well as providing odds printed clearly on each pack.

This is open and shut as far as they are concerned.  Panini is a different matter as they don't treat their cards and offerings in the same manner.

They're supposed to be destroyed. In an old YT video, Upper Deck mentioned they burn them (and all memorabilia leftovers that can't be used on a card) to ensure that they'll never enter the market and dilute the distribution ratios. It should also explain why quite often they were unable to replace a defective card for the another copy of the same card in the days they had enough class, respect and customer service to replace the damaged stuff they released.

I'm not a lawyer, but I am a librarian with access to legal databases. So I've found the Topps complaint in Lexis Uni. 

In the first few pages of the filed complaint (Wheeler v. The Topps Company, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-02264), it appears the basis for the complaint is drawn from a couple examples.

• While NPN instructions are found on packs, hobby boxes (and I'm presuming other retail boxes for selling packs) don't include the same specific directions. The case includes images of the Topps 2022 hobby box.
• Where NPN instructions are included on the box--in this case, an example of a 2021 Bowman Platinum blaster box--the terms are onerous due to conflicts in product release dates and deadlines on submitting requests. 

The complaint appears to suggest that the language on the boxes implies there is an advantage to buying the product over not buying the product; and that "Consumers erroneously believe their only way to obtain the valuable redemption cards is through purchasing the Product." This then allows Topps to sell their product at a premium, at higher prices than similar, more clearly marked products, and to sell more product than they otherwise might. The complaint further suggests that if the NPN terms had been more clearly marked, "Plaintiff and class members would not have purchased the Product or paid as much if the true facts had been known, suffering damages."

Obviously, I'm skipping several of the underlying legal arguments that pertain to statute and case law. It's not a long read, if you've got access to a legal database; check your local university libraries if they offer access to the public. It will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out.

As I live in NY I am not allowed to enter Upper Deck's NPNs, although I can with Panini. 

That seems like discrimination to me. I know several other states also are barred from entering.