I'm probably a little biased because I'm getting a bunch of strata for myself, but let me refute some of the dismal predictions about strata:
1. Some of the cards look ok, but the big hits will be super rare.....
They can't be as rare as they were in topps platinum or topps finest, because the print run is limited to less than 2200 cases. Topps platinum and Topps finest had print runs of over 6000+. So even if there were no base autos of Luck/RG3, in Strata they would be "more common" than in platinum/finest.
2. Topps Letterman all over again. Cue the lemmings running towards the cliff.
Topps Letterman suffered gravely from "manufactured patches" that were not declared as "manufactured" initially. Moreover, as the name of the product reveals, this was the major selling point of the product. As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, these patches weren't even on jerseys. When the consumer received these manufactured patches, it left a bad taste in their mouth because they found out that they weren't real game-used patches, and they weren't as rare as they thought they would be. Nobody believes that the patches in Strata will be game-used. We all know that they will be rookie photo shoot-used. Hey, at least these patches will have been actual patches on a jersey, and at least the jerseys will have actually been worn.
Add in the fact that at least some of the autographs will be on-card, and the fact that the product is introducing a new type of technology into the industry that hasn't been used before, and I can't help but root for this product.
I won't be the one to guarantee that the product is going to be a hit, because I don't want people blaming me if it does flop. But I AM putting my money where my mouth is; I am heavily invested into this product.
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