2015 Topps Stickers

It's time for Topps Stickers again. I wasn't too kind to this product last year and I was determined to be a bit more positive this year. But...

First off, some good points.  I like the design this year. In fact my biggest complaint from last year, that the banner at the bottom of the card was too too large, was addressed.

I like this year's design, very simple but modern looking.

There are fewer cards in the set this year, only 301 vs. 350 last year. They look to have done away with the puzzle cards which, in my opinion, is a good thing.

There are 10 cards per team, including a logo card. The extra card is #1, a Topps logo card.  There is a retired player featured for most teams. Some retired players are good. It helps keep an old guy like me interested.

I say most teams because I checked the Phillies and Astros and neither has a retired player in the team set.

Each team's mascot is featured.

 Is this the scariest looking mascot in major league baseball?

I presume there are rookie logo cards but I didn't get one in the 5 packs I bought.  As usual the team logo cards come 2 to a card.

 The packaging is different this year.

The wrapper is sealed along the short edges and crimped along the long edges. They are difficult to open without damaging the stickers.

This is the typical result if you're not careful. Note the damage on the right edge.  Also, the paper stock is noticeably thinner this year, so even if they are the same price, $1 for an 8-sticker pack, they seem to have been more cheaply produced. They also seem to be harder to peel this year. I think kids might get frustrated.

My local Target had the sticker albums this year, which I don't remember seeing in past years. The album cost $2 but Target was selling them for $1. The album is nice and I can see how kids might enjoy putting the stickers in the album.

I think the set might be hard to complete. At 8 stickers per pack and $1/pack you'd need almost 40 packs to complete the set. Since you won't get unique cards in each pack (although in 5 packs I didn't get any dups) it'd probably cost more like $80 to complete. The logo cards might be hard to complete as I only got one in 5 packs.