I’ve seen this posted elsewhere, but I finally got my letter from Topps announcing their new replacement policy for damaged cards. Here it is, for those who haven’t seen it yet:
A maximum of 25 cards per request is permitted, and each grouping must be accompanied by the following four items: (1) a letter of explanation, (2) copy of receipt from the store in which you purchased the cards, (3) pack wrappers and (4) proof of purchase (UPC code found on the bottom of the box) sent to the following address:
I’ve recently encountered two situations that make fulfilling those requirements impossible, so I called Topps customer service to find out how to deal with them. Here’s what happened and what they’ve told me to do:
1) I recently purchased a couple packs of Topps cards at my local hobby shop, and the inserts came out damaged. Since I didn’t buy the box, I have no UPC code, so I can’t meet requirement #4.
Customer service answer: Explain in the letter that these were pack purchases only and that you did not buy the full box and therefore do not have the UPC code. This should not cause a problem and the exchange should occur.
2) What if my box has more than 25 damaged cards? For example, say I buy a blaster box that costs me the soul of Ernie Lombardi and yields (on average) 6 damaged cards per pack. That’s 60 cards or so, and there’s only one UPC code on the box for me to send in. I can send the first 25 back without a problem, but what happens with the other 35 or so cards?
Customer Service answer: Send them all in the same package, but broken down into stacks of 25 with the UPC and receipt. Explain the situation and why you’ve done this. It may help you to personally call customer service yourself before doing something like this, explain the situation, and get the name of the person you spoke with. That way the letter reads “Jill Spokesperson said to do this” rather than “I read on some blog somewhere….”
There was no mention on how to replace Ernie Lombardi’s soul.
So there you go. The person I spoke with seemed very understanding, and it sounds like Topps will be willing to work with you to get your cards replaced as best they can.
Oh, and I’m not sure I buy the explanation as to why they’ve gone to this policy, and I’m not claiming that this is a good idea or that I’m on Topps side on this one. I just thought I’d share the problems I’ve encountered with it so far and the solutions for those with the same problems. The bottom line here is to call Topps, tell them your situation, and ask them what to do to get the problem resolved.
Hand Collated 