I have put off doing my annual review of the collector’s staple; WNBA trading cards because i have ben trying to find good things to say about this set.  After months of trying, I cannot find a good thing to say other then they exist.

In 2005 Rittenhouse Archives purchases the rights to produce trading cards from the WNBA.  For the first time card production was in the hands of a non sports related company as Rittenhouse produces SciFi items.  Fans around round the country blinked and wondered what the producers of BattleStar Galattica trading cards were going to do with the likes of Tweety Nolan?  And while Lauren Jackson has a great accent she is no Sean Connery as James Bond.  However I do say that Diana Taurasi could kick Captain Kirk’s butt. 

When the 2005 trading card set was released collectors went crazy.  The product was amazing with the quality and creativity.  For the first time collectors could purchase a special binder to hold their cards.  Five thousand boxes were produced.  It included a base set of 90 cards and a variety chase sets filled with options.  Autographs with different pictures, uniform pieces of different colors.  Rookies.  All for the collector to snap up.   The size of the production run meant there was product for all and profit to be had on the secondary market.

I wish I could say that the 2009 release met the standard set by the 2005 set but I cannot.

Over the past 5 years I have watched the creativity of the set decline into something that only habit forced me to buy.  The 2009 trading cards consist of 3 mini-sets of traditional chase cards; team stats, rookies, autographs and uniform pieces.  There is a total of 499 of each of the 3 mini sets.  They are sold for around $100 USD.   I used to spend $2,000 USD on trading cards;  $900 or so for the Archive set and another 1100 on additional cases to get the archive set.  I used to give away the extra cards getting others into the trading card craze. Now it is not possible.  

I do not understand the changes.  For the past two years I have been banging my head to try to understand the “why” of the business model changes Rittenhouse has engaged in.  And then it hit me.  Rittenhouse has a business model for producing science fiction fantasy memorabilia.  They are faced with trying to produce new ways and items for the same thing over and over again.  I love Star trek as much as the next person but how many ways can you package Captain Kirk?  With movies and tv series you rarely have a cast change.  

The reverse is true of the WNBA.  Every year the cast of players changes.  The teams, usually, are the same however the past few years has seen teams come into existence, cease to exist and move.   Coaches also come and go.  Players come, go, are traded or take a year off.  Every year there is a new champion, new MVP’s, new All-Stars.  The cast of characters is constantly changing.

This is the concept that Rittenhouse has failed to grasp.  The packaging can remain the same as the content is forever changing.

I give the 2009 series a C- minus.  It is there, it has the usual stuff, but nothing to chase or go crazy for.  Ironically as I write and post this commentary eBay is loaded with 2005, 2006 WNBA trading cards as collectors continue to chase the myriad of autographs, and uniform color pieces.

I hope that in 2010 Rittenhouse returns to its original model of a 90 card base set with card number one going to the previous year’s Championship team.  The production run of 5,000 cases and its various chase sets truly set the standard.  One I hope Rittenhouse embraces and to which they return.