Economics Quiz | Thursday, July 15th, 2021
Topshot's economist has left us some homework to do. I turned in my answers early.
It’s Thursday, that alone is cause for celebration!
How’d you do yesteday? I managed to score a pack in the first Priority Queue. I was pretty pleased when I pulled a Chris Paul Rare from it too.
As the night wore on and the Suns ultimately lost the game, the low ask on CP3’s new moment fell by $30, and my listing for almost-the-low ask became just another middle listing. I hate you, undercutters!
The Bucks beat the Suns to tie up the series 2-2. Giannis’ block with a little over a minute left will surely be one of the signature moments of the Holo Icon set.
A new Quest is out for last night’s game: showcase the night’s +/- winners.
Buyers and Sellers
-4,500 buyers
Movers and Losers
General Advice
Topshot’s new economist shared their first ever blog post, and in it some of the thinking behind the mint sizes, the intention for the drop and more. This should be required reading for anyone interested in Topshot.
The post ends by posing a series of questions. I’m going to give my answers to each of these questions but it’s worth asking where you stand on each of these issues too.
What balance of packs should go to PQ1 and what to set aside for the GQ?
This cuts to Question 3 right away, but it should be staggered such that PQ1 gives you both the best odds AND the most odds. In this 6K pack drop I’d have gone PQ1 =3K packs, PQ2 = 2K packs, GQ =1K packs.
I also wouldn’t have set aside so many (1500) packs for internal use, but I guess this pack is particularly good for advertising.
Should collectors be able to buy multiple packs when others don’t get any?
Probably not, unless we’re talking a Legendary drop where just being eligible to purchase is it’s own kind of merit badge. If the demand is soft amongst that group, sure why not.
How many levels should specific drops have?
LOTS AND LOTS!! Literally, what’s stopping you? These 5K gaps are actually chasms. Too huge of a spread. And deeply unfair to collectors who’ve been on the platform for months to get lumped in with beginners who snagged a rookie pack all willy-nilly and then spend $9 more to become eligible. Those are not the same collector and should be demarcated as such.
How much of a drop requirement should be base Collector Score vs. the max drop bonus?
Here’s the truth I actually hate the Bonus Score.
I, and the whole Topshot economy EAGERLY await the day where pack pricing and Collector Score eligiblity level are standard depending on the pack’s tier. Commons always cost $___ going forward and you need a Collector Score of X. Same for Rare, and Legendaries. I know it’s a beta, it’s an experiment.
IT REALLY REALLY FEELS LIKE YOU’RE MAKING UP THE PRICING AND MINT COUNT AND ESPECIALLY THE REQUIRED COLLECTOR SCORE AS YOU GO ALONG.
SETTLE IT DOWN!
I hate trying to keep track of my Collector Score (I’m a Baller Status guy at heart) in regards to a pack drop, and I hate trying to keep up with the varying scores for each drop. Make it standard!
How far apart should PQ1 be from middle tiers?
If you settle on five tiers, they should be equal gaps between each tier. If you go with 6+ or even 4, I’m fine with having a slightly larger hump to overcome to reach that final PQ1 tier. As I said, there’s nothing stopping you from creating any number of tiers. So have fun with it!
What is a fair limit for the GQ which is inclusive of new collectors, but fair to more seasoned collectors with modest Collector Scores?
The 100 CS thing is fine. You’ve created a nice pathway with starter packs and Team Bonus to give anyone a “puncher’s chance” to use your parlance, to score big.
The thing is, you shouldn’t lump collectors with 50+ moments into that category with the beginners. I have a “puncher’s chance” to beat LeBron 1-on-1 on the court, right? I mean, he could trip on his shoelaces, or be kind or any other reason. At the same time if I were picking winners for money, I like an NBA bench player’s long odds over my own to beat him.
That’s where the February & March collectors are at right now.
They are NBA bench players (and as long as we’re using this analogy I’ll say they haven’t received the support, development and training from the team that they need to make the starting 5). They’re not G-Leaguers, and don’t need a handout or a hand held. They need an opportunity to see the court! Give them their own tier!
These are great questions, and I’m happy the TS Economist is asking them.
It’s a real challenge creating these divisions with only 6,000 packs of supply to work with. In larger drops, hopefully both the passions of the community will spark further answers and ideas, and we’ll see more creative wiggle room from the team.
What do you think about these questions? Hit reply and share your thoughts!
Links for Thinks
The Miami Heat are celebrating their ‘06 Title with an NFT. Because you know they already have plenty of NFTs celebrating them losing in last year’s Finals.
VaynerNFT closed a deal with Anheuser-Busch to be their NFT purveyor of record.
Thanks for reading. Did you score a pack yesterday? Are you seething mad you didn’t? Hit reply and tell me how you’re feeling!