NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A new class action lawsuit says card collectors are being scammed by the "unlawful lottery" that is the "redemption card" promotion.
Lawyers Spencer Sheehan, Steffan Keeton and Scott Borison filed suit on March 18 in New York City federal court, complaining that the card industry is cheating consumers as it rakes in record profits. Named as a defendant is The Topps Company.
Redemption cards are included in packs and allow the buyer to enter a special code to obtain a random specialty card. The suit says the value of these specialty cards - which are found not just in baseball packs but also wrestling, automotive and Star Wars - can be up to $50,000.
"However, often the only way to obtain these valuable items is through purchasing the product," the suit says. "In requiring purchase of the product and rendering it difficult to impossible for non-purchasers to obtain the redemption cards, consumers are misled to purchase items they otherwise would not have to, at higher prices."
The suit calls it an unlawful lottery, since those who want to buy redemption cards must purchase packs to do so.