The
United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 4 hobby boxes and retail
boxes contained 36 packs. All of the All-New Series 4 boxes came
shrink-wrapped in plastic (see image above), and the shrink-wrap had Topps
printed all over it in blue. Stamped on the inside of the lid of
each box was a 7-digit number, which was used for tracking and quality
control. The character featured on top of the retail and hobby boxes
was the All-New Series 4 character 40a Adam Bomb / 40b Blasted Billy.
The All-New Series 4 hobby boxes (see images
above) were designed similarly to the All-New Series 3 boxes and the original
United States Garbage Pail Kids wax boxes. The center portion of
the All-New Series 4 hobby box lids punched out and folded in. This
allowed the design on the lid of the box to stand up higher.
The All-New Series 4 retail boxes (see images
above) were designed differently than the hobby boxes. The new design
was supposed to help prevent the retail box lids from getting torn off
when they were put on display. The retail box lids did not have
an area that was perforated, so the center portion could not be punched
out like on the hobby boxes. Instead, the retail box lids folded
in half, which made them stick up less and take up less shelf space.
There was also a piece of Styrofoam at the bottom of the retail boxes,
which was used to raise the height of the packs. The packs had to
be raised up because the retail boxes were made slightly taller, so the
lids could be tucked in easier. Even with the modifications to the
boxes, the retail box lids were often torn off. One problem with
the retail box design was that the inner flaps were not rounded at the
ends like on the hobby boxes' inner flaps. Because the inner flaps
were not rounded at the ends, the lids would often hook onto the inner
flap. Since the people putting out the boxes did not have time to
fool around with unhooking the lids, they would just tear the lids off.
You can see an image of how the retail boxes were supposed to look when
displayed properly under the Promotions section.
Every hobby box and retail box contained
packs with 4 or 5 cards and 1 game card. Every 1 out of 6 packs
contained a scratch 'n stink card, and every 1 out of 4 packs contained
a tattoo card. Each pack that contained a scratch 'n stink card
only contained 4 regular cards. From a box, you should get 174 to
176 cards, 36 game cards, 6 scratch 'n stink cards, and 7 to 9 tattoo
cards. Each hobby box contained 1 sketch card, but it was possible
to get anywhere from 0 to 2 sketch cards per hobby box. Even thought
it was mathematically possible to make two complete card sets from one
box, that did not always happen. It was not mathematically possible
to complete the scratch 'n stink card set of 12 or tattoo card set of
10 from one box. The game card set of 36 could not be made from
one box because the odds of getting one gold foil game card were 1 out
of 72 packs, and there were three gold foil game cards in the game card
set. To make a scratch 'n stink card set and a tattoo card set,
you would most likely have to go through at least 2 or 3 boxes.
But to make a game card set, you may need to go through over 6 boxes,
which could end up being very costly. The front of the pack wrappers
had "Gross Stickers" and "5 Stickers + 1 Game Card + Online
Bonus Code" printed on them. The next line of text on the front
of the hobby wrappers had "Look For Scratch 'N Stink Stickers &
Hand-Drawn Sketch Cards", and the next line of text on the front
of the retail wrappers had "Look For Scratch 'N Stink Stickers &
Tattoos". The back of the hobby pack wrappers had information
on how to enter a drawing to win a sketch card, scratch 'n stink card,
or foil game card; and the back of the retail wrappers had information
on how to enter a drawing to win a scratch 'n stink card, tattoo card,
or foil game card. Since the items to be given away through the
drawings were different, different mailing addresses were listed on the
hobby wrappers and retail wrappers. In order for anyone from Canada
to be eligible to win one of the insert cards, they had to answer a simple
mathematical skill-testing question, which was necessary because of Canadian
laws regarding to drawings. I provide more information about this
law on page 2 of the All-New
Series 3 section under Packaging and Contents. The back of the
hobby pack wrappers and retail pack wrappers have information about the
online bonus code, which was to be used on Topps' Garbage
Pail Kids World website (the website is no longer up) for building a Virtual GPK Pal.
There were 8-box cases and 16-box cases.
The 8-box hobby cases (see image above) roughly measure 9.825" x
5.825" x 9.375", and the 16-box cases (see image above) roughly
measure 11.25" x 9.875" x 10.875". The code 2-757-40-02-5,
the code #757-4H, and the bar code 041116257575 were printed on the 8-box
hobby cases. The 16-box cases have the code 2-758-40-01-5 printed
on them along with two sets of codes: code #757-4 (bar code 041116357572)
and codes #758-4 and #758-4E (bar code 041116257582). The case boxes
with the code #757-4H or #757-4 contained the boxes that had the "On
Sale Here!" posters and unpriced packs. The case boxes with
the code #758-4 contained the boxes that had the priced packs, and the
posters were not included in the boxes. The case boxes with the
code #758-4E contained the boxes with the unpriced packs, and the posters
were not included in the boxes. Each 8-box case had a 5-digit number
stamped on it, and each 16-box case had a date stamped on it. The
numbers and dates were used for tracking and quality control.
There were three different box codes and
pack codes (see images above). The hobby shops received boxes with
the 1-757-30-02-5 code (041116557576 bar code), which contained packs
with the 0-757-89-02-5 code (041116457579 bar code). These packs
were unpriced and had an "H" with the words "Hobby Edition"
printed on the front of the wrapper in the top right corner. Each
hobby box contained a 10.5" x 17" "On Sale Here!"
poster featuring the All-New Series 4 character 40a Adam Bomb / 40b Blasted
Billy (see image above). The posters were placed at the top of the
boxes. There was no code printed on the posters.
The boxes sold at Wal-Mart
and similar chain stores had the box code 1-758-30-01-5 (041116157585
bar code). The boxes did not come with insert posters. The
packs had the 0-758-89-01-5 code (041116057588 bar code) and were pre-priced
99¢.
The boxes sold at Target
and similar chain stores had the box code 1-758-30-02-5 (041116457586
bar code). The boxes did not come with insert posters. The
packs had the 0-758-89-02-5 code (041116357589 bar code) and were unpriced.
It was possible to sometimes find these boxes being sold at Wal-Mart instead
of the boxes with the 1-758-30-01-5 code.
The packs in the boxes came in 2 horizontal
stacks of 18. It was a little more difficult to determine the location
of the scratch 'n stink cards and tattoo cards because the items were
not always found alternating every 3 packs like in the All-New Series
3 packs.
There are instructions on page 2 of the
All-New Series
1 section under Packaging and Contents if you are interested in trying
to open up packs without tearing the wrappers.
Topps
created three new Garbage Pail Kids bonus boxes for the All-New Series
4. The bonus boxes could only be found at specific chain stores.
Two of the bonus boxes were pre-priced at $9.99, and the other bonus box
was to be priced by the retailers. Each bonus box contained 11 packs
and a unique bonus card. The All-New Series 4 bonus cards continued
the numbering sequence, which ended at B5 in the All-New Series 3.
Wal-Mart, K B Toys,
Meijer stores carried
the bonus boxes that contained bonus card B6 Doug Sledding, the price
tags on the boxes were put on by the store, and the boxes had the code
1-939-30-03-5 (bar code 041116459399). K-Mart and Toys
R Us stores carried the bonus boxes that contained bonus card B7 Propelled
Miguel, the price tags on the boxes were yellow squares, and the boxes
had the code 1-939-30-02-5 (bar code 041116359392) along with the code
3714 in a separate yellow rectangle. Target and Shopko
stores carried the bonus boxes that contained bonus card B8 Swarmed Norm,
the price tags on the boxes were yellow ovals, and the boxes had the code
1-939-30-01-5 (bar code 041116159398). The designs of the three
types of bonus boxes (see images above) were slightly different, so you
could easily tell them apart. The B6 and B8 bonus boxes had the
items packaged at the bottom of the box, and the space at the top of the
box was filled with one long piece of Styrofoam. The B7 bonus boxes
had items packaged in the middle of the box between two pieces of Styrofoam,
and the boxes had a pull tab to make opening the box easier. Unlike
the bonus boxes from the All-New Series 3, the type of Styrofoam (1 piece
or 2 pieces) used to fill the empty space in the boxes did not make a
difference, and the bonus cards did not end up getting bent in the packaging
process. The bonus boxes came shrink-wrapped in plastic (see image
above), and the shrink-wrap had Topps printed all over it in blue.
The bonus cards were packaged in cellophane (see image above) and are
probably worth slightly more if they are kept that way. The bonus
boxes measure approximately 7.00" x 4.25" x 2.75".
The lids at the top of the bonus boxes were sometimes glued on crooked,
which would slightly distort the shape of the box. Stamped on the
inside of the lid of each bonus box was a 7-digit number, which was used
for tracking and quality control. Even though the bonus box packs
were not supposed to be sold individually, they were pre-priced 99¢.
The packs that came in the bonus boxes had the code 0-939-89-01-5 (bar
code 041116059391), which was different than all of the packs that came
in the regular boxes. However, the contents of the packs that came
in bonus boxes were exactly the same as the packs that came in the retail
boxes.
There were three different bonus box cases
boxes (see images above). Each case box measured approximately 17.875"
x 11.875" x 7.875". There were 16 bonus boxes per case
box. The codes 2-939-40-03-5 and #939-4WAL were printed on the B6
bonus box case boxes. The codes 2-939-40-02-5, #939-4VIN, and 3714
were printed on the B7 bonus box case boxes. The codes 2-939-40-01-5
and #939-4EEA (bar code 041116259395) were printed on the B8 bonus box
case boxes. Each bonus box case box had a 5-digit number stamped
on it, which was used for tracking and quality control.
Topps created a brand new Garbage Pail Kids
item for Wal-Mart and Meijer stores. This new item was a blister
pack. The blister packs each contained 2 regular packs and bonus
card B9 Dancin' Dominic. The bonus cards found in the blister packs
did not come wrapped in cellophane like the bonus cards found in the bonus
boxes. The packs inside of the blister pack were the same as the
unpriced retail packs, and they had the code 0-758-89-02-5 (041116357589
bar code). The blister packs had the code 5-759-30-01-5 (041116057595
bar code). The blister packs were significantly better than the
bonus boxes because the blister packs were much cheaper (usually $1.99)
than the bonus boxes (usually $9.99), which meant it cost less to obtain
the bonus card in the blister pack. Also, the blister packs use
less packaging materials, and they do not contain any Styrofoam.
The blister packs had a hole at the top, so they could be hung up at the
stores. They could also be left in the blister pack display box,
so they could be placed on top of a shelf.
The blister packs came inside of boxes (see
image above), which could be used for displaying the blister packs on
a shelf. There were 20 blister packs per box. The empty blister
pack boxes measure approximately 7.75" x 4.5" x 8.125".
The blister pack boxes were shrink-wrapped in plastic, and the shrink-wrap
had Topps printed all over it in blue. The blister pack boxes had
the code 1-759-30-01-5 and bar code 041116157592 printed on the bottom.
Each blister pack box had a 5-digit number stamped on it, which was used
for tracking and quality control.
The blister pack boxes came inside of case
boxes (see image above). The blister pack case boxes measure approximately
18.875" x 16.375" x 8.875". There were 8 blister
pack boxes per case box. The codes 2-759-40-01-5 and #759-4E (bar
code 041116257599) were printed on the blister pack case boxes.
Each blister pack case box had a date stamped on it, which was used for
tracking and quality control.
There was one consistently made All-New
Series 4 rack pack (see image above). At Target, you could find
rack packs titled "4 Pack Garbage Pail Kids Trading Cards" (bar
code 097712507989) with 4 packs for $3.99 (~$1.00 per pack) from Excell
Marketing, L.C. These rack packs had a bright red design with
a mushroom cloud in the background, which was very eye-catching.
Unfortunately, these rack packs seemed to be dented and smashed along
the left edge, which was probably because of the way Excell Marketing,
L.C. had packaged them together in the case boxes.
There were rack packs put together by Vintage
Sports Cards that contained a mixture of All-New Series packs (see image
above). At Sears,
you could find 4-pack rack packs (bar code 730828702274) for $2.99 (~$0.75
per pack). The example rack pack shown above contained 1 priced All-New
Series 2 retail pack, and 1 unpriced All-New Series 2 retail pack, 1 priced
All-New Series 3 retail pack, and 1 priced All-New Series 4 retail pack.
The design for the header card for the rack pack was based on the free
desktop wallpaper that is available at the Garbage Pail Kids World
website. In 2008, Vintage Sports Cards produced another rack
pack that contained a mixture of All-New Series packs. These
4-pack rack packs (bar code 730828708825) could be found at some of
the Sears stores, and they were priced at $2.99 (~$0.75 per
pack). These rack packs typically contained 1 All-New Series 2
pack, 2 All-New Series 3 packs, and 1 All-New Series 4 pack.
The order that the packs inside of the rack packs were arranged had
varied slightly. The header card for these rack packs was very
generic and could be used for other rack packs besides Garbage
Pail Kids rack packs.
There were a few different rack packs that
were put together by Legends, L. P. that contained a mixture of All-New
Series 4 packs and other All-New Series packs. These rack packs
could usually be found at K B Toys and Wal-Mart. Typically, K B
Toys carried the 3-pack rack packs, and Wal-Mart carried the 6-pack rack
packs. These rack packs were not consistent like the previous All-New
Series rack packs put together by Legends, L. P., which is why I did not
put together a list providing specific details about the All-New Series
unopened pack combinations that they contained. Legends, L. P. filled
the rack packs with any of the leftover and returned All-New Series unopened
packs they had. The header cards on the rack packs varied, but they
were the same header cards used in the previous All-New Series rack packs.
Just as with the previous All-New Series,
there were severe distribution problems with the blister packs, rack packs,
boxes, and bonus boxes for the All-New Series 4. The items arrived
in different stores as much as a month apart if they even arrived at all.
The items were poorly displayed in the stores, and many of the stores
did not keep all of the items in stock. The regular boxes were not
easy to find in stores, and the bonus boxes; rack pack; and blister packs
did not seem to get reordered when they were sold out. |
