Breaking The Seal On A 2005 Ryan Howard Etopps Card!

I'm not quite sure what happened with etopps. The site allowed you to collect cards and store them  In a virtual portfolio or  have a physical copy of the card delivered to you for a small shipping fee.I loved the service and actually still have a card In my portfolio waiting to be shipped.I currently have about 15 In-hand etopps cards In my collection ,stashed  In a small section of  our linen closet  designated for  cards and other baseball related ephemera. The other day,while grabbing a new set of clean sheets ,I accidentally dropped a couple of them on the floor.One of them was this 2005 Ryan Howard .I've broken the seal on these once before, just never documented it.This time I've got the pics to prove It ;)

This Is what the card looks like ,encased.Just a nice,all around solid product.Not pictured  Is the separate card  with the print run and serial number,an added touch that softened the blow of  dropping 14 bucks on the card after shipping. Still.ya gotta love the presentation!

This ,my friends ,Is the infamous etopps seal of authenticity!Dun,dun,dunnnn!

I was hoping for It to peel right off,as It does on most etopps cards,so I could put the card back in the case but as you can see I made a little bit  of a mess.

 Once the seal Is removed ,you'll have to slightly pry the lower part of It open by unsnapping It.

                                                                          And VOILA!

 The protective case Is totally reusable.A little bit of alcohol should help In removing the access gunk left behind by the problematic etopps seal .

As for the card?Aesthetically ,the picture quality could have been a little better.It doesn't come across In the pics but  Howard's looking a little  blurry. Although,It might have been what they were going for  seeing as how they went with television esque scan lines for the background.The card Is  thicker than your average base cards  , with a  plastic feel to it.It's hard to describe . 

            I was surprised to see that the etopps logo wasn't embossed like they are  on other releases.

The serial number Is on an etopps sticker which Is located on the backs of the cards. Not a lot to show stat wise as Howard had yet to break Into the majors.

Did any of you guys collect etopps?If so,What's your take on them and the service In general?