Bob Brill- A Not So Hypothetical Story of a Bitter Sports Card Dealer

Before sports card related blogging exploded in the last couple of years, Bob Brill, owner of KC Kings, published a weekly newsletter called the Brill Report. One of his most popular pieces was called the $10k Experiment. This experiment involved taking $10 and tracking the amount of time it took to turn it into $10,000. Mr Brill was able to accomplish this through buying and selling, including using his store as a means of low-balling walk in traffic for items people were looking to sell.

Today I came across an article he authored last month titled, "The death of the successful card shop, it's over."

Read it and come back and share your thoughts.

Won't somebody think about the children?!?!"- Trading Card Games

I'm not privy to sales data from the trading card manufacturers but based on conversations and posts from a former industry insider, I do know that market research in the form of focus groups isn't typically something the likes of Topps, Upper Deck and Panini invest in.

I might be totally off-base but the last time I checked, kids don't want to be placated and patronized. However, that is exactly what the likes of Topps and Panini are doing with their releases of sports collectible related TCG's. Attax for Topps and debuting next week Adrenalyn XL basketball by Panini.

I have played both Topps Attax baseball and hockey. Bottom line, they suck. Why would a kid possibly want to play these mind numbingly boring games when they can turn on any next-gen game console and be immersed in something much closer to the real thing? Games like these seem contrived, as if they are trying too hard and therefore come off as desperate.

Basically these games come down to a sports trading card version of the classic card game "War" and that's it. I know that's probably all they are supposed to be, but if the trading card manufacturers really think that insulting a kids intelligence with products like these is going to to pave the way for entry into the legitimate collectibles market, they have another thing coming.

Enough of these lame games already.

When Hobbies Collide- Sports and Comic Books

Art, sports, trading cards, and comic books. For me, these worlds often converge due to my varied interests, and my affinity for comic books has been well documented here. A shameless plug for a resource I use, NewKadia.com is an online comic book store with the deepest inventory, discounts, and freebies that I know of for older and out of print comics. The user experience is very easy and you are able to search comics by title, author, genre, year of release and more.

From NASCAR to baseball legends, nearly every major sport and many iconic superstars have had their likeness archived in comic form and you can see for yourself the various listings in the sports genre here.

Player collectors, in particular, should keep an eye out for these oddball collectibles as they make colorful conversation pieces to any collection while providing an often pleasurable reading experience as well.

This is one I just picked up of Nolan Ryan.

So, do you have any comics in your player collection?

Sometimes, Failed Redemptions End Up For The Best

Last year, June 26th, to be specific, I entered a redemption code for the following card:

RANDALL CUNNINGHAM
2009 HEROES FOOTBALL LEGENDARY HEROES PAINTINGS AUTO // GOLD #ED TO 25 CD# 427

As of December I had not received the card and opted to formally go through Upper Deck's replacement process. Well, let me tell you, I couldn't be happier. Yes, redemptions suck, but I can definitely live with this beauty.

2009 UD Black Lustrious Materials Auto of Chicago Bears legend Mike Singletary. A dual, 3-color jersey swatch and beautiful on-card auto.

This baby is staying in my personal collection. Thanks Upper Deck and thanks Randall Cunningham for failing to live up to your expectations . . . again.

TWOT- This Week On Twitter 1/29 - 2/5

Great content from around the web- News, The Hobby, photgraphy, technology, music, movies, TV, comics, video games and more!!

mental_floss
Best Eclipse Photo(s) Ever! -- http://bit.ly/cQcouG about 3 hours ago from web
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New IRON MAN 2 Video Game Trailer Introduces War Machine http://su.pr/2WfWfR about 4 hours ago from web
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Top 10 Things to Do When You're Not Playing Games http://bit.ly/b0JO3X about 5 hours ago from twitterfeed
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Exclusive 2010 Swimsuit pic of Jessica White; Awesome New Jersey grandma hates Jersey Shore, more: Fri AM Hot Clicks http://bit.ly/c5r74h about 6 hours ago from web
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My first video box break: OOOOOOOKThis is my first video box break. It was an interesting process.It's a two-box b... http://bit.ly/cuAWib about 6 hours ago from twitterfeed
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Super Bowl Halftime: Best and Worst http://bit.ly/9qGDyA about 7 hours ago from twitterfeed
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Hank Aaron: A Legend Looks Back http://bit.ly/9qKo2R about 8 hours ago from twitterfeed
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20 T206 Book Tells Stories Behind the Faces: Just who were those guys in the T206 set? A new book will offer some ... http://bit.ly/9noEeu about 16 hours ago from twitterfeed
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FRINGEonFOX
Behind the Scenes photos from Tonight's all-new #Fringe at 9/8c - http://bit.ly/cQAomz about 20 hours ago from HootSuite
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Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models + Live Video = One Sexy Stream - http://su.pr/5rpVDs /via @mashable #SISwim about 22 hours ago from CoTweet
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LIFE
Are diamonds really a girl's best friend? Check out some of the largest and most beautiful diamonds ever found - http://bit.ly/toNVE 3:05 PM Feb 4th from HootSuite
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MyLifeExpert
Q: When it rains my car's windshield has a film that is hard to see through. How do I get rid of it? A: http://bit.ly/cft2PY 3:04 PM Feb 4th from CoTweet
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The IZOD IndyCar Series Announces Objectives for New Chassis to Debut in... http://bit.ly/cTc8tL 2:26 PM Feb 4th from HootSuite
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blowoutcards
Blowout's Superbowl PROMO #'s have been Drawn...Good luck to ALL ! http://tinyurl.com/ybccb6s 12:48 PM Feb 4th from web
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boltbrowser
Sirius/XM radio app for #Blackberry released http://is.gd/7HE17 (via @intomobile) 12:33 PM Feb 4th from Seesmic
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PlanetXbox360
3D Gaming Won't Change the Industry in 2010 http://bit.ly/dvQxFG 12:25 PM Feb 4th from twitterfeed
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PlanetXbox360
April 16, 2010 Release for Splinter Cell: Conviction in Stone http://bit.ly/98DQbB 11:54 AM Feb 4th from twitterfeed
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mental_floss
Photos: Camouflaging an airplane factory in Burbank during World War II -- http://bit.ly/cP3pVQ 11:06 AM Feb 4th from web
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GeekTyrant
This Week in Comics, 02.03.2010 http://su.pr/1bs8fH 8:01 PM Feb 3rd from web
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SportsCardNews
ESPN Story About Tim Lincecum's Favorite Card Shop: ESPN's Jim Caple has a great article about his day visit... http://tinyurl.com/ygz84xq 7:14 PM Feb 3rd from twitterfeed
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JamesRyanJ
What are the 30 Best Ways to drive Blog traffic? http://bit.ly/bQKmuu #10 is overlooked. Great article from @Nicholas_Cardot 6:30 PM Feb 3rd from TweetDeck
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wefollow
Profiles are now live! Just type in wefollow.com/your_twitter_name to see your tags/rankings. Updating your twitter URL is opt-in/optional. 5:38 PM Feb 3rd from web
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GeekTyrant
WATCHMEN 2 is one step closer to becoming a Reality http://su.pr/1tSXXI 4:36 PM Feb 3rd from web
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"Iron Man" Movie Adaptation Reveals New Details http://is.gd/7DZUq Get fresh details on Nick Fury and Tony Stark’s first meeting! 4:16 PM Feb 3rd from TweetDeck
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scfnews
The 10 Worst Ideas in the Sports Card Industry - http://shar.es/aMF2h 4:07 PM Feb 3rd from ShareThis.com
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Paramount Pictures looking to make TRANSFORMERS 3 in 3D http://su.pr/7lhZGP 3:50 PM Feb 3rd from web
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Lights! Camera! Action! Two prime time interleague dates highlight FOX’s 2010 MLB regular season schedule. Check it out: http://j.mp/avoM6K 2:39 PM Feb 3rd from web
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GeekTyrant
CAPTAIN AMERICA Casting is Coming Soon! http://su.pr/6hakfb 2:18 PM Feb 3rd from web
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You can now watch TNA PPVs LIVE online starting 2/14. Go to tnavideovault.com for details! PLS RT 2:16 PM Feb 3rd from web
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scfnews
Twitter and Facebook contest! http://www.sportscardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1024098 1:51 PM Feb 3rd from web
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blowoutcards
Kim Kardashian meets NASCAR... http://tinyurl.com/yz3nck4 1:33 PM Feb 3rd from web
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Awesome Launch Trailer for Bioshock 2 Rocks the Internet http://bit.ly/a3WLZV 2:39 AM Feb 3rd from twitterfeed
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WWE's ECW going off the air in three weeks... http://tinyurl.com/y8lc67q 10:28 PM Feb 2nd from web
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Advertisers you wouldn't expect to find on YouTube: http://bit.ly/dAEti2 3:13 PM Feb 2nd from web
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The 100 Hottest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models Of All Time http://bit.ly/cE48TS (via @ComplexMag) 1:43 PM Feb 2nd from web
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Comics A.M. - The Comics Internet in 2 Minutes http://bit.ly/aAXe9a 10:29 AM Feb 2nd from twitterfeed
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The 2010 Oscar Nominees... http://bit.ly/amJa8o 10:14 AM Feb 2nd from bit.ly
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Gun ownership does not lead to violence http://digg.com/u1M8wl 9:08 AM Feb 2nd from Seesmic
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PHOTOS: 10 Worst QB Performance in a Super Bowl - http://su.pr/2FXcOG /via @si_photos #NFL #SB44 9:00 AM Feb 2nd from CoTweet
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AP
See video clips for all the Oscar nominees here: http://bit.ly/9IIDFe Of the 10 best-picture contenders, which do you think should win? -AS 8:40 AM Feb 2nd from CoTweet
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GettyImagesEdit
Following our coverage of the Awards Season? It's easier with this useful calendar http://bit.ly/7EqCPI 5:27 AM Feb 2nd from bit.ly
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Mattel's WWE Survivor Series 2009 Figures Revealed... http://tinyurl.com/ycfwy3h 7:39 PM Feb 1st from web Retweeted by you
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Pick some fun Super Bowl Prop bets and win big in the Beat the Blogger Contest. Click here to play http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ 4:33 PM Feb 1st from web
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Swimsuit Photo of the Day: 2008 Selita Ebanks in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - http://su.pr/1uF2b2 2:15 PM Feb 1st from CoTweet
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mental_floss
Throwback: 4 Football Games From the Good Old Days (including the addictive 'Mattel Football I') -- http://bit.ly/d77W5M 12:17 PM Feb 1st from web
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scfnews
When Collecting Sports Cards gets too expensive - http://shar.es/aMnmk 9:36 AM Feb 1st from ShareThis.com
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Check out our amazing Grammy Awards Coverage, from arrivals to afterparties http://bit.ly/bMb0QZ 9:19 AM Feb 1st from bit.ly
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Head Cases: NHL Goalie Masks http://su.pr/2bazQs 5:35 AM Feb 1st from Su.pr Retweeted by you and 3 others
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Top 10 Xbox 360 Games to Play Before You Die http://bit.ly/95L4Kr 11:09 PM Jan 31st from twitterfeed
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All the Best Grammys Video: Gaga and Elton, Beyonce, MJ's Kids, Taylor Swift and Much More http://gawker.tv/5460907/ #grammys #ladygaga 10:05 PM Jan 31st from gawker.tv
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2009 Topps Tribute Ruth & Robinson Cuts Pulled: The funny part of the story is that the cards were pulled in... http://tinyurl.com/yeqw3pc 5:21 PM Jan 31st from twitterfeed
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Dallas store hits a double with two rare baseball-card finds on same day http://bit.ly/9lI19P 4:27 PM Jan 31st from twitterfeed
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5 Films that have been Picked up at The Sundance Film Festival so far http://bit.ly/bi8jQ7 2:32 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
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Democratic Leaders Fantasize about Scott Brown in Hilarious SNL Parody http://gawker.tv/5460556/ #snl #tv 11:35 PM Jan 30th from gawker.tv
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CIA considers adding a US citizen to its hit list for the first time ever - LA Times http://bit.ly/aZxnoz 11:33 PM Jan 30th from BreakingNews Headquarters
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SportsCardNews
Atlanta Sports Cards Starts Blog: Popular eBay retailer Atlanta Sports Cards has started a new blog. It is s... http://tinyurl.com/ybkbsax 10:25 PM Jan 30th from twitterfeed
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mental_floss
Here are this week's most popular stories on mentalfloss.com -- http://bit.ly/dtE1is (#1: 10 Weird Celebrity Phobias) 10:20 PM Jan 30th from web
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DeansCards
Just put up a cool article about 1975 Topps baseball cards! http://tinyurl.com/yg433pt 2:31 PM Jan 29th from web
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Walter Johnson Game Used Cards Coming?!?!

I can only hope. I know many of you think it is a sacrilege to cut up historical memorabilia for trading cards. However, as I have said time and time again, if the Hall of Fame doesn't acquire a particular item (and they do not pay for any memorabilia), treasured pieces typically end up in a blue blood's personal collection never to be seen again. I would much rather have a chance of owning a piece of history, albeit, just a piece.

Did you know that Walter Johnson, The Big Train, is the only member of the Hall of Fame's inaugural class to not have a game used card? He is the white what for a mini collection of mine. I have been fortunate to pull and/or acquire game used cards from Babe Ruth, Christy Matthewson, Honus Wagner, and Ty Cobb. To date, no game used cards have been produced of Johnson due to the extreme rarity of game used material from the legendary hurler.

That might be about to change if a card manufacturer was the winner of SCP Auction's Lot #184. A game used, Louisville Slugger bat, circa 1925-1931. The bat recently sold for a relatively ridiculous low of $36,603. That is still a lot of money but I use the term relatively given the fact that steroid using Alex Rodriguez's 500th HR ball sold in the same auction for over $103,000.

We'll just have to wait and see what is to become of this all-important relic.

This Is Why Bad Design Drives Me Nuts

I am not an artist, a graphic designer, a card manufacturer. I am a guy with Snag It, Google, and PowerPoint and a desire to see quality produced trading cards.

Earlier today @Blowoutcards via their Twitter feed posted this Tweet:

"WOW! WOW! WOW! One Pack Chicle equals CUT SIG 1/1!! http://tinyurl.com/yg8bk2n "

Displaying this card:

Just because it has a full autograph of one of the mediums best directors, doesn't make it a nice card if it looks like this.

In about 15 minutes, using the same cut, I made this card:

Which would you rather have? The value is in the cut, I know, but does it have to look like crap? This is a perfect example of why there appears to be absolutely no pride of work, caring about what you produce, let alone creativity. If I could do this in 15 minutes with rudimentary software tools, can a career graphic designer on Topps payroll not do something even better?

No, instead we have FrankenCutCrap.

Great News for the National!!

One of my biggest knocks on the National Sports Collectors Convention is their inability to market it properly. It's not enough to simply promote it within traditional Hobby venues. It's like preaching to the choir. We know what it is, when it is, and weknow how to find out who is going to be there. This is a once a year opportunity to expand the Hobby and receive some mainstream press. However, the mainstream press, left to their own accord, will put any sort of spin they want to on it, good, bad or indifferent. In recent years we have had major news outlets point out that none other than the FBI has attended our industries biggest showcase event. Not exactly the kind of press you want.

Today it was announced that the NSCC has contracted with Schulte Sports, a full service sports marketing and public relations agency. This is a copy of the press release.


The National Sports Collectors Convention Retains Schulte Sports to Spearhead Marketing and Public Relations for their 2010 Baltimore Convention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Woodstock, MD – Schulte Sports, Inc., a full-service sports marketing and public relations agency, today announced that it has been retained by The National Sports Collectors Convention, the nation’s premier showcase event for the sports and entertainment collectibles industry, to spearhead marketing and public relations initiatives for their 2010 event.
The 31st annual National Sports Collectors Convention will held, for the first time, in Baltimore, at the Baltimore Convention Center August 4 -8, 2010. The five (5) day event is the largest collectibles show in the country, with dealers from all over the country exhibiting, including vintage and new cards, game-used and vintage memorabilia dealers, major trading card manufacturers, the top grading services companies and auction houses, not to mention Hall of Fame and current superstar athletes from every sport signing autographs at the TriStar Autograph Pavilion.

"Schulte Sports is very honored to be associated with of one of the greatest sports collectible events in the country, said Ray Schulte – President Schulte Sports /Auctions. "And we are very excited that The National Sports Collectors Convention will be coming to Baltimore, Maryland for the very first time".

The National Sports Collectors Convention will bring to town, approximately 60 – 70 of the greatest Hall of Famers and current superstar athletes from every sport to sign autographs at the event’s TriStar Autograph Pavilion, including but not limited to; Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Joe Montana, Willie Mays, Bart Starr and Tom Seaver, to mention a few. In addition, The National Sports Collectors Convention corporate sponsors will be handing out free giveaways and prizes throughout the five (5) days.

"Ray Schulte brings a tremendous knowledge of the collectibles industry, previously consulting with MLB, the NFL, NHL and NBA, as it pertains to the collectibles set-up at their All-Star and Super Bowl events, said Mike Berkus, Co-Founder The National Sports Collectors Convention. " We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Ray and his team at Schulte Sports."
For more information concerning The National Sports Collectors Convention please visit their website www.nsccshow.com and www.SchulteSports.com for the latest player signature up-dates, corporate sponsored promotions and ticket information.

Media Contact: Ray Schulte
Ray@SchulteSports.com
(410) 350-6226

Product Review-Upper Deck Trilogy Hockey

Guest Review- Russ Cohen

Upper Deck Trilogy Hockey delivers. But at what price? A box is selling for around $150 dollars so that’s a budget buster for some and for others it may mean they just dabble getting packs of it. Let’s see what we got. Each box comes with one acetate auto and that’s a great reason to get it by the box right there. Each box yields three rookies, signatures and memorabilia cards. Because of the breakdown I think getting it by the box is the best way to go.

Read the rest abd see what else we pulled.

Behind the Scenes at McFarlane Toys Design Studios