Voice of the Collector: The Anti-Beckett

How Was the First Episode of All-Star Dealers?

2012-01-25T19:16:00.000-06:00

Whenever our hobby is a focal point for mainstream media, I pay attention. How non-collectors or casual ones perceive our hobby can greatly influence its future viability. So it was with much excitement, and some trepidation, that I watched the series premiere of the new reality show, All-Star Dealers. Airing on the Discovery Channel, the program explores the world of sports collectibles, including autographs and game-used items.

Read the rest.

Quiz Time: Baseball Hall of Fame Style

2012-01-23T11:39:00.000-06:00

Good stuff as usual from one of my favorite websites, Mental Floss. No one has ever been elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously, and as crazy as that is to believe, 27 players have received 90% or more. How many can you name? Leave your total in the comments section. Have fun.

Take the quiz now.

Poll: The Hobby on TV

2012-01-21T20:35:00.000-06:00

I Still Can't Get Over This . . .

2012-01-21T20:22:00.000-06:00

Chris Harris from Stale Gum brought this to collector's attention this week and we railed about it on the show Wednesday but it still irks me and apparently I haven't gotten it out of my system. I said on air that I could have lived with it as a gimmick, complimenting the gimmick of the card itself, had it been notated in small print or something that this wasn't an authentic signature and grading it was just a fun lark.

Autograph authentication and grading has it's detractors and this type of stunt doesn't help matters. Author of Autograph Hell, Charles Irion, has a great saying, "It doesn't have to be real, it just has to be authentic."

That said, how in good conscience could the powers that be at the #1 authority, grade this "autograph" at all, let alone give it a "10". What a joke. It's bad enough that Beckett will grade autographs without having them authenticated first.

Applying a grade to the autograph, in a sense, implies defacto authentication and is a very misleading business practice and less than ethical in my opinion. Why? Because the practice of autograph grading without authentication can create unnecessary confusion and taking money knowing this to be the case is just that, a money grab with no one's best interest in mind but their own.

So, what do YOU think?

New Sports Collectibles TV Show to Debut on Discovery

2012-01-05T12:11:00.000-06:00

Sports fans and collectors will have a new TV show to watch starting this month on the Discovery Channel. As detailed by SCD in this post, the show will air January 24th, at 8pm EST. Below are two of the trailers.

10 Tips to Avoid Autograph Forgeries

2012-01-03T09:02:00.001-06:00

I can't and won't take credit for this but sometimes I find information that must be shared and this is one such resource. Autograph Quarterly is a printed publication that also has a website. While the publication is relatively new to the market they employ some columnists that have a tremendous amount of experience in the market. While not sports related, if you are the collector of celebrity autographs, I think you will find this useful.

"These are ten quick tips that would erase a million dollars in forgeries instantly! Every now and then you don't have to look at a signature to know it is a fake; if you know it's not possible in the first place! Here are ten quick entertainment related tips for knowing ahead of time you're being offered a forgery."

Read the rest.

A Look Back at 2011 and an Amusing and Sarcastic Look Ahead to 2012

2011-12-30T11:19:00.000-06:00

Well collectors, another year has come and gone in The Hobby we all know and love, and per usual, not without its share of drama, intrigue, shenanigans, and surprises. Before looking ahead to 2012 let's run down a few of the events that garnered the attention of collectors in 2011.

Leaf Trading Cards acquires exclusive rights to Ichiro Suzuki

FBI indicts 6 dealers, including those contracted with MLB and NFL for fraud. They were accused of doctoring doctoring jerseys and selling them as game used. At least one trading card company was a victim, to date we don't know which one.

Sandy Koufax's inclusion in 2012 Topps products is a HUGE hit. Secondary market values respond accordingly and have not dropped despite numerous offerings.

Santa Claus attends his first National Sports Collector's Convention.

Check Out My Cards makes impressive gains in market share challenging eBay as the number one spot for collectors to sell cards.

Panini declares 2011 the year of the brick and mortar shop and puts their money where their mouth is with numerous in store promotions including NFL Player of the Day, NHL Player of the Day, Pepsi Rookie of the Week, and their tremendously successful Black Friday promotion.

Micro-manufactures continue to grow in their niche markets including ITG, Benchwarmer, Cryptozoic, Leaf, and Tristar.

All three companies finally have a grasp on social media and engage their customer base on multiple platforms on a daily basis. They even use the platform of Twitter to publicly take potshots at each other to the annoyance of may collectors.

Blowout cards and Upper Deck face off in legal action with Blowout claiming the recent changes to online distribution policies by UD amount to Anti-Trust Act violations.

Upper Deck sues itself. Upper Deck sues Upper deck International.

Topps sues Leaf for copyright violation.

Panini lands for UD talent in VP of Operations and Product Development creating UD South.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the recession, auction houses memory Lane Inc and Heritage have record years.

So what can we accept in 2012? Well it's really anybody's guess but here are somethings we might see, could see, or probably never see. Enjoy and please feel free to add your own in the comments. Happy New Year everyone!

With authenticity of game used items becoming a major issue,the result is that all game used cards developed here forward will be player acquired. Down side it's their underwear.

In an attempt to add innovation to hockey products, game used ice will be inserted into cards. Design flaw results in catastrophy

To once and for all clarify and finally eliminate any confusion caused by the "RC Logo Rule" in baseball, at birth, every child will have a rookie card created and it will officially serve as a prospect card for any future athletes. The cards will be called Baby Bowman and will replace 1st Bowman cards.

We see the inclusion of lesser used items- stadium plexiglass in hockey, endzone uprights, netting and pylons in football, broken backboard glass and netting in basketball. I honestly believe with the ambiguous language on card backs related to player cards could be partially alleviated by utilizing these types of inserts.

Pete Rose replaces Bob Feller as having the most over-saturated autograph market.

Upper Deck continues to attempt to maintain its viability by creating a line of memorabilia geared towards _______________ (please fill in the blank)

Panini Black Friday Packs!

2011-12-21T09:04:00.000-06:00

A special thank you to Andrew over at Sports Card Info for the great giveaway!

I think I got hosed on the pack contents themselves so to all the other entrants, you didn't miss anything.

Is There a Connection Between Jerseygate and Ambiguous Card Back Language

2011-12-14T20:38:00.003-06:00

Over the last several years their has been a steady decline in the quality of the language used on memorabilia and relic cards attesting to their authenticity. Today, in the Chicago Tribune, further details were revealed in the ongoing "jerseygate" scandal* in which a memorabilia dealer, who has contracts with several NFL teams, knowingly doctored jerseys to make them appear game used and then selling them. The team approved contracts provided an unwritten legitimacy to the dealer's unknowing customers, of which, at least one was a trading card manufacturer. The alleged conduct took place between 2004-2008.

Take a minute to think about all the football cards in your collection from the beginning of that period to the present . . . It's safe to say that their is a very good chance that even the cards that clearly state that ". . .the jersey material on the front of this card is certified to have been worn by player x in an official NFL game . . .", may be anything but. How does that make you feel? Me? It makes me angry.

While the proliferation of jersey cards has relegated them as just another insert in the mind of many collectors, I still value the ones in my collection which connects me closer to my favorite teams and players.

As of today, no trading card company has come forward to say that they were a victim of the scam. While doing so might seem like a publicity nightmare, getting ahead of an issue that is sure to come to light at some point anyway (everything in this industry does) would seems worth considering.

What I find peculiar is the timing of the investigation and these alleged activities. It is during this time frame that full disclosure slowly went down hill regarding memorabilia card backs. It also coincided with certain companies losing league licenses. Now I have no proof, and I am not even speculating that these events are anything more than a coincidence, but it certainly is worthy of some thought.

* (For a list of the dealers involved in the scandal, please see the previous post.)

Further Details Revealed and Names Named in Jerseygate

2011-12-14T20:13:00.000-06:00

The investigation, indictments, and forth coming trial for two of the dealers accused of allegedly doctoring jerseys and selling them as game used continues to draw nation media attention. Unfortunately, none of it is good.

Here are some quotes from a recent Chicago Tribune article about OUR hobby that make me cringe, because so much of it is true:

"Now teams look at us as an industry and say this is a scuzzy industry," said Troy Kinunen, who in 2005 founded the prominent authentication firm MEARS Online Auctions. "And the collectors who continue to perpetuate this, to continue support people involved in this kind of stuff, they're not helping themselves."

". . .experts and collectors routinely cite how the industry is littered with hucksters and scam artists. There is no single regulatory entity with oversight. Third-party authenticators often serve as dealers as well, a potential conflict of interest."

"According to court records, Oldridge admitted that from 2004 to 2008, he and others doctored jerseys and then sold them to other companies, including trading card businesses. Five others were charged as part of a five-year federal sting. "

" . . .collectors and experts said it's essential to be knowledgeable on authentication — a complicated process where there is little agreement on what constitutes best practice."

"Photo-matching can be faked. It's a very amateurish way of authenticating," he said. "It's almost impossible to tell on a modern jersey if it's game-worn."

"There's a lot of bad anecdotal information that people have just accepted as fact."

"But collector Rick Moore of Florida, who said he has bought regularly from JO Sports since 2008, wasn't scared off by the federal case. "It makes no difference to me now," Moore said. "When you were a kid, did you ever steal money off your parents' end table to buy candy or cigarettes? Sure you did. All of us did." (Seriously, I think it's a little bit of a bigger issue than that you stupid buffoon)

"Peter Nash, a collector, blogger and author who has helped expose counterfeit items, said investing in memorabilia is always a risk for casual fans who don't do enough research. "It's a total minefield," Nash said. "You're going to get burned left and right."

---------------------------------------------------------------

Here are the accused dealers, some of which have already reached plea deals. Needless to say, steer clear.

Two men are charged by indictment with mail fraud:

ERIC INSELBERG, a resident of New Jersey, involved in the business operations of Taylor Huff, Inc. and Pasadena Trading Corp, from late 2001 through late 2009, in two counts of mail fraud. BRADLEY WELLS, a resident of Florida, involved in the business of Authentic Sports, Inc., and

Historic Auctions, LLC, both Florida businesses, from late 2005 through the middle of 2009, in two counts of mail fraud.

Four men are charged by information with mail fraud:

BERNARD GERNAY, a resident of New Jersey, involved in the business operations of Pro Sports Investments, Inc., a New Jersey business;

BRADLEY HORNE, a South Carolina resident, involved in the business operations of Authentic

Sports Memorabilia, Inc., a South Carolina business; JARROD OLDRIDGE, a resident of Nevada, involved in business operations of JO Sports, Inc., a Nevada business; and,

MITCHELL SCHUMACHER, a resident of Wisconsin, using the trade name MS Sports.

I Can Get Some .. Stratusfaction!

2011-12-09T12:58:00.000-06:00

They got her intro perfect. Finishing move is killer.Could have done better on the face but overall really good likeness in mannerisms and movement.

Forget "Game Changing" It's Time for a Complete Overhaul

2011-12-06T12:40:00.001-06:00

All Topps apologists should probably just skip to their next item in Google Reader as you won't like want I have to say. On second thought, maybe you should stay and hear it anyway.

The fact of the matter is that I am no longer and never was the Voice of the Collector. Reason being is that I am apparently in the minority on a number of issues and always have been. That's OK, I still believe that certain issues need to be addressed and this is one of them.

Topps flagship baseball is good for one thing and one thing only. Lining the pockets of their corporate executives and board of directors with cold hard cash. YOUR hard earned cash.

When was the last time that a hot prospect or star RC card from any series of that product was worth more than the cost of the ink and card stock used to print it? 12 Years is the answer. With the insane phenomenon that was Pujols and Ichiro and they weren't even in the base product if I remember but actually Chrome so that doesn't even count. Next. The real answer is probably some 30 years ago when dealers sold rookie cards by the brick. Seriously though, the Mike Trouts, Stephen Strasburgs, and Bryce Harpers, etc. of recent years, a few bucks at their peak, at the most, if that. You might argue that it has more to do with collectors wanting a more premium or autographed rookie card and thus kicking in supply and demand principles of Econ 101. I don't think so.

It has been several weeks since Upper Deck Series One Hockey released and last night I sold a base rookie card, of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for $91. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? $91!!!! No serial numbering, no memorabilia, no autograph, just a short-printed rookie card (inserted 1:4 packs).

This is not an anomaly based on the player, this year's particular release or any other flash-in-the-pan, one and done criteria, this is simply a winning formula that puts the best interests of the collector first.

Game changing?!? Really Topps, NOTHING, I have seen released about the 2012 product can remotely be described as "game-changing". But you know what would be? That's right, a complete and total remake of the flagship product from the ground up. I know set-builders will deride the notion of short-printing rookie cards and I have a solution for them that would come at the end of the year allowing the rest of us to actually earn some sort of return for the money spent on the base series attempting to complete it throughout the year.

I am thinking a combination of O-Pee-Chee meets Upper Deck Hockey. Go back to claystock, include gum for the kids, increase the actual size of the base set to 810 cards. 25 players from the 30 clubs plus 2 rookies per team. Short print the rookies. Forget the parallels. Limit the non-auto inserts to 90 cards total. A 900-card product that would fit into a 100-page, 9-up sheet binder. Instead of memorabilia cards, randomly insert a redemption card for a collector binder similar to the ones you charge for now. You save the cost of the memorabilia cards which no one cares about anyway and you encourage and throw a bone to your long shunned set collectors so just do it.

An Update set should still be produced. Limited to expaneded 40-man roster players, traded players, post-season highlights, award winners, and a rookie variation of all 60 previously released RC's. This product should release on Black Friday. This will allow plenty of time to turn around September call-ups and post season highlight and award winners.

To add further importance to this set, get rid of regular Bowman, and Topps Chrome. Ahhhhhh!!! He's insane! Kill him!! What did he just say? You heard me. It's redundant. They both are. Prospectors and rookie collectors value Bowman Chrome over the regular version and set collectors value the regular over the Chrome version. Problem solved. Mission accomplished.

Seeing that simple, plain, no frills hockey card go for top dollar, thrilled me and then started my blood boiling at the thought of what Topps baseball could be and what it has sadly become. As the sole licensee of the league they have disappointed. Their releases have rested on their past laurels, have delivered little creativity or imagination and come off as simply a money grab.*

"Buy it you stupid collecting suckers." . . . and we do, with no expectation of anything better.

I'm done.

Fix it.

Now.

(With the exception of Marquee, I was pretty happy with that product overall)

Black Friday Booty

2011-11-30T15:54:00.001-06:00

When was the last time you spent $11.97 on this hobby and came away with 3 autographs, 1 rookie, and 3 serial numbered inserts? For me the answer was today after receiving one of three orders I placed during Blowout Cards overwhelmingly successful Black Friday promotion. They had some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G deals but I played it pretty conservative all-in-all. I had no problems with any of my orders unlike some people. I could be wrong but I think the trick is to use your cell phone. I think the mobile platform might reside on a different server thus getting less traffic and causing no hiccups or glitches. Anyway, I bought (3) blister packs of Upper Deck's 2006-07 Be A Player Hockey. Each blister had 2 packs and included one auto per. Here is a look at what I found.

For twelve bucks, how can you beat that?

Pretty Much Says It All About Why We Do What We Do

2011-11-09T20:37:00.000-06:00

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming . . .

2011-11-07T23:08:00.000-06:00

. . . to bring you a series of musings, mayhem, and other random thoughts.

Stickers should NEVER, ever be graded.

When you call a product Gridiron Legends and the checklist contains more rookies than, you know, actual legends, that is called bait and switch and the equivalent of giving collectors the middle finger.

The current 900lb gorilla in the room is the fact that at least one trading card company purchased bogus game used jerseys as the result of an investigation and subsequent indictments of several memorabilia dealers. Have any of them "manned-up"? Of course not.

When In The Game, whose owner once swore he would never use stickers for autographs, now routinely uses them in almost EVERY product, has hell officially frozen over?

SA-GE may use sticker autographs but their last product had them inserted at the rate of 40 per box, 5 per pack with a value equation of $10 per auto. Take the price of any other product and divide by the number of "hits" and what do you get? Here I'll save you the trouble. The answer is . . . not even close.

The RC logo needs to go. It's confusing to novice and casual collectors and is meaningless, especially if MLBP is going to allow Topps to produce brands like the Bowman of family products.

The XFractor has jumped the shark. So have the rainbow of parallels.

A trademark application was filed for a product called Bowman Black. Really!?!? Another one. Seriously?!

Topps announced that it has dumped more money in another worthless virtual world called, fittingly enough, Topps World, a global alternate to the domestic Topps Town. Here's a clue, how about taking that money and beefing up your autograph checklists!?! Here's a quarter, buy a clue.

Just once, once, this year, I would like to open a product and pull an autograph of a veteran. I am unproven rookied out.

Only in an industry like trading cards are inaccurate sell sheets and redemptions not only tolerated, but accepted as standard operating procedure. If you can't secure a player's autographs DO NOT PUT HIM ON THE SELL SHEET OR THE PRODUCT. Can you imagine the outcry that would occur if all the gamers lining up tonight for COD MW3 opened there new game to find a slip of paper that said, "Congratulations! You have received a redemption for COD MW3. Our programmers are putting the finishing touches on the product and we'll mail it to you when we damn well feel like it, if at all. If that occurs we'll send you a game of equal replacement value."

PSA/DNA recently upgraded their LOA's. I wonder what prompted that? As part of a publicly traded company it seems odd that out of "the best interest of collectors" that they would increase their costs, therefore decreasing their profits without there having been a specific reason. Speculate amongst yourselves.

Since Upper Deck is so busy with lawsuits that they are even suing themselves, can we, as collectors, assemble a class action lawsuit and sue Richard McWilliams for screwing up his company? Punitive damages being he has to sell the company.

Small, micro manufacturers and independent minded entrepreneurs like Brian Gray (Leaf), Brian Wallos (Benchwarmer), Tom Giedeman (SA-GE), Lance Fischer (Onyx Authenticated) and Brian Price (ITG) have more passion for the hobby and their companies than all the other major manufacturers put together. When you talk to them you get the straight scoop even when the truth hurts instead of the company line.

While social media channels like Twitter have proven to be an excellent vehicle for manufactures to disseminate information, the petty name calling and jabs really need to stop. It's undignified and unprofessional.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. This has been a random rant by the Voice of the Collector.

Greater Accountability/Oversight Needed in Sports Card Industry

2011-10-26T08:52:00.000-05:00

It was with great dismay that I read the lead story at Sports Collector's Daily today. Titled, "FBI: Six Memorabilia Dealers Charged With Fraud Involving Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars". Another in a seemingly never-ending parade of news stories that delivered yet another black-eye to this hobby we love. Coming just a few short months removed from The National, an event that saw one of its very dealers arrested, and escorted off the show floor in handcuffs, six more dealers have been charged with selling bogus memorabilia as game used.

While this is troubling in and of itself, what was really bother- some about this particular story was that at least one of the victims in this fraud was an un-named trading card company. The result of this means that we might ALL be potential victims.

It's time for the licensing authorities of the major sports to mandate that all material to be used in the manufactuing and marketing cards of memorabilia and relic cards that will be categorized as "game-used" be purchased directly from the team, league or athlete ONLY and with strict guidelines on acceptable provenance.

The proliferation of relic and memorabilia cards, as we all know, has relegated them to common inserts, often times not even worth the paper they are printed on. However, there are still plenty of these cards that are in demand, carry a premium and have worth on the secondary market. The ambigious and at times, confusing language utilized on the backs of these cards carry no claim of responsibility or authenticity.

The fact that at least one trading card company has been fleeced by these crooks, means quite simply, that it is high time that someone step in and stop this insanity. The industry cannot police itself and it certainly isn't the government's responsibility. The weight of this issue lies directly at the feet of the leagues and player associations making millions in royalties and fees.

What do you think?

Now THIS is a Collection

2011-10-18T19:22:00.000-05:00

The Other Side of the Mic

2011-10-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

As a weekly radio show host for Cardboard Connection Radio, I've conducted my fair share of interviews. This week my role was reversed as I gave an interview for WorthPoint's series of collector spotlights. Here is a link to the piece.

RIP Dan Wheldon and Death Profiteering

2011-10-17T12:46:00.001-05:00

It was with great sadness as I watched the IZOD IndyCar race live from Las Vegas, NV yesterday to hear of Dan Wheldon's passing from injuries he sustained in the worst race crash I have ever seen. If you have not seen the video, it is truly chilling. As fans, we easily forget just how dangerous this sport can be.

As a lifelong race fan of multiple race series, Formula 1 and IndyCar in particular, Indy racing has always held a special place in my heart. Growing up with a Grandma who lived in Indianapolis, I have been to the International Motor Speedway on several occasions. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Dan Wheldon who is survived by a wife and two beautiful children, ages 7 months and 2 years. Their lives will never be the same. The racing community is a tight knit group of people and they are all suffering today. Two other drivers remain hospitalized, Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand.

Now, a subject I have discussed at length in the past, with much loathing, but for whatever reason, this reaches an all new low. Of the 583 Dan Wheldon items listed on eBay, over 520 of them have been listed since his death was announced. WHAT THE F@*& IS WRONG WITH YOU SICK PEOPLE!?!!? Is the need for some quick cash so great that you just wait for these opportunities to happen!?!?! Seriously! YOU ARE SICK AND DEMENTED!!! I own his rookie card and an autograph and the last thing I felt compelled to do was to rush to the keyboard and list them on eBay. I deplore the everyone of you, you sick bastards.

Great Moments in Bench Clearing History

2011-10-10T15:02:00.001-05:00

With the surprise announcement last week that the Chicago White Sox had hired former 3rd baseman, Robin Ventura, and coupled with the constant camera shots of Nolan Ryan during the AL playoffs, I couldn't help but be reminded of this classic.

Fun With Video and Baseball Cards

2011-10-06T14:23:00.000-05:00

You may have already seen this on Freedom Cardboard, here is the link to the thread. But if not, this is good stuff. I guess he has other videos on his YouTube channel.

The Marshall Fogel Collection

2011-10-05T17:00:00.002-05:00

You may have seen this already but if you haven't, you have to see this guy's collection. Talk about impressive. "Is it still a hobby?" he is asked by CNBC's Darren Rovell. (Smiles) "Probably not at this point." Referring to the fact that the collection has turned into a real life retirement plan. Watch.

Signed Football

2011-10-05T16:10:00.001-05:00

Autographs on Demand

2011-10-05T15:40:00.001-05:00

Autographs For Sale

2011-10-05T15:00:00.000-05:00

I'm Starting a Sports Memorabilia Company

2011-10-05T13:36:00.001-05:00

Auction Kings Proves Bidders Overpay

2011-09-27T20:53:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching this week's episode of Auction Kings on Discovery. This week featured a lot of baseball cards that included, amongst others, a '56 Mantle and a Satchel Paige RC. The clip below provides the experts appraisal. The results reiterated my experience at a live auction a few weeks ago where attending bidders overpaid and gave me further reason to believe that live auctions may maximize a collections value far greater than selling online. The gavel dropped on the lot for more than 3x the high range of the appraisal.

Tommy Dreamer and My Indy Wrestling Experience

2011-09-18T14:40:00.000-05:00

No longer living in the Chicago suburbs and being within a 45-60 minute drive of every major sports and entertainment venue you could ask for, I've spent some time this summer exploring smaller, regional venues. My new hometown in NE Ohio is the base of operations to MCW, an independent wrestling circuit. With a rabidly passionate fan base and a storied history of over ten years, MCW has had major wrestling personalities like Mick Foley, Jimmy Hart and most recently Tommy Dreamer, make appearances, to name a few.

Never having attended an indy wrestling event before, I really didn't know what to expect. Housed in the vacant storefront of a strip-mall, complete with blacked out windows, I was greeted by a friendly girl selling admission at the door. Upon entering the venue, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised with the size of the crowd which I estimated to be close to 200 people. Quite remarkable for a town of 25,000, most of which were packed into the local university's football arena. Mount Union College is a 10x, NCAA Division III football champion, who at one time, and still might, holds the NCAA record for consecutive wins with 73.

As the ring announcer and MC entered the ring, the place went nuts. I was actually a little startled. It was obvious that I was in the midst of long time fans and attenders. I won't provide a detailed match by match report but I will tell you that the level of competition and passion displayed by the wrestlers themselves was spirited and genuine. You could definitely tell who had potential for a larger spotlight as there were clearly a couple of guys that had the whole package; size, charisma, mic and promo, ring presence and athleticism.

As intermission started, former ECW, TNA, and WWE SuperStar, Tommy Dreamer took center ring, signing autographs and taking photos. $5 got me this sweet autographed Polaroid photo. He was friendly and gracious and truly enjoyed talking to his fans.

His match with a young MCW local Turk kicked of the second half of the show and didn't disappoint. Tommy got old school violent, at one point jumping out of the ring and running to the MC's table to grab the bell and hammer, which he subsequently laid in his incapacitated opponents crotch and then proceeded to smash with a wrench. A match that lasted, a good 15 minutes, saw Tommy the victor (was there ever a doubt?). The card ended with the bloodiest ladders and chairs tag-team match I have ever seen. One of the best things about the night was the announcement of an after party at the local Mexican cantina where fans got to hang out with the wrestlers, including the night's main draw, Tommy Dreamer. A crazy fun night, I'm sure I'll go back sometime.

The Shame of College Sports

2011-09-14T23:32:00.001-05:00

The title of this post is the title of the feature article in the new issue of The Atlantic magazine. The subject of college players and the complicity of coach involvement and/or knowledge in areas regarding ill gotten gains as an amateur athlete is a ever recurring theme making front page news. Often times, it seems, traditional sports media outlets that have attempted to shine a light on this issue do so only out of lip service with no real sense to motivate change within the system. That is why the expose featured in The Atlantic struck me because it is really done from a true outsiders perspective with nothing to lose in the way of access, priority coverage, inside scoops, etc. I don't agree with every point the author makes, but I do know that schools make HUGE sums money on the names of student athletes, even when there collegiate careers have long concluded. Is it fair? You decide. Watch the video below, read the article, and then share your thoughts. It certainly is an interesting topic.

Tristar- A Customer Service Report and a Question

2011-09-12T20:49:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I purchased a box of Tristar's new 2011 Obak Baseball. I was disappointed that 50% of my hits were of the same player, Cole White. An interesting story, Cole White is a graduate of West Point, did a 2-year tour of service and returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, the club he was drafted with in 2008. Now the cards were each serial numbered to different numbers, one to 50 and one to 75, but as you know, that doesn't make it a different card, and if you try to argue that, you are just wrong, but that is a topic for another day.

I contacted customer service via email and about a week later got a reply asking for proof of purchase and was told that they would then replace the duplicate auto with another randomly chosen autograph. Great! I forwarded a copy of my invoice (the product was purchased online) but then received and email asking that I first provide an image of the two cards side by side. Fine. No problem. Done. But then I get an email saying to mail one of them back. At that point I went, politely, ballistic. What!?!?!? Are you kidding me!?!?!? I have already wasted enough time on dealing with an issue that wasn't of my doing. All I did was buy your stupid product. No in a bush league move instead of just comping me another auto to make me feel that I at least got some value for my $100, you want me to send you the card!?!?!? Bush league bullsh*t is what that is.

Now, I obviously didn't say it in those words, with that tone but you get my drift. Well, anyway I got a reply saying that the customer service rep I was dealing with would talk to their manager and get back to me Monday. (This was a Friday). Well, I was happy to get a reply back saying that I would be receiving replacement autos in the mail. The plural of auto made me curious. As I felt one autograph would be fine. Instead today I received two autographs. A replacement for the Obak dupe, this one of Ron Blomberg numbered to 4/50 and the other from 2010 Pursuit of Matt Hobgood numbered 80/80. So all's well that ends well.

Now a question. Why weren't these cards included in the pack out. They are both on the checklists at those numberings. Does the company keep a handful of boxes and these were pulled from those boxes? Were they reprinted and the numbering added randomly? Did they go buy a box back and pull them from there. Remember all Tristar boxes are numbered as part of the overall security of their print run.

Any thoughts?

The Waiting is Almost Over

2011-09-09T21:48:00.000-05:00

One of the products I have anxiously been waiting the release of is Cult Stuff's WWII Military Propaganda Posters set. The poster medium of the WWII era were incredible works of art in their own right and served important functions in military recruitment, workforce motivation, conservation and more. The numerous pieces available to a trading card manufacturer and their easy reducibility make them a perfect subject for a trading card set. Instead of using full bleed, I like the way Cult Stuff placed the posters against a brick wall background. The images below are from their promo set limited to 500. The release date for the boxed set is mid to late fall.

Is Target the new "Hobby" Shop?

2011-09-08T16:35:00.001-05:00

I can already hear the collective gasp from the collecting universe. However, let me explain. This thought started when I posted a picture to Twitter last week of a recently closed hobby shop in my area and someone replied that whenever Chris Olds (famous for his Ripping Retail posts) or other collectors buy product from Target the sound you then hear is another LCS (local card shop) closing its doors for good. While to some degree I understand the sentiment, it's not quite that simple.

Read the rest.

In Honor of the US Open . . .

2011-09-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

You're welcome :)

When the Gavel Drops . . . You Bought It!

2011-09-02T08:13:00.001-05:00

Actually they didn’t even use a gavel. One of the Midwest’s largest auction companies, Kiko Auctions runs several live estate auctions every month. I recently attended one at the Champion Event Center in North Canton, Ohio that featured an assortment of trading cards, including several vintage lots. Being my first time as a participant, complete with assigned paddle number, I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Read the rest.

Masturbation and Baseball Cards

2011-08-20T00:56:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up.

Takeaways From the National

2011-08-07T21:07:00.005-05:00


Scott Prusha of Panini America

The 32nd National Sports Collectors Convention closed today after a fun, productive and successful week. Cardboard Connection Radio broadcast a total of 9 shows LIVE from the event floor and between shows I spent my time shooting pictures, handing out free cards with flyers and networking with industry professionals. Much like any trade show, its a lot of work but because I love what I do and do what I love, its well worth the time, energy and expense.

The crowning achievement for our crew was the Santa Claus autograph signing. Making his first EVER appearance at a National and his only appearance until the holiday season, over 250 people had the chance to meet Santa, have their picture taken and receive a 5x7 autographed picture all for FREE. The looks on some of the kids faces when they saw Santa was absolutely priceless. The event coincided with Free Kids Day and it was great to see so many young children at the show.

While I purchased almost everything on my want list the highlight of the show for me was getting to meet so many of the collectors I interact with online everyday. The National is also a great time to see old friends and the Freedom Cardboard Meet-and-Greet event proved to be a great venue to hang out with friends old and new. Here is the list of people I met for the first time.

David @LongFlyBall

John @Waxtopia

Chris @Project1962

Chris @sruchris

Sal @PuckJunk

Eric @ThosBackPages

Joe @HobbyKings

Wes @WesYee

Adam @SCUncensored

Andrew @tolentinotweets

Other people I saw from meeting them last year:

Chris @Stalegum

Marie @baseballzoch

Sooz @yanxchick

Chris @FCBsportscards

My overall impressions and random thoughts of the show:

Traffic was significantly higher than the last National in Chicago.

There were a lot of kids. Not just on today (FREE Day) but throughout the show. If this is a result of aggressive marketing to young collectors is anyone's guess but it was good to see regardless.

Dealers need to be incentivized to not pack up at 3:30. I understand why they do but it sends a bad message to show attendees many of who get there after 12pm because of church.

I applaud Panini for being the only manufacturer to not start packing early and to continue with their wrapper redemption program right to the very end of the show.

The TNA Signature Impact Championship Package, was the greatest value of the whole show. If purchased through Blow Out Cards, only cost $75. With that you received a box of the new TNA Signature Impact product, which will yield 3 autos, 1 memorabilia card, and 1 parallel, as well as tickets for a photo op and autograph from; Kurt Angle, Mr Anderson, Tara, and Ric Flair. In addition you received a bonus autographed card. However, they need to do a much better job of organizing the event. It was confusing and frustrating.

Single color jersey swatches have "officially" become just another insert. The number of dealers that I saw selling those types of cards for $1 and $2 proves that point. As a result, manufacturers need to rethink the "value" equation of their products and realize that collectors simply don't want them in anything other than low-end, entry level products.

Collectors of sports cards regularly use deodorant in greater numbers than those that collect comic books. Not to paint with a broad brush but having attended both the National and Comic-Con within a few short months of each other provides irrefutable fact.

There is still a TON of bogus autograph material on the market.

Onyx Authenticated is a newer company to pay attention to as they have a great product and solid authentication.

Leaf Trading Cards' Shoeless Joe Jackson Cut Signature promotion was one of the greatest start to finish marketing efforts I have seen put behind a singular trading card product.

Blow Out Cards is the best dealer on the planet. Dave and Adams runs second but Blow Out's massive raffle on Saturday had HUNDREDS of people gathered around their space and they gave a boatload of free product away.

If you want to "invest" in sports cards, buy vintage in the highest grade you can. The prices realized for some cards from the 50's and 60's never ceases to amaze me.

Topps Lineage is awful. What should have been something between Fan Favorites and Archives with the added bonus of every technology used to date in their storied history included as inserts was instead a bastardized version of base Topps at a much higher price point.

USA Olympian Mark Wells from the 1980 Miracle on Ice team, is a gracious and humble man, proud to have represented his country.

Grading costs a ridiculous amount of money.

Sports Collectors Digest is a shell of its former self who will not survive for much longer.

The Topps Vault Auction during the VIP Kick-Off was crazy. The color transparency used for Nolan Ryan's 1968 rookie card sold for $3,500 and the uncut sheet of 1977 Topps housing the Reggie Jackson card in his Baltimore uniform went for a whopping $10K.

The addition of the Olympic Pavilion to the National brought in a decent number of people who might not have been there otherwise.

Collectors from all over the country really do come to THE NATIONAL. I met people from Texas, Oklahoma, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Tennessee, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado and Arizona to name a few.

People still like commons, base cards and parallels. In addition to the hundreds of game used and memorabilia cards we gave away at the booth we went through THOUSANDS of base card set out on a table allowing people to help themselves. Despite this, I was still a little dumb-founded by the number of people who refused a free stack of cards.

It doesn't matter how old you are, people still love Santa Claus

The guys at the Illinois Center for Broadcasting who were also broadcasting but with a straight sports-talk show, learned a few things from us on how to successfully market a LIVE, on location broadcast.

There are distinct generational divides amongst trading card collectors and it is difficult to connect with each one of them. I think it can be broken down by collecting type, ie vintage collectors tend to be middle age to older and don't care a hoot about anything the companies manufacture today.

It takes all kinds. The owner of Vintage Authentics was arrested, escorted out of the convention center in cuffs and charged with Mail and Wire Fraud for selling bogus game used jerseys.

Most of all, I was reminded of what great friends I have in Doug Cataldo and Russ Cohen, my longtime partners at the former CardCornerClub.net

You can see a complete gallery of photos here and listen to all of the radio shows (scroll down to the On-Demand section) here and watch videos (many still to upload and edit) here.

Are Any of Your Signed Items REAL?!?!?

2011-07-30T14:17:00.002-05:00

As you head to the National, remember, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Caveat Emptor . . . and Permissum Exigo Suspendo

2011-07-26T16:21:00.000-05:00

Buyer beware and let the seller hang. I hate people like this.

I-Team: Fake Sports Memorabilia - Part I: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Fleer Greats of the Game- An All-time Favorite

2011-07-14T14:22:00.001-05:00

As readers of this blog of the years know, my love for retired only player products holds no bounds. These overpaid primadonna of the game today bore me to tears showing up in one product after another. I like learning about and reminiscing about the players from the Golden and Dead Ball era and believe the rarity of their relic make their cards truly more valuable than secondary market prices currently indicate. Even the teams of my youth in the 70's and early 80's are the ones I think of when I hear the word baseball.

I am thinning out my personal collection as I continually define and refine what it is that I collect and came across several great cards from Fleer Greats, Donruss Greats and one of the first issues of Allen & Ginter. Up for auction via my eBay seller id: bargainbinsportscards and the widget below are what I found.

The Only Constant is Change

2011-07-13T19:05:00.000-05:00

To say that I have been busy the last 2 months is an understatement. Finally however, the move is over, everything is unpacked, all the rooms are decorated and organized even the garage and shed. Shed is an understatement as it is half shed half workshop which is pretty cool. The last thing I need to do is get the tools hung up on the pegboard. My family even managed to fit in a vacation we had planned since last year before an out of state move even entered the picture.

So as I settle into the new routine VOTC is at a crossroads as my sporadic posts over the last few months might have indicated. You may or may not be aware that the site I oversaw content development for over the last several years, Card Corner Club has been acquired by Cardboard Connection and I have joined their team as a staff writer. I am still the weekly co-host of the radio show, although re-branded, as Cardboard Connection Radio and will be putting further time into that venture regarding advertising sales and sponsorships. In addition, I will be aggressively ramping up my eBay sales as I have new vintage consignments and a massive ongoing consignment.

When I started the blog, my intent was to inform, educate and entertain collectors while at the same time, maybe, just maybe opening the eyes of those willing to see past the propaganda spewed by the self proclaimed #1 Authority. Over the years I have come to realize that while I still have questions and concerns about some of their ethics, (grading cards, price guides, loaded boxes) the company is separate from the people that work there and life is too short for any ongoing animosity. In the end I realized that there was just a single individual whose inability to separate themselves from their job that I had a dislike for, but hey I know some people don't like my online persona either.

As more legitimate news sites like Cardboard Connection continue to take center stage in the hobby media marketplace it seems there is less of a need for blogs to attempt to carry that load. Maybe even more importantly is the emergence of user generated content in the form of message boards and forums to quickly deliver timely hobby news and product information.

So what does this mean for the future of this blog and the VOTC persona? Honestly, I'm not really sure. It will be a work in progress. One of my thoughts was to replicate a daily feature we used at Card Corner Club called, The Card Corner Report. This was simply a means of aggregating all of the days sports collectibles news in a single location. I posted a version here on 6/27 but the lack of comments led me to believe that the interest level might not be there. Although I could be wrong. Is that something you would like to see? A daily summary of sports collectibles and trading card information? Sound off either way and stay tuned as the VOTC finds a new focus, direction, ceases all together, or something.

Busting Packs With Jimmy Fallon and Bob Costas

2011-06-29T13:01:00.000-05:00

Today in Sports Collectibles 6-27-2011

2011-06-27T19:27:00.015-05:00

The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Will Ever Be!
Brett "The Hitman" Hart still draws a crowd. Check it out.

Auction News
Imperial Sports Auctions, a vintage sports memorabilia auction house specializing in rare baseball memorabilia, offers its Vintage Rarities IV auction ending July 14th. Highlights include Babe Ruth Signed Photo, Thurman Munson & Walter Johnson Autographed Baseballs, Ted Williams Signed 1937 Padres Baseball As 18yr Old. Complete details.

Super Bowl II Player's Ring to be Auctioned for Payment of Back Taxes
Fuzzy Thurston, 77, played for the Packers from 1959 to 1967. U.S. Marshals have seized his Super Bowl II ring, and authorities are trying to track down his other Super Bowl ring along with other sports jewelry and memorabilia. Read more.

2011 NHL Draft Exclusive Hockey Cards, Collectibles and Giveaways Gallery
Cardboard Connection Radio's very own Doug Cataldo and Russ Cohen were broadcasting live from the 2011 NHL entry draft and returned with a great gallery of images and several videos including an interview with former Blackhawk and current Winnipeg Jet, Dustin Byfuglien. Gallery. Videos.

How To Make a Custom Booklet Case with Ikea-Style Instructions
Ever wonder how to safely display your sick mojo hit from that new box of Topps Triple Threads? Here's one answer.

Canada's New Sports Hall of Fame
Offers an intimate, insightful and interactive experience. Check it out.

98-99 Michael Jordan Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Sells for $8,438.61

The forums react. Read.

Newest Line of NBA Sportspicks Headlined by Steve Nash
Watch a behind the scenes interview with Todd mcFarlane. Watch.

Hobby Turns Into Business Venture
A Hobbyist openes a new store. While at least a dozen area sports cards shops have come and gone in his area this decade, the owner syas there is still a niche and still a need. Have you had a similar dream? Think you could do it?

I'm Baaack!!

2011-06-27T13:23:00.008-05:00

This is officially the longest I have gone without posting a blog since starting VOTC 3 years ago. Over the last 6 weeks I have prepped a MAJOR move out of state which included single handlily packing the entire house, loading a storage unit, prepping the existing house to be listed on the market, making two trips to the new house in Ohio relocating my collection, prepping the new house and finally overseeing the loading and unloading by our movers. Next came the unpacking and re-setting up of the new house. To say that I have had little free time is an understatement. I did my best to continue to generate content for Card Corner Club, host the weekly Card Corner Club Radio show AND aided in the negotiations of our recent merger and acquisition by The Cardboard Connection.

One of the first things that I was tasked with by our realtor was diassembling my mancave and putting its contents into storage to eliminate the risk of unscrupulous buyers pullling a 5-finger discount. This included a temporary stay in a climate controlled storage facility. Feeling like a fish out of water, in my own office, for the better part of 2-months was getting old but I am happy to see all is well with my collecting universe again as the pictures of the reassembled mancave below can attest.

Event Used- Why Bother? Seriously

2011-05-25T20:36:00.008-05:00

In case you missed it last week, highly touted New Orleans Saints draft pick, Mark Ingram, tweeted this nugget and accompanying photo from the Topps table at the NFL Rookie Premiere: "Haha I'm at the #rookiepremiere and I have on like 17 saint jerseys LMBO!"

Yeah, real f@%#ing funny. I REALLY hope he was exaggerating by like 16 but unfortunately I doubt that's the case. Even if it's only 8 or 6 or 4 it's way too many. I mean technically doesn't the material need to come in contact with the athlete themselves to be considered event used anyway? Apparently not.

Did you know that one jersey is enough material to make 20,000 memorabilia cards with a 1"x1" swatch? (I have it on good authority from another mfg)

I have long though that a rookie's second most valuable card to their first base RC auto should be their first game used memorabilia cards issued their sophomore season because at that point the manufacturers will have had time to acquire legitimate rookie year used material. However, this recent stunt obviously isn't an isolated incident but sadly standard operating procedure and makes you wonder if any non-veteran relic card is EVER game used? WTF are they going to do with 340,000 jersey swatches? Sadly we know the answer and I better NEVER, EVER, EVER pull an Ingram card that says "Game Used" on the back.

20,000 memorabilia cards?!?!?! Shouldn't that be enough for an entire year's worth of product?!?!?! So what are the other "16" jerseys for?!?!?

Memorabilia/relic cards still have their place in The Hobby, but this is NOT it. This is exactly why the majority of these cards can't be sold for $.99c and are literally worthless.

I mean really, why bother? The thought that somebody told him he had to put on all those jerseys so they could be officially called "Event Worn" is pathetic and no wonder Ingram started his Tweet off with a laugh . . . at us the collector, probably.

Wouldn't it be less embarrassing for everyone to just put the jerseys on a table and have the athlete lay a hand on them and breath on them ,thus anointing them as "Event Used"? Or wait, why not just leave them in a big box, bring it to the event, leave them in the box and set a lamp on the box and then you could still call them "Event Used"

I'm sure Topps wasn't too happy with Mark Ingram but as a collector, I am disgusted by this practice and I am tired of constantly feeling that the manufacturers are always trying to "get one by us".

The last time I checked, jerseys weren't supposed to be the length of an evening gown either.

The BIG Move

2011-05-14T17:05:00.008-05:00

I just returned from a rather humbling, tiring and nerve racking experience. Next month I am officially moving to Ohio in a unique situation where my wife and I are purchasing her mother's home. Her move was scheduled this week and I went back to help her. Additionally, I don't want the moving company to be responsible for my collection, so I rented a larger vehicle than ours and packed up box, after box, after box, after box. The realtor strongly recommended I disassemble my mancave prior to starting the home showings, so that's what I did last week.

The experience was humbling because, as is the nature with collecting and collectors in general, we always want more and sometimes don't take time to appreciate what we already have. Let me tell you, removing items from display one-by-one, dusting them, wrapping them and packing them will give you a new perspective on your collection. The last 2 weeks have been draining as you can imagine and then to transport the volume of material I did out of state, into a home I won't occupy for another month and just leaving it there is where the nerve racking part comes in.

This is the second move we will be making in 10 years and I distinctly remember a valuable lesson I learned in my last move and that was, the difference between collecting and accumulating. In doing so I threw away several 5,000 count boxes of junk wax, once again doing the collecting universe a favor. This time around, I am proud to say that for the most part, everything that was moved, was part of my collection and not junk. Although the point could be argued that base cards from any product today are just as worthless as cards from the infamous junk wax era, but I digress as that is a story for another post. (Below is just one corner of the mancave and the closet is going to have to wait for the final move.)

VOTE NOW- Snapshot of The Hobby Poll

2011-04-22T11:50:00.003-05:00

Product Review: 2010-11 Classics Basketball Blends Old School and New School

2011-04-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

2010-11 Classics by Panini attempts to capitalize on its strong brand name by delivering a strong mix of veterans, rookies and retired players in the product configuration and checklist. This formula is something the company is very familiar and comfortable with as they replicate it on a fairly consistent basis. Forty rookies (numbered to 699) and forty legends (numbered to 999) accompany one hundred veterans to comprise a one hundred and eighty card base set. The rookies are all autographed and Panini deserves credit for delivering collectors an autograph component that is hard signed, a seemingly lost concept in this, the auto-label era.

Read the rest.

Trish Stratus As Hot As Ever

2011-04-21T12:17:00.001-05:00

Post WWE retirement has been good for Trish. She runs her own Yoga studio, is co-host of the new USA reality show Tough Enough and stars in an upcoming action thriller, Bail Enforcers. Enjoy the official trailer:

What if . . . .

2011-04-18T15:23:00.003-05:00

A list from the "What If?" brainstorming session at the Industry Summit found its way online, thanks to Sports Card News on Twitter. There are some really good ideas on the list, albeit some are also far from practical but that is the point of a brainstroming session. When you have 300+ dealers, wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers in a room debating how to make The Hobby better, you have to start someplace. Here is the list.

Memorabilia - as opposed to swatches in card, move towards a redemption for an entire memorabilia piece? As a redemption. Is it cost prohibitive?

What if Manufacturers visit stores more often. Particularly stores who are at these conferences and show initiative in their business.

Redemptions - provide a list of redemptions pre-product release - suggestion to eliminate redemptions altogether;

What if manufacturer's allow stores to re-order product based on some scale (perhaps original order) if manufacture still has stock, would it be possible to solicit B&Mʼs again? Distributors often raise price once product gets hot or sells out; stores would like to realize some of that upside;

What about over-ship programs - store gets extra with some time frame and some return privilege to try to augment sells (problem of speculating on this??)

What if we made Hobby blasters - price point friendly packaged SKUʼs; What about vendor cases? For bulk singles and maybe even some additional inserts, correctly seeded in the vending cases

What if we double-box cases for shipping from the factory? Prefer master cases rather than half-cases in some circumstances

What if the trading card companies worked in the gaming world to attract younger consumers somehow? Gamestops everywhere - is there a way to work in there space?

What if the sports released more condensed within the season itself,

What if products released on days of some significance? Opening day; opening day for little league etc.

What if we could sponsor or co-op local affordable athletes for in store signings more often?

What if we had more POS/POP materials for the stores?

What if stores were charged a small fee for a promotional package of marketing materials? (many raised their hands that they would do this)

What if the B&Mʼs were more proud to be dealers for the manufacturers - that it meant more; that it was something not available to just anyone but to those who added the most value, and represented the brands the most professionally?

What if manufacturers store locators contained more information about the stores and were more up to date and current?

What if manufacturers promoted B&M stores within the products (i.e. Decoy cards) some competitive concerns - use internet

What if their were a neutral site (run by the manufacturers) that promoted the B&M stores as a locator

What if the manufacturers sold the stores the bags they use (or provided more perhaps in case) for consumers to carry out their product

What if Manufacture's kept stores better informed of release dates and changing release dates

What if we made more set build-able products? Some sets are far to difficult to build; looking for more achievable sets to build in a few cases. Conversely, some like the challenging aspect

What if we had a set-build difficulty label 1 through 10? On the package*

What if manufacturers could release certain sets in several series but have them not count as releases

What if we had more box-toppers? Like NHL Ice packs in Black Diamond. What if all boxes had boxtoppers? Box toppers that drive traffic to internet sites, new upcoming product previews, etc encouraging box sales

What if we put more actual memorabilia in the boxes (see above) as well as more cool memorabilia available is redemption?

What if we went back to sending out paper sell sheets more often?

What if we attach PDF sales sheets to Facebook dealer area?

What if dealers had kiosk (computer monitor) in store for product information? (distraction?)

What if there was a universal card-store locator with product information?

What if manufacturers had video product information available for stores? A small monitor that fits in a header card, need content update functionality - maybe via download?

What if we used a tablet app that had product info? What if we had some inter-manufacture digital video display for in store product marketing (something we all share the cost in developing and implementing

What if we put more shirts, jerseys, hats etc in product as case toppers?

What if we gave out coupons in product to next purchase? (expiry dated) do it electronically

What if we did a reward based program for set building

What if we had more consistency? - i.e Annual trading Card day;

What if we had broad based nationwide programs?

What if we had a registry system where collectors are competing for status based on collecting goals?

What if we do value boxes for hobby? (like we do for retail)

Here is the biggest "what if" of all, what if, just a handful of these ideas actually came to fruition? Heck what if just one came to fruition? Then it would mean this Summit had credibility and proved that the people with the power to make the changes, the manufacturers, really do care. So, what if?

Designing the Perfect LCS

2011-04-14T11:37:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it's easy to find fault with our favorite LCS, but making a profitable business isn't easy. So I ask all of you, if you had the means, motivation, and market to open a good old fashion brick and mortar retail, hobby shop, what would it entail? Would it be sportscards only or would you carry other items; trading card games, sports figures, comic books, coins, etc What marketing have you seen in your LCS that you would replicate? What hours would the shop be open? What special promotions would you run? How would you acquire your initial inventory? Would you offer services like custom framing, eBay consignment, etc? Let's make this a group project and design the premier LCS/hobby shop? Ready? Go!!!!

A Community Public Service: Share Your eBay Blocked Bidders

2011-04-02T00:34:00.004-05:00

If you sell on eBay you know that between constantly changing policies, ever increasing fees and problematic buyers, sometimes, unfortunately its just a necessary pain. I know several of you probably sell on eBay as well and have your own blocked bidders list. It sure would be nice to avoid the people on your lists and vice-versa so I thought we could share those lists here in a centralized location.

Below is mine. Just leave yours as a comment so everyone can quickly copy and paste it to their respective blocked bidders page. Thanks.

are-you-normal, asiatradingcorp, atazmatic_32, bighorns81, carddood, cban84, chopperfan55, crystalballer32, dalsubfan, dave03091965, dunesfield, easyink, ilovesports68, imaman, kenkim2000, kw87fan1, marcdvigil, memorabiliaandcards, missgemmint, mobiledeb, montano999, nickequip, oct23may24, ourneeds777, pacers66, parsetdx, plaster32, ponnylowman, pureipod, raulkongen, roy_hobbs17, sg67sg67, tacticaladvantage, teacherdude70, tlangmacher, tntrocks8, torostradingpost, triple-k-sportscards, you_catcat, zcah1221

Video Highlights: 2010-11 Absolute Memorabilia Basketball

2011-04-02T00:14:00.002-05:00

Innovation Fuels Controversy

2011-03-27T09:42:00.004-05:00

For as long as I have been a member of the blogsphere, there have been several recurring cries for change from the trading card manufacturers, foremost of which has been the lack of innovation. Yet at every attempt at innovation, the companies are derided and ridiculed. When Topps experimented with augmented reality and 3D trading cards, everyone's reaction, mine included, was pretty much, "What's the point?". Fast forward a couple of years to this past week with both Upper Deck and Panini announcing that 2011 will see the industry's first ever, self-playing video trading card. Again, collector reaction was overwhelmingly negative. It seems as if the companies are damned if they do and damned if they don't and I just don't think that's fair.

Not only is it not fair it certainly can be stiffling to the entire creative and innovation process as a whole if these ideas are routinely criticized, this time, before the product is even in collector's hands. Those of you who read the blog regulalry know that I am certainly not an apologist or staunch defender of the manufacturers. I hold them accountable on several things including design and value. But when every innovation is called a gimmick, it's simply a no win situation.

In all honesty, I'm not sure about these video cards either but I'll reserve judgement until I actually have one in hand. I think the potential is there to be very cool. Jordan's dunk from the free throw line, Don Larsen's perfect game mauling, Ripken's lap around Camden Yards, buzzer beaters, hockey's greatest fights, The Immaculate Reception, etc. I think before casting judgement we just wait to have them in hand and even if they aren't your cup of team, at least the companies are willing to try something new.

Now, the way this was handled by the two companies is an example of how to do something right and how to do something wrong. Over the last several weeks, Upper Deck has been teasing the coming of their video card, called, Evolution, with a series of videos, blog posts etc. Very well executed PR and marketing to create hype and garner interest prior to the debut of the innovation in 2011 Upper Deck Football.

Unfortunatley for them, Panini stole their thunder at the Industry Summit with a presentation that included the announcement of their own video card called, Panini HD. A truly back door kind of way to make the announcement, especially considering that they do not even have a prototype yet. Contrast that with Upper Deck who is already at the pack out phase with their version. Panini's mock-up looked much like a normal trading card compared to Upper Deck's which looks like a video screen in a small box. I hope, if the concept sticks, that Panini is successful with their mock-up as it makes for a more streamlined look resembling a true collectible and less like a novelty.

The pissing match that ensued on Twitter between the two companies after the summit was awkward and uncomfortable and lacked any degree of professionalism. It was clear that Upper Deck officials were clearly upset at having been one-upped by Panini and forced them to change their PR approach to "First to Market" as compared to "Pleased to Announce the First . . ."

So, what do YOU think about The Hobby's first selp playing video trading card?

My Mom Rescued a Hoarder- Need Late 90's - Early 00's Player Lots?

2011-03-24T20:57:00.009-05:00

So my Mom has a friend who is a bit of a hoarder. Not quite as bad as those on the TV show but let's just say I'm glad that getting these boxes out of my Mom's trunk was the extent of my involvement.

There were several boxes of kindling as would be expected, but there were also (2) 3,000 count boxes with some great player lots with cards from the late 90's and early 2000's.

Most lots range from 35-50 different cards and include brands like, Metal Universe, Skybox, Gold Label, Showcase, EX, Finest, Laser, Tek, SPx Holo, Holographix, Ionix, Gallery, Bowman's Best, HD, Prism, Private Stock, Leaf Steel and more.

I know this isn't eBay but there is some good stuff in here and I want my readers to have first shot.

Players available:

Eric Chavez

Jose Canseco

JD Drew

Sean Casey

Jeromy Burnitz

Ken Caminiti

Darin Erstad

Jim Edmonds

Joe Carter

Jermain Dye

Johnny Damon

Vinny Castilla

Andre Dawson

David Cone

Cliff Floyd

Carlos Delgado

Andres Galarraga

Carl Everett

Will Clark

Roger Clemens ($20)

Tony Clark

Nomar Garciaparra

If you are interested let me know at thevotc@gmail.com and I'll get you specifics and pricing.

Lots are either $5, $7, or $10 unless noted above and pricing is based on the quantity and cards included.

Now Taking Nominations for the Worst LCS in the Country

2011-03-22T10:39:00.005-05:00

The Industry Summit is less than 48 hours old and already a heated topic has been brought to the forefront with Panini's new slogan, "2011- The Year of the Hobby Shop". Minimum pricing, early release protectionism and more are part of what Panini has described as the winning formula and necessary moves for the long-term health of The Hobby.

While I am sure there are many well run Local Card Shops, I am all too intimately familiar with several that are run by people with no business acumen whatsoever, who believe they are still operating in the early '90's and that this whole Internet thing is just a fad or passing fancy. Disorganized stores, unhelpful customer service, over inflated prices, inventory so old it collects dust, no online presence, no in store customer interaction opportunities.

While I enjoy going to a good card shop like anyone, as a full time employee, father, and husband, I have little time, if any, to actually make my hobby purchases there. The Internet has revolutionized the way we live, interact with each other, and purchase goods and services. To employ a marketing strategy that protects a fragment of the market as a whole seems silly. But so does loading Target and Wal-Mart with Topps Heritage product over a week before your LCS but what do I know.

So enough of my still formulating rant and opinion and before you chastise me, I really do understand the importance of a well run LCS. Well run, obviously being the operative phrase here.

The real purpose of this post is to hear from the only people that really matter, YOU, the collector about the LCS's out there that make you shake your head and wonder how they are still in business. Also, to you pundits and naysayers, I'll follow this up with nominations for The Best LCS, but for now I am more focused on getting a better read on exactly what it is that Panini and Upper Deck think is so important to be supporting through price and distribution manipulation.

So please provide the name of the store, city, state, and reasons why you think they are one of the worst shops in the country.

Getting My Nerd On at C2E2 Chicago Comic Con

2011-03-20T21:51:00.001-05:00

Crown Royale Hockey Review

2011-03-08T17:24:00.001-06:00

Crown Royale Hockey continues a tradition first made popular by the now defunct Pacific Trading Company, once a master in the hockey trading card genre. 2010-11 saw the revitalization of the heralded brand by Panini first in football and basketball and now, hockey. The ornately themed product exudes class and is distinguished by its die-cut base set and noble imagery and majestic designs. Coat of arms, lion heads, crowns, fleur-de-lis and intricate framing are all utilized to create a uniformed consensus throughout the product’s various insert and subsets.

Read the rest.

Video Highlights: Playoff Contenders Football

2011-03-08T08:33:00.001-06:00

Perceived Value and Feeling Fleeced

2011-03-05T11:48:00.008-06:00

This morning saw one of the most dynamic debates I have ever witnessed with trading card manufacturer representatives, industry insiders, bloggers, and collectors. The forum was Twitter and the participants were Gregg Kohn of Upper Deck, Steven Judd, Doug from Card Corner Club, Gellman from Sports Cards Uncencored, Sports Card News and myself. Others joined the conversation later but by that point the fun was already over.

What jump started the whole conversation was a very public exchange between SCU and Panini on the lackluster, early returns and opinions regarding National Treasures Football. That in and of itself is a topic for another post but the subject quickly turned to value, perceived or otherwise.

While I understand how a P&L statement works, I admittedly am not privy to the nuances of how building a trading card product affect the numbers from a bottom line stand point. However, what I do know is that a product delivering $20 worth of cards with a SRP of $100 is doing nothing to grow The Hobby's collector base. Instead it is causing people to no longer purchase unopened product instead choosing to shop for singles on the secondary market. That is a trend that if allowed to occur unabated is bad for all parties involved; manufacturers, distributors, retailers and collectors.

Long gone are the days from the early 2000's that you could flip the contents of a single box at a profit. Unfortunately it seems many collectors feel that should still be the case. I am not one of them. That was a short lived anomaly, that created the "every collector is a dealer" mentality. While it is certainly understandable that many wish this was still the case, it just isn't realistic.

What should be realistic is to expect a certain level of tangible value in return for your purchase. That value should be commiserate and in proportionate scale to the SRP. In addition, x% of that value can be attributed to the entertainment value, so that any product, regardless of price point returns a % of value in entertainment and secondary market value.

As an example:

Now, how do you define entertainment value and tangible value? Entertainment value is the fun of opening the product. This can be accomplished in the "cool" factor of the cards, the degree of base set completeness, the hit quality etc. The Tangible value is easy enough to calculate. Regardless of the product, their is historical sales data to determine that, as an example- a multi-color swatch, x size, numbered to x of these certain players is worth in the range of x-z. You then repeat this for every type of card insert, hard signed auto, sticker auto, single color swatch, etc and then you pack-out the product accordingly.

As you can see, I don't expect even close to a 100% tangible value return. Is 50% though, really asking to much on a product that costs over $300? I don't think so. Is it to much to feel like I got my money's worth? If I go to a casino with $100 and play Black Jack at a $10 table for 3-4hrs and walk away with $0, did I win or lose. In my mind I won because I got 3-4 hours of quality entertainment ( and free drinks ;) ). So many times I open a pack, blaster or box of trading cards and feel "ripped-off". I know I am not alone in that regard. What that simply means is that there is a fundemental flaw in the current way trading cards sets are designed, produced, and brought to market.

I also understand that the licensing fees from the league are exorbitant and way out of line. Ultimately the manufacturers need to decide if they are producing collectibles or commodities. because as it stands right now, how much longer can you continue to deliver a product to market that in the end yields little, if at times any, secondary market value. If you are producing collectibles than secondary market value HAS to matter in your product development and yet no manufacturer seems to be concerned with that and yet are then the first to complain when sales quotas aren't being met.

I understand that a trading card manufacturers first and foremost responsibility is to turn a profit but if you market your product as a collectible but produce it as a commodity, guess what, ultimately the two are going to catch up to each other and you won't be turning a profit at all.

Simple rules to follow, particularly with high end product-

1) Never, ever, ever, ever, ever us single color swatches.
2) No sticker autographs
3) Lower the print run. Simple Econ 101 says the less supply the greater the demand.
4) Forget the fluff packaging. You can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig. Eliminate the mfg cost of packaging and put it back into the product's content value. Packaging is meant to attract an on the fence purchaser to entice them. The people that buy $300 product are going to buy it if its in a laminated wood box made out of mahogany or if its in a paper bag.

I'm sure it's not as easy as I make it sound. Or is it? Is it just that the powers that be have been doing this for so long that they can't see the forest for the trees?

Have You Listened to The Hobby's only LIVE, National, Call-in Radio Show?

2011-02-27T09:00:00.003-06:00

First, to all of those who have supported the program, Thank You. Card Corner Club Radio is The Hobby's only, LIVE, nationally broadcast radio call in show. The number of live listeners and podcast downloads continues to increase every week. The homepage link for the show can be found here on Blogtalk Radio and the here for iTunes.

Our regular guest host, 2x All Star and Gem Mint 10 RC collector, Dmitri Young will continue with us on a weekly basis and we have some bigger partnership plans in the works.

In addition to discussing the latest trading cards and collectibles news with opinionated commentary, we have brought in an ever expanding lineup of guests. A partial list includes:

Author of Mint Condition Dave Jamieson
Panini Marketing Manager Tracy Hackler
Industry Summit organizer Kevin Iaasacson
Upper Deck Marketing Manager Chris Carlin
Topps Social Media/PR Communications Mike Mader
Former ECW and TNA Champ Terry Gerin AKA Rhyno
MLB Top 10 Prospect Eric Hosmer
Pitchman extraordinaire Don West
ITG Marketing Manager Steve LaRoche
Author of Cardboard Gods Josh Wilker
McFarlane Sports Picks Brand Manager Mark Weber
Editor in Chief of Non-Sport Update Harris Toser
Leaf Trading Card Company President Brian Gray
Akosa Akpom brand Manager for Jakks Pacific Fight Division (TNA, UFC)

In addition we have brought you on location interviews from The National Sports Collectors Convention, the NHL Winter Classic and All-Star Games as well as NY Toy Fair. We have also given away hundreds of dollars in FREE prizes including hobby boxes, packs, autos, memorabilia cards, and more!!

So if you haven't checked us out yet, we hope you do. LIVE every Friday at 10pm CST for Card Corner Club Radio.

Panini Appears Willing to Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is

2011-02-18T15:09:00.003-06:00

One of the topics of conversation at the Industry Summit in Vegas next month is going to be what can be done to aid the remaining brick and mortar hobby shops. Panini has notified their distributors of a strict policy moving forward. While this sounds good on paper it has yet to be determined if it will be enforceable or is merely lip service.

I am not aware, for instance, if Blowout Cards even has a retail presence and I can't imagine Panini giving up that revenue. However, under the terms below, just having one won't be enough. 60% of sales volume must come from walk-in traffic. I'm pretty sure not even Dave and Adam's, who does have a retail location, if not two, can claim that.

So, now that most business owners have figured out how to incorporate online revenue streams into their business model through eBay, the Becket Marketplace, website eCommerce and others, do these new requirements help or hinder businesses who have adapted their model for an online marketplace?

Here is the text of the Retailer Qualification Form:

Please be advised Panini is starting to implement plans to support the Brick and Mortar stores and clarify roles within our industry. Below is the list of requirements/criteria to be an approved Authorized Brick and Mortar Retailer.
Authorized Panini Retailers must adhere to the following guidelines. Failure to do so will result in immediate termination from the program.

o 60% of business is done via in store traffic
o Open for business a minimum of 40 hours per week
o Do you eBay? Provide eBay name: __________________________________
o Do you operate a dot.com site for your store? Provide address: __________________________________
o A store email address that is checked daily
o This address will be used for placing online orders and electronic communications.
In addition to meeting these criteria, all retailers must submit the following documents.
o Four pictures of retail storefront. Pictures must clearly show the following:
o Outside signage including front door and windows matching the name and address of store on account application and building marquee
o Indoor retail space showing most current Panini products on shelves and other items you stock
o Bing or Google Aerial view close up of your storefront
o Telephone directory page listing storefront name ,address and phone number
o A copy of sales tax permit
o A copy of most recent sales tax payment
o A copy of lease agreement
o Do you set up at card shows? If so, provide list of shows you regularly set up at.
o Must adhere to pricing guidelines
o Wholesaling of product is not allowed. Product purchased is intended for retail consumption only.
o No cross border selling of any Panini products allowed
o Panini Authorized Retailers must be approved to sell at Trade Shows and on any internet sites.
o Not allowed to pre-sell or offer any Panini product before official street date

What are YOUR thoughts?

Value Added or Propping Up Products With No Value?

2011-02-16T12:29:00.002-06:00

Alright, NO value might be a bit harsh but the title creates the mental connotation I'm going for in this post. Also, consider this more of a thinking out loud about the issue post than a full blown opinionated statement.

We, as collectors, are entering our second year with The Topps Company holding the baseball card tri-opoly (MLB, USA, MiLB) and a potentially disturbing trend is emerging. Multiple Topps products will be created with some sort of perceived value added component.

Last year we saw the Million Card Giveaway, Topps and Bowman Chrome wrapper redemption programs and this year we already have the Diamond Anniversary thing-a-ma-jig and the announcement today that 30 Albert Pujols rookie cards will be inserted into Topps Tribute.

There is a fine line between value added and giving back to collectors and feeling the need to incorporate some sort of mechanism that will drive sales. The subject has been something I have been thinking about for the last several months and was perfectly summed up in this exchange on Twitter today.

Collector A: Is it sad that what's going to sucker me into buying more 2011 Topps is the Diamond Giveaway redemption?

Collector B: Why's that sad? I can't remember the last time I had fun buying baseball cards. It seemed like a chore until Topps went and ran the MCG and now TDG (promotions)

Collector A: Dunno. Just seems like I should be buying them for the actual cards.

Exactly!!

However, as a marketing person, I truly appreciate the buzz Topps has created both in The Hobby and mainstream media. The Valentine's Day engagement ring giveaway, while obviously a complete and total PR stunt, certainly worked as the Topps logo was branded all over a Today Show segment carried by NBC local affiliates around the country.

I don't know. Buybacks have been used a lot in various products by various manufacturers for years but something seems wrong about a once great brand like Topps Tribute needing to be pumped up with a buyback card chase of none other than Albert Pujols. It just seems to me that if you, as a product developer, can't make that brand successful standing on its own merits, maybe you have bigger issues to deal with.

What says you?

Spring Cleaning Your Collection

2011-02-16T11:19:00.005-06:00

It hardly seems like a coincidence that pitchers and catchers have reported at the same time as a majority of the country begins to thaw. The sunshine and warmer temperatures means that spring and, with it, MLB 2011 Opening Day is just around the corner.

And with spring comes . . . you guessed it, spring cleaning. So how does this pertain to your collection?

Well if your man cave, displays or office are anything like mine they are probably in need, first and foremost of a good dusting. I have spoke on this subject before and even included a poll you can see here. The other day I actually saw a cobweb attached to a snap case. Gross.

However, that's not all. Have you taken the time to reflect recently on what it is you really collect? Not just the stuff you like, but the stuff you would be really upset to see ruined or lost.

In this beloved hobby of ours it is VERY easy to end up accumulating more than we collect. A subject I have also previously discussed. Whether it be from group box breaks, contests, card shows, impulse retail purchases you probably have stacks of cards you could care less about and you know aren't worth anything, including your time, to try and move on eBay.

You have several options to de-clutter but some of the most rewarding will be to package them up and deliver them to your local hospital's pediatric unit, Boy Scout troop, or Boy's & Girls Club. It's easy to forget that the things we take for granted as cynical adults in The Hobby can bring great pleasure to a deserving child.

In addition, to underestimate the money you can personally make but blowing them out at a garage sale. Another topic I have posted on previously. Even if you only clear $20 to spend on singles you really want off eBay, you clear space in the process.

Also, is your stack of Beckett's, Tuff Stuff's, and SCD's really doing you any good? Seriously. Other than the last few Rookie Rolodex issues and the current year's issues. What good are they? I purged my magazines long before I grew wise to the shennanigans down in Dallas.

Boxes of aged and yellow toploaders? Pitch em. A storage bin of junk wax? Well you know how I feel about that.

The point is, regardless of what you do, you'll be happy you did it.

What are some of YOUR ideas when it comes to spring cleaning your collection?

A Closer Look at the Kimball Inserts from 2011 Topps

2011-02-12T21:08:00.005-06:00

In my humble, or not so humble opinion, the 50-card Kimball insert set is one of the most visually appealing product components I have seen in a long time. I truly believe the brand, if done correctly, could easily replace the now tired Allen & Ginter. Blasphemy to many of you I know but it sure would make for a nice change of pace.

The set pays tribute to the original N184 W.S. Kimball Champions of Games and Sports (1887). A multi-sport product which you can see here.

Shameless Plug for My Friend and Yours . . .

2011-02-09T16:29:00.002-06:00

. . . Don West! Have you caught any of his new live pitch show on GeekWeek? He's still got it. Although he gets so excited his smoker's cough kicks in once in awhile. here's some info he sent about tonight's show.

Mickey Mantle. Ted Williams. Joe Dimaggio. They were the legends on the cards you could never afford… until now!

This Wednesday Night live at 11pm EST on Geekweek.com/live Don West of WildWestDeals.com is going to shock the sportscard collecting world with unthinkable deals on individual cards of some of the greatest baseball players to ever step on the field!

There’s no middleman folks, which means Don can bring you INSANE prices on these once in a lifetime deals. You won’t want to miss it as Don gives back to the collecting world with this INSANE hour of deals. Be sure to follow Don on Facebook.com/wildwestdeals and Twitter.com/wildwestdeals as he leaks more details on what’s sure to be a crazy night!

Panini's Response

2011-02-05T13:33:00.004-06:00

With regards to the Panini PR statement concerning the Sam Bradford Mirror Black 1/1 Parallel from Certified, I can honestly no better sum up my feelings on the subject than this post by Steven Judd.

Restoring Value to the Memorabilia Card

2011-02-05T11:04:00.003-06:00

Many factors have contributed to the downfall of the once well sought after and highly valued memorabilia card. To say that memorabilia/relic cards have become passe is certainly an understatement. Instead of being a highly desirable collectible as in years past, they have been relegated to "just another insert" status by many collectors, and for good reason.

Be it the cryptic ambiguity of the wording on the back of the card designating the origin of the material contained within the card itself, the over saturation of the single color swatch, particularly the dreaded white and gray varieties, or the unfortunate utilization of event used and photo shoot worn memorabilia, the reasons are numerous, known, and easily understand.

The bigger question then is simply, how do you fix it?

On last night's episode of Card Corner Club Radio the subject was discussed that there is currently an undervalued element of the game used memorabilia card market and that is game worn material cards issued during a players sophomore season. Reason being, aren't these cards technically their first legitimate game used cards and could then be considered their first memorabilia rookie card?

Think about it. The majority of relic/memorabilia cards issued during a players traditional rookie season are event used or photo shoot worn. Jerseys worn on the field, ice, or court, during their rookie year, then acquired in the off-season, eventually get utilized in future game used cards. So, shouldn't the first of those cards carry a premium compared to the non-game used cards from their rookie year?

As a card manufacturer, the marketing benefit would be a simple and attractive means of promoting a product containing the first official game used cards from the rookie class of year xxxx.

Just thinking out loud.

I like game used cards because I feel they do connect you closer to the player. I'll never be able to afford complete jerseys of my favorite players but thanks to memorabilia cards, I can own a piece.

My Two Cents: Sam Bradford 1/1

2011-01-26T14:07:00.003-06:00

After the snafu I created mis-crediting the origin of the Honus Wagner card story, I won't be crediting anyone in the future unless I know with 100% accuracy of the topics true origin.

Suffice it to say collectors acquire information from a wide variety of sources. In all honesty, I don't read every blog, and spend little time (if any) on message boards. In truth, I thought I was doing the right thing in crediting Chris because when I went to find the link on his blog I didn't even read the post. Why? Because originally all he did was post a link to the eBay auction with the rhetorical question, "What's wrong with this picture?" via Twitter.

So again Beardy, I apologize.

So, in the future, when I opine on a subject, it will be to simply give my two cents and in no way will be presented as a breaking story and/or I will no longer credit where I heard about it from originally so as not to confuse anyone of the story's actual source of origin. Fair enough?

Anyway, I digress. By now we have all heard the issue with what appears to be a Sam Bradford Mirror Black Parallel RC Auto 1/1 being used as a redemption substitute. The big concern in the mind of collectors being obviously, why wasn't one of the product's best cards packed out?

Fair enough question. But, do we have all the facts and are the right questions being asked.

If I am not mistaken, all we have to date is the back of the card. How de we know this wasn't one of the cards created for the Toronto Expo that went unclaimed? I am not saying it is but before jumping to conclusions I waited 24 hours to write this post and instead contacted Tracy Hackler at Panini directly (via Twitter, to which he replied) and stated that he was, currently, "Looking into it now (the situation.)" I followed up later that night (again via Twitter) and instantly got a response saying, " . . . waiting on feedback from a couple of people."

At this time there still hasn't been an official response from Panini (or Topps either) on these two issues. I understand that mistakes happen but what I don't appreciate is for a company(s) that wants to engage collectors through the use of social media, to throw us bouquets with free contests and disseminate information and such, on one hand, and then toplay clueless and bury their head in the sand when it comes to issues like these on the other. You can't have it both ways.

With the Sam Bradford issue specifically, we are still waiting on several factors and don't have all the information necessary to render an opinion yet, and in truth we may never, we can only speculate. HOWEVER, if it is true that this card is in fact, definitively, THE Panini Certified Mirror Black 1/1 Parallel and it never made it into packs, that is an issue than needs to be addressed and procedures changed to insure that it never, ever happens again.

Redemption cards, as we know are a legalized form of bait and switch that we have all come to live with or at least tolerate. THIS, however, THIS, would be a whole other issue completely.

Let's see what Panini has to say?

Update: Topps Honus Wagner

2011-01-25T22:54:00.002-06:00

I wanted to make a public apology to Beardy of The Mojo Beard who was the first to point out the problem with the Topps Sterling Honus Wagner card with this post and not Chris Harris from Stale Gum as I originally had attributed it too.

Sorry Beardy.

Why You Need To Feed Your Blog to Twitter

2011-01-24T21:42:00.003-06:00

As many of you know, Twitter has revolutionized the way information is disseminated. It's ability to deliver relevant, valued content direct to desktop or mobile in real-time is unprecedented and changing the way consumers absorb information. No longer is the end user required to seek information by going to a particular source. To maintain being relevant that source needs to come to the end user and today, that is done via Twitter.

Personally, I used to have the time to go through my Google Reader/Blog Roll everyday but those days are long gone. From a time management standpoint I find the blogs I still read are the ones I am aware of that have posted something new. How do I become aware something new has been posted? You guessed it, my Twitter time line, which I check numerous times per day. The more pertinent question is as a blogger, why wouldn't you? You increase your audience, reach and site statistics. You can engage and aggregate an audience you might not have reached other wise and most importantly, you stay relevant.

I honestly don't mean this to be a slap in the face or condescending to any of my fellow bloggers not utilizing this but instead to implore and encourage you to do so. It's extremely easy. I use Twitterfeed it takes literally seconds to set up, is totally turnkey and you never bother with it again.

As a blogger, what you have to say matters. It matters to me and it matters to your other readers. You've chosen to use your voice for a reason. Why institute a self-imposed gag order on yourself by not broadcasting your message in real time, to a wider audience?

My Two Cents: Topps Needs to Make This Right

2011-01-24T14:14:00.004-06:00

As was brought to the attention of collector's last night by Chris Harris at Stalegum, Topps has made a serious mistake. I'm pretty sure that back in Honus Wagner's playing days they were still using flannel jerseys and not the Coolflo type used by MLB today.

Regardless of the reasoning, as explained quite logically by Steven Judd at Sports Card File, Topps needs to admit the mistake and rectify the situation. Plain and simple. When you have gone to great lengths to capitalize on being the defacto baseball card company in the market, you have a certain responsibility to consumers and collectors. You need to operate with integrity and not ignorance, ethics and not arrogance.

In my mind, these are the steps Topps needs to take in addressing the issue, but I would be willing to bet none of them will happen.

1) Conduct an internal audit and investigation to determine how this specifically happened.

2) Take measure, as appropriate, to insure it NEVER happens again.

3) Issue a Press Release admitting to the mistake, explaining how it happened and what changes have been made to insure another incident like this isn't repeated.

4) Offer the current owner of the card 2x the purchase price to have the card removed from the marketplace.

5) Provide the current owner a replacement.

As dayf from Carboard Junkie has pointed out, yes, it could be worse, as we all remember this fiasco from last year, but this is pretty bad too.

Caleb Hanie Came This Close To Being an Overnight Collecting Sensation

2011-01-24T13:18:00.009-06:00

After the questionable departure of Chicago Bears' starting quarterback Jay Cutler due "injury", the brain trust on the sidelines though that inept and geriatric Todd Collins was the answer to their dilemma. Quickly realizing the their lapse of judgement, the trotted out Colorado State stand out and 2008 rookie, Caleb Hanie.

Hanie proceeded to put together 2 touchdown drives and pull the Bears with in 7 points. With enough time to develop a sustained, clock consuming drive, Hanie eventually succumbed to the pressure throwing a game ending pick.

To his credit, instead of looking like a fish out of water, he looked every bit as capable if not more so than the players ahead of him on the position depth chart.

His cardboard had some instant interest as can be seen here in completed auctions yesterday.

His 2008 Playoff Contenders autographed rookie and his 2008 SP Authentic RC #/1399 are both worth picking up, BUT, wait for the short lived hype to die down.

Oh what could have been.

1919 "Black Sox" Oddball Acquisition

2011-01-21T10:20:00.005-06:00

Perusing eBay the other day, I cam across a rather unique item produced at the peak of the junk wax era. Between the years 1991-1992, as best that I can tell, a company by the name of TNTL Studios in Toms River, NJ produced this miniature boxed set of the infamous Black Sox team. 25 cards depict the entire team as well as owner Charles Comiskey and manager William "Kid" Gleason".

The black and white cards measure 2" x 3" and designate the indicted players with a black border. The most famous player on that team, Shoeless Joe Jackson, has a duplicate card as you can see that has been colorized. Despite coming from an era of over production and regularly searching for Shoeless Joe items on the secondary market, this is the first time I have seen.

The cards are un-numbered and are blank backed with the exception of the Shoeless Joe Jackson cards which includes a short biopic.

Donruss Basketball Goes Retro

2011-01-17T12:26:00.002-06:00

If you are like me, the term “Rated Rookie” conjures up the images of all things 80’s; Rayban Wayfarer sunglasses, Risky Business, the Mustang GT 5.0, the mullet, Member’s Only jackets, girls with “big hair”, Dire Straits, Def Leppard, Depeche Mode, Breakfast Club, Ferris Buehler, Ronald Reagan, punk rock, Prince, Flash Dance, etc . . . you get the picture. More importantly, to a collector from the 80’s, the term ‘Rated Rookie” means one thing; wax packs, and lots of them. Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Roberto Alomar are just a few of the names that immediately come to mind as players who have worn the title in generations past. Panini seeks to reconnect with this feel good brand name in the all-new 2010-11 Donruss Basketball.
Read the rest.

Video Highlights: Timeless Treasures Basketball by Panini

2011-01-15T16:21:00.001-06:00

And Then There Was One- How the Death of Tuff Stuff Impacts The Hobby

2011-01-12T13:50:00.007-06:00

Krause Publications, and later F+W Media is the victim of a problem facing many, many media companies and one I am all to intimately familiar with personally, having been a victim of a layoff from a media and publishing company last April. My dislike and distrust of Beckett Media aside, I think I can bring some perspective and shall we say, calculated logic, to the discussion of the pitfalls facing both of these hobby media resources.

Declining print ad revenues across all forms of media, both B2B and B2C are
something that traditional publishing companies have been struggling with since the invention of the Internet by Al Gore in the early 90's. (I'm STILL convinced that is why he lost the election, what an idiot but I digress). Regardless of if you are a major publishing icon like Rupert Murdoch or a niche publisher like F+W, the inability of publishing companies to effectively monetize an online strategy has effectively served as the demise for numerous publishers.

The ability, or in some cases, inability, to grasp the importance of social media has further plagued traditional media companies and publishers who have long relied on an antiquated business model of disseminating information and waiting for readers, users and consumers to come to them. The world doesn't work that way anymore. if you aren't bringing me the information I want, chances are I have little time or interest in seeking it out.

A great example of this in the blogsphere is my friend, Adam Gellman, at Sports Cards Uncensored. I have asked him repeatedly to set up a Twitterfeed for his blog. Why? Because most of the time, it's the only way I will know a blog I value, follow, or have interest in has published new content. He still hasn't done so and to this day I can say I read his post less than I used to because he is not pushing that information to me.

Now look at Krause/F+W Media who of all Hobby related entities needed to get ahead of the curve when it came to social media and instead languished in an archaic information dissemination model. They proved how incapable they were of adapting to new media just last year when, having been pressed on a particular issue, columnist forced blogger, T.S O'Connell turned off comments on his blog. In my humble opinion, no act more symbolized the disconnect and lack of understanding about the developing age of media than that act and the fiasco that resulted.

Now, looking at my friend and yours, Beckett Media LLC, we see a much different story. Have they capitalized on the mistakes of Tuff Stuff and avoided the same pitfalls? Yes. To a degree. Now in all honesty, the following will obviously be subject to conjecture but I will try to approach this with some calculated reasoning. The removal of Tuff Stuff's Sports Card Monthly from the equation, leaves potential advertisers only one place to spend their print ad budget and that is with Beckett, obviously. However, in my opinion, there is little doubt that even with this event having transpired in the market place, that Beckett's publications could NOT survive as a stand alone business property. The decrease in ad revenue across ALL print media simply can't be replaced regardless of the number of print or OPG subscribers they add. No, the publications will continue and might even at some point return to profitablity as the result of them being only one cog in a machine.

The Beckett brand name will forever be tied to their publications. That brand awareness and recognition serves as a "traffic driver" of sorts for their other properties; Beckett Select Auctions, Beckett Grading Services, and The Beckett Marketplace. Diversity has been the key to Beckett being able to weather the media storm and to their credit they have been much better at developing online revenue streams and embracing, instead of resisting, social media.

While I am obviously not privy to their balance sheet, ad rates are public. Keep in mind also that most advertising sales reps. never, ever, ever, ever sell at rate card but instead discount those rates as an incentive to buy. So if you take their listed rate card pricing and count the number of ads you see in an issue and multiply out the math from subscription $'s and their circulation numbers, you can see that when you account for employee salaries and benefit costs, variable and non variable expenses, etc. it would be very hard to see profiting solely from their publications.

Media is changing, and the demise of Tuff Stuff is sad for the simple fact that, right or wrong, in the mind of many collectors, old and new, Beckett will continue and now even more so, serve as the sole voice of an industry.

Yeah, The Hobby Needs Another Franken-Cut Company Like I Need A Hole In The Head

2011-01-11T11:32:00.003-06:00

Complete details, pricing, checklist info here.

Topps Prime -arily Crap

2011-01-09T16:48:00.002-06:00

I don’t get it, plain and simple. My parents always taught me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Unfortunately, when it comes to product reviews and editorial, we don’t have that luxury and instead have a responsibility, to you, the collector, to provide unbiased opinion and commentary on the products we receive.

So instead, I’ll try to keep this brief. In a nutshell, 2010 Topps Prime Football is an uninspired hodgepodge of other brands that has been forcibly morphed into a gruesome and sinister hybrid. In addition to the unnecessary monstrosity that is Prime Football, it is packaged in the most un-eco-friendly McDonald’s apple pie type boxes, per pack. All this serves to reinforce the fact that Topps Prime Football is nothing more than a bunch of fluff with no redeeming substance.

Read the rest.

Panini Century Collection Gets a Lot Right Afterall

2011-01-09T16:42:00.002-06:00

For those that can afford it, 2010 Panini Century Collection is a very fun break that undoubtedly returns its value. Modestly priced (for a product that delivers 5 hits per pack) at $150, each pack will yield 2 autographs, 2 memorabilia cards and 1 other auto or memorabilia card.

Read the rest and see what got pulled here.

Just a Reminder to the BBWAA . . .

2011-01-05T09:24:00.004-06:00

THIS GUY GETS IN BEFORE ANYBODY ELSE! GOT IT!!

287 Wins - 3,701 Strikeouts - 3.31 ERA

Almost a 3:1 Strikeout to Walk Ratio

4,970 Innings Pitched

Century Collection is LIVE!! . . . Sort Of . . .

2011-01-04T20:40:00.007-06:00

Well it looks like a couple of cases of Panini's Century Collection have been broken and their contents listed on eBay. A couple of quick observations as I really love the concept of these types of products. With their all encompassing checklists serving as a cross section dichotomy of American history, sport and pop culture.

It's the execution of the product that usually leaves me disappointed.

Take for instance, this card:

As a Cal Ripken Jr. collector, I think I am actually offended by what an eyesore this card is to look at.

When it comes to the Hollywood Materials set, they have included some beautiful cards. This is one of them:

This card, isn't:

I don't care that the orientation of the Bing Crosby stamp is horizontal. If you are going to place it in a vertical cut out, you have to position the stamp the same way even if it means cropping the white strip you see on the top and bottom of the stamp as it sits now. Here is a link to the complete listings.

Shoeless Joe and Sweetness

2011-01-03T08:50:00.000-06:00

2010: The Hobby Year in Review

2011-01-02T21:20:00.003-06:00

Did you catch the New Year's Eve edition of the Card Corner Club Radio Show? Doug and I went through the below list individually and discussed our choices and reasoning on air. Take a listen to the show.

To be eligible, products must have been released between 1/1/2010 and 12/31/2010

Most Over-Hyped/Rated Sports Collectibles Story
Stephen Strasburg

Manufacturer of the Year
(Consistency in- Product schedule, execution, on time delivery, value, and design)
Press Pass

Best Overall Sports Card Product
(Price point, design, value)
Tristar TNA Icons or Xtreme

Worst Overall Sports Card Product
(Same criteria as above)
Any Bowman product

Best Low End Product
(Under $50 per box)
Upper Deck Baseball
Runner-up: Score Football
Honorable Mention: Topps Update

Best Mid-Range Product
($51-$100)
Tristar TNA Icons or Xtreme
Runner-up: Upper Deck Series 1
Honorable Mention: Tristar Obak Baseball- History of the Game

Best High End Product
($101+)
Press Pass Showcase
Runner-up: Topps Five Star Football (Pre-mature)

Best thing(s) to happen to The Hobby?

1. A second license added for NHL products
2. Two successful books that gave The Hobby positive mainstream press- Mint Condition and Cardboard Gods
3. Manufacturers embracing social media

Worst thing to happen to The Hobby?

1. Licensing contraction
2. Over saturation of the football card market leading to depreciated secondary market values

Has the Bowman Brand Jumped the Shark?

2011-01-02T10:45:00.004-06:00

Bowman
Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects
Bowman Chrome
Bowman Platinum
Bowman Sterling

Really? Remember when Bowman was "Home of the Rookie Card"? Now what is it? The home of the prospect and gimmicks? The home of "We Can't Come Up With an Original Brand and Name"?

I have long despised Topps thumbing their nose at the 'rookie card rule'. While I don't necessiarily like having a designated RC logo on the cards themselves, I understand the spirit for which the rule was created. Quite simply being to alleviate confusion in the marketplace and allow for novice collectors and casual fans to easily identify which card is a player's "TRUE" rookie card. Bowman DPP doesn't as a brand doesn't aid that goal and only makes it more confusing.

Platinum and Sterling, while cute with the whole family of metallic compound thing, are really unneccesary products. Bowman has become so redundant as a brand it borders on the ridiculous. It's bad enough that, with the exception of Platinum and Sterling, you can hardly tell one year from another. The worth of the whole brand has been reduced to a refractor chase rendering even the base RC cards within the Bowman family line of products virtually worthless.As for BDPP again, if I wanted players in their minor league uniforms, I'd buy those products.

And whatever happened to Bowman's Best? With an auto per pack and only $10, that was a way better product configuration than Sterling.

What do you think should be done with the Bowman brand of products?

Fixing the Football Card Market- UPDATED

2010-12-31T13:40:00.003-06:00

It should be obvious by now that reducing the number of NFL licensees wasn't the answer. Over saturation in the current football trading card market has caused ever decreasing value for cards on the secondary market.

While the argument can be made that the total number of products should be further reduced, I don't believe that is a long-term or viable fix. I'd much rather see the same number of products divided amongst 3 licensees. Bringing back Upper Deck in the football fold would; 1) increase competition, 2) return innovation and design to the forefront of the niche and 3) give collectors more choices.

However, this in and of itself isn't the solution. What is the solution, would be to change the rules that designate a player's rookie status and consequently his eligibility for a rookie card. The simple answer for me would be to designate a rookie as any player who makes the 53 man roster out of training camp. In addition, each licensee would be allowed up to 3 exemptions for isolated incidents like that which occurred with Brock Lesnar a few years ago with the Minnesota Vikings.

I imagine I am not alone as a collector who experiences the utter let down of a box break when confronted with the cold hard reality of one of my hits being someone who isn't even on the practice squad but was eligible for a card because they were drafted. That practice is total garbage and MUST stop. I understand the business argument behind it with the product configuration process being dependant on inserting 'x' number of scrubs to 'x' number of high profile RC's.

Would you be willing to spend a little more money for higher odds of pulling a legit RC and giving up one bogus hit? I know I would be, gladly too.

Now THIS Is a Card Worth Pulling and Hope for The Hobby

2010-12-23T18:11:00.003-06:00

In all honesty, with little competition and diversity in the baseball collectibles market, I personally, have had very little to get excited about. In fact, after the initial chase for the Bowman Strasburg cards, I can tell you that I purchased exactly 1 rack pack of Topps Chrome and that was for the sole purpose of getting a better look at the utterly horrible print job Topps' new printing company did with those. In fact I'm pretty sure if you left them out long enough, they would curl up into a full cylinder.

My main point is that I spent squat on baseball card packs this year because I get a much better bang for my back just buying the singles I want on the secondary market. If I want to gamble on "hits", I'd have better odds with Lottery scratch offs and be able to buy exactly the cards I want.

The prices on eBay for base singles, numbered parallels, inserts, autos and game used relics is in the toilet. The plethora of material has driven values to the lowest I have ever seen them. However, with the recent announcement by Topps that they have signed both Sandy Koufax and Hank Aaron to autograph deals, there is reason for optimism for 2011.

Neither of these Hall of Fame players, particularly, Koufax, signs cards with much regularity. In addition, it appears that the cards are hard signed, on-card. Imagine pulling this beauty from a pack of 2011 Heritage.

I vehemently believe that a return to sets focused entirely on retired players, with no more that 3 produced per year, would bring a much need vigor and renewed vitality to what has become a stale market place.

Stalegum's Robot Theatre Is Utter Genius

2010-12-19T09:56:00.003-06:00

Chris' dry humor and wit never ceases to make me laugh. I'm just jealous I didn't do this first. Epic blogsphere stuff. See it for yourself here.

By Far the Best Bob Feller Auto . . .

2010-12-16T08:30:00.004-06:00

. . . and of course it's made by Upper Deck. 1999 Century Legends is one of my favorite products of all time and this on card auto is my favorite Feller. A true patriot having served his country in war time, a legendary Hall of Famer, and an autograph circuit staple, baseball lost one of its greats yesterday

There was a running joke in auction circles as a result of his penmanship proclivity and longevity. "Hey I have this baseball and it's NOT signed by Bob Feller, how much is it worth?"

A tip of the cap to you Mr. Feller RIP

2010 Topps Triple Threads . . . Is What It Is

2010-12-13T16:46:00.001-06:00

Never before in all my years of covering the sports collectibles market, have I come across a product so polarizing as Topps Triple Threads. The product seemingly has an equal amount of detractors and advocates with little room in the middle for neutrality. In all honesty, this is the first box of the product I have ever opened and all my preconceived notions have been based solely on seeing the product’s content second hand through sell sheets, reviews, eBay listings, and box breaks.

Read the rest.

Video Highlights: 2010 Panini Limited Football

2010-12-13T16:44:00.001-06:00

Baseball Winter Meetings: When Worlds Collide

2010-12-10T11:41:00.004-06:00

In all honesty I just haven’t had much to blog about lately. My parents taught me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Obviously, as reflected in the very title and original inspiration for this blog, I have pretty much ignored that but I do believe that beating a dead horse and repeating the same tired mantra of the perils and pitfalls that ail The Hobby can only go so far.

I think it is important to voice collector concerns and opinions but you get my point. The Hobby, as I see it right now, is stale and boring, plain and simple. That said, I had the opportunity to recently attend the Baseball Winter Meetings, as part of my job. Obviously I was in my element as any of you follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/votc ) know. The number of baseball personality sightings was great as was seeing the LIVE broadcasts of the Hot Stove League on the MLB Network.

Hob-knobbing over drinks with MLB and MiLB marketing people, major and minor league team GM’s and personnel, eating at great restaurants, yeah I could get used to this. I couldn’t be too stalker-like so some of the photos I took are less than stellar but I thought you might like them anyway.

A list of the people I met and saw, yeah I’m name dropping;

Jerry Reinsdorf (Sox/Bulls owner)
Tommy Lasorda
Jerry Robinson (1979 NFL 1st Rnd Pick by the Eagles)
Johnny Damon
Steve Phillips
Harold Reynolds
Kevin Millar
Andre Dawson
Peter Gammons
Frank Viola
Jim Leyland
Bruch Bochy (who was sauced, BIG time)
Frank Robinson
Buck Showalter
Kenny Williams

And no, I didn’t get a single autograph. To do so in this environment would be bush league. Taking pictures like the paparazzi was bad enough but completely more acceptable .

Some interesting “Worlds Collide” collectibles and hobby moments did occur however. I had the opportunity to talk with the editor of Baseball Youth magazine that includes Topps Baseball Cards in every pack (picture in gallery below). Also, the ring company Jostens, did every Chicago sports teams championship from my lifetime (1985 Bears, 1991-1993 & 1996-1998 Bulls, 2005 White Sox( and I got to try on the White Sox Ring (picture in gallery below)

I also met a company who owns 4,000 original negatives of never before seen images of some of baseball’s greats that we will actually be having on the radio show in a few weeks. (More on Shoebox Collection to come.) No baseball show would be complete without trading cards and I did get my hand on team sets, which I'll show off later, of the Bristol Sox and Daytona Cubs.

As for the future of Voice of the Collector? Who knows, you’ll still see the random thoughts and opinionated commentary on occasion. I continue to generate a TON of content for Card Corner Club and you can always hear me every Friday on our weekly radio show.

Your Numbered, 1-of-5, Triple Patch, Auto Isn't . . . .

2010-11-21T16:37:00.004-06:00

really just one of five. You know that right? See, chances are your card has a parallel version within the product and had a similarly numbered card last year as well. In addition, there was one the year before, and the year before that as well. That same triple patch auto numbered one of five bounty you so covet, adore, and/or want probably has another card just like it in another brand of the same year as well.

The proliferation of autograph cards has come to the point where it parallels the over production of the junk wax era of the late 80's, the game used jersey saturation of the late 90's and early 2000's. The sheer number of autographs being signed by legendary Hall of Famers across all sports is so staggering that every newly released sports trading card product devalues the price of those autographs.

With the rate of frequency that players like Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Dan Marino, Gordie Howe and players of their equal, sign autographs, and assuming they all live another 20 years minimum (excluding Gordie Howe but it honestly wouldn't surprise me either) the laws of supply and demand will with have snowballed, rendering their autographs virtually worthless in stature to their athletic accomplishments.

We saw something similar recently happen with Shoeless Joe Jackson game used cards. Once the only bat card in existence of the shamed former White Sox player, the 2001 SP Legendary Cuts card commanded upwards of $500-$600. Fast forward seven years later when Donruss released Sports Legends in 2008 with their very own Shoeless Joe game used card and prices for both cards have yet to return to those values.

In both circumstances, autographs or rare game used cards, their are obviously other forces at play including a lengthy and deep recession. I understand that card companies are in business to make a profit and have no moral obligation or fiduciary responsibility to conduct business in a manner that preserves secondary market value. Unfortunately at the same time, we as collectors have reached a point in The Hobby where, collectively, we have little interest in the cards themselves other than the hits. It's a problem the card companies created and we perpetuated and the only winners are the manufacturers. For the most part, what we collect today will never hold its market value, let alone appreciate.

That goes for autographs of iconic and revered Hall of Famers who continue to sign sticker, after sticker, after sticker flooding an already saturated market. Don't believe me? Take a good, hard, objective look at the trends you see on completed auctions on eBay. Hundreds and hundreds of cards undervalued.

A sad state of The Hobby that will only get worse.

Collect what you like and not what you think will be valuable, because in the end, 90% of what's in your treasured "collection" isn't going to be worth squat.

Bored To Tears With The Hobby

2010-11-12T21:45:00.005-06:00

Man do I miss Upper Deck and Fleer. I think it is fair enough to say at this point that the exclusive licensing "experiment" is an utter fail. Giving Topps the keys to the baseball trading card market with no competition what so ever has set The Hobby back 30 years with an ever increasing amount of mediocrity.

While Upper Deck clearly mailed it in with the last year's worth of product releases in baseball, they were still superior in quality design, checklist depth, and value then anything Topps has produced year to date. As for Fleer, they might have gimmicked themselves out of business, but I really appreciated their willingness to take risks and produce cards out of the norm like Double Header and Hardball.

While I in no way support the shady management of the Upper Deck Company that led to their recent fall from grace, I think the evidence is clear that The Hobby is a better place with them than without.

Donruss may have changed their name but it is clearly obvious they still have trailer loads of foilboard to get rid of. I swear, Anne Powell back in the day must have bought enough of this stuff to cover every square inch of the earth several times over. It seems like just yesterday the blogsphere was abuzz with their pending demise. Look at them now. Who would have thought that in such a short time that UD and Donruss' position in the market would be so drastically flip flopped.

Product Review: 2010-11 Score Hockey

2010-11-08T22:42:00.002-06:00

When it comes to entry-level products geared to young collectors or those on a budget, the hockey card market has been underserved over the last several years. Panini’s entry into hockey has afforded them the opportunity to fill that void. No brand is more ideally suited for this than Score.

Read the rest and see the image gallery.