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On Independence Day, Remember Those Serving in Harm’s Way
Posted by: | CommentsOne of our country’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, believed that today, July 2nd, would be considered this nation’s Independence Day. Adams once wrote to his wife Abigail: “On July 2, 1776 the Association known as United Colonies of America officially became the United States of America.”
Adams went on to write, “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”
It sounds like John Adams really knew how to celebrate. What he failed to realize however is that there would be a brief debate over language in the Declaration of independence and that it would take some time to have it written up on parchment so that it could be signed by the Founding Fathers. Thus it is July 4 that the Declaration of Independence was signed, but it was today that the blueprint for this country’s future was agreed upon.
So much has come since the days of John Adams. Despite decades of peace and prosperity, our country continues to battle in foreign wars. Brave young men and women continue to serve this great nation at home and abroad. You may question whether we should be involved in these conflicts in far away places, but you certainly cannot question the courage of our troops. Far too often their sacrifices go unnoticed, especially for those serving on foreign soil so far away from those they love. How lonely and worrisome must their nights be wondering if all is well back home and if they will make it back safely to those they love.
What if you could give those brave men and women a little piece of home? What if you could help take their mind away from all those worries for just a bit? Wouldn’t it be nice to just say thank you for their service?
For the last several months, Upper Deck has been working with Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization that sends 100,000-plus “care packages” annually to U.S. service members deployed in hostile regions around the world. Upper Deck is asking collectors to donate sealed packs of trading cards to Operation Gratitude that will be included in these care packages. Believe it or not, trading cards really help bring a little piece of home to those serving abroad as it helps them reconnect with their favorite sports. Just read this soldier’s story if you don’t believe me.
To donate you can either visit a participating donation center or send the packs directly to Operation Gratitude at the address listed below:
Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard
Attn. Upper Deck’s Million Pack March for the Troops
17330 Victory Boulevard
Van Nuys, CA 91406
In the coming weeks we will be doing more to help promote Upper Deck’s Million Pack March for the Troops by sharing a special set we produced for the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore this August. Many of your favorite athletes served honorably in different branches of the United States Military. And some in the set, like LeBron James, are just plain patriotic. Check out a couple sneak peeks of some of the cards we put together featuring them.
To incentivize our fans to donate to this worthy cause over the Independence Day weekend, we will be giving away FIVE game-used memorabilia cards of the player everyone seems to be talking about right now: LeBron James. These cards are from Upper Deck’s recent “Greats of the Game” Basketball set.
For your chance to receive one of these special cards, all you need to do is take a picture of your donation package addressed to Operation Gratitude or of you giving packs to a store owner at a donation center and post them on the Wall of our Facebook page. We will randomly select five different winners to each receive one of these cards on Tuesday, July 6 at 4:00 PM PDT. So please, donate today! For more information on Upper Deck’s Million Pack March for the Troops, please visit www.millionpackmarch.com.
Popularity: 24% [?]
Brag Photo of the Week: Michael Jordan Curve™ Display
Posted by: | CommentsWhen you think of Upper Deck, the first two athletes that normally pop into your head are usually Ken Griffey Jr. and Michael Jordan. We are blessed to have relationships with some of the greatest athletes in sports, but those two have been with us since the beginning. And Upper Deck continues to bring you their authentic collectibles through innovative new products that no other manufacturer can bring to the table.
This week we conducted a signing with Jordan to get some trading cards signed, but also some compelling new memorabilia items for sale exclusively through Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA). MJ lent his legendary signature to a variety of unique items like shoes and game-used floor pieces during the session. Before this signing, he had only signed the 6”-x-6” floor pieces (shown below) which are limited to 123 and sell for $1,599.99.
There is a new item we are bringing to the market next week for “His Airness” called the Curve™ Display that we are very excited about. It features a custom-cut 3”-x-10” piece of the United Center Floor upon which MJ played during his career with Chicago and where he provided the Bulls’ faithful with some very memorable performances.
The game-used floor pieces are all guaranteed to be red, from a more premium piece of the floor. What’s more, 25% of the edition will be two colors and 5% of the edition will be three colors to enhance the collectible nature of these prized items. And they were all signed by Michael Jordan this week under the watchful eyes of UDA staffers.
The signed floor pieces will then be housed inside the clear Curve™ Display from UDA with an image of MJ doing what he does best: soaring to the basket. More limited than previous signed floor offerings, this edition will only have 100 copies available, but it will be significantly less expensive at just $999.99. These highly sought-after pieces of history will be available on the Upper Deck Store next week.
Popularity: 27% [?]
Upper Deck Collector of the Month – Karine Hains
Posted by: | CommentsEach month Upper Deck spotlights one of our valued collectors in order that they can showcase their prized collection. The great thing about sports collectors is that they are all so very different in what they collect, how they collect and what they do once they have them. They all share a passion that is seldom found in any other group.
Most people think collecting sports cards is a hobby reserved just for men. However there are more female collectors out there than you might imagine. Some folks got into collecting as a couple, while others got into it with their fathers when they were younger, and some simply got into it because they are just very passionate about sports. Such is the case with Karine Hains, our Collector of the Month from London, England. I had the privilege of meeting her last summer at the National Sports Collectors Convention and I was very impressed with her knowledge of the industry and this hobby we all enjoy so much. We’ll turn it over to Karine to talk a little bit about her collection.
“My name is Karine Hains and I live in London, England. I was born in Québec, but moved here in 2002 and had to adapt to a whole new culture. However, I just couldn’t cope without Hockey and since I couldn’t watch any on the television back then (as it simply wasn’t aired), I decided to rekindle my love of the sport by collecting.
“Growing up, I was a goaltender and it only seemed fair to focus my collection on my idol: Patrick Roy. Since 2005, I’ve been collecting everything I could find of Patrick Roy from cards, jerseys, mini-masks and a variety of other oddball items. Anything I can find I am more than happy to add to the collection. My card collection is now nearing 800 different cards and includes base, inserts, game-used and autographs from all years and brands. I know I am far from having a complete collection, but considering the shipping costs and customs duties I face with each purchase, this is proving to be a marathon rather than a sprint.
“Last August, I attended the 30th National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, Ohio and I really felt like a kid in a candy store. It was pure heaven to see so many cards everywhere (even though Cleveland wasn’t a hockey market)! I also bought a few sealed boxes of cards while I was there and pulled an autographed Sidney Crosby painting card numbered to just 87 copies which I of course traded for some amazing Roy pieces for my personal collection.
“When I went back home for Christmas in December 2009, I decided to take my Roy jerseys and try to get him to autograph them both. To do so, I attended a Québec Ramparts’ game and as luck would have it, after waiting until past midnight, I finally saw Patrick come out of the restricted area of the Colisée. It was worth the wait as he not only was willing to sign both of my jerseys but he also posed for a photo.
“I hope you enjoyed seeing some pictures of my favorite cards, my autographed mini-mask and jerseys as well as a picture of me with Patrick Roy.”
It’s always thrilling to meet your idols, but especially so when they turn out to be nice enough to give you an autograph and picture. Thanks for sharing Karine!
If you are looking to trade out some of your Patrick Roy items to one of his biggest fans, check in with Karine at karine@sportscardforum.com.
Popularity: 39% [?]
A Different Kind of Upset Letter
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the things I actually miss from my days managing the Customer Service group for Upper Deck is the letters I used to receive. I would on occasion receive appreciative letters about something I had helped a customer with which was nice, but more often than not the letters were concerning a problem.
What I appreciated about them was that the letters were always so different because collectors as a whole are very different. They all have their pet peeves and things that annoy them and luckily for us they are more than happy to share their opinions with us. We use that feedback to ultimately make a better product and to try to help them out. And now by embracing new social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and this blog, we can connect with them in new and exciting ways.
A colleague once asked me, “Don’t you get tired of hearing all the negativity?”
I responded, “It’s not negativity as much as it is an opportunity. Had they not taken the time to contact us, we may have lost their business forever. Now we have the opportunity to save them as a customer.”
I still believe that to be true. That being said, I’m not sure what to do with the letter we received today. The names have been blacked out to protect the customer, but this is just one that had a few of us in the office saying, “Really?”
Sports card and memorabilia collectors by and large are VERY passionate about their hobby and the sports they love. The vast majority of our core collecting base consists of males (94%) generally between the ages of 18 and 45. So it is not surprising the group that seems to be the biggest haters of this hobby and our products are the women they date or marry.
A couple of months ago I gave some tips to a collector who was looking for ways to balance his marriage and his love for the hobby, but I think it’s time to simplify that a bit by using some generalizations. I know that’s not a good thing to do, but it gets us to the answer the quickest.
At our core, guys can be a little stupid and women can be a little crazy. As this letter demonstrates, the husband was a little stupid for continuing to purchase cards, redeem items and for bringing in new memorabilia items that he knew his wife would hate. And in turn, she was a little crazy for writing a company blindly and telling us not to support our customer.
So where does that bring us? If you are one of the 94% in that age range that loves Upper Deck products, try not to be a little bit stupid because you will ultimately make your significant other a little bit crazy. And what does a crazy significant other do to a guy who is a passionate sports fan? Something like this…
Now that brings me to our real issue: How do we respond to this letter? Please give us your feedback in the comments section. We will give the person who provides the response we end up using a full box of 2009-10 NHL Be-A-Player and 2009-10 NHL ICE. We’ll even include this Upper Deck backpack for the lady in your life, because she never looks better than when she’s wearing a brand you love…
Popularity: 70% [?]
Bogus Autographs Still a Problem in Sports Memorabilia Industry
Posted by: | CommentsOver the past year, Upper Deck has been one of the industry leaders with regard to social media in the sports marketing industry. Through YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, our very own sports Blog and even LinkedIn, we have found a really great way to reach out to our customers to provide information on current and upcoming products, while also interacting directly with them in a more meaningful way.
A few months ago we created a Facebook page for Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA) and we’ve been really excited to see so many sports fanatics become fans of the page. The majority of the posts initially came from UDA until recently when we shared a very exciting promotion to find the Ultimate Man Cave.
As fans began to submit images and video of some of their private collections in which they’ve invested so much, I was alarmed to see that fraudulent autographs are still an issue. I saw some autographs from players like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Ken Griffey Jr. and others that I knew were just not authentic. Upon showing them to our Athlete Relations Manager who conducts many, if not all, of the signings with our top spokesmen, he agreed. So we avoided posting some of those images on our pages.
Anyone can grab a sharpie and put their name on a jersey or ball, but UDA goes through painstaking steps to make sure the investment you are making in your passion is a sound one. When I saw some of the images coming in, I felt devastated for the collectors who thought they had something special from their favorite athletes. I guess having worked at Upper Deck so long, I just assumed that people would purchase items from well-known, reputable companies, but unfortunately sometimes a good deal comes along that is just too good to pass up.
Listen, there are some things you just do not want to bargain shop for. You might want to spend a little more on a mattress considering all the time you spend in bed. If you jog, you might not want to buy a quality pair of running shoes unless you enjoy shin splints, knee problems or worse. I’d recommend that if you are going to have an operation, you don’t bargain shop on a surgeon. And lastly, if you are going to make an investment in autographed sports memorabilia featuring your favorite athlete, you better make sure it is real. Remember: If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
There are a lot of things that make working at UDA great. The people are passionate about sports here and we have really worked to bring some innovative new products to market, rather than just the same old thing.
2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final MVP Jonathan Toews at an Upper Deck Authenticated signing earlier this season.
Upper Deck Authenticated's innovative NHL "Curve" Displays with Autographed Pucks.
But probably the most fulfilling aspect about producing our portfolio of UDA products is just knowing that we are bringing quality, AUTHENTIC products to market. We work directly with the biggest names in sports. And when it’s all said and done, it’s really rewarding to deliver their authentic game-used and signed items to their biggest fans.
Michael Jordan signing using Upper Deck's Pencam at a signing with Upper Deck Authenticated.
Upper Deck Authenticated's Michael Jordan Autographed 2009 Hall-of-Fame Collage
Popularity: 41% [?]
