Archive for Football
Do Presidents Belong in Trading Card Releases?
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the things trading cards do a great job of is chronicling moments in history and immortalizing them forever. Some of the greatest moments in American history involve U.S. Presidents and politicians and for several years now Upper Deck has made it a practice on occasion to insert cards of U.S. Presidents and politicians into trading card releases for all sports. We try to select releases where we include elements of pop culture and other unique cards.
For some time now, Upper Deck has made a practice of adding trading cards of U.S. Presidents and politicians to sets as insert or subset cards primarily.
Recently we announced we would be including cards of Barack Obama and several GOP Presidential candidates in Upper Deck’s World of Sports set and that has created a lot of mainstream interest in the product which is exciting. Upper Deck trading cards of U.S. Presidents and politicians have traditionally performed very well in the secondary market as well with regular cards at times selling for more than memorabilia or even autograph cards of sports stars. The purpose for including these cards is not to push any type of political agenda, but rather to be topical, interesting, educational and to help add value to a product.
Upper Deck has pushed the envelope and created some of the most interesting and valuable U.S. President trading cards in the market, many with authentic cut autographs and even hair of the deceased leader embedded on the card.
But not every fan is for them. Just last week I had a message forwarded to me from Upper Deck Customer Care that came from a concerned parent. The parent said, “I still struggle with trying to explain to our 11 year-old son why there is a football card of Obama in one of your decks. You have misled us in our purchase and for that we are very disappointed…”
We've had fans upset that we've included cards like these of Barack Obama in the Icons Football release before, even though they have great value in the secondary market.
The customer has a valid point in my opinion and I offered to exchange the card for him of a football player as a courtesy. It made me wonder however, as unique and interesting as these cards are, do some fans find them totally repellent? I know there are die-hard fans who just want to find cards of their favorite sports stars, but is that the case if it takes the place of a non-sport card with a high secondary market value tied to it? Since it is President’s Day, I thought it was an appropriate question to ask our fan base. Think of it as an informal poll. Would you vote for Upper Deck to continue to include cards of U.S. Presidents and politicians on occasion? Let us know in the comment section below.
Do cards like these deserve to be inserted in a couple trading card releases a year to help chronicle history or are they too controversial?
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We are currently interviewing for a new Customer Care Supervisor so until we have selected someone, I wanted to provide some updates to general consumer queries. The Ask UD segments we do here can be a lot of help for answering questions collectors have, so hope you find this helpful.
Here are some of the questions we’ve received recently here at Upper Deck:
Ask Upper Deck: I know you sent some groupings of the 2010 Exquisite Football TBD redemptions in the past, but there hasn’t been much movement on them. I’m still waiting to receive mine. What is the latest with those cards?
Chris Carlin: Well first we want to apologize to our customers who pulled these cards for the delays tied to them. We understand this is a premium product and fans have been very patient for us to get them done. This particular redemption program has been one of the top programs our executive team reviews during a weekly redemption meting and we have been pushing hard to get them completed.
One of the reasons we used a new system where we didn’t share exactly who the players were was so if there were issues in getting them done in time, we could swap them out with other players and move on. We are now at the point where we are going to be walking away from deals for some of the players and working to create new cards with new players in some cases; predominantly with the rookie cards. It is important to us to move forward there in those circumstances to there are no holes in the set. The good news is that most of the premium rookies were completed and live in the product like Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Rob Gronkowski, Jahvid Best, Ndamakong Suh, Ryan Mathews and Dez Bryant. The rookie redemption cards were for regular autograph rookies and the players were more middle of the road players. By working to secure new deals and produce new cards, we are targeting new players that have performed a little better from that rookie class.
Additionally we have had some success with getting signing sessions done over the last few months which has freed up over 700 autograph cards from some of the better players in the set that we can now send out from this product. We will be sending those cards out over the next two weeks that should help bring closure to this redemption program for most of our collectors waiting on these cards.
After we ship this next lot, fans will have two choices if they are still waiting on these cards. If a customer has not seen the status on their redemption change by Monday, February 20 they can now request to have their card exchanged should they wish to no longer wait on them. We are in the process of establishing set values for these redemptions to use in exchanging these cards based on what they have sold for in the secondary market. Should a customer wish to have their card exchanged starting on Monday, February 20, they can send an email to time2swap@upperdeck.com listing out the card(s) in question from their account they want exchanged and what teams/players they have interest in. The customer should also be specific if they only want their card replaced with other Exquisite Football cards from other years. We have a good amount of stock of premium football autograph cards from other brands, but we know that some Exquisite fans prefer to have their card replaced with one from the same brand. From there we will work dutifully to swap those out through the end of February and March.
Fans do also have the option to continue to wait on these cards as we are going to be producing cards to fill in this set. That process will take time however as we need to reprint new cards to get signed by these athletes. We will continue to provide updates on that process for fans desirous of getting the cards needed to put the set together.
Ask Upper Deck: I’m trying to update my address on UpperDeck.com for my redemptions and I keep getting an error message.
Chris Carlin: We recently did some updates to our servers and became aware of some issues customers were having with their online accounts after that took place. Our IT team has been working hard to fix this issue and we are happy to report it has been resolved. Please feel free to log on today to update your address or register for a new redemption account!
Ask Upper Deck: I have been trying to call Upper Deck Customer Care, but I keep getting messages the team is not available. How can I speak to someone on an issue I am having?
Chris Carlin: We unexpectedly lost some key members of our Customer Care team and are in the process of sourcing for replacements. Unfortunately it is not very easy to go out into the job market and hire someone who knows a lot about our products so it takes awhile to find the right match. If you are a fan of Upper Deck Sports Cards living in the Southern California area and would love the opportunity to join the team with an entry level position with our Customer Care group, we encourage you to apply today by clicking here.
In the meantime the Customer Care staff has been working dutifully on answering emails received from consumers and we are dedicating other resources to help them out. We anticipate representatives will be back to taking consumer calls in the next 2-3 weeks and we will provide an update once they are back on the phones full-time.
Ask Upper Deck: I keep hearing chatter that Upper Deck may honor expired redemptions. Is there any truth to that?
Chris Carlin: No there is not. We have spoken to that subject before here on the Upper Deck Blog. We absolutely cannot honor expired redemption offers for leagues we no longer have the licenses for like MLB, NFL and NBA. We urge collectors to be careful when purchasing older sealed Upper Deck product because if there are issues with damage, collation, insert ratio or expired redemption offers, we unfortunately will not be able to assist there. If you choose to buy that product, you are purchasing it as is, similar to buying an item that is no longer under warranty.
In fact, we are in the process of closing out all those outstanding redemptions programs for those leagues starting with MLB. For fans currently waiting on redemptions from those leagues, we hope to complete that process of fulfilling or swapping out cards for those sports that were redeemed in time over the next few months.
Should collectors have a redemption card that has expired from NHL, CLC or MLS products, we will check to see if we still have inventory on the card and assist if possible, but we certainly cannot make any guarantees. As a general rule, if a card has been expired for over a year, collectors should not anticipate we will be able to assist with it.
Ask Upper Deck: What happened with the Stick Kid at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition? That was such a neat story!
Chris Carlin: We thought so too. Here’s more on Currie Giesler who was named Upper Deck’s Stick Kid for the NHL All-Star festivities. Long story short, he had an amazing time. Check out some of the images of him at the event and the thank you letter he sent:
Ask Upper Deck: I have been waiting on a Wayne Gretzky autograph for a long time now. Any updates on when he will sign?
Chris Carlin: A player like Wayne typically likes to sign just a few times a year which unfortunately causes us to use redemptions on occasion. We apologize for the delays these cause, it is our intention to have these cards live in the pack, but unfortunately that does not always happen. But the thrill of receiving an autograph from “The Great One” is really an experience that is second to none. Today was exciting for us as we received a whole box of autograph cards signed by Wayne Gretzky that we will be sending over to our Redemption headquarters, having them review for quality, package and ship out to fans who have been waiting on them.
Here is more on some of the cards we received:
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UD Volunteer Alliance Members Share How to Collect
Posted by: | CommentsFor new collectors coming into the hobby, it can be a little overwhelming to learn things most savvy collectors are well versed on like how to list a card on eBay or how to make the most of attending a trading card show. Luckily for those collectors who are still a little green, Upper Deck’s Volunteer Alliance has come up with some great tips on how to become an expert on several key aspects of the hobby. Take a look to learn if you are new or for a refresher if you are a seasoned pro.
How to Have a Good Time at a Trading Card Show
- Wear Comfortable Shoes – I can’t stress this enough. If you’re going for any decent amount of time make sure your feet and knees are covered. Cement floors can be brutal on your feet and knees.
- Don’t Use the “E” word –Nothing makes a dealer more upset than saying, “It only sells for $X on ebay”. If you don’t like their price, counter offer with something your comfortable with, offer a trade or just move one. You’re less likely to upset dealers that way. Most are willing to work with you anyways.
- Redeem Yourself – We all buy boxes, but how often do we get free cards with them? If you’re debating on buying a box a week before the show, you might be better off waiting until the show to get your freebie from the card manufacturers. They routinely offer special items for purchasing boxes at some of the bigger shows so make sure you check out their websites or blogs before to see what they are offering and when.
- Mingle – Be sure to say hi to new and old friends. It’s a great opportunity to talk about the sport and hobby with others that share your interest. Make lots of friends, you never know when they might pull that key card you’ve been hunting. Also, if a card manufacturer is in attendance, make sure to talk with the folks there. If you ever have an issue with their products it is good to know someone on the inside.
- Sunday Bargains – Not all dealers, but a lot are desperate to move cards or product on the last day of the show. If a dealer was asking too much on Friday, you might want to hit him up on Sunday. I’ve been lucky at quite a few Expo trips with dealers that were more willing to deal after a card sat in their case an entire weekend.
- Cash is King – Make sure you bring plenty of cash with you as most dealers do not take credit cards and you don’t want to be stuck in the ATM line paying extra fees.
- Want Lists, Pen and Paper – You will find lots of dealers with thousands of cards. Nothing’s more frustrating than seeing a card and not being able to remember if you need it or not. Or worse yet, buying it and realizing you already had it when you got home. Also, make notes on what table had what card in case you want to revisit the dealer after checking out other tables.
- Bag or Backpack – Even if you are not planning on buying a lot, make sure you plan to have something to carry items with in case you see some things you just have to have. You’ll want to bring something that allows you to carry any pickups comfortably.
- Trade Bait – Depending on what a dealer’s interests are, you can sometimes work out great deals for your personal collection by having items you are willing to trade. Make sure to bring items of the home teams for the market you are in as dealers can flip those pretty quickly at the show so they are desirable to them.
- Eat & Relieve Yourself Elsewhere – Trading card shows are notorious for having terrible food and getting indigestion (or worse) is not conducive for walking the floor. Plan on grabbing something to eat before and after you hit the show instead of at it. You’ll thank me. Additionally, next to the terrible food are the terrible restroom facilities you will normally find at shows. Make sure you go to the bathroom before or after you hit the show. You’ll definitely thank me for that!
How to List a Card on e-Bay
Listing a card on e-Bay can be a little intimidating. But take a little time to get set up with an account on e-Bay and PayPal and you will be ready to turn your unwanted cards into cash for new boxes. Just follow these tips:
Why I Collect
Every collector is different and it is important to ask yourself what your goals are for your collection. Check out what this collector has to say about why he collects:
How to Display Your Collectibles
Once you have your cards, what do you do with them? Our friends at UltraPRO have some great tips, but check out how this collector does it:
How to be an Upstanding Member of an Online Sports Card Community
Collecting nowadays is great because the internet helps bring the community aspect of collecting anywhere you go with a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. However you cannot just join a community and expect to immediately be embraced by all the collectors. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of being a part of an online community:
- Make an Introduction – Most online forums will have a section dedicated to just introduction posts. Tell them your name, where you’re from, what your favorite teams are, who you collect and throw in one or two interesting facts about yourself. This will make people interested in who you are as a person and not just as a collector.
- Personalize Your Posts – Make a banner to put in your personalized signature and add an avatar. These are pretty easy to create and can add a lot of character to your online persona. People see this every time you make a post, so make sure it is a decent representative of who you are. You can generally find a decent avatar just from a quick Google search and there are usually several members of an online community that make banners for people, just ask around.
- Make a Trade List/Want List – People want to know what you collect and more importantly, what cards you possess they might need. Scan everything. A description of a card won’t entice people into making a deal with nearly as much as a clear photo of the card itself. Scans just look nicer than photos.
- Contribute – There are almost always sections that are dedicated just to talk about the actual sports and what’s going on there. Tell people what you think of a particular topic. Give a strong opinion and do it often. Contribution to discussion is what really makes a website into a community.
- Trade, Sell and Buy – Get involved in all aspects of the business with your community. Instead of having to pay fees through e-Bay or other auction sites, you can save money by dealing directly with other collectors who are willing to trade, sell or buy at a fair price.
- Understand Values – Beckett prices are a reference. Many people are fed up with how they price cards and will likely look at other sources to tell what a card is worth. E-Bay prices are traditionally the lowest the card will go for because most often the sellers are looking to get money quick and not exactly what the card is worth. Ask members of the community if you have a question about what something is worth.
- Make Quality Posts – Make sure your posts are worthwhile. Nobody wants to see you post “Nice card!” on every single post. As long as your post has meaningful content, your contribution will be appreciated and you will blossom into a successful member of the community. Re-read what you are about to post before you submit it. Even though you didn’t mean it to, some posts can come off as rude and that is a sure way to get in hot water with a community. Be courteous, even if others are not doing the same. Kill them with kindness and others will come to your aid.
- Ship Shape – Shipping is key! Make sure your cards are always in penny sleeves, top loader and team bag. Don’t use tape, this ruins the holder. Don’t use envelopes. Padded or bubbled mailers are a must!
- Do Onto Others – Try and help other people out instead of just looking for what you can get from the community. Perhaps it is helping a member find a card they are looking for or helping to make them a banner, always try to do something to give back. Also if you are having trouble with a member or are unsure of something, ask someone! Most members are happy to help other members.
- Knowledge is Power – READ THE TERMS OF SERVICE! Not knowing the rules is one of the biggest mistakes you can make and can get you banned from the website very quickly. Know what is and what is not allowed. I didn’t know is not a good excuse.
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Brag Photo: Upper Deck Booth at 2012 Sports Licensing Show in Las Vegas
Posted by: | CommentsEach year hundreds of companies that produce sports collectibles, apparel and branded items converge on Sports Licensing Show in Las Vegas, Nevada to show off their latest and greatest items to potential buyers. Companies also meet with leagues on licensing opportunities as well. And each year the Upper Deck booth is one of the places where sports fanatics often stop, stare and sometimes drool as they take in our impressive lineup of signed and game-used memorabilia. Take a look at the booth as we finish setting up and make sure to drop by if you are at the show!
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Tebow is Proving Us All Wrong
Posted by: | CommentsShortly before Christmas I had a family friend contact me inquiring about how to get some Tim Tebow autographed items for her husband who has gone crazy over Tebow-mania. I cautioned her that now was not a good time to buy items of Tebow with so much demand for them. She shared prices on items she was looking at and they had really taken off since the start of the season. I told her that this run he is on won’t last forever and the best time to pick up items for football was when interest was lower. She agreed to hold off hoping to pick something up for him in April or May for Father’s Day when people are focused more on the NBA, NHL and MLB and prices come down of football items.
Tebow's Exquisite Rookie Card here is currently being offerred up for a little over $2,000. It may be a bargain if he continues his winning ways against New England next week.
And then Tim Tebow threw a great pass to Demaryius Thomas in OT to win a playoff game and all of a sudden I started to feel bad about the advice I gave my friend. Values on Tebow autographed trading cards and memorabilia were immediately elevated the second Thomas crossed into the end zone.
This card just sold on eBay for over $1000.
Then I started to think about what would happen to the values if Tebow wins next weekend. Not many experts give the Broncos much of a chance against Tom Brady at Foxboro, but they didn’t give them much of a chance against Roethlisberger either. And if they win there, who knows what could potentially happen.
Just 6-9 months ago you could have purchased this card for about 30-40% less than you would pay for it today.
Most hobby experts would agree that now is the perfect time to sell Tebow autographed trading cards or memorabilia with interest so high and fans willing to pay big bucks to score these collectibles, but who knows what will happen if he keeps winning. Can values continue to climb? One thing is for certain, if you picked up signed trading cards or memorabilia of Tebow early on in the season or over the summer, you are looking good. Now the tough question is just what to do with it. In the meantime, I’ve got to apologize to my friend for the bad advice.
Values are shooting high because not only do mainstream collectors want his cards, but so do die-hard football fans, women, kids, Christians, etc. With huge demand comes higher prices.
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