A World Without Upper Deck

You know I usually try to maintain some level of professionalism when I write this stuff (I'm not saying it's a particularly high level, but I do try to have some criteria in mind for my "rants")...that being said I'll probably cross the line this time, but what the hell, it's my blog so I get to make up the rules as I go...
It came up a few days ago that among the closed door meetings, private sessions and Upper Deck moderated events at the upcoming Las Vegas Summit - that there was a plan to implement some sort of industry tribunal...to be specific, I'll quote:
"We will consider enacting a “seal of approval’’ or other rating system that serves to protect customers at all levels, and thereby enhances the revenue and profit potential of reputable companies."
Now when they say "we" what they're referring to is the Carlsbad KneePad Society - a select group of "industry leaders" that take great joy in attempting to castrate Topps or Panini for any perceived minor infraction, but yet to a man, can't find any reason to condemn Richard McWilliams or Upper Deck for the counterfeiting of over 600,000 rare cards...or producing unlicensed materials, or not paying licensing fees or vendors or contractors...etc., etc. etc....several weeks ago they made a huge deal out of Topps "Hobby" products being sold on SportsAuthority.com..."Topps is all things evil"...but then I pointed out to them that Upper Deck Hobby products were being sold on there as well...well, that shut them up, they all pleaded the fifth and hoped like hell that the whole thing would go away...it didn't, and it was further discovered that one of their happy little group was involved in the sale of those Upper Deck products on that site...nothing like getting caught with your pants on the ground...
The two events are related because the individual caught with his pants on the ground decided to "call me out" when somebody took it upon themselves to quote the highlighted agenda - along with some comments I had made concerning any group in the industry being qualified to pass judgement on anyone else - especially when they were incapable of passing judgement on their good friends at Upper Deck...anyway, this individual (I'll refer to him simply as "R-- V----") took it upon himself to smokescreen the issue at hand by ignoring the context of the argument and instead attacking the messenger - mocking him for his ethnic origin which places him in a situation where his grammar and diction don't meet up with "R-- V----"'s exacting standards...so, the following is my public response to him:
"R--" - or do you prefer to be called "Mr. Ambassador"?...you told me some time ago that as a young boy you grew up and learned the ropes in the back-room of a coin-shop...apparently you lied - on two counts...One - morally and ethically you're still a little boy, you never grew up, you're just the playground bully hiding behind your buddies and throwing taunts at the "different" kid and Two - You didn't learn anything in that back-room, because the first thing you would have learned is that bigotry and prejudice have no place in this industry...is that really all you have - mocking someone because they don't speak or right as well as you or I?...that's it, isn't it?..the self-proclaimed industry leader that demanded that we all respond to your summons to Las Vegas to pay homage to you and your band of playground bullies...ethnic taunts? - that's really all you've got?...don't forget to pack your hood and robe when you head out to Vegas...and here's something that you need to know (and this goes for the rest of your Carlsbad Buddies):
We're not afraid of you
We're not in awe of you
and we certainly have no respect for you
you've had your time - and now it's time for you, that farce you call a "summit", and Upper Deck, to go - and leave the rebuilding of this industry to those of us that haven't (and won't be) bought off - and because of that, still maintain a level of integrity that you abandoned years ago...
Personally, you disgust me...I'd be sad for you, but I think they're enough people in heaven looking down on you, saddened by the time they wasted trying to mentor you into someone that you'll never be...and if you think that's a low-blow, too damn bad...
So, you wanna bring it?...it's on...unfortunately I'm not a part of your "community", and you weren't able to muster up the simple majority of votes from your peers needed to be a part of the community I helped form...so what to do?...I have an idea...if you're really half the man you keep calling everyone else out to be - join me on a public forum...very few rules...and even less protection - you won't have an "Admin" there to crawl to and cry to when you and your buddies get a little bloodied...so if you'll actually "man-up" for a change and accept the offer - I'll even give you one bit of advice - If you come, bring all of your friends...I'll be waiting, with all of mine, and we'll see what happens...for your convenience, I'll drop a link below, you can just sign up and you'll be able to spew your garbage for the whole world to see...
http://foxessportscardforum.forumotion.net/
and, for your sake, I'll try to keep things simple - we'll start the "discussion" with this:
How can a group of self-anointed "industry leaders" that, to a man, refuse to condemn Upper Deck for their counterfeiting of over 600,000 "rare" cards, truly expect us to believe that they are qualified to sit in judgement of anyone in this industry? A simple, published statement of repudiation against Richard McWilliams and Upper Deck would suffice, but that will never come...and these people want to determine who is reputable and who isn't?! Fair and balanced - with your thumbs firmly planted on the scales. Looks to me like you're taking sanctimonious to a whole new level...
I know you've seen that somewhere before - and you've done your best to avoid it - but your best isn't good enough...just answer the question.

and now, to the topic at hand - A World Without Upper Deck....

It's time - once again - to take a look at Upper Deck's Report Card:
Hmmm, no baseball - that's not good
No basketball, that's disappointing
What! - this just in - no football!! - you're not really trying are you?
Hockey - a "co-exclusive" license - now you're just making up words as excuses for your poor performance - and I'm hearing that certain hockey products are making the cancelled list - just like UD Draft Football did before you lost the NFL
No Upper Deck Entertainment - they all got fired a couple of weeks ago
No Yu-Gi-Oh!
No World of Warcraft
Closings of Upper Deck International offices
UpperDeckStore.com - One day it's there, the next day it isn't
The UDE, Upper Deck Kids and Upper Deck U sites all seem to be in hibernation mode (actually they're dead, but I'm just trying to be nice)
UDA? - No MLB license = No MLB memorabilia
Millions to MLB - for past license fees as well as that little brain spasm of "We don't need no stinking license (for 2010 baseball)
Many, many millions to Konami
Many, many, many, many millions to the IRS and the State of California
God knows how much to Topps for "borrowing" old O-Pee-Chee designs
and then there's that nasty $9,000 a month cleaning bill...for the $20+ Million Dollar "apartment" that somebody from Upper Deck bought in New York City...dirty, dirty, dirty apartment...

Now this is simply the tip of the iceberg mind you...you can add millions of dollars in unpaid photographers and any myriad of sordid stories and shenanigans to the list of offenses committed by Upper Deck...but despite all of this, the industry leaders know as the Carlsbad KneePad Society roll on in an effort to "Save Upper Deck", turning what was supposed to be a "dealer-centric" conference in Las Vegas into just another Upper Deck summit, complete with Upper Deck early-wake-up calls and Upper Deck staff members as moderators of virtually every session...and really, just how far will the Carlsbad KneePad Society (CKPS) go?...caught with their pants on the ground (once again), the CKPS would have us believe that we all need the counterfeiters known as Upper Deck to continue on and lead us all to a more glorious future in the sportscard collectible industry...let's give Hitler another chance, he's sure to get it right this time...Mr. Lechter is out on work-release and is currently employed by the YMCA as a towel-boy...

For those of us realists in the sportscard industry that have known for some time (see the history of sportscards as it relates to Classic/Scoreboard, Pacific, ProSet, Action-Packed, Pinnacle and so many other manufacturers) that Upper Deck will soon be gone, their departure poses no threat to our ongoing lives and business's...however, for those that have based their professional careers on the bodily fluids of Richard McWilliams, the story is somewhat different...these "people" (shills, whores, snake-oil peddlers, polyester-clad pitchmen, self-proclaimed "industry leaders" consisting of part-time mall-cops and sales-reps from totally unrelated industries) now known simply as the Carlsbad KneePad Society, have taken it upon themselves, by their very existence, to lower the IQ of the collective sportscard community...

Here's the world as it will be without Upper Deck:
Yes, there will be less brick and mortar stores - those that couldn't see past their noses and relied to heavily on Upper Deck will be gone.
There will be less shows - and fewer weekend warrior - for all the same reasons
Yes, there will be less distributors - for all the same reasons
and...there will be less (if any) product dumping...Upper Deck's dumping of mass quantities of products at a fraction of original cost enabled numerous dumpers to convert those cheap goods in exchange (dollar for dollar) for other manufacturers products - which were in turn - also dumped into the market...once the enabler (Upper Deck) is gone, the market will stabalize...
and projected...an entirely changed status for Beckett in this industry...the former "bible" will need to drastically change their tune as the total number of new releases for all four sports drops dramatically...the four-sports together may release no more than 50-75 products combined...we won't need a half-dozen overpriced Becketts to cover that

and in what may be poetic justice - Upper Deck will be sponsoring an early morning session in social networking at "The Summit" in Vegas...there, an Upper Deck executive will teach you how to hook into Twitter, so you can get the latest news on the demise of Upper Deck...how funny is that?

...same old pig, same lipstick too..AKA The 2009 Christmas Address to SportsCard Dealers Throughout the Land

In a year of many changes for sportscard dealers, one thing hasn't changed - the desire on the part of some dealers to suck the marrow from the bones of other dealers...nothing says blood-sucking leeches more than the "resurrection" of "The National SportsCard Dealers Conference"...the "conference", having disintegrated down to nothing more than a spring-break for a few maturity-challenged "dealers" trying to re-live their high-school stink-finger years was finally abandoned by it's promoter Krause (AKA F&W Publications)...even it's most stalwart advocates had said the conference itself lacked any redeeming qualities, but that the late-night jello-shots and lap-dances were worth the price of admission...with that as the primary agenda, plus the continued hind-teat sucking of the back-dooring manufacturers by certain "chosen" dealers - is it any wonder that the "industry" is in the trouble that it's in?...but not to fear, for before us comes a "savior" (in fact, a false prophet)...
Lo and behold - a group has gotten together to bring the "conference" back - to Vegas (of all places) - in 2010...actually, the group likes to refer to themselves as "the board" - an eclectic, self-appointed, daisy-chaining group of has-beens, wanna-bes, part-timers, a Ferengi or two, and some of even more dubious credentials..."led" by a former Krause staffer who advocated the virtual destruction of the brick and mortar hobby shop aspect of the industry during his years as a hired gun for eBay, the manufacturers, the leagues and the mass-market...this former somebody finds himself in the unenviable position of "got nowhere else to go" but to hit the remaining brick and mortar stores up for his next meal-ticket - ironic, isn't it?
and nothing has changed...even the most prominent of "faces" on the board has come out and said - nothing will change, the seminars will mean nothing in comparison to the late-night bar-hopping...apparently, none of "the board" has so much as seen a woman in their lives, so the possibility of actually talking to one in a late-night Vegas bar must have these guys walking bow-legged....
so here's the break-down....for $499 - plus air-fare, meals, transportation and "incidentals"; hard-working, honest dealers can go to Vegas and gaze in wonderment (and buy drinks for) a group of drunken, horny, gambling addicted "dealers" (the self-appointed "saviors" of our industry) who will impart to them the secret of their success - that they can still convince other dealers to pay them $499 and buy them drinks too.....that's it, conference over, the secret has been told...they can't make it "in" the industry, so they're going to make it "on" the backs of the remaining brick & mortar stores...of course if a distributor/dumper (or 6) and a few backdooring manufacturers show up to grease their palms, well that's just more for them (and less for everybody else)...oh, and by the way - don't tell their wives what they're up to...
of course, the "secrets" don't end there - the biggest secret is - THE CONFERENCE DOESN'T EXIST - oh, there's a web-link you can go to to pony up your $499, but for all the chest-thumping, for all the bravado, for all of the confidence "the board" expresses, for all of the "faces" that "DEMAND" the participation of every dealer left in the country, for all the self-proclaimed "high-rollers" involved in making this thing a reality - not a single dime has been ponied up for this event! - no bookings, no deposits...nothing...like an unemployed brother-in-law, they sit on their asses, blowing smoke and waiting for your cash to come rolling into their pockets...and I seriously doubt that it will...why?...because, there are only two groups of brick and mortar dealers left in this world:
1) The blood-sucking leeches mentioned above
and
2) All the rest of us - the ones that have absolutely no use for the blood-sucking leeches

Merry Christmas

and then there were none....

I was informed this week that "Card Trade" will cease publication...oh no! - not "Card Trade"!...now many of you are probably asking "What the hell is Card Trade"...well, a lot of us within the industry had been asking that very same question for the last few years...billing itself as the "Official Trade Journal of the Sports Collectibles Industry" - a title that they had bestowed upon themselves..."Card Trade" had at one point in time brought together news, information and a variety of opinions on the goings on within the sports collectibles industry...that had ceased long ago...what "Card Trade" had been for some time was a Stepfordian frat-boy gathering of like minded individuals intent on mollifying advertisers and advancing personal and professional agendas - this ultimately caused it's death...at the wake, it was eulogized by the same group of past and present "journalists" who had just finished daisy-chaining each other achievement awards at last weeks Retailers Conference in Tampa - sponsored by the same company that owned "Card Trade" ...how convenient...with shock and awe they each stepped to the microphone to announce their bereavement at the loss of such a great publication (while at the same time looking to see who they could hook up with for their next "Pay for Praise" gig)...the assertion that "Card Trade" was a great publication carries with it about as much credibility as the publication itself...zero.

"Card Trade" was well aware of what it had become and had no desire to change - articles, reviews and letters were rejected out of hand - alienating what remaining readers it had and placing itself well within the vanity-press category - eventually ceasing to exist as a print publication and becoming a "digi-rag", where it lasted just a few short months before it's owner (F&W Publications) mercifully pulled the plug...F&W had received any number of complaints about the publication - and eventually may have listened - I doubt that there's any coincidence in the demise of "Card Trade" coming so shortly after the tequila soaked industry gathering enjoyed by so many of the "Card Trade" insiders...it had undoubtedly become apparent to F&W that "Card Trade" had committed the worst sin that any publication could be guilty of - it had ceased to serve the needs of it's readers...make no mistake about it - the economy did not kill off "Card Trade", "Card Trade" killed off itself...

In a separate, but somewhat related announcement - for those within the sportscard industry looking to share news, information and opinions outside of a manufacturers controlled forum - there is a new forum - aptly called "The National SportsCard Forum", you can find it at http://thesportscardforum.forumotion.net ...this is a forum for the industry itself - dealers, etc. are welcome...at some point in time we may start a separate forum for the public and maybe our very own digi-rag, based on the realities of the industry instead of the rose-colored outlook so prevalent in too much of today's manufacturer controlled media.

Desperate People Make for Desperate Times...

I've never been much for desperation - that level of exasperation displayed by people that have become the victims of their own grand plans...and more and more the sportscard industry has become a showcase for desperation...on any given day I expect to have a lot of industry related materials hit my desk - phone calls, e-mails, snail-mails and of course the walk-ins...but it's starting to become ridiculous...a dozen new product e-mails a day from each of a dozen distributors that I don't do any business with - hint, one e-mail, listing all of the products would be sufficient and would give your company a more professional appearance and would give me the impression that you're not just forwarding some manufacturer's paid ad...it's not going to get me to do any business with you, but it might keep me from hitting the delete button and adding your name to my spam list...also, e-mails that contain countdown clocks informing me of how much less time I have to order some POS product than I had after yesterday's failed solicitation just don't work...if I didn't want it yesterday, I don't want it today and I won't want it tomorrow...but if you really want to make me laugh, send me a fourth or fifth "last chance offer" - followed up with a "nearly sold-out, but..."...let me repeat - for each and every time you contact me with the same offer - if I didn't want it yesterday, I don't want it today and I won't want it tomorrow.......never-ending cold calls that start off with "You don't know me but..." or "I need to speak to the buyer..." or the even more offensive "I'm calling to make your business a success..." usually end up with the phone receiver laying on my desk as I crank up Led Zeppelin 4...snail-mails are a little simpler - my "inbox" is conveniently situated just above my shredder...


Walk-Ins - Introducing yourself to me by screaming "Buyers in 'da house" to my store-full of people doesn't impress anybody - neither does telling me about your store - which turns out to be a PO box somewhere next to an abandoned silo in West-Central Illinois - and any attempt to impress me with a run down of the bankrupt authenticator/graders or gone-but-not-forgotten auction houses you've work for really won't put you high on my list of industry leaders - all of that nonsense may still play on the hog-shed county fairground flea-market circuit - but it doesn't play well here...


Local Store Owners - No, I'm not going to memo you $10K in inventory to keep you alive...and if you've been offering your company to every casual window-shopper in your town for - let's say $67K (down from $115K a month ago) - I'm not going to have any interest when your emissary walks in with the $75K "buy it now" hanging from his neck...and the best of them, the "newbie" that lives 50 miles away, that just happened to be driving around and saw my store and feels compelled to walk-in and engage me in conversation about how busy his local dealer is - of course, the "newbie" just happens to be carrying his local dealers bio with him - complete with contact information - in case I'm looking for any additional staff.....

Now I will admit that I have brought a lot of this onto myself - especially in the last few days since the latest blog - see "Under the Upper Deck Banner"...boy did I hear about that one...certainly "A night in the box" and then-some...rapid-fire incoherent e-mails, phone messages, IM's and other forms of "communications"...all with veiled threats, all with additional "Thou shalt not(s)...", all from the "movers and the shakers" within this industry who felt the need to drop me a line and remind me of how infinitely important they are and how my words mean absolutely nothing to them - one even going so far as to tell me he knew what I was going to say before I said it - which is a pretty good trick considering that even I don't know (half the time) what's going to come out of my mouth...all in all, it made for a pretty good laugh - since all of it came from people that I have absolutely no respect for and all of it reeked of the desperation that so permeates this industry today.......
Desperate people make for desperate times...I'm not saying that times aren't tough - but I am saying that some of us are doing better than OK...if you were planning for 2009 mid-way through 2008, you're probably in better shape than the guy who's waiting to attend the late-April Krause Conference seminar on how to make it through 2009...hint - if you don't know by now - waiting a few more weeks to get advice probably isn't going to help...by now, at the very least, you should know where the emergency exits and lifeboats are...
The incredible amount of arm-flailing we see in this industry today isn't really helping..."Oh My God, what about Panini?...", "Oh My God, what about DonRuss?...", "Oh My God, what about Yu-Gi-Oh?...", "...Scyre?", "...the NBA License?", "...the MLB license?" and the biggest arm-flail of them all - Upper Deck...


so...


what...


about...


any of it....


for every ProSet, Pinnacle, Scoreboard and Pacific that went belly up there were dealers, distributors and vendors that had hitched their wagons too tightly to a falling star - they flailed and kicked and screamed "Oh My God, what about...?" as they were sucked under the waters when their favorite manufacturer's ship went down for the last time...and the rest of us moved on - without the desperation, without the drama and with our heads above water...it's never a good idea to become too dependent on anything...if you wake up in the morning and head off to work wearing an Upper Deck hat, shirt and truss - you probably spend most of your day flailing your arms wildly while screaming "Oh My God!"...I'm not really into the whole Upper Deck wardrobe thing, or Topps, or Global, or Marvel or DC...I did have a really nice shirt that the United States Mint sent me, once, a long time ago (if the United States Mint is reading this - hey, take the hint) it helped to cover my gut, my .38, and a couple of battle scars - but frankly, I wore the thing out and it's more patches than material - and I've got no problem wearing their logo as I've got a little more confidence (I said a "little" more) in the United States Mint than I do in Upper Deck......
and speaking of Upper Deck - meet the wizard....you remember the wizard, don't you?...the whole "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain..." thing...the scared but pompous little man pulling levers and pushing buttons while the giant gas head roared and belched in an effort to frighten all of us common folk?...well, somewhere out there we have a wizard - I'm sure my words mean absolutely nothing to him - but the mere mention of 2009 Upper Deck Spectrum sliding below cost sure made some people jump (about 5% overnight in some markets) - and suddenly sellers became buyers - and the crowds roared - only nobody really believes it...so, how about some more market manipulation - how about a little more magic?, wizard - what can the wizard do about 2008-09 Upper Deck Basketball?...this could get interesting...the wheels could really turn on this one...manipulate it (and prove I'm right)...or continue to let it crash (to prove that you're not reading any of this)...of course, Upper Deck has already lost the NBA license, so maybe they (oops, I mean the wizard) will have nothing to prove by manipulating a product that functions as little more than another lost cause....I'll be expecting an e-mail from the wizard shortly...whoever the wizard is, his biggest misconception is that we're all tied into one carefully sanitized source of information...that we have no access to shows, eBay, 50% off online sales, half-off Mejier Days, etc....the wizard really thinks we're going to believe whatever sets of numbers are shown to us...stupid wizard......

Under the Upper Deck Banner.......

I know, I know...I've been neglecting this blog...but sometimes you just need to find the proper motivation...

Well, Upper Deck seems to find themselves in a bit of a quandary these days - leaving Las Vegas, their European operation disowning them, revenues declining, licenses being lost, openly dumping retail product to the general public, not to mention the continual product dumping within the hobby industry and oh yeah, that whole Konami/Yu-Gi-Oh thing...hmmmm...what to do? what to do?...hey, let's shoot the messengers.....so out come the Upper Deck shills "All is great, every product is a winner, Upper Deck rules!"...actually "rules" might be the most accurate word possible...wherever the Upper Deck shills are, they seem to be protected by the Upper Deck Banner (ads or maybe just a territorial claim of ownership? - sometimes it's hard to tell the difference)...so from now on, wherever you see the Upper Deck Banner - make sure to be good little dealers and be on your best behavior - if you're not sure what that means, we've come up with some general guidelines (with homage to "Cool Hand Luke"):
Criticize Upper Deck - Spend a night in the box
Criticize an Upper Deck Product - Spend a night in the box
Criticize an Upper Deck Employee - Spend a night in the box
Criticize an Upper Deck Shill - Spend a night in the box
Find Upper Deck product being dumped at a show - No Penalty
Mention that Upper Deck product was being dumped at a show - Spend a night in the box
Mention an unfulfilled Upper Deck redemption - Spend a night in the box
Mention that you found Upper Deck product being dumped on eBay - Spend a night in the box
and God forbid you mention anything about Upper Deck handing out MJ, Kobe or Lebron James autographs to their special friends (shills) at the Krause Retailers Conference - while retail customers still struggle with unfulfilled redemptions or worse yet "Exchanges"...your Kobe autograph redemption has been filled with an Upper Deck Retail Football Pack - with a big "Bonus Pack" sticker on the front!...yeah!!!!!!...you mention something like that and well, we all remember what happened to Luke at the end of the movie.....
Repeated offenses will be dealt with with not just a night in the box - but maybe a more subtle form of "encouragement" - like a threat to your family.....

REALLY!!! - I've now lived to see the day that a Krause Publications staff member gains access to an unpublished Upper Deck photo of a dealers family and posts it for - well, nobody seems to know exactly why it was posted...the poster isn't talking, Upper Deck isn't talking and nobody is home at Krause...and I can assure you that nobody is facing any sort of punishment for that - as a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the perpetrators of this little extortion plot weren't awarded medals at the Krause Conference...I'm sure this plot has nothing to do with the victimized dealer having recently refused a bribe - a "scholarship" to the Krause Dealer Conference - in exchange for him "laying low" - backing off on criticizing the Krause staff member who then decided to post a photo of this dealers family...now family is where I draw the line...Upper Deck can try to bully me all they want...Krause can orchestrate whatever pay for praise scheme fits their needs...they can try to dictate what gets said in print, online and through whatever other means of communication we have (basically, the First Amendment be damned!)...but hauling a dealers wife and family into the line of fire might be the most low, despicable thing I've yet to witness in this industry (and that's saying a lot) - so, I guess I'll start saying on here what I'm no longer allowed to say elsewhere...(I checked - I think I'm still allowed to write for my own blog...but I can't mention it anywhere else...otherwise, yep - a night in the box)...looking around, it's safe to say the Upper Deck Banner doesn't hang over my head here...

First - Leave Family out of this...if you've got a problem with me (or some other dealer), don't threaten my 4-year old Grandniece (chances are she could kick your Upper Deck shillin' ass anyway).

Second - I had one of my people at the Sun-Times show here in Chicago a couple of weeks ago...two nationally known dealers were going at it with their usual "Get out of town Sunday Dump"...this time 2009 Upper Deck Hobby Baseball at $39 to $40 a box...it's not the first time they've dumped Upper Deck product at a Chicago show - and it probably won't be the last time - this time however, it's different - because if you mention this anywhere near an Upper Deck Banner - you spend a night in the box...within hours of that show, Upper Deck started dumping retail products to the public at 50% off...and their notoriously bad 2009 Spectrum Baseball product is already trading below cost, so why the big deal with some of their big dealers dumping 2009 Upper Deck Baseball?...I really don't know, I can only speculate...best guess...as the hours tick down on the current baseball licensing agreement - Upper Deck is under the microscope - in both the retail and hobby sectors - with MLB looking to see if exclusivity fits their needs and if so, who wins? Topps? or Upper Deck?...part of that contest would be a manufacturer proving that they could maintain some value for the MLB brand within the secondary market-place...something Upper Deck does not excel at....also, we have (once again) the Krause Dealer Conference...a three day blotch on the mid-week calendar coming up in just a few weeks where the last thing Upper Deck needs is hobby dealers going into their annual bitch-fest to MLB about how badly Upper Deck Baseball products are performing...hedge your bet by loading up the Krause Conference with the Upper Deck Liberation Front - Upper Deck's Dealer Shock-Troops - where never is heard a discouraging word - about Upper Deck - let's make sure the MLB hears nothing negative about Upper Deck....so...no talky 'bout 2009 Upper Deck Baseball being dumped at Sun-Times show...also, no discussion whatsoever of the quality control problems with 2009 Upper Deck Baseball...namely, the heavy creasing roller marks on about a third of the cards we've seen come out of every pack of 2009 Upper Deck Baseball to date...good luck consumers with that one...if we dealers mention it - we spend a night in the box...better for Upper Deck to pretend it never happened, hush the whole thing up and shrug their shoulders if anybody mentions it to MLB...of course, what kind of quality do you expect for $39 a box?...by the way - 2008 Allen & Ginter baseball was being dumped by the same guys for $50 a box...you can safely mention that anywhere though, because it's not an Upper Deck product...no night in the box for that one....

Third - Hmmmm, oh yeah, the Krause Retailers Conference - I know I've mentioned that a couple of times before - but it bears some closer examination...less than 3 weeks to go and no list of attendees, "scholarship winners" or "industry leaders" working the various Krause panels...from where I sit, that spells trouble...I don't think many dealers have registered (but when your own people piss in the well-water often enough, what could Krause expect?)...I don't think anyone comped to the conference would want to admit it (as we've seen, it's easier to accept a bribe than to turn it down)...and having just recently had one of Krause's ideas of an "industry leader" (braying jack-ass) in my store - I don't think even Krause can put up that list of names without multiple requests for refunds...

Well, it's good to be back - I'm sure I'll have a few more things to say as we get closer to the Krause Conference...might cost me a night in the box (somewhere else)...but if it does, I'll be sure to let you know......

Celebrating 20 years of...What?

When I originally heard that Upper Deck was planning a "celebration" of their 20 years of producing cards, I thought that I would see more of the same over-hyped PR that plagues so much of what they do...but never in my wildest imagination could I have dreamed up some of the things Upper Deck has chosen to do to make headlines in this, their twentieth year....let's check some of them out.....

Konami V. Upper Deck - Maybe not technically part of the anniversary celebration, since the action started last year...but this may turn out to be the shot heard round the world...counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh cards?!...who made them?... who distributed them?...and who knew? This is the gift that keeps giving as more news becomes available weekly...for a primer, I suggest this http://kingyugi.fr/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=162378 ...but the latest news can be found almost anywhere on the Internet...at this moment, it appears as though Upper Deck won't have Konami's money to kick around anymore....you've got to wonder it that had anything to do with...

NBA Pulls License From Upper Deck - Probably not a fair title, as Upper Deck would tell you they simply didn't want to make basketball cards anymore...having acquired a stable that includes MJ, Kobe, LeBron and others...why bother making any more NBA cards?...actually, on the Death Certificate, under "Cause of Death", I believe it says "couldn't, wouldn't, didn't wanna pay the licensing fee"...I guess that's a stunt you can pull when nobody else is interested (Hello NHL), but somebody forgot to tell Upper Deck that interest in the NBA is global...at least it stretches as far as Italy - home of Panini.....dirty old NBA money, why would Upper Deck want a piece of that?

Will MLB Join the NBA? - Persistent rumors swirl about Major League Baseball saying goodbye to Upper Deck and letting Topps carry the load...the problem with this one is, those rumors inevitably track back to an Upper Deck "spokesman"...actually a dealer/buddy of Upper Deck who may finally be coming out of the Upper Deck payroll closet in an effort to get a leg up in any post Upper Deck baseball environment...and speaking of Topps, wasn't it just a short time ago that Upper Deck was trying to con a judge into believing that they were making a legitimate effort to buy Topps?...didn't seem to be too much legitimate about anything but a ham-fisted effort on the part of Upper Deck to get a look at their primary competitions books...of course, that ended in a sprint back to the west coast when the judge said "show me the money". I suppose, if this rumor ever becomes fact, that Upper Deck will tell us they wanted to concentrate on their soccer license....

Fortunately for us, all is not new at Upper Deck - some things that define them will never change, unfortunately for us, they continue with their largest money making program to date - that would be....

The Unfulfilled Redemptions Program - We all know this one...you get a great triple-patch autographed one-of-one - but it's a redemption!...Good Luck!!...your one-of-one becomes a one-of-none as you fight to get them to turn over the goods...finally, you get what they decide is fair...not that card that you planned on retiring on, but a retail pack (with a big "BONUS" sticker on it) of a sport that you have no interest in...and a photocopied form letter that says - in effect "To damn bad - SUCKER!...thanks for supporting Upper Deck"...leaving you to scour the Internet, card-shows and hobby shop showcases in an effort to find YOUR card, the one that you just know is out there, somewhere.....

Which leads us to a project that we'll be working on throughout the life of this blog....it's a little something we like to call...."You Got Upper D*cked" ...basically, we need your Upper Deck redemption horror stories...drop us a line at FanMail@CardsComicsCoins.com with "You Got Upper D*cked" in the title of the e-mail and give us your best (worst) Upper Deck story...from time to time, we'll post some of the bloodiest of the bloody as a reminder that we're all in this together, and that unfulfilled redemptions are not at all unusual.

And let's all remember, during this celebration of Upper Deck's Twentieth Anniversary, that we've still got ten more months of devastating news to look forward to...way to go Upper Deck!!

Next Up - "Under the Upper Deck Banner"

Actually... "The Return of The National"

Well, I had to call it something and "The National" seemed as good a name as any...for those of you (primarily dealers) that enjoyed "The National" on other forum(s), you know what to expect...for the general public, this may be like jumping into Lake Michigan on a cold January morning...as in "What the hell is going on here?"

So, why "The National"?...it became increasingly apparent to me that the sportscard industry was at a crossroads...exclusivity, bankruptcies, product dumping, cronyism and a generally blurred line between leagues, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, consumers and those that wrote about all of the above had led to a stagnation within the industry...from this point on, in order for this industry to survive, things have to change...that, or the same moofs that have led us into this mess will be our tour-guides for "The End of Days"....

With the naming of Panini as the exclusive manufacturer of NBA cards, I had hoped that change would come, but it became obvious that this was change in name only...no more painfully obvious than in watching who was going to control communications access to Panini...one group working hard for open access, one (select) group working hard to narrow access (as they had with other manufacturers), and other groups and organizations all with big plans for how Panini was going to fit into their business model - assuming they could get the first bite at the Panini apple...bad enough that there are those within the industry that believe that influence came be bought with a poorly written, suspiciously timed fluff piece, but we are now confronted with an industry publisher extolling the virtues of paying scalper prices for a first-grope opportunity at "Panini-Fest Live 2009" - formerly known as The Retailers Conference - Mainland Edition...all of which should serve as a reminder of the arrogance and contempt that the chosen few within the industry feel towards the industry as a whole...all we can hope for now is that Panini is wiser than the NBA and maintains an open line of communication with all of the dealers, all of the time.

At the same time, it was becoming even more apparent that the voices of dissent within the industry were becoming lost...buried under banner ads from manufacturers and a general desire on the part of all the powers-that-be that the dealers within the industry remain fractured...as long as manufacturers controlled the advertising, they controlled the "Happy Card Time" perceptions of an industry that had become wrought with corruption.....

And lost in all of this, was the consumer...totally voiceless, except in his ability to leave the hobby in droves, nobody was able to communicate the frustrations of consumers..."FanBoy Forums" - owned, operated, moderated and written by the powers-that-be were never designed to express anything but "Buy our next great (over-priced, over-hyped and under-performing) product"...through all of this though, I had maintained that the truth never hurt anybody, and that an informed consumer was a good thing - in any industry...but that too, was an unpopular opinion - God forbid we should ever tell our customers what was really going on - and yet, I had built a successful business on exactly that premise...that the customer should know the truth...and the more the truth was told, the more customers realized that there were some dealers out there that "Got it" - that not every dealer was linked symbiotically to a manufacturer and that many dealers shared the frustrations of their customers...so, what to do?

I could have waited for something to come along that would adequately voice the dissent found within the industry ("Waiting for Godot" came to mind)...or, I could go on as I had in the past, knowing all the time that the various agendas would always press to have some say on where I could express an opinion and in what form my opinions could be expressed....and, frankly, I was just too damn old to have any agenda attempting to control what I could say or where I could say it...so, we bring you, once again..."The National"...born of too many customers that need to understand that somebody out there "Gets it"...and too many dealers that think that they have to sacrifice their opinions for their livelihoods...and a late night reminder from a number of people that I respect, whose advice I have sought for all of my 35 years in business, who reminded me of some of the reasons I went into business for myself so many years ago...

This is a work in progress...the by-product of a weeks worth of non-responsive programs, over-loaded and blown servers, alpha and beta tests, and my inability to effectively communicate with a number of technical people that told me that they "knew what they were doing" - they didn't...things may change...both in appearance and access...but some things will remain the same - the manufacturers will not control this site - I've always said everybody has a price, but nobody has ever found mine...the dissenting opinion will not only be welcomed, it will be encouraged...things will be seen and heard here that nobody else could allow...and that alone is a reflection of where this industry finds itself today - totally polarized, with few included and too many left out...and if the few had not been so greedy and had left a little for the many, "The National" might not have returned....

Next Up - "Celebrating 20 years of...what?"