Diamond Collectibles to partner with GTS Distribution

In the past 12 months there have been what some would call radical changes in distribution policies among some of the major card companies. We are beginning to see a domino effect from these changes starting with the litigation between Blowout Cards and Upper Deck, and now what appears to be the buyout of a major distributor. In a release to their customers earlier today, Diamond Collectibles stated:

"As I am sure you are aware, there have been many changes in manufacturer policies over the last few months. After much thought on how these policies and changes will affect all of us, I have made a heartfelt decision. Taking into account the best interests of you our loyal customers and my dedicated employees we will be partnering with a larger distributor. This will allow us to offer you all the lines you need to be successful and in a most timely manner. Combined with the dedication, innovation and service we have always tried to offer we will now have the tools to support you to the fullest extent.

Therefore, effective 8am EST, Monday August 15th, 2011 GTS Distribution will be taking over Diamond Collectibles Wholesale operations."

This would appear to be the latest casualty from stricter distribution policies from notably Upper Deck and Panini, in an effort to increase revenue for brick and mortar hobby stores. With so many shops running online only stores now, you can see the crippling effect this has all the way up the chain. I can't fault companies for attempting to strengthen relations with hobby stores, but at what cost and to what extreme? At some point hobby shop owners have to embrace change or risk being left behind. To assume that customers are going to stop searching online for the best deals just because you tell them to is both naive and arrogant.

Sadly, this is probably not the last statement like this we will read. Distributors are working on thin profit margins as it is. There is an old saying about not biting the hand that feeds you. Card companies may want to watch more carefully who they sink their teeth into.

My first trip to the NSCC: Everything I expected and more

Cardboard overload. That was the best way I could describe my thought process 2 hours into my first time at the NSCC. Never before had I seen so much vintage product in one place. Cards so rare and expensive I had only read about them in magazines were suddenly laying before me in glass cases like a cardboard museum. The market may be down compared to the glory days of old but it was still a breathtaking sight to behold. The charm of remake sets like Allen & Ginter suddenly take on a whole new meaning when you see an original set from 1888 for sale(unfortunately with glue stains on all the backs). There is still big money in sports memorabilia and with that allure comes scam artists looking to take advantage, as evidenced by the dealer bust on Thursday morning!

I had hoped to make it into town in time for the sneak peek Wednesday night, but that plan derailed when Megabus arrived 90 minutes late to shuttle me in from Iowa. I don't want to say it was the worst trip I've ever taken, but listening to a girl belt out UB40 songs over her headphones in a semi-conscious incoherent slur was not my idea of a good time. Thankfully once I got to Chicago everything started to fall into place.

Day 1 - Thursday

I arrive around noon and am in awe of the vastness of the room. I start with the first aisle I see and notice alot of booths with nothing priced, only high dollar items being showcased to bring in auction interest. A number of dealers are specializing in my biggest weakness, vintage wax. A staple from my childhood collecting days, shelves full of early 80's wax boxes in chronological order feel like I've stepped into a time warp. I couldn't resist and bought a rack pack of 1983 Donruss and 2 regular packs of 84 Donruss(San Diego Chicken!). Part of me longs for the simpler times of collecting before insertmania took hold but the hobby evolves, and I can enjoy aspects of both eras.

I wanted to make sure I touched base with some of the fellow twitterverse/blog people on the first day, since the FCB meetup was Thursday night. I could see at the rate I was moving I would be lucky to get halfway through the room so I skipped ahead to the Cardboard Connection radio booth, and met Rob, Doug and Russ. Their contribution to the hobby is grossly underrated and still unknown to many collectors. After chatting for a bit, it was closing time and we headed over to the FCB meet-up. It was nice to match names with faces, although it's a bit awkward at first making introductions such as, "hi, I'm waxtopia, are you stalegum?" Chris with FCB loosened things up by giving away some great prizes, and I walked away with a Leaf football printing plate and a box of 2011 Donruss Elite. Nearly everyone won something and I think we all had a pretty good time. Bummed a ride back to my hotel and eagerly anticipated my 2nd and final day at the show. It would not disappoint.

Day 2 - Friday

I was more prepared for what I wanted to accomplish on day 2. I had a collection of around 50 cards I wanted to try listing on COMC and headed there first. It was my first time listing with them, and they are definitely customer service oriented. They do things the right way and the stats on their rapidly growing site traffic was impressive.

I missed out on most of the redemption packs on day 1 and wanted to see what all the fuss was about so I headed over to Dave and Adams and bought 5 packs of 2011 SP Authentic Hockey, which got me a voucher for one redemption pack. Not expecting much, I headed over to the Cardboard Connection booth to bust my packs. To my great surprise I opened the redemption first only to find this gem:

I was literally shaking as I flashed it around to everyone nearby. As almost an afterthought, I started opening my packs of SP Auth and nearly soiled myself after finding this in pack #4:

At this point I was looking for a lotto machine. This is the sort of crazy mayhem I expected at the National, and it delivered. I also bought some cheap hockey blasters and found a great Iowa Hawkeye pennant from 1957. Overall the trip was a blast and I can't wait til it's back in Chicago.

If you have never been to the NSCC, I have to say it's something every collector should experience. I know I'll be back.

Upper Deck Evolution or Darwinism at it's Worst?

After a 15 year hiatus from the hobby, my first box of cards I busted was a hobby box of 2009 Upper Deck Football I got for my birthday. I loved everything about it. Great player selection, hard to find SP rookies, and 3 fun hits.(Mendenhall auto!) I liked it so much in fact, I decided to pursue collecting the entire base set.(Still need several SP rookies) And at about $3-$4/pack, 20 cards felt like a bargain.

Sadly, none of those things can be said about 2011 Upper Deck Football. The checklist has been greatly reduced (50 base cards, 200 star rookies) due to a lack of an NFL license. Only draft picks and retirees will be found here. This immediately changes the collectibility factor for set builders. The product has also gone from 20 cards/pack to 6 cards, and only 1 guaranteed hit per box now. While there is no official MSRP, I found it at my LCS going for $5/pack.

All of the above factors are enough to possibly deter buyers, but that's not the worst part. Anyone who has been paying attention in the collecting world for the last couple weeks has seen all the hype about the war between Upper Deck and Panini to make the "world's first video card". Well UD has technically won the battle, but it looks to be a hollow victory.

Upper Deck has named it's video card creation "Evolution" and has been centering most of the hype of 2011 Football around this new insert. After watching a box break of this on Beckett's web site however, I am underwhelmed. The first problem created is that the video card isn't found in normal packs, it is treated like a box topper, only at the bottom of the box. If you think that is a deterrent, tell that to the LCS guy in my neighborhood who looked under all the packs and then returned it to the counter to sell single packs. He also informed me that they are treating the Evolution cards as box toppers and customers won't get a chance at them. Is this what Upper Deck had in mind for their new "Diamond Dealers" program? The most embarrassing thing came at the end of the break though, when they opened the card and the battery was completely dead. Once they finally got it charged up with a mini-usb cable (not included), we saw a mostly forgettable highlight montage of DeSean Jackson.

I am all for industry innovation but the execution has to be better than this. If the cards were autographed(like the ones Panini promises are coming), then they would be sure to hold at least some value for years to come. Sadly, this product has rushed written all over it and you have to wonder if this was a race against the clock to beat Panini to the punch.

The one redeeming quality of this release is the photography is still top notch. Some of the retiree's cards are in black & white, and the dramatic result is a success. Unfortunately that is not enough to overcome a weak checklist combined with less hits and increased prices.($100/box at my LCS) The ultimate question here is, with those prices and such few hits, who is most likely to buy this product? My guess is not very many.

2010 SP Authentic Football Hit or Miss, Mostly Hit

When Upper Deck announced it had lost it's licensing for the NFL, it was devastating to many of us who eagerly anticipated many of their quality releases each year. SP Authentic was one of these wildly popular brands. It's formula for success was simple. Clean, attractive design with 3 gorgeous on card autos per box. So when it was announced that they were changing gears to NCAA products, it wasn't clear what wold happen with products like SP Auth and Exquisite.

The good news is, obviously SP Auth is here to stay. My other worry was what would the relevancy of this product be? Collegiate products are not a new concept, and sets like Press Pass are often forgotten once the banner releases are out. So what's the final verdict? Somewhere in the middle.

I picked up a few boxes and had watched friends open 2, one of which was a hot box containing 6 autos. Rumor has it that about every 3rd box on average will be a "hot" box and contain about double the guaranteed number of autos (3). I love this concept, but the catch here is that most of the extra autos seem to be of the sticker variety, and all the ones we saw were rookies that we hadn't even heard of. One touch I did like is the manufactured mini jersey cards, made in the appropriate school colors and signed on patch. Many people are against manu patches, but when they are done well like this I have no problem with it.

After watching this I decided to bust a box for myself last night and I have to say I was more than satisfied with the result. The base cards are attractive as usual, and my box was only the expected 3 autos, but these were definitely not your run of the mill unknowns:

The dual autos are stickers, but I'm willing to overlook it on a card that looks this nice. From what I have seen none of the College Pride autos are numbered. Overall, I have to say I think this is a product worth buying, but you are better off ordering by the box rather than packs.

Death of an LCS

Living in Iowa comes with some expected pros and cons. Cost of living is low, quick commute times, and great home grown meats and produce. On the flip side, no professional sports teams, and entertainment choices are somewhat lacking. That's not to say we don't have plenty of passionate sports fans here. With the AAA Iowa Cubs here, the big league Cubbies have a rabid following in central Iowa. Card shops have flourished here during peak times of the hobby, which is why I was greatly saddened to learn of the bankruptcy of one of our LCS's recently. The sportscard industry is a fickle business, and the last year has been filled with turmoil.

I have to admit I am as much to blame as anyone since I haven't visited this LCS for over a year. Prices were not very competitive and he had a wealthy enough clientele that he could move high end products like Exquisite within hours at full retail price. I would suspect that the licensing issues with Upper Deck damaged his sales greatly, as it did with numerous other shops nationwide. Profit margins are slim and online sales have taken a huge piece of the pie away.

This poses the million dollar question: Do we owe it to LCS's to support the "backbone" of the industry or do we simply go where the deals are, namely places like Blowout Cards and ebay. I can see both sides of the argument. LCS's helped make the hobby what it is today, but the price gaps have widened so far, many believe we've reached the point of no return. The online megastores would appear to be the future of the hobby, but at what cost? If LCS's continue to close(and they will), will the hobby evolve completely to the internet, or will interest simply wane, bringing the industry to it's knees? Distributors are already struggling, unable to beat Blowout prices by more than a dollar or two per box. With joe collector being able to cut out the middle man and have single boxes delivered right to his front step, you can see the dilemma shop owners face.

What about you guys? Is it worth a few extra dollars from your pocket for the local experience? I tend to believe people my age (35) who grew up staring at Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken rookie cards through glass cases, will greatly miss the face to face experience. As for the younger collectors, I don't think they will lose too much sleep over it. We have become a "now" society and things like customer loyalty are viewed as naive or pointless. Card shops could be viewed as antiquated as record shops within a few years. Yep, I miss them too.

Bowman Draft Box Break Complete!

Thanks to everyone for participating in the box break! Here is a scan of the highlights of the break. If you are on the FCB boards you can private message me (username=swanssy) your mailing info there or contact me here on the blog at swanssy@waxtopia.net . I look forward to talking to all of you more in the future!

Box Break Randomization Complete

The box break randomization is done and has been uploaded to youtube. I am planning to do the break Wednesday night at 9:00 central time. I will stream the video through ustream, and the link will be posted here in the comments before the break. Hope to see everyone then!

1. Tunguska (Cubs)(Phillies)
2. Mickey (Yankees)(Braves)
3. Rob (White Sox)(Tigers)
4. Jim (Orioles)(A's)
5. Jason (Astros)(Reds)
6. Card (Blue Jays)(Marlins)
7. bwedeking (Rays)(Indians)
8. Tim (Nationals)(Red Sox)
9. motleyrocker95 (Pirates)(Rockies)
10. Hubert (Rangers)(Angels)
11. Ogre (Cardinals)(Giants)
12. Erik (Diamondbacks)(Royals)
13. Gustavo (Padres)(Mets)
14. Tommy (Twins)(Mariners)
15. jpruitt2 (Dodgers)(Brewers)

Bowman Draft Box Break Giveaway!

Generating buzz on a new blog can prove difficult, so I think now is as good a time as any to do a box break and give away some free cards! This will be my first video break, so should be fun. I already have the product in hand: 1 hobby box of 2010 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Baseball. Let's start by opening up 15 slots, first come first serve. Just comment below and specify your team, once the 15 slots are filled, I'll randomly assign the remaining 15 teams. I will not be participating in the break. Please only one slot per person in order to give more people a chance. Here is a blowout forum with checklist information. All Team USA cards will be randomed off also, so everyone should come away with some decent cards.

1. Tunguska (Cubs)(Phillies)
2. Mickey (Yankees)(Braves)
3. Rob (White Sox)(Tigers)
4. Jim (Orioles)(A's)
5. Jason (Astros)(Reds)
6. Card (Blue Jays)(Marlins)
7. bwedeking (Rays)(Indians)
8. Tim (Nationals)(Red Sox)
9. motleyrocker95 (Pirates)(Rockies)
10. Hubert (Rangers)(Angels)
11. Ogre (Cardinals)(Giants)
12. Erik (Diamondbacks)(Royals)
13. Gustavo (Padres)(Mets)
14. Tommy (Twins)(Mariners)
15. jpruitt2 (Dodgers)(Brewers)

Hello blogosphere!

After many months of procrastination and child rearing, I have decided to finally throw my card collecting hat in the ring into the sportscard bloglist. I feel that I should provide a little informational backdrop as to how I have gotten to this point as a collector.

My fascination with card collecting began at about the age of 10, spending summers running around town with my cousins, buying packs of 85 Topps Baseball at the local pharmacy. My cousin was a shrewd trade artist, and always ended up swindling everyone for the most valuable cards. Somehow he ended up with 3 or 4 Mark McGwire olympic cards, the holy grail of rookies at the time. I continued dabbling with collecting baseball and Alf cards for a few years until 1989 when this changed my whole world:



Every collector knows it well, the card speaks for itself. I am no Mariners fan but like most other hobby enthusiasts I got completely caught up in the hype and excitement. I even owned one briefly, my most prized possession secured in a screw down case. For the next 5 years I was hooked. Then I graduated high school, and much like Andy's forgotten toys, my cards sat neglected in storage for the next 15 years. Now I have a 1 year old son, and in the never ending battle for organization, I started cleaning the garage and stumbled upon my dusty boxes. After the sad realization that most of my cards were worthless, (I threw out around 20,000 cards) I stumbled upon what I've been missing all these years. A community. Could it be there were still passionate hobbyists still out there in the interwebs? Not only was the answer yes, but a resounding yes. First my eyes were opened by VOTC and his somewhat traumatizing yet strangely therapeutic video. Then I searched around a bit and discovered the likes of Sports Cards Uncensored, A Cardboard Problem, and many more. My eyes were fully opened once I found all these same people on twitter (you may know me as "swanssy") and joined some fantastic ongoing discussions. I have tried to learn from these elder blogs, and hope to eventually build a site worth visiting also.

So without further ado, let the Waxtopia official launch begin! To keep my card related tweets separate, (and to stop driving my non collector friends crazy) I have opened a new twitter account, @waxtopia. I plan to do some giveaways in the future, and look forward to many future discussions with all of you, from vintage wax to the newest releases!