Hello fellow card maniacs, I hope you are all doing well and that your family and friends are also healthy and getting through current days as well as possible. Clearly we are experiencing something we have never faced. before and prior to yammering about sports cards and dishing the list of 5 hottest products, I wanted to share that sentiment. In the past few … [Read more...]
What’s Hot: Mike’s Summer Travelogue and Top 5 Selling Products
Hello fellow card maniacs, I literally just gone done watching the MLB All-Star game and couldn’t help but think how many of them start as pitching duels only to end up finishing like the Home Run Derby from the night before. Just so you know, it's not only chicks who dig the long ball, but sports card store owners happen to enjoy it as well. Wait, is long ball … [Read more...]
Editor’s Blog: Special Collector Meets Aaron Rodgers
A few weeks ago, Adam Hughes and I put together this story about Jake Cohen, a young collector from Colorado who lost his sight as a result of complications from neuroblastoma, a cancer he's been fighting since he was very young. Despite not being able to see, Jake still appreciates football cards. His favorite player is Aaron Rodgers. Mike Fruitman of Mike's Stadium … [Read more...]
Collectors Very Amused With 2014 Topps Museum MLB
For the third straight season, Topps has trotted out their Museum Collection baseball set to the delight of high-end collectors. The past two years of this release have delivered some of the most incredible swatches and bat cards out there and the 2014 version seems to be as good if not better than the first two (read about Museum and see the checklist here). The 4 pack … [Read more...]
What’s Hot: Fleer Retro – Who Says You Can’t Go Home?
by Mike Fruitman While I do not subscribe to everything Bon Jovi offers in terms of advice, it appears the California based folks at Upper Deck pay a bit more attention to the rockers from New Jersey. Just over a week ago 2011/12 Fleer Retro basketball landed at hobby stores with a bit of buzz behind it. Like all hoops offerings from UD, collectors were excited to once … [Read more...]
Selling Sweet Singles Back in Style
by Mike Fruitman Thanks to all the recent publicity from the “Black Swamp Find” of 1910 E09 cards, selling cards to stores has come back into vogue. While the never ending supply of late 1980s and early 1990s singles walking into card stores will continue well into the next few decades, the publicity attached to this group of 700 ancient, minty cards represented more … [Read more...]
Blog: Card Industry Insiders Talk
Courtesy of Kevin Isaacson, promoter of the recent Industry Summit in Las Vegas are the top 15 quotes from the various speakers and conferences: “At a time when it would be easy to be negative, card stores have stepped up with optimism and a willingness to share ideas that need to be listened to, but more importantly, need to be implemented. Now the ball is … [Read more...]
Panini Promises to Back Card Shops
Panini America executives stunned more than 100 hobby retailers at The Industry Summit in Las Vegas by announcing sweeping, comprehensive changes to the company’s distribution network. “These are things we’ve wanted to do for 10 years,’’ said Mike Anderson, Panini VP. “We are no longer turning a blind eye to the problem that has been killing margins for hobby … [Read more...]
Dealer Trading Night?
Among the attendees at the Vegas Industry Summit next month will be dealers who at least for one night will get the chance to be a kid. Hobby shops, as well as distributors and other attendees, are being encouraged to bring single cards to trade with attendees from other states to make their trip as valuable as possible. "I want to trade away my Yankees, Lakers, Cowboys … [Read more...]