At the ripe age of 42, Tom Brady continues to consistently win football games for his New England Patriots and, accordingly to a recent press release from the NFL Player’s Association, he continues to push serious volumes of merchandise. The Patriots quarterback, now in his 20th season in the league, topped the NFLPA’s player retail sales list, surrounded by some other names … [Read more...]
Panini Files Second Lawsuit Over Trademark Infringements
Panini America filed a federal lawsuit Monday against a Kansas City man over the use of its trademarks on home-made cards that are being sold on eBay. Attorneys for the Dallas-based company are accusing Shad Wing of trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices. They say Wing, under eBay user names "claymation123" and "shwi_1160" … [Read more...]
Custom Card Sales Exploding Despite Legal Ramifications
Unlicensed sports cards have been around for some time. These cards have hoped to satisfy customer demands for more issues of athletes. For many years, Topps held a virtual monopoly on the production of gum baseball card issues and knockoffs were common. More brands ultimately surfaced, beginning primarily with the introduction of Fleer and Donruss in the marketplace in 1981. … [Read more...]
Notes: Sheen, Ovechkin Coming to Chantilly; Topps’ Double Yaz; Grandma’s Mahomes Collection; DeJong Buys “M”
CSA Shows has landed Charlie Sheen and Alex Ovechkin as autograph guests for its upcoming Chantilly Show. Both will appear on Sunday, October 13. Sheen autos are $125 with inscriptions priced at $75 and he’ll also take a professional photo with you for $125. Ovechkin autos start at $125 and he, too, will do photo ops. Sheen is a long-time collector of baseball … [Read more...]
Donruss Football Ad Comes to NASCAR; Mahomes to Sign Hood for Charity
Fans watching the NASCAR Xfinity Series race this Friday night will see a football card-inspired design on the hood of Gray Gaulding’s car. The ad for Donruss football cards features reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. It'll later be autographed by the two stars for a special charity auction. Panini America is using the race to promote its new 2019 … [Read more...]
Chantilly, Strongsville, Edison Shows Bring Out the Stars–and Cards
Three major shows over the weekend brought collectors out to snare autographs and do some shopping. Michael Irvin, who underwent a throat biopsy last week, came to Chantilly, VA with former teammates Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith to sign autographs at the CSA Show. The trio signed autographs and posed for pictures not long after Irvin learned the biopsy came back clean, … [Read more...]
2018 Mikey Awards: Highs, Lows and Oh No’s
Hello Card Peeps, I'm back once again with the annual Mikey Awards. I hope you enjoy and get a chuckle from my highlights and occasional lowlights from the trading card industry in 2018. These are intended to mostly make you laugh or think and if you are a manufacturer who does not have a great sense of humor, please consider stopping at this point. … [Read more...]
Notes: The Athletic Visits Panini; Wagner Update; Charity Jersey Auctions; Holiday Sales
The Athletic published a story about Panini America this week, discussing the company’s exclusive licenses with the NBA, NFL and most college sports programs as well as its exclusive autograph agreements with athletes. After 50 years with Topps, the NFL gave an exclusive deal to Panini a few years ago and the NBA has done the same. Topps just renewed its deal with MLB. … [Read more...]
Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards Soaring
Whether it’s a record-setting collection of touchdown passes, a late rally in a hostile environment or an improvisational toss with his opposite hand, there’s not much mystery behind the strong interest in Patrick Mahomes rookie cards. In his first three games as the Kansas City Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018, Mahomes tossed 13 touchdown passes while completing 67% of … [Read more...]