Interview: Upper Deck’s Chris Carlin talks about National Hockey Card Day

National Hockey Card Day is just around the corner–February 9 in Canada and February 16 in the United States. Recently, I spoke with Chris Carlin, Sports Marketing and Social Media Manager for Upper Deck. Chris answered some questions about NHCD for 2013, including autographs and collation improvements. Continue reading “Interview: Upper Deck’s Chris Carlin talks about National Hockey Card Day”

2012 resolutions…How did I do?

In 2012, I sent five “Collecting Resolutions” for myself. And there’s nothing like a little public disclosure to keep myself honest.

To reiterate, my 2012 goals were:

Avoid retail packs en masse
Deal with empty boxes and wrappers
Check all sets when I receive them
Don’t be a hoarder
Complete these @#$% sets already

So, how did I do?

Avoid retail packs en masse
During the 2012 calendar year, I bough very few retail packs. If memory serves correct, all I bought was one blaster box (containing 14 retail packs), 1 “fat pack” and 4 “fat boxes.” All were from 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee, which was a set I was actively pursuing. Add it up, and that’s about $65 worth of retail packs. Not bad for a 12-month cycle. Verdict: WIN

Deal with empty boxes and wrappers
When I buy boxes and packs, I usually keep the box top and 4 wrappers to put with the set I build. But I’ve always been bad about dealing with them, so they tend to pile up. Looking around my “room of hockey” right now, I see about a half-dozen empty boxes, as well as wrappers here and there that need to find a home. So, I’m doing better than last year, but not as good as I can be doing. Verdict: LOSS

Check all sets when I receive them
I’ve been diligent about this. I’ve checked every complete set as soon as I got it, and none of them were missing cards. Of course, if they were, I’d tell the seller right away because I’m checking right away, and not a week (or a month) after the fact. Verdict: WIN

Don’t be a hoarder
I tend to “collect” multiple copies of the same exact card. And by “collect” I really mean “hoard.” In most cases, I really need only one, or perhaps two, copies of the same card. But not 10. I should spend that money on cards I actually don’t have. However, I decided to allow myself to hoard Jeremy Roenick rookies. So, I’m still hoarding, but it is just one card (well, actually 10 different cards if you count all the different brands). Verdict: Draw

Complete these @#$% sets already
Throughout 2012, I “killed off” 23 different sets. Part of it was due to the generosity of those participating in the “One Card Challenge” back in September. I also completed some sets even if it meant overpaying a bit for a card, such as paying 25 or 50 cents for a “5-cent card,” just so I could finish the set and move on to something else. Verdict: WIN

So, I had a record of 3-1-1 for my 2012 Collecting Goals. I’m happy with that.

Now, time to draw up my goals for 2013.

3 ways NHL, NHLPA can make it up to us

I am glad that NHL hockey is back. However, what leaves a bad taste in my mouth is that the League and the Players’ Association were basically fighting over my money.

Not just my money–but your money too. The money of everyone and anyone who goes to a game, watches a game on TV, wears a jersey or even buys a pack of hockey cards.

The more I think of that, the more I am appalled.

Thus, both the NHL and the NHLPA should make it up to us, the fans. Without us, do you think Alex Ovechkin would make $8 million per year? He’d make far less in a sport like lacrosse or Arena League football, where the fan base and revenue streams are both lower.

True, some fans will remain bitter and never watch the NHL again, while others will eventually come around. But some fans will go away for a while. To begin the healing process, the NHL and the NHLPA need to give back to fans in the following three ways:

1. Reduce ticket prices for season ticket holders during this “half season”
Usually, season ticket holders pay for their tickets–or at least put a deposit down–over the summer. I am not sure what teams, if any, refunded money to ticketholders during the lockout, but they probably strung fans along, hanging onto their money and earning interest on it while fans got nothing in return. Even though it cuts into their revenue, teams should discount the price of tickets for the season ticket holders who patiently waited. Season ticket holders are the main stream of revenue for a hockey team, so teams would be wise to endear themselves to these deep-pocketed fans.

2. Make NHL Center Ice free during this “half season”
Over the past 4 seasons, I’ve grown to love the Center Ice package, where I get every NHL game that is broadcast (not counting local Blackhawks’ games). It has made me more of an overall fan of the NHL. But the price has slowly crept up, from roughly $150 in 2008 to just over $170 in 2011. No doubt, the NHL will pro-rate that cost for the 2012-13 “half season”–but why not make it free for us repeat subscribers? At this point, I could easily live life “just” watching Blackhawks games on my local channels, and not bury myself in front of the TV every single night to watch hockey. The NHL should “give” me what I’ve allegedly been missing this year, in hopes that I plunk down my $170 next year.

3. Give a hockey stick and jersey to every kid under 10
In order for the NHL to increase its revenue, it has to increase its fan base. Why not “grow” some new fans by giving a jersey and hockey stick to every kid they can? Little kids don’t care about the lockout, and putting a stick in their hands or a jersey on their back could make them a fan for life. The NHL might not win back some of its old fans, so they should try to start developing some new ones. Both the NHL and the NHLPA should shoulder the cost on this one, as it would be an expensive endeavor with no short-term benefit. But who knows–some of these kids might be old enough to buy tickets by the time the next lockout rolls around.

All three ways of giving back to the fans is a money-losing proposition for the league and its players. Reducing ticket prices this season for season ticket holders and giving Center Ice away for free this season to repeat subscribers would just add to the financial loss from the lockout. And giving a hockey stick and/or jersey to the future generation would cut into that already-reduced revenue for 2012-13.

But at the same time, it would elevate fans to the status of partner. The NHL and the NHLPA cannot thrive without us. Both entities know it. Now it is time for them to show it.

Card ‘Toons: Louongo-not

Steve Galvao is a good old Canadian kid who grew up loving hockey and collecting hockey cards. To see more of Steve’s work, visit his website, the Shoebox Collection.

Upper Deck co-founder, CEO Richard P. McWilliam dies unexpectedly

Upper Deck co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Richard P. McWilliam died unexpectedly in his home in Rancho Santa Fe, CA on Saturday, January 5. He was 59 years old, and leaves behind one of the largest trading card companies.

McWilliam was the subject of the book Card Sharks (1995), and was a polarizing figure in the trading card industry.

Upper Deck became a leader in the trading card industry almost overnight because of their quality production values. McWilliam was integral in securing the financing to produce their inaugural set of baseball cards. Under his leadership, Upper Deck also grew the market for autographed memorabilia with their “Authenticated” line of signed merchandise.

On the other hand, McWilliam was at the helm for some of Upper Deck’s biggest controversies. The company was sued by Major League Baseball for trademark infringement, and by Konami for reprinting/counterfeiting their own Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards.

Regardless, McWilliam helped the trading card industry grow into the mufti-million dollar industry it is today.

Hockey is back. Should I care?

The National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association finally came to an agreement in the wee hours of Sunday morning, after an epic, 16-hour negotiation marathon.

Am I glad that the NHL will have a 2012-13 season.

Yes.

But would I care if they cancelled the season outright?

Nope.

I did not care when the NHL cancelled their 2004-05 season–partially because the Chicago Blackhawks were so abysmal back then. Frankly, I was more upset from the 1994-95 lockout, but that’s another story.

Hockey is a big hobby of mine, but I always find a way to occupy my time. If not the NHL, then the AHL, movies, cartoons, comic books.

We live in an age where entertainment is not in short supply.

I actually find it hard understanding fans who said that they are done with the NHL, or that they feel angered or betrayed by the lockout.

I don’t feel betrayed. The NHL and the NHLPA butt heads every few years, then they work things out and the sport improves.

I love watching NHL games. I enjoy watching the players, and going to a game when finances allow. But if that’s removed from the picture, I just find other stuff to do with my free time.

And frankly, I’ve enjoyed the extra free time I’ve had by not having a hockey season.

We all knew the NHL would be back. It was just a matter of when.

So now we have a half-season, or 48-game season, or whatever. No Winter Classic. No All-Star Game.

But at least we still get the playoffs, right?

An Epic Haul of 1951-52 Parkhurst Cards

Some are Good some are Fair…and one is particularly “Terrible”

I’ve been meaning to “blog about this” for a while. Back in November, I went to a card show near Chicago and met up with fellow bloggers Justin, Tim and fellow ‘Hawks fan Nick. We hung out for a bit, traded cards, then went back to perusing the show floor. I was a few paces behind Justin and Tim when something caught my eye, causing me to drift away from the group. Distracting me was a stack of cards with a small sign reading:

1951-52 Parkhurst Cards $8 and Up

Parkies! Even better–the first-ever Parkies! You’re more likely to see King Kong riding a unicorn around downtown Chicago than you are to find 1951-52 Parkies at a card show in the Windy City.

After some haggling with the dealer, I ended up with 38 cards from the Godfather of Hockey Card Sets.Where else would I be able to get so many cards from this set at once?

These Parkies were not in the greatest shape, but weren’t all that expensive either. Most cost me $10 each–some cost less, some cost more. That may seem pricey for substandard grade cards–but remember, old Parkies are hardly the stuff of garage sales here in the U.S.

The last card in the group is so awesome that I have to show it twice as big:

#56 – Robert “Ted” Lindsay (a.k.a. Terrible Ted Lindsay) RC
I have never seen a Ted Lindsay rookie card before. This one was priced around 25% of “book” because of the crease (which is visible on the front, but strangely not on the back) and the rounded corners.

This is a tough set to put together. I almost never see any of these at card shows in/near Chicago. And with rookie cards of Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk and Maurice Richard valued at over $1,000 each, I may never complete this set.

Still, it is cool to finally own a chunk of hockey history, even in a lesser grade. But these are really old cards–let’s see how good we all look at 60 years!

Merry Puckmas 2012

Happy Holidays to those of you who read the blog–or just look at the pictures–and to those of you who have traded cards with me and helped my collection grow.

Card ‘Toons