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Holy Hitter passed along some interesting info that takes exclusive contracts to a whole new crappy level. From the end of this year forward, the only company liscenced to produce NBA trading cards will be Panini, an italian company. Thats right, UD and Topps are done with Basketball cards as we know it, through 2012-13.
Personally, I think this totally takes a huge loose and chunky dump on everything that we have expected from the card market, and though it could be good for international collectors, it should prevent everything from being awesome here.
I dont collect basketball cards, and dont really care about current players, but I see how invested a lot of people are in the current NBA market. Internationally, NBA cards are the top of the mountain, and now those people are out in the cold.
I sincerely hope this does not transfer over to other sports, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families of all the NBA collectors affected by this fucking awful tragedy.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Holy Crap: UD and Topps Are Out of the NBA Card Market
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That's kind of chocking news. I feel for all the basketball collectors. I really hope this wont transfer over to football. Maybe football will get some new collectors when BB collectors quit collecting BB?
ReplyDeleteOne company getting monopoly is never a good thing. I think football is the hottest atm and I have a hard time seeing how anyone would push out the current actors in football, maybe I'm wrong?
I collect some basketball and can't see this as a good thing at all! But I'll take a wait and see attitude
ReplyDeleteWe never know, this could end up being really good for the basketball hobby market! Topps has been essentially out of it for years and UD really only had the high end market! Basketball needs a fresh look...
ReplyDeletei don't know if you should immediately be negative about this development. It seems to me that Panini went above and beyond in convincing the NBA to give them this license. Topps and UD may have a international competitor in all sports soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen have you ever known a monopoly to be a good thing?
ReplyDeleteYou just said that the NBA is king of the mountain internationally. Panini is a company recognized around the world. Trust me, if their products can reach The Philippines...
ReplyDeleteThat said, next to football (soccer to us in the US), basketball is the most popular sport in many countries. Baseball and American Football, not so much. This may work out in ways that we could have never even imagined.
This means that UD and Topps better put more energy, effort, and a lot more quality into the products they are licensed to produce.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
bdj610
JayBee makes a great point. Upper Deck and Topps, you need to do better with that MLB license. Globalization is happening to the sports card market.
ReplyDeleteis it april fool's day already? is this a joke? wow... this is big time news. i wonder how it affects UD deals with lebron, jordan, etc.
ReplyDelete