An Alternative To Sticker Autographs

Yesterday Dr. Price from In The Game posted on his blog, According To Dr. Price, that he is looking in to a better way to deal with autographs that would normally end up being on stickers. Obviously most collectors would rather have an on-card signature any day over a sticker autograph but when companies are pumping out set after set each year they end up dealing with schedules that just don’t sync up with the athletes who are signing for the product.

Now there are a couple of options to this time table conundrum. First would be to get the athlete to sign a ton of sticker autographs and the company use them throughout the year on their various products, which is kind of sucky for the collector. Second is to insert a redemption card, so when the athlete signs the cards can be shipped out to the collector at a later date, I don’t think I need to talk about the frustration we feel about redemption cards. Third is to remove the player from the checklist, which sucks for player collectors. The final answer could just be the next step for the card companies, the idea that Dr. Price will be trying in an upcoming release.

When ITG Past, Present and Future baseball is released in March we will see how this program works. Essentially the cards are produced in three layers; a front, a back and an insert. The insert, which appears to be significantly larger than a sticker, is printed first and sent to the athlete to sign. Meanwhile the front and back are printed and when the inserts are returned the card is put together with the insert sandwiched between the front and back, visible through a die-cut window in the front of the card, sort of like a relic.

The insert that will be sent to players to sign

The front of the card with die-cut window

The completed card with insert in place

Good News For Hockey Fans?

In what could amount to good news for NHL fans, ITG has submitted a proposal for an NHLPA license. If they are approved they would be able to make cards using current players, though no logos or team names.  They actually had a one-year deal in the works with the NHLPA last year but they were instructed to only produce two sets during the lockout so Price turned down the deal.

 

I had been a serious hockey fan for years but after the 2004-05 lockout, the second in ten years, I had enough. I still keep an eye on the Islanders and Coyotes but I rarely watch games and almost never pick up packs but I think this should be a no-brainer for the NHLPA, ITG produces some of the best hockey cards each year. I do not like limited licensing, it has led to stagnation in some products, I can understand not handing out licenses to everyone but one or two companies controlling the majority of licensing is serious overkill.

Preview: 2013 ITG The First Six

Next up from the brain of Dr. Price is In The Game’s Superlative- The First Six, a high end hockey set designed around the first six NHL teams (Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Detroit Redwings, New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadians) that will be released November 8th.

 

Each book, the product is being released in what appears to be a leather-bound book, will run $400-425 and will contain seven cards, all hits. There will only be 1,500 books produced. All of the autographs are hard signed except for the cut signatures

 

The breakdown of the seven hits that you will pull from a book:

One Autograph card

 

One Autographed Game-Used Jersey card

 

One Auto Plus card

 

One Game-Used Jersey card

 

One Game-Used Memorabilia card or a PaperCut (cut signature autograph) card or LumberGraph card

 

One Quad Game-Used Memorabilia card

 

One Trophy Case Game-Used Memorabilia card

ITG Decades The 90s Is On The Way

When it comes to hockey cards In The Game is the best, even without an NHL license they still lead the pack. Awesome designs, hard signed autographs with amazing checklists, real game-used relics (no “event used” here) and killer relics are what keeps them head and shoulders above the rest.

 

Another aspect that draws in the hockey collectors is their ability to build a set around a theme and own it. Over the years we have seen sets dedicated to goalies, captains, cities and Olympic teams but one of the more popular sets are the “Decades” sets, which are designed around specific decades. This week we see “Decades the 90s” hit the shelves.

 

I am a lifelong Islanders fan but I didn’t start collecting hockey cards until I returned to collecting in the early 90s so this set is right up my alley. Some of the best played during the decade like Gretzky, Messier, Hull, Chelios, Roy, Lemieux, Bure, CuJo and Lindros and I collected most of them with LaFontaine, Richter and Messier being my favorites.

 

Each box of Decades The 90s, which will run $90-100, will contain 14 cards; 6 Base cards, 3 Hard Signed cards, 3 Game-used Memorabilia cards (1 will be a quad-relic card) and 2 insert cards.

 

Base Cards

 

Insert

 

Autographs 

 

Relics

 

Mega Forwards/Mega Goalies Patches

Follow Up: In The Game Superlative Hockey Volume III

The Toronto Fall Expo is scheduled to begin November 9^th at the Toronto International Centre and one thing that is certain is that there will be plenty of hockey cards. Even with the possibility of the NHL season being cancelled (or best case scenario, half a season) hockey cards are still making their way on to the shelves. In The Game is set to release Superlative Hockey Volume III in time for the Fall Expo.

 

In The Game has updated some of the information regarding the product since I last reviewed it in early September. It appears that they have increased production from the original 1,500 Books (the boxes are in the shape of a book) to 2,500 Books and the SRP is now $350/book instead of the initial $500/book.

 

On top of the updated information they have also released a number of new pictures from the Skate Lace and Superlative Patch inserts. The Skate Laces insert looks like it would be a pretty cool card to pull. I do not know if he is included but I wouldn't mind seeing a Mike Bossy Skate Lace card on the checklist.