Upper Deck Is Making Their Clerks Set Happen

In 1993 Kevin Smith filmed Clerks for just over $27k, when it was released by Miramax in 1994 it was only shown on 50 screens nationwide but it went on to gross $3.2 million. This simple black and white film became a cult classic and placed Kevin Smith on the map.

While Smith has produced, directed, wrote and appeared in many films and television shows Clerks seems to always stand out because it was the beginning of the View Askinewniverse and the beginning of Jay and Silent Bob so when it was announced in 2015 that Upper Deck planned on releasing a set based on Clerks in 2016 many fans rejoiced. At the 2015 Comic Con Upper Deck handed out a Skybox Clerks promo card and had a signing with Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and Brian O’Halloran. I have yet to find any of these cards, signed or not, which sucks.

Since the 2015 Comic Con announcement there was nothing and I had actually wondered if the set had been cancelled, with Upper Deck they usually keep upcoming release information close to the chest. Late last year Marilyn Ghigliotti (She played Veronica) posted on Twitter pictures of her signing cards from the set so that was good news but still nothing was officially announced until last week when Beckett confirmed that the set will be released this year and will run around $75-$100 a box and will include 2 autographs and a manufactured patch, additionally there will be sketch cards that will be case hits. Still no release date but this is a good start. 

One Of Those "I Finally Got Around To It" Posts

This is one of those stories that just sits on the back burner indefinitely until one day you decide to cobble it together and make a post about the cards.

In the 1990s there were plenty of sports card related magazines, each with their own charm, but if you wanted pricing you had two options Beckett and Tuff Stuff. I read both but as far as pricing goes Beckett was the leader then and the only print option now, but Tuff Stuff had better stories. The two magazines battled it out for over a decade but around 2009 Tuff Stuff became an online only webzine and Beckett won out on the magazine front. For a couple more years Krause Publications kept the site active but in 2011 the project was halted and Tuff Stuff died unceremoniously.  

In 2006 Tuff Stuff worked in conjunction with Upper Deck and released a special card set with 4 cards included in each issue over the 12 months for a total of 48 cards total. There were 24 baseball players and 24 football players with a mix of rookies and stars. Some were hits and some were duds.

The checklist:

1.      Reggie Bush

2.      Matt Leinart

3.      Vince Young

4.      Jay Cutler

5.      Derek Jeter

6.      Ken Griffey Jr

7.      Albert Pujols

8.      Ichiro

9.      Pedro Martinez

10.  Derek Lee

11.  Mark Teixeira

12.  Kenji Johjima

13.  Tom Brady

14.  Ben Roethlisberger

15.  Payton Manning

16.  Brett Favre

17.  Santonio Holmes

18.  Mario Williams

19.  DeAnagelo Williams

20.  Laurence Maroney

21.  Francisco Liriano

22.  Justin Verlander

23.  Ryan Howard

24.  David Wright

25.  Jared Weaver

26.  Stephen Drew

27.  David Ortiz

28.  Chase Utley

29.  Kellen Clemens

30.  Joseph Addai

31.  Vernon Davis

32.  Chad Jackson

33.  Greg Jennings

34.  AJ Hawk

35.  Maurice Jones-Drew

36.  Devin Hester

37.  Chien-Ming Wang

38.  Jose Reyes

39.  Roger Clemens

40.  Ryan Zimmerman

41.  LaDainian Tomlinson

42.  Tony Romo

43.  Drew Brees

44.  Larry Johnson

45.  Justin Morneau (Error w/ Chein-Ming Wang back)

46.  Brandon Webb (Error w/ Jose Reyes back)

47.  Hanley Ramirez (Error w/ Roger Clemens back)

48.  Johan Santana (Error w/ Ryan Zimmerman back)

I made sure to pick up each issue so I could complete the 48-card set, that was the last time I really paid any attention to the sports card magazines because by this time online options were readily available. If I am not mistaken I only picked up one more print magazine since 2006 and that was a special edition Beckett where they covered sketch cards.

I can finally delete the folder that contains all of these cards, it has been sitting on my computer for well over a year.

Upper Deck's e-Pack Is Live And Seems Pretty Cool

Today Upper Deck went the digital route, with a twist, similar to what Topps and Panini have done with their digital trader apps. The difference is that Upper Deck’s e-Pack is a combination of e-Topps and the apps. Currently e-Pack is only accessible online through Upper Deck’s e-Pack web site but it will eventually be available through Google Play as a downloadable app, no announcement if it will eventually be on Apple and Windows products.

I tried to figure the best way to describe the service but the best way I can do that is actually just posting part of Upper Deck’s announcement about e-Pack

“As you may have already heard, Upper Deck made a major announcement today regarding the release of Upper Deck e-Pack, an innovative new system that allows collectors to instantly purchase and open hockey packs online at anytime, anywhere. Upper Deck has taken digital trading cards collecting to an entirely new level, with patent pending technology that gives collectors the ability to get actual physical versions of the digital cards they pulled from e-Pack mailed out to them at any time.”

Essentially you can purchase online packs using real cash, though you do get one free 3-card pack each day, and the cards can be combined to make a limited parallel or an insert and then you can request that a physical version of that card to be sent to you or to COMC. Upper Deck is rolling this out in a limited way with only 2015-16 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey being available. In the spring Series 2 Hockey will be added and a third, unnamed, product will be released later this year.

 

As you can see I signed up, I figure since I will at least get a free pack a day I am game. I beta tested e-Topps and loved it and I am interested to see how Upper Deck runs with their version. I would think that if the hockey products do well that adding Marvel products would be a natural transition and then eventually their other multi-sport and entertainment licenses.

Upper Deck's Shadowbox Frame Wall Art

Upper Deck will occasionally post “Brag” photos on their blog when they have something new or unique. Yesterday they posted up something pretty cool, an evolution of the Shadow Box card. The piece, which is 16x20, is made to be mounted on the wall or displayed like a picture. Essentially it is a large Shadow Box card but significantly more expensive. They have 2 different pieces available, a Gretzky Oilers piece and a Tiger Wood piece, and they both run $1600 (Yikes!)

 

What is cool is that, like the Shadowbox card, there are layers that make it appear 3 dimensional. With the autograph on the middle acrylic piece it looks like it is floating. Not that I could afford one but a Ken Griffey Jr. piece would be so cool. Even an unsigned (seriously cheaper) version would be neat to have.

Upper Deck Putta What?

I heard Upper Deck has done this before, though I don't think I have seen a preview sheet with a card labeled like this until this preview of the upcoming 2014 SPx Football. Either someone at Upper Deck has a hell of a sense of humor or they are oblivious to the translation of "Puta".

Upper Deck.... WTF?

Today’s “WTF?” Moment goes to Upper Deck and their Michael Jordan and LeBron James 16-autograph booklet cards. That is one booklet with 16 autographs of Michael Jordan! Jordan and LeBron’s autographs have some of the highest value in all of sports but will 16 sticker autographs equate 16x the value?

 

Upper Deck teased these images on their blog yesterday along with other images from the upcoming Exquisite Collection Basketball set scheduled to come out in two weeks.

 

My first thought, besides OVERKILL! was what if some unscrupulous person gets a hold of one of these books, removes the 16 stickers and affixes them to 16 regular Michael Jordan (or LeBron James) cards and advertises them as “Proof” or “Unreleased Test” cards. Sure it will cost them some good money upfront for the 16 signature card but if they can make significantly more back on 16 fake 1/1 cards then the ends will justify the means. Sure the autograph will have value but it is still just a sticker attached to a $5 card that you just paid thousands of dollars to add to your collection.

My second thought was, is Upper Deck liquidating its autograph sticker stock for a reason? Could Upper Deck be long for this world or are they anticipating loosing player contracts?

Shadowbox Mania

I have been looking to pick up a Shadowbox card since they first hit the scene a couple of years ago. Using multiple layers, Upper Deck came up with a new level for cards which has since been duplicated by Topps and Panini. We have even seen Rittenhouse use the technology with their James Bond and Star Trek licenses. Over time we have seen some additions like autographs, jersey swatches and inserts and rivets so you can change the look of your card.

 I have watched a handful of cards, usually ending with a price higher than I was willing to play. Because I was looking for specific players I also found myself playing the waiting game. Earlier this year one of those cards I was waiting for, Gale Sayers, showed up and I lost out on a last minute bid. I was actually considering just grabbing up any player who was up for auction but didn’t want to drop money on a card that I was not interested in adding to my collection just to satisfy an urge. I am glad I waited because this one showed up and when the auction ended I paid 50 cents less than the Sayers card went for earlier this year.

 

These are the type of cards that you need to have in your hand to appreciate. I just picked up a couple of Rittenhouse shadowbox cards, Daniel Craig James Bond Shadowbox card and James Doohan Star Trek Shadowbox card, to add to the collection.

Employee Cards Hit eBay

The other day Upper Deck surprised their employees with an exclusive 9 card set consisting of 8 Pink/Purple Precious Metal Gems (Oscar De la Hoya, Mike Tyson, Hulk Hogan, Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy) and a Quad Spokesman Fabrics card (Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Wayne Gretzky).

A total of 125 sets were given out and so far around 40 cards have shown up for auction, some individually and some as a set. To say prices have gone insane would be an understatement, a couple of the cards have been posted up with BIN prices of $300 or more while a number of individual auctions have already topped $100 with time to go. It seems like the most wanted cards are the Woods and McIlroy cards while the Tyson, De La Hoya and Hogan cards are more reasonable in price.

 

These cards are not the rarest current Precious Metal Gems, the Blue Precious Metal Gems (#/50) and Green Precious Metal Gems (#/10) from the Fleer Retro releases are rarer but the additional draw here is that they are only available through Upper Deck employees. I am hoping to nab a Tyson or Hogan Precious Metal Gem.

Sneak Peek At Upper Deck's National VIP Cards

Upper Deck is offering a 6-card VIP set and a wrapper redemption program that offers different cards for each day of the National Convention. There will also a case redemption.

 

The 6-card VIP set is made up of Upper Deck spokesman and Chicago stars.

The wrapper redemption will offer 4 different collections of players depending on the day plus random packs will include autographs.

 

The eligible products are:

5 packs of 2013 SPx Football, Upper Deck Football, Goodwin Champions, 2012-13 SP Authentic Basketball, 2012-13 SP Authentic Hockey or 2 packs of 2012 Fleer Retro Football, 2012-13 Fleer Retro Hockey or 2012-13 Fleer Retro Basketball

Any people who open a 6-box case of any of the Fleer Retro sports products at the Upper Deck will receive this Michael Jordan autograph card.

 

 

UD will also be running an Expired Redemption Raffle. Collectors can bring in up to 5 expired redemption cards, people not attending the convention can send in their cards for a chance to win, to the Upper Deck booth by Saturday August 3^rd before 10:30am to take part. They will be giving away 100 prizes.

Hockey Hall Of Fame/Upper Deck Captains Jersey Relic Cards

I think that Upper Deck has hit on something that could possibly go over well in other sports. In conjunction with a special exhibition at the Hockey Hall of Fame Upper Deck has created a 30-card relic set consisting of each NHL team’s captain(s). The exhibition, NHL Captains Class of 2013, is part of the NHL Team Fan Days summer time exhibition at the Toronto based Hockey Hall of Fame, they will have a jersey of each team’s captain and alternate captain on display and on select days the first 1,000 fans to enter with a paid admission will receive one of the jersey relic card for that day’s team.

 

Each team will be spotlighted one specific day during July or August and the promotion began July 8^th with Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks with the final day being August 23^rd with Andrew Ladd of the Winnipeg Jets. When you consider the Hockey Hall of Fame entrance fee is only C$17.50 you cannot lose if you are in the area. You actually get a 50% discount if you wear apparel of the scheduled day’s team.

 

The design is the exact same design as the base jersey relics included in the 2012-13 Upper Deck NHL release with the only difference being the Hockey Hockey Hall of Fame logo on the bottom left corner. Surprisingly I cannot find any Getzlaf or Chara cards up for auction.

 

Here is the calender dates for each team courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame website

July 8	Anaheim Ducks	Ryan Getzlaf
July 9	Boston Bruins	Zdeno Chara
July 10	Buffalo Sabres	Jason Pominville
July 11	Calgary Flames	Mike Cammalleri (A)
July 12	Carolina Hurricanes	Eric Staal
July 13	Chicago Blackhawks	Jonanthon Toews
July 14	Colorado Avalanche	Gabriel Landeskog
July 15	Columbus Blue Jackets	Derek Dorsett (A)
July 16	Dallas Stars	Jamie Benn (A)
July 17	Detroit Red Wings	Henrik Zetterberg
July 18	Edmonton Oilers	Shawn Horcoff
July 29	Florida Panthers	Brian Campbell (A)
July 30	Los Angeles Kings	Dustin Brown
July 31	Minnesota Wild	Mikko Koivu
August 1	Montreal Canadiens	Brian Gionta
August 2	Nashville Predators	Shea Weber
August 3	New Jersey Devils	Bryce Salvador
August 4	New York Islanders	Mark Streit
August 5	New York Rangers	Ryan Callahan
August 6	Ottawa Senators	Daniel Alfredsson
August 7	Philadelphia Flyers	Claude Giroux
August 8	Phoenix Coyotes	Shane Doan
August 16	Pittsburgh Penguins	Sidney Crosby
August 17	San Jose Sharks	Joe Thornton
August 18	St. Louis Blues	David Backes
August 19	Tampa Bay Lightning	Vincent Lecavalier
August 20	Toronto Maple Leafs	Dion Phaneuf
August 21	Vancouver Canucks	Henrik Sedin
August 22	Washington Capitals	Alexander Ovechkin
August 23	Winnipeg Jets	Andrew Ladd

Here is the complete 30-card set

Upper Deck Signs Andrew Luck

Upper Deck announced this morning that they have signed a deal with Andrew Luck and the “Trade” cards that have been inserted in 2011 Exquisite, 2012 SPx, 2012 Upper Deck Football, 2012 SP Authentic and most recently 2012 Exquisite will be exchanged for Andrew Luck cards.

 

The cards design is completed and now that the deal is done the cards will be printed and Luck can begin signing. The gold trade card is for the autograph version and the silver trade card is for the unsigned base version. Since it has been announced that the player is Andrew Luck the auctions for the gold trade card have picked up, a couple of silver trade cards are available in the $75-100 range.

 

Upper Deck has included a preview of the 2012 Exquisite Collection Luck autograph card.

 

 

UPDATE:

 Upper Deck has now released the images for the Upper Deck Football exchange cards