Perhaps it was like shooting fish in a barrel, but the numbers don't lie. Respondents in the latest Hound Central 3.0 poll, which asked whether Upper Deck, the dominant player in the hockey card market, needed some competition.
Their votes were unanimous -- they felt that Upper Deck does, indeed, need some competition.
My reasons for wanting increased competition are based solely as a collector. I want to see players in their new uniforms. I want to see creativity within brands. Most of all, I'd like to See Upper Deck make a greater effort toward satisfying these wishes.
So, what can we do? We have a few choices:
~ We can find some deep-pocketed, hockey-loving investors willing to pony up the cash needed to start a company that will produce affordable, timely products that keep the collector in mind.
~ We can support a company like In the Game, but it'll need to produce more than high-end cards.
~ We can simply devote the financial resources that we direct toward Upper Deck products to someplace else. I know I've scaled back (sort of) on my purchases this season. As consumers, we're able to vote with our wallets.
Will any of this happen? Who knows?
Can we make a difference? To be honest, I doubt it.
All I know, though, is that there are 20 hockey collectors out there who share in my opinion. And that, my friends, is a start.
Here are the results:
Question: Does Upper Deck/Fleer need more competition?
Yes: 20 votes out of 20 cast (100 percent)
No: 0 votes (0 percent)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Yet another reason for the need for increased competition: look at some card designs. 06-07 UD MVP and 07-08 UD MVP are the exact same design! There are just two tiny differences that no one will notice or care about (the top of the photos angle outward, and the name bar at the bottom is indented on both ends).
And I think the same may be true about Fleer Ultra.
I can say that I wasn't surprised by the results. I think that a good solid alternative would be great for the card collecting world.
That said, I must admidt that the current situation has made me more aware and more creative with my collecting - to which I must thank Upper Deck.
To me, gone are the days of "building sets". Now, I am a player collector and have started to design my own cards (to eventually do the TTM thing). I get a much greater satisfaction finding a 25 cent base card for my player collection than I did spending 10's or 100's on card that have no real connection to me.
Designing my own cards has been a real joy (I just wish I had more time to spend on it). It allows me the opportunity to do something unique and focused on my specific collecting preferences.
There are a lot of options for collectors out there even though there may be a limit in companies releasing cards....we just have to spend a little more time finding out what those options are.
Just my opinion.
Brett
Excellent insight and commentary, gentlemen.
Post a Comment