There is a lot of panic about our hobby lately. Everyone seems to have an opinion about it. I've pondered on the subject for awhile and have come up with 10 ways the card companies can revitalize the industry.1. Put more time and effort into giveaways intended towards kids.
The Flashback Fridays were a great idea. Keep it up.
2. Lower priced packs.
Topps Opening Day can be had for 99 cents. There should be more packs like this.
3. More cards per pack.
If the prices have to stay the same, give them more cards. More value for the money equals less product on the shelf at the end of the year.
4. Every player on every team.
Every player who played a game should have a card for each team that he played for. There is no excuse for not getting this done for current players. If companies can agree to let their exclusive players appear on another company’s card, it should work. This goes for every current player though. The exclusive rights should be limited to packaging material, autographs and relics. There is no reason why Barry Bonds’ shame should be only on Topps products. There is also no reason that Ichiro should have more than one card in a release. Fill those spaces with the common players.
5. Infiltrate grocery stores.
Some people don’t go to Wal-Mart, Target or K-Mart. I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Start putting boxes of lower priced cards in grocery stores and other places they were in 20 years ago. That’s where I first found them. That’s where I fell in love with them.
6. Introduce cheap informative cards.
Donruss’ Triple Play is a prime example of this. They were cheap. They taught fundamentals. They showed a fun side of the game.
7. Region specific packaging.
The average Chicagoan doesn’t care who David Wright is. They care about Derrek Lee, Paul Konerko, Carlos Zambrano and Mark Buehrle. A star player from a specific region on the packaging will cause more people to buy a pack of cards.
8. Include every team in mirror cards.
Why should Yankee fans have all the fun? Mantle, DiMaggio and A-Rod all have massive mirrored sets. There is more to baseball than the Yankees. Let the rest of the country in on the fun.
9. Retro means sales.
Keep up the retro releases. Recycle more than a few select designs. Retro doesn’t begin and end with 1952. Incorporate other years into retro design.
10. Keep the prospects separate.
Kids on the fence about collecting don’t care about players they’ve never seen play. Limit the base sets to players who have appeared in a game or are a lock to start the season at the major league level. If they have to be in a set, let them be an insert.
These are just 10 reasons I've thought of today. I'm sure there are many more. If I can think of these, why can't the card companies. Lower prices mean more sales. That line may get through to them.
7 comments:
These are all great ideas. If there was just one set per year where you could buy a pack of 15 cards for the price of a candy bar displayed in the candy aisle at the register of grocery stores, it would go a looooong way to getting kids and new collectors into the hobby.
That's a great idea too!
And for the love of you know who, NO MORE SHORT PRINTS IN BASE SETS! Just make them inserts and be done with it.
Great Post, and thanks for the link, I was sure to return the favor. You inspired a rather lengthly post from me.
http://gemmintgenius.blogspot.com/2008/01/rebirth-of-hobby.html
Good ideas. Blogs about baseball cards like yours are helpful as well.
Card Collector Universe
7. Region specific packaging.
The average Chicagoan doesn’t care who David Wright is. They care about Derrek Lee, Paul Konerko, Carlos Zambrano and Mark Buehrle.
As a Sox fan you should be ashamed putting that other team's player first on your list. The shame. The shame.
They may be first on the list, but a White Sox player gets the last word in. Sometimes, what counts best is the last word. LOL
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