I saw in one of the completed auctions for the Transformers promo that it is limited to 500.

If that is indeed the case, and if there are that many printed of the others, enough should trickle out to satisfy the demand. Purely speculation on my part, but we can only hope that is the case.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc Floyd:
I saw in one of the completed auctions for the Transformers promo that it is limited to 500.

If that is indeed the case, and if there are that many printed of the others, enough should trickle out to satisfy the demand. Purely speculation on my part, but we can only hope that is the case.

I'm still wondering if that seller is Applecards. It appears so.

If Applecards is still giving them out one for every 3 boxes ordered, that means they're getting 1500 boxes. I don't keep track of boxes/cases produced by anyone. Is that alot? Again, if this isn't Applecards, then he's giving them away with pre-orders or to his buddy(ies). I wonder how many Vampirella there were? I was lucky enough to make a trade for that one. I'll hold out for another trade. Gathering up some good stuff for one.

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
It wouldn't be so bad if they were selling the boxes on pre-order and stating a "free" promo card with each order! But at moment they are just selling them and making a decent sum. I too have contacted them to find out how to obtain one (Other than winning the auction)

You're in the UK. Go bang on his door. LOL

I'm avoiding the bidding wars on this one. Although, I'm meeting one or both of these actors this summer, and it would be great to have not only one, but two of these cards. One for my Grimm card collection, and one for my convention autograph collection.

If the idea of a promo card is to get people talking about it and the product these seem to be doing the job rather well.

Someone told me that EACH is limited to 500. All five, not just the Transformers.

1 promo card free with an order of 3 boxes

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
1 promo card free with an order of 3 boxes

so that means that they are not promo cards, they are incentive cards, the same as the Rittenhouse case cards. Anyone agree with that?

It's a promo that gives you an incentive to buy the product

In my view, if the back of the card says anything like "Look for Transformers cards, coming May 2013 !" or anything similar to that, it is a promo, whether it is a case card or inserted in a DVD or a toy

Remember a year or two back when they had that Bettie Page sketch card limited to 50 at the Philly show, that said PROMO on it, and there was this debate here on the page about it not being a true promo ?

they were made as promos

tom

In that the Vampirella P4 is now pretty easy to get you-know-where, I'm willing to bet that over the next few weeks, you'll see alot of these new ones pop up for auction.

Just some musings about the discussion of "what's a promo" ... We've had this debate since the very first use of the term. Except for cards that were sent out free or for a SASE from the manufacturer, they have *always* had a focused and limited distribution. In the 1990s a set often had one promo that was sent out to direct-buy dealers with another order, to raise awareness and to entice them to buy the new product. Then there were magazine promos, available only to subscribers. Then there were show or event promos, often only available to attendees. Then there were fan-club promos.

Some series had a series of show promos that were each exclusive to a different dealer. Some dealers handed them out to increase traffic, others were available only with a purchase, and others may have been offered if you stopped by and said something interesting.

Sure, we can discuss whether some promos are "true" promos because they border on being dealer incentive cards. I don't have a problem with finding novel ways to reward loyal dealers, especially since it tends to keep the prices lower on the other material. There's entire *sets* that are exclusive to specific dealers.

Dealer promos seem to be a natural evolution of the concept of box-toppers and case-toppers, where the volume buyers get a perk that they can sell separately and keep the price of packs and boxes lower.

Many years ago, it cost a lot more money to set up printing plates to print a single card, especially with serial numbering. Technology has made it possible to have a dozen promos for a single set. I like David R's definition, but I'd also include a few other types of items.

It may be tough nowadays to make a distinction among different varieties of "not available in packs for that series" cards. I don't see a huge philosophical difference among a card-collecting magazine promo, a Con promo, or a dealer promo; and they're close cousins of case-toppers, multiple-case-purchase incentives, rewards cards, cards promoting one set in another set's packs or in bonus packs, and special cards found only in packs for only one discount department store or another.

Did I do a good job of mentioning all of the relevant manufacturers and outlets without naming anybody?

It's tough if you've carved out a collecting niche and the boundaries get fuzzy. But I think that most people commenting in this forum are doing so with a sense of humo(u)r.

I think that manufacturers' incentives or exclusives that reward the most active supporters of the hobby, either by dealing or collecting, are mostly a positive thing. If I don't go to SDCC, a Comic-Con exclusive promo is something I'd have to buy from somebody who attended. Logistically it's much the same as buying a dealer exclusive.

So I guess I go back to David's definition for which section I list a card in.

This is what I don't like, and I could be wrong, since I have not heard any direct statement to my question, just implications that the Grimm promo is being sold on ebay by Applecards.

1. Applecards SELLING a promo card stead of giving it away. Or at very least, doing so first, as it appears.

2. Applecards NOT returning emails from potential buyers. Maybe because we're in the USA. Don't know, obviously because they're no response.

3. Ebay buyers getting into bidding wars over the Grimm card. There's 500 of them! Be patient.

In answer to Jeff's observations...

If you have to buy 3 boxes to obtain the exclusive promo, it doesn't matter if the other material is kept lower (I've never seen any evidence of this in the UK), it's odds on you're not interested in the other material, so you're subsidising other collectors.

If a dealer has an exclusive set, you're more likely to pick up a free promo because the dealer is pushing the product i.e. promoting it.

I've never been a fan of dealer incentives. If a product is good enough, it'll sell.

I think Tattoox is correct about being patient.

At first, the only way to get the Vampirella promo P4 was to buy 3 boxes, which was several hundred $$$. Now there are a bunch of them up for grabs for $10-20 or less.

Hopefully the same will be true for these 5 new promos

quote:

Originally posted by allender:

Many years ago, it cost a lot more money to set up printing plates to print a single card, especially with serial numbering. Technology has made it possible to have a dozen promos for a single set.

:

Now you see this is something which has probably passed my attention over many years. I've allways thought that nobody would go to the expense of printing just a few cards, even a basic print run would be many many sheets containg loads of cards. If it is now possible and cheap enough for someone to ask the printer to just run off 20 copies of a particular card then I may start to believe that only 20 of those cards exist.

They replied to my message I sent them through E-bay

quote:

Originally posted by Tommy C:
Someone told me that EACH is limited to 500. All five, not just the Transformers.

I just read an auction stating that there are only 99.

I saw that too. Only time will tell, but I doubt they are that limited.

I think this is a great move by Richard and Ian at Applecards. They've added value to the boxes they are selling by offering something free and exclusive, and should be commended for supporting Breygent and the product.
It's funny how everyone is happy to pay for the Case incentive cards, but when something is offered free for buying a quarter of a case, it gets 2 pages of complaints, because some people expect them for free. I would much rather see this kind of offer than case and multi case incentives. Then you could buy some from each dealer and help to grow the business. If you cant afford the shipping then buddy up with a UK Grimm collector, and TRADE the promos. That's what the hobby is supposed to be about.