Anyone read Promokings posts on blowout regarding promo cards
Over the last week I have seen that Promoking has put up posts on blowout Cards Forum regarding Promo Cards
Showing pictures and descriptions of rarer Promo cards
so far he has only done 3 posts Star Wars and Star Trek
Marvel Masterpieces and General
To me these posts have been well received and have brought out some interested parties and discussion on Promo Cards
This seems to be a ongoing thing and there could be more in the pipeline
His posts on promo cards on Blowout will be very interesting to follow
Even though there was
or is nothing in my collecting interest I have learnt a few things about Promo Cards
These Posts will be worth following if he continues with them

Yes, it's interesting to hear from people outside Card Talk about promos. There are other collectors out there who must have some rare stuff of their own and probably a few things none of us here have seen. Maybe Promoking's posts will get others there to show some rare or at least undocumented stuff.

Promo collectors are spread out all over the world and any one of us who has chased these cards over decades now has had a few great finds just because we were in the right place at the right time and we knew what we were looking at or we weren't sure or didn't know what we were looking at so we took a chance and bought it.

I think the discussion of the Marvel Comics Staff cards is interesting. I see I've talked about these elsewhere on the board but will get more into it here. There was a 32-card set from 1991 with gold/tan borders and an apparent 45-card set from 1992 with purple borders. Each card shows a caricature of a Marvel employee (art, sales/marketing, editorial departments) on the front and a space for an autograph on the back. The cards have been said to have been given out at events during which the person on the card gave theirs out personally. It seems widely recognized that the 1991 set was 32 cards while no one seems sure that the 1992 set was 45 cards. It's just that no one has seen a card #46 or higher.

In Promoking's experience, the cards from the 1991 set are harder to find than the 1992 set and I agree. I believe that's because no one outside of Marvel knew that there was a set at first. People received singles without knowing there were others, or maybe they did, but few people hung onto the cards they were given because some of the people on the cards weren't famous. You would recognize Stan Lee or other artists but you might consider a card with a salesperson or marketing rep on it as an odd card you might not keep track of. Once some collectors saw that there were a number of them, especially after the 1992 cards were being given out, they realized that they should hang onto to every one they could get their hands on.

Promoking floated out the idea that there might be just 50-100 of each those cards while another Blowout member, who appears to be another Card Talk member, proposed that there might be at least 500 of each since these cards seem to be a creative form of business card of trading card size put out by the company. I think if there were as few as 50-100 of each, promo collectors wouldn't have that many now. I haven't hunted these cards avidly but I have some of each set (fewer of the 1991 set) and I would say a lot of promo and general Marvel collectors also have at least a few. A number of these have been offered for sale/trade over the years including some on Ebay this year (and right now). When they were new, I would assume many of these ended up in the garbage like many other early promo cards or people forgot about them so even if there were 500 or more of each card, maybe half that have survived. I really don't know.

As for prices, for years, these were $4-5 cards. Several collectors seemed to have been working on sets so sellers learned they could get a few bucks for them but then no one was trying to get close to $10 a piece either. However, over the past two years, these caught the attention of more collectors and the going-rate rose to the $10-20 range with isolated sales of as much as $30-40 each. I think some longtime collectors started paying up to fill in spots in their collection before the new kids grabbed everything.

The Stan Lee card was always in-demand. It had been something that could sell for as much as $100 but sometimes went for as little as $30. In the past year, I've seen two go for over $300.

I see a number of cards for sale now but most are $40 or more (and even over $80) so those will probably sit unless something spurs another run on them.

We can be happy some packrats hung onto everything in those years. I don't know anyone who has a full set of either of the years but imagine a few collectors might be less than 10 cards away from a set.

Here's one of my 1991 cards:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I think the discussion of the Marvel Comics Staff cards is interesting.



Promoking floated out the idea that there might be just 50-100 of each those cards while another Blowout member, who appears to be another Card Talk member, proposed that there might be at least 500 of each since these cards seem to be a creative form of business card of trading card size put out by the company. I think if there were as few as 50-100 of each, promo collectors wouldn't have that many now. I haven't hunted these cards avidly but I have some of each set (fewer of the 1991 set) and I would say a lot of promo and general Marvel collectors also have at least a few.



Here's one of my 1991 cards:

So, not to beat a dead horse, but I have been hunting these since 1992. Considering the explosion in anything Marvel card related since the beginning of the pandemic, there haven't been nearly enough of either of these sets' singles which have come up for auction to justify the math!

If there had been 30,000+ of these floating out there, the internet would be saturated with them. I repeat, these are scarce! Neither Defranzo nor Fran's collection contained ANY and most advanced promo collectors, I would surmise have less than 15 characters in their collection out of the 77 potential cards in the sets. I'm missing 16 cards altogether and I've been looking for them for 30 years.

By the way, I've begun to sell my entire promo card collection as I'm nearing retirement. Should I sell, these cards individually? Or as a complete lot. Let me know your thoughts.

I'm not saying these cards are common. I don't know anyone who has a complete set. If these cards had a print run in the 1000's, someone would've tried to sell one publicly by now and someone would've shown one on a website. One thing I would add is that 500 cards was not a big print run in the 90's. It would still be tough to build a 32 or 45-card set if there were just 500 out there with cards spread out across who-knows-how-many collections and local dealers across the world. It would be tough even if there were 1000 given the collector base at the time. There are 90's promos out there with a known print run of 500-1000 cards that have been hard to find in recent years. Even collectors not actively hunting to complete the set probably still have what they have picked up along the way. I've considered selling mine but I like the artwork and the idea of cards honoring employees.

As for how to sell, I would definitely sell individually. I've seen lots sell but they have to be priced competitively. I just saw a purple John Romita (#30) sell as a Best Offer for something under $200. I would guess it didn't go for less than $150. That one and the Stan Lee card are the two most valuable in the two sets. I would expect singles to average at around $25-35 each. There could be a few that will sell for more. Some might not go right away. Anything that doesn't sell quickly can always be repackaged into a lot later. You might offer the cards across weeks/months rather than all at once.

Albert, that's big news that you're selling your collection and retiring. You probably had to think about it for a while. I understand. It's nice to think about clearing space and relaxing. I have a friend who was hunting fossil shark teeth before I was born. A few years ago, he sold his collection other than a few teeth for a small family display. He still looks in on what's going on but he's relaxing more these days, spending more time with family. He's happy.

You won't stop being Promoking even if you get down to your last handful of promos. We will simply add the title of "emeritus" to your name. And you'll still have the knowledge and the memories of the great finds you had over the years.

Jess

One of the main reasons I decided to begin selling the collection has to do with GUINNESS. When I began the process, I had to jump through major hoops for them to even approve the category of "largest promo card collection".

After providing them all the necessary attestations etc. they advised me, almost 2 years later, that the category had been approved and, If I sent in a few hundred pictures of notable cards, they would award me the title. Of course, I did that right away and even announced on here, that I had been inducted.

well, low and behold, I get an email from them recently, after months of inquiring on my part, asking for images of all 30,000 cards, front and back. That's 60,000 pictures/scans that would need to be taken, catalogued and sent to them. So, I apologize for the premature celebration, but I refuse to do that. End of story. Besides, I did amass 97% to 98% of all the promos listed in PCE and several thousand additional ones.


As far as the other reasons, I think it's time that other collectors enjoy the finds I've made over the years. By the way, it's going to take years to sell this stuff. Most will be through Ebay but some I'm planning on selling through an auction house.

Also, I've literally just begun listing a couple of things from the collection but some of the stuff is already spoken for.

Thanks for the accolades my friend but I'm not retiring until at least end of next year! I love this hobby too much to disappear (at least not intentionally, anyway). Just planning ahead a little, that's all.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: promoking,

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:

another Blowout member, who appears to be another Card Talk member, proposed that there might be at least 500 of each since these cards seem to be a creative form of business card of trading card size put out by the company.

It's okay to identify me . . . .
Once Marvel went to the trouble to get custom art, and to design the cards, the idea that they would have shut off the printing press after only 50-100 seems unlikely. The marginal cost of printing them would have been so low that at least a few hundred makes more sense. The fact that they are so hard to find now is not because the initial supply was so low, but because they never entered the traditional "hobby" stream -- they were ephemera, and the vast majority of them were pitched soon after being given out.

Compare them to Booksmith cards, which have been discussed on this forum before. I think these cards are more common than Booksmith, despite the size of the sets being much smaller (77 vs. ~1000) -- compare, for example, ebay listings of the two. The typical print run of Booksmith cards was 250 or so, so the print run of these should be much larger.

I didn't want to out you, Bill, without asking.

Right, the cards aren't any less scarce if the print run was in the hundreds with more collectors wanting them now than the supply allows. Some people think they have gold so they want more than the going rate or they are just putting them out for the "crazy price." Their thought process is, "If someone is crazy enough to pay me $100 for one, I'll take it. Otherwise, I'll keep it."

The comparison to the Booksmith cards is a good one. Neither set was put out to make money and yet they both became collectibles. Both feature a mix of celebrities and non-celebrities so interest in them is limited but some collectors are chasing at least some of the cards. The Marvel connection appeals to a wider audience while Booksmith is more of a local thing though some book and autograph collectors outside the Bay Area want the ones of authors they like. I certainly like both and still enjoy finding them one at a time across years even if it seems unlikely that I'll finish either at that rate.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Mullins:

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:

another Blowout member, who appears to be another Card Talk member, proposed that there might be at least 500 of each since these cards seem to be a creative form of business card of trading card size put out by the company.

It's okay to identify me . . . .
Once Marvel went to the trouble to get custom art, and to design the cards, the idea that they would have shut off the printing press after only 50-100 seems unlikely. The marginal cost of printing them would have been so low that at least a few hundred makes more sense. The fact that they are so hard to find now is not because the initial supply was so low, but because they never entered the traditional "hobby" stream -- they were ephemera, and the vast majority of them were pitched soon after being given out.

Compare them to Booksmith cards, which have been discussed on this forum before. I think these cards are more common than Booksmith, despite the size of the sets being much smaller (77 vs. ~1000) -- compare, for example, ebay listings of the two. The typical print run of Booksmith cards was 250 or so, so the print run of these should be much larger.

Amalia Barrios' website has a checklist of both of the Marvel sets, and I think she says on there that she knew of a person who has a complete set of both

quote:

Originally posted by promoking:

By the way, I've begun to sell my entire promo card collection as I'm nearing retirement.

Sorry to read this, must be a massive wrench for you to do so.

On those Marvel cards, I looked on ebay yesterday and saw about 18 different ones for sale, mostly the Series 1 1991 cards, not the 1992s

quote:

Originally posted by Tommy C:
Amalia Barrios' website has a checklist of both of the Marvel sets, and I think she says on there that she knew of a person who has a complete set of both

Gold borders

Purple borders

Awesome! So, there are 32 and 45 cards respectively in the 1st and 2nd series. Amalia does mention that these cards were supposed to be autographed at various comic shows. Not to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, but it's my belief that some personages were short printed, while others were overprinted. The reason I say that is because I've noticed that some show up more frequently than others. Just an observation rather than a truism.

On the other hand, since every single card had its own distribution (via its subject), it would be surprising if, 30 years later, they were all equally available. So, shortages now don't necessarily reflect short prints then. It may be that the cards that are currently scarcer belonged to people who just weren't aggressive at handing them out, or that they handed them out to people who weren't collectors, and didn't save them.

I just realized that the design of the 1991 (gold) cards takes a great deal of inspiration from the 1991 Impel Marvel cards, and the 1992 (purple) set does likewise with the 1992 Impel Marvel cards. It's not so obvious from the fronts, but if you lay the backs side-by-side, it's very clear.