Hello:

We've just posted the poll for September. This month, we're following up on a question originally posed in the promo forum, namely do you think all promo cards should be free (or made available at a nominal fee) or is it acceptable for manufacturers to sell promos and/or use them as incentives with other items such as binders? This question has already had a very long discussion in the promo forum and I have linked the poll to that thread. If after you vote, you want to add anything further, feel free! I realize that many questions were asked in that thread and I was only able to pull one of them out for our "official" monthly poll (I hope I have represented the subject well).

I'd like to thank Olly and Prezkot for both suggesting similar poll question this time. If anyone else has an idea for a future poll question, please send me an e-mail.

Now what are you waiting for, go vote! To do so, click here or click on the link at the top of this page.

If you'd like to view results of our previous polls, click here.

Thanks.

Harris

Visit Non-Sport Update at www.nonsportupdate.com

i'm not against manufacturers puting promo in some things, i just think the long time fans should get first shot at them (for a small fee, perhaps)





"No Amount of therapy will ever make this moment ok."

promo material should be free.

Promos are something which promotes something else, regardless of how it is distributed. I collect some promos which come with binders or box purchases etc and dont collect some others - I dont feel promos need to be free, although I like getting free promos. If you send an SASE away for a free promo it costs you 74 cents - if you buy the same promo from a dealer for a dollar you pay 26 cents more - I say WHOOP-DEE-DO. that dealer had to buy X ammount of product to get his promos, if he only bought a little he only gets a few promos, if he buys alot he might get more, either way, he has to pay shipping on the total package, promos included. - I bet some people are thinking, "Big deal, it prob only cost him a few pennies extra" - yup, you are right maybe it did only cost him a few pennies, so he gives away promos to his better customers and sells the rest to cover his total cost. In my humble opinion, if you collect nothing but promos you should expect to pay SOMETHING for them, whether its 2 37cent stamps or a $1 bill or the admission to a show.

http://mtlhddoc2.8m.com

Quote of the Week:

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."
- Plato

This discussion always presents a slippery slope. A few observations here, but regretfully there is no tidy summation.

All respect to mtlhddoc2, but the notion that a promo is simply "something that promotes something else", while true in a literal sense, is an inefficient definition. By that reasoning, every card in every set would be a promo, as each card surely "promotes" the set, the manufacturer, the license, etc.

Drawing from 37 years of experience, I can comfortably state that there is a commonly held understanding amongst adults that a "promo" item is something that is free or carries only a nominal charge. It's intent is to curry interest in the thing being promoted, advertising so to speak.

An "incentive" is something that can be obtained (often exclusively) via the purchase of some specified item. It may also promote the thing being purchased, but it's intent is to help secure the purchase.

In the world of card collecting, incentives are called "promos" even though they are clearly incentives.

On the aftermarket, even free promos can carry a high price. This applies to all markets, not just cards. A great many high-value collectibles were once literally given away.

Free promos, expensive promos, cheap incentives, expensive incentives. Some of them I want, some I do not. I don't have the money to collect every card I want, no matter what it may be labeled. And when it really comes down to it, it doesn't matter what (sometimes) arbitrary nom has been applied to a card. If it's cool, I want it. If it's not, I don't.

That's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

I'm not going to get into the semantics of what a promo card is, as most people seem to have their own thoughts.

I voted for the "free or nominal charge" as I have started to regard some cards that are touted as promo cards to be more like loose, non pack-inserted, chase cards when comparing prices of promos with chase cards. I can understand price variations (i.e. higher price) in cards that have limited print runs, but as we never seem to know actual values of print runs, prices sometimes seem to just be "made up". When you're spending more on a single promo card than you are on the cost of a base set and several chase combined and all you're getting is a card that says something like "Coming Soon" on the back and the usual manufacturer blurb, it is sometimes disheartening to know you have to pay £20 for it because it's purported that there's only 200 in existence.

Having promo cards at a fixed nominal fee, which would also allow average collectors to be able to afford the cards and thus reach a wider audience (for promotion/interest-building purposes) it would benefit all. For more rare promo cards I think manufacturer should start releasing information stating a card is limited, but not necessarily giving out print run numbers.

Do manufacturers have standard prices for promo cards or do their charge dealers/distributors more depending on scarcity? If they don't, then no matter how much dealers/distributors have to pay for cards (incl. shipping), I can't see the justified cost of some cards currently out there. If they do, then I think these standard prices should be filtered down to the collector (with a slight increase in costs to make a profit). After all, if it weren't for the distributions avenues that exist, then we wouldn't be able to get the cards as easily as we currently do.

Anyway, that's just my thoughts.

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"Who knows where thoughts come from? Sometimes, they just appear."


Buffy/Angel collector?
http://www.buffycards.co.uk

I voted it,s okay to produce them in anything and i will collect them and pay for them.

I can,t think of any promo card that cannot be got one way or another. The only limit is how far you are prepared to go to get it.

So hide them in binders or make them exclusive and elusive but i,m on the case and i will get them, maybe not for a few years after they come out, but i will get them.

That,s the hobby, that,s where the fun is, get out there and track em down. After all if it was just easy there would not be much point in doing it.

...damn Safari *still* won't let me use the Poll, I will use here as my answer.

Promos should be free, NOT included in items like binders or used as incentives. They should be given away at shows or by the manufacturers, both to dealers, distributors or single collectors.

Most importantly, the existence of FREE promos should be better advertised.

--
xSaBx :: Mistress of Stuff ::

'I swear I am completely unimpressed by clever answers'
REMEMBER: Take out the 'removemefirst' from my e-mail address to reply...

quote:

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Originally posted by xSaBx:
...damn Safari *still* won't let me use the Poll, I will use here as my answer.

Promos should be free, NOT included in items like binders or used as incentives. They should be given away at shows or by the manufacturers, both to dealers, distributors or single collectors.

Most importantly, the existence of FREE promos should be better advertised.

--
xSaBx :: Mistress of Stuff ::

'I swear I am completely unimpressed by clever answers'
REMEMBER: Take out the 'removemefirst' from my e-mail address to reply...

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Hey Sarah,

If this is the case then why do you regularly sell promos in your eBay shop. Isn't this a double standard in some respect?

quote:

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Originally posted by olly:
If this is the case then why do you regularly sell promos in your eBay shop. Isn't this a double standard in some respect?

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Why? If everyone got free promos from the distributors there would be no need for me, you or anyone else to sell them... I wouldn't suffer, but you would.

I sell because people want to buy, and until you can eliminate *that* mentality from the non-sports marketplace you'll never get rid of the promo, and you'll never stop people selling them... it doesn't mean I can't aspire to such a lofty ideal, does it?

In the meantime, I trade where I can, I sell where I can.

--
xSaBx :: Mistress of Stuff ::

'I swear I am completely unimpressed by clever answers'
REMEMBER: Take out the 'removemefirst' from my e-mail address to reply...

[This message was edited by xSaBx on September 02, 2003 at 10:07 AM.]

You can't vote in the poll? Try using a windows based machine and get rid of that Mac!

FC

quote:

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Originally posted by Flaming Carrot:
You can't vote in the poll? Try using a windows based machine and get rid of that Mac!

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What, and be subject to every virus attack going?

Nah, it may have some disadvatages, but the Mac far outweighs the PC...

--
xSaBx :: Mistress of Stuff ::

'I swear I am completely unimpressed by clever answers'
REMEMBER: Take out the 'removemefirst' from my e-mail address to reply...

Here's my 2 cents:

A card that is included in a binder can only be a promo card if it promotes a different release. If the Quotable Xena binder comes with a card related to the Quotable Xena set, that card is a bonus card for those who purchase the binder. If it promotes the next Xena or other set to be released, then it should be classified as a promo card.

And on another note: Another card included in the binder is not going to influence my decision to purchase the binder. Binders are purchased based upon their possible usage. At $20+ each, the only binders I have bought have met the following conditions:

1.) Usable for more than one series! Top priority! Binders like the ones issued for the X-files meet this, so I have one.
2.) Quality photos. For the price involved, I want good pictures on the front and back.

If not, I can wait for Wal-Mart to drop the prices at back-to-school time. I just bought some nice 1" binders for $0.55 that will hold sets that didn't meet those requirements.

Since no one is close enough to rip my head off...

I don't have a problem with manufacturers using special cards as incentives to buy other things such as binders. Should they be called promo cards however? I don't think we will ever reach concensus on that.

But most people aren't arguing over semantics, just availability and cost. But no one is required to purchase a particular card and no injury will result from not having that card in your collection. It would be nice if all the things we wanted were within our easy reach, but that's not realistic. Simply wanting something does not mean you are entitled to it.

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." ~ Walt Disney

The only time I get free promo cards anymore is when I buy something from a dealer. A box will get me a few assorted promos. So, are they free or did I pay for them by buying the box?
Perplexing question or just a quarky observasation?

"We are all in the gutter, some of us,however, are looking at the stars."

Anything to help, not that I have an opinion on the subject ... I just like getting noted!



I shalt pity thy fool...

I have started to collect promos. It is very interesting seeing the different types of cards available from the various manufacturers.

I like to get free promos, but I also understand that some promos are only available when purchasing a binder for that set. Another way I get promos is through trading. In some respects that promo card has cost me something is trade.

I accept the fact that there will be common promos, uncommon promos, and rare promos -similiar to the card sets.

The only problem I have with promos would be if a manufacturer or distributor started selling them as collectibles. I don't have any problems with cards being used as purchase incentives (although I'd agree that they are just that - incentives - and not promos) or in products outside the traditional card market (which Inkworks does a lot).

I don't see the point of the promo cards that Rittenhouse puts in their binders. I don't mind them, but they don't really promote the card set very well (as the purchaser of a binder presumably knows about and/or has the set already) and they don't really add value to the binder. I guess they're kind of a little thank you for buying the binder, but I still wouldn't count them as promo cards.

Where I have a problem is with the promulgation of multiple "Preview Sets" coming out for different releases and being sold as collectibles. However, that's another story and another poll.

-Bob-

"Future events such as these will affect YOU in the future!"

barobehere said

quote:

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The only time I get free promo cards anymore is when I buy something from a dealer. A box will get me a few assorted promos. So, are they free or did I pay for them by buying the box?

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easy to answer.
if you didn't get the promos, would the box of cards been cheaper?
if no, then they were free

i know, i know, to simplistic, right?





"No Amount of therapy will ever make this moment ok."