Hi! I have been collecting cards in some form for about 30 years. I have collected some promo cards here and there, mostly when it is was not terribly inconvenient; but I have never really gotten too excited about them.

It seems like some people on this forum quite enjoy collecting them, and it made me curious. What is the draw to collect them?

There is no judgment here. Just sincere curiosity.

Thanks to anyone who responds.

I don't go out of my way to collect them myself, but I imagine it's just a case of wanting them to complete a set for most folks.

well if you are collecting a set then you need the promos to complete the set.

Allthough I like certain sets and collect all the things for those I decided early on that if I collected promos and sell sheets ( remember those ) I could have something from every set without it costing me a fortune. When I look through my promo binders and my binders full of sell sheets it reminds me of all the sets that have come out over the years.

It is nice to have a few promo cards from X set even though I have not got anything else from that set.

This little quaint part of the hobby took a nosedive when people suddenly decided that there was money to be made from promo cards and it has not been the same since.

I collect promos because it gives me a chance to have a little bit of every genre...whether I like the series or not. There are some very nice artwork on the promos that may or may not be included in the set. Plus I also like the thrill of the hunt...some promos are hard to find but when I do find them it brings me to my happy place.

Although not a fanatic about them, I do like promo cards for just that--promotion of an upcoming card release. I don't try to get everything that comes down the line, but the promos help me get a feel for what I may like or want to collect.

Like Wolfie said, finding and collecting promos has not been the same the last few years. Too many variations, people selling promos for ridiculous money, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:
well if you are collecting a set then you need the promos to complete the set.

Allthough I like certain sets and collect all the things for those I decided early on that if I collected promos and sell sheets ( remember those ) I could have something from every set without it costing me a fortune. When I look through my promo binders and my binders full of sell sheets it reminds me of all the sets that have come out over the years.

It is nice to have a few promo cards from X set even though I have not got anything else from that set.

This little quaint part of the hobby took a nosedive when people suddenly decided that there was money to be made from promo cards and it has not been the same since.

That's interesting about the history of card releases. I had not thought of it that way at all. Kind of like it.

I don't really think of the promo cards as part of the set because they aren't case / box / pack inserts. I have always thought that it is not part of the set unless the manufacturer makes it available as part of the release. Kind of feel that way about incentive cards, too.

Glad to see the discussion here. I appreciate the feedback, and would love to read some other perspectives. Thanks to all.

quote:

Originally posted by Kennywood:
If you'll excuse the immodesty, you might find the following thread to have some bearing on your question:

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Thanks. I had not seen that thread.

I have not read all of it, but it looks like interesting reading. I will definitely check it out.

It's kind of funny to me, but part of the reason why I don't get into promos too much is because there are so many different cards that come from so many different places and through many different avenues.

In my limited amount of collecting, even I am in the 'promo zone', as it were. I consider them a part of the set they're promoting- doesn't matter if they were in the product as sold. Sometimes there are weird variations in their brief span before a product is released (minor variations, dates changed, etc), and they sometimes indicate design changes when a number of them are released previous to product release. Sometimes the product is cancelled, and they become orphans of a sort, being the only cards produced (which have a peculiar attraction as such).

As you can see, they also have their dark side, but if you can look past that bit of ugliness, promo cards are still an interesting pursuit

I think people started collecting promos simply because they were free cards, and as soon as a market developed they started making money on free cards. When the manufacturers began distributing very limited promos and promos that had autographs they crossed the line altogether. I actually resent the whole promo market nowadays because I feel these cards are merely ads and were designed to be given away as freebies. It was one thing when they were sold for nominal amounts, but quite another when limited promos became equal in value to premium hits in some products. I just think that's wrong.

I never buy promos, but if I am making a particular base set I will keep ones that I find. I don't consider them part of the set, but most master set builders do. Incentives are not the same as promos in my opinion. I always consider all incentives to be part of the set, especially now that a few manufacturers have taken to inserting a token number in packs.

I LOVE promo's - they are their own master sets. I have been collecting all RA/Breygent/Crypto/inkworks for the last few years and have a pretty comprehensive collection, but I will be slowing down on this from next year as it is getting too difficult and expensive with some of the limited promo's (RA Valiant for one). I will concentrate only on sets I am collecting.

I became interested in promos around 1995, when I was able to obtain so many of them for free from my local comic/card store, or from magazines in which they were inserted (Wizard, Previews, etc) I then discovered that others were from obscure conventions, such as the Topps ones on X-Files and the various Star Wars sets. But as 1995 was before the days of ebay, I had to contact stores which advertised in NSU to find these missing ones, such as one particular place in CA

Back in the 1990s, I drew the line, however, on ones that were inserted in toys that became too difficult to obtain, such as the Topps Jurassic Park, SkyBox Star Trek in the action figures, the 30 different Babylon 5 cards in the VHS tapes and the ones in all of those Wildstorm figures (Wildcats, Wetworks, etc) I didn't collect those, as it would have been too difficult to chase down 50 different cards for each set, buy purchasing figures/toys at $10-20 each. Later, I passed on the Inkworks James Bond cards in the cars (I think there are 70-80 different ones) and the KISS (rock band) cards which also came in Johnny Lightning cars. However, I did collect product inserts such as ALIAS and Buffy by Inkworks, if there were only a few.

Yes, it has become frustrating that over the past few years, too many promos are only available as case incentive cards, or exclusive to one dealer, or at small, regional shows that few people attend (Blitzcon, licensing shows, etc) Still, I enjoy collecting promos

Thanks for all the responses so far. It is really neat to see all the perspectives and people's stories.

The conventions are always bad for me. I am always jealous of the stuff that is given away and sold at them since I can rarely even consider going to one. I live in a bad area for it, and it always seems like the timing interferes with my job. Glad others get to go, sort of.

Promos are cards, I'm a card collector, I collect Promos. No wait.... if it was a three year old's daubings and it was on card with a sequential number I would collect it. I don't need help, I just need to win Lotto.

Promos are part of a set imho. Therefore I collect those for every set I collect. I even collect the sell sheets if they are are available for a specific set.

I did for a time have a promo collecting focus as well as my Star Wars focus, going after all the promos I could lay my hands on when I had the cash. Now I have stopped as it is a massive and ever expanding area and time does not allow. In fact a have a hoard of cards from my old collection I am looking to offload along with a load of spares (several 100's in fact) that just do not interest me anymore. Only focusing on Inkworks promos now although I have not added to this collection for sometime.

Why do I collect just Inkworks promos? I find them addictive and fun. They had great licenses and had a nice style to them.

quote:

Why do I collect just Inkworks promos? I find them addictive and fun. They had great licenses and had a nice style to them.

I'm with you on this. Although I have collected a couple of thousand promos over the years my passion is with Inkworks generally and Buffy/Charmed in particular.
I've just done a count up and have found that I have 162 Buffy promos (which includes 26 box & case loaders but not CCG promos)and 40 Charmed promos.

I only actively seek out promos for sets I am working on. The number of exclusive promos now actually will cause me not to go after a set. I love Breygent but I can't worry about the promos because there is no way in heck I will every be able to get all the different Vampirella or Dawn promos. I actually did not do the new Dawn set because I was overwhelmed by the promos! SO, I will work on my vampirella sets and not think about the promos. I really need to take the time and go through the promos I have. Time I need time!

Love collecting promos for many reasons. It allows me to have a piece of all the different sets out there (many that I would never consider collecting). Also they are fun to collect without breaking the bank; A few self address envelopes, subscription to magazines (NonSport Update) and some binders will get you some nice cards. Also, some promos become sets in themselves (like the Philly Promos give out at each show). Then there is the thrill of finding those rare and hard to find promos like the Inkworks Hawaii Convention card.

Its also fun to look back at all my promos now and then and remember all the movies and shows that have come and gone over the years

Mostly because I consider them part of a set I'm collecting. And for some forms of promo cards, if it's related to a subject (Marvel, X-Files, TWD) I must have it.

I like collecting them because it's like having a "type set." (Not the entire set, but a sample of it.) It does bother me when they cost a lot, as they were originally given away and some middle man (who had nothing to do with making the series) is the one making the money from it. To combat this, I sell our own promos for cheap (so anyone can afford them), except for the ones given away in NSU. We also try to use different art (whenever possible), so that few if any images are duplicated in the set. That way it's a real addition to the existing series.

Fuchaldream,
Since you said you were curious, I'd like to point out a little article I wrote appropriately titled "why collect promo cards?" You can find it on page 2 in a thread on this board titled "which is the rarest promo?". There, You can read some of the reasons that I feel promo collecting is a fulfilling part of our hobby.
Albert

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