Particularly with their non sports do they even have the slightest clue what they are putting in the product and when it will be released before it actually happens? Several releases with November time frame and no dates. Chasing Amy, Spiderman, Aliens 3

This is kind of pathetic. I never thought anyone could be worse than Topps with this.

What is the deal with all of this secret pricing and can't be shipped out of the country before a certain date on distributor sites?

Any dealers have any inside info on this?

UD has been operating like this for quite awhile now, ever since they came back with non-sports titles because they lost their sports licenses really. They don't seem to have any accountability since they own major titles that card collectors want, they have the ePacks thing going and they don't seem to need to release much information, or sometimes any information, prior to release. They have set their own distribution policies and their release schedule is flexible, to put it mildly.

Since this is how they are intentionally doing business, I guess they feel it's not hurting them.

No, I get all of that, they have been far from a stellar company with honest dealings and business integrity over the years, but you bring up an interesting point.

Do you think maybe the E Pack thing violates International laws with collectibles in some way? Now that you mention it, the international release dates seem to coincide with after the E pack release.

If I were to venture a guess I would say that several of those titles (Chasing Amy and Alien3 in particular) have not pre-sold well and the are delaying them in hopes of getting more orders.

I imagine we'll see 3 or 4 releases before year's end, as they try to release on the current year's books.

Export restrictions have been in place for years now. Sometimes it's just their rules, others like Marvel have to do with not having international distribution rights.

And as for "secret pricing" it's a bit complicated... In order to carry UD product at all, you need to be a Certified Diamond Dealer with a brick and mortar store. Then you can apply to become an Authorized Internet Dealer. Only if approved may you sell online and only at approved MAP pricing. Those you see with "please inquire" are not Internet Dealers and thus are not allowed to post prices or take online orders. Phone/Direct orders are OK though.

So, working with UD is 'complicated' to say the least.

Ed

It seems like a collector could circumvent any international sales issues on ePack pretty easily -- order on ePack using a VPN, transfer to COMC, have COMC ship (assuming COMC ships to your country).

I hope that these releases see the light of day.

Jon

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
No, I get all of that, they have been far from a stellar company with honest dealings and business integrity over the years, but you bring up an interesting point.

Careful there Mykdude. That kind of language can get you in trouble. Just saying...

quote:

Originally posted by promoking:

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
No, I get all of that, they have been far from a stellar company with honest dealings and business integrity over the years, but you bring up an interesting point.

Careful there Mykdude. That kind of language can get you in trouble. Just saying...

Oh well. If they want to ban me for being truthful then so be it. Not like it's a secret or not well documented.