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Cryptozoic Announces Restructuring of its Entertainment Trading Card Distribution

Ehhhhhhhh!

Question about the 'Authorized Online Dealers' bit: these are just online distributors and they sell to the actual dealers, right? I could continue to buy boxes from Blowout or whoever, and that would be unaffected? Assuming that is the case, I'm not sure how this news really affects the average collector (unless CZE starts coming up with the same draconian policies that Upper Deck has) -- what will change?

Wow

This is sad news. The only one I have even heard of is Dave & Adam’s Card World. I didnt see Blowout on the list.

Makes it a little tuff for people like me that live no where near a hobby shop. I have to drive around 60 miles just to buy toploaders and pages.

Does anyone buy current non-sport cards from Barrington Square or Hill's?

I didn't even realize Hill's had a significant non-sport presence, and I haven't bought from Barrgington Square in a very long time -- used to all the time, but it's been forever. . .

What does this mean for dealers like Miss Lizzy and Ed from Scifi cards? They are the only dealers I have dealt with preorders before, does this mean they won't be allowed to stock or sell Cryptozoic products anymore?

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
What does this mean for dealers like Miss Lizzy and Ed from Scifi cards? They are the only dealers I have dealt with preorders before, does this mean they won't be allowed to stock or sell Cryptozoic products anymore?

Well, I could be totally wrong here, but the way I read it is this: dealers like Ed and Miss Lizzy would now have to order their product from the wholesale distributors (Diamond and GTS in the USA, Grosnor and Universal in Canada) instead of getting it directly from Cryptozoic. Then the consumers (those of us without dealer's licenses) could continue to order from our known dealers OR place orders online with Barrington, D&A or Hill's (never heard of that last one.)

Seems to me that forcing all dealers except the 'authorized' online guys to buy through a middleman will cost the dealers more, forcing them to pass on those costs to the rest of us. Also, what the heck is an 'authorized' online dealer, anyway? Does that mean that anyone else may no longer advertise Cryptozoic products for sale on their websites? And what about Ebay sales?

Again, I could be totally off base in my thinking, but this sure seems like a great way to begin killing off your brand and ultimately your company, guys.

Like Upper Deck basically said 'if you don't buy our sport, you don't get access to nonsport' it looks like CZE is saying 'if you don't buy our gaming cards, you don't get access to nonsport'. Have to see what happens, but it looks like there's going to be an extra layer of people to pay for before the cards get to collectors.

Was there a problem with distribution before?The old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it" comes to mind .

I guess its all down to less people to distribute and
Take payment from.hope it doesnt affect the general flow
Of product!

I would love to hear more information about the Canadian distributions!

I dont have a specific dealer right now, but might be tempted if they can stock the products in the future?

How does one contact these specific distrubutors?

CZE where doing a great job until now. They have brought a breath of fresh air into the hobby.

Cannot fathom how they think this helps consumers who want to cut out the middle man and the cost. Surely it costs more to have a middle man do your distribution.

I find buying from dealers who buy direct from the manufacturer give the best service and price/value for money. Really hope CZE have a rethink about this.

Not even sure CZE's choice of distributors are the best choices, I can think of several I have used over the past few years that would be clearly on top of the list. Yes DA Cardworld are one of my recommended and favourite dealers/distributors but who the heck are Hills anyway? Thought I would have heard of them.

Sorry to sound a bit negative here (that is not my style) but I am not sure CZE understand how there market works

Moneys tight over there.

Streamlining distribution saves money.

Hell, there are artists complaining about not being paid from last years sets.

Methinks the price of a cryptozoic box is about to rise. Not a good thing, considering you really don't get your bang for the buck in their boxes anyway. I know I haven't in any release I've bought from them. Nothing but lemons.

quote:

Originally posted by jane:
Methinks the price of a cryptozoic box is about to rise. Not a good thing, considering you really don't get your bang for the buck in their boxes anyway. I know I haven't in any release I've bought from them. Nothing but lemons.

Really? I think the quality they put into their products is top-notch. Even when I don't pull big hits, I never feel like I'm opening an inferior product with Crypto.

I said this elsewhere, this move sounds good for Crypto, bad for collectors who I think will pay more inflated prices when limited distributors will be monopolizing the product - less outlets to by from, they won't have any real reason to sell at reasonable prices with little to no competition.

It very well may mark the end of my CZ purchasing as the distributor (not dealer as some folks seem to confuse) that I work with will not be getting product. As a dealer who breaks cases to service customers, I can not afford to pay an extra markup or two. I guess I will have to find something else to spend my money on with the multiple cases of Once Upon a Time and Downton Abbey that I would have bought.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Dastick Jr.:

quote:

Originally posted by jane:
Methinks the price of a cryptozoic box is about to rise. Not a good thing, considering you really don't get your bang for the buck in their boxes anyway. I know I haven't in any release I've bought from them. Nothing but lemons.

Really? I think the quality they put into their products is top-notch. Even when I don't pull big hits, I never feel like I'm opening an inferior product with Crypto.

I said this elsewhere, this move sounds good for Crypto, bad for collectors who I think will pay more inflated prices when limited distributors will be monopolizing the product - less outlets to by from, they won't have any real reason to sell at reasonable prices with little to no competition.

I don't know how this will affect costs.

I wish they would communicate better with their customers. If I'm missing something, please let me know, but I don't often, if ever, see odds stated before their product comes out. Or the numbers produced. TWD Comic 2 Previews binders is a fine example.

I keep getting burned not knowing when, where, and/or how many is coming out. Keep getting allocated, and then end up getting one item in the past year that I can only sell at my cost, if I'm lucky.

Little info, no communication, rare promos, tough odds, and allocations are a real turn off. I don't promote their products anymore. And I'm loosing more and more customers do to the issues in the first sentence in this paragraph.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
What does this mean for dealers like Miss Lizzy and Ed from Scifi cards? They are the only dealers I have dealt with preorders before, does this mean they won't be allowed to stock or sell Cryptozoic products anymore?

They order direct from CZE?0

I received an email from my "dealer" saying they are likely out of business. Basically I would just buy a complete master set from this person.

Now it sounds like no one on the "dealer" level will likely exist as they would have to buy at the MSRP (say $60/box) from the limited distributors. I don't know what they were paying per box/case but I won't pay too much more for my master sets.

Honestly other than DA the other two's websites are an ABSOLUTE JOKE. Maybe they do high volume, but as a consumer I wouldn't touch their sites with a 10 foot pole.

I guess this could very well be the end of my Cryptozoic collecting as other than wanting to buy 1 case of WD for myself I have no interest in opening boxes/cases to try and flip. Hell I would be perfectly happy just buying my master direct from CZ already assembled.