quote:

Originally posted by Scifi_Collector:
Lets round the number a little. for $50 you can get a box of Twilight with one costume card or for $55 you can get a box of James Bond in Motion with 2 autos and 2 costume cards.

I think I now where my money is going. James bond all the way

Actually there is a BIG problem if Bond boxes are only going for $55. That means that 9000 boxes was too much and that many dealers over ordered just to get the 6 case incentive and now are dumping boxes at/near cost.

And several of my boxes of Bond were really disappointing, so there are bad ones there too. 2/3 of my boxes didn't have full sets, the insert ratios were off and I only knew one of the autographers I pulled. Guess I should stay away from Bond.

And different licenses appeal to different people. If there weren't differing opinions then you could have 1 company making all the cards all the same way.

Ed

What does one have to do with the other?

When several sets are released simultaneously, everyone is forced to make a choice, do I buy product A or product B. If a person has interest in both items and as in this case the autographs fall through , well I think the majority of buyers will go with the product that gives them more bang for their buck.

The cost of a Bond box doesn't surprise me as most recent releases sell for cost or near cost, it's the nature of the our hobby and something I mentioned long ago when incentives first came into being.

I also find it irrelevant that some of your Bond boxes, "were really disappointing." Since when is every box in any product a winner? I've seen numerous box breakdowns on this board where someone had what I thought were nice cards, only for them to complain about what they got. This is a purely subjective statement on your part.

I agree wholeheartedly with your final statement and I'm sure there will still be buyers for the "Twilight" product, but I think that the market for this set will be greatly diminished due to a lack of autographs in this set.

I just hope that Inkworks will be able to deliver on the autographs for, "The Spirit", as that has the potential to be a monster set.

I see it as a cheap shot at inkworks, your not happy fine but do you have to take a shot at them by promoting another company?

I have never made it through one bond movie but don't go to the bond threads and say buy inkworks they have better cards. Would it have been that hard to just say

I think I'll pass and spend my money elsewhere?

I'm sure inkworks did what they could and not everyone wants to sign autographs or feels they have to. To insult them by promoting other products in their discussions is kind of uncalled for.

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

Actually there is a BIG problem if Bond boxes are only going for $55. That means that 9000 boxes was too much and that many dealers over ordered just to get the 6 case incentive and now are dumping boxes at/near cost.


Ed

Who would have thought that would happen?

But isn't $48 for a Twilight box a little high seeing as there is just one piecework? You can by other Inkworks boxes with an auto and piecework for $57, you'd think it would take more than $10 off the price. I expect these may crash due to no autos and boxes will be selling for $30 - $40, after all most pieceworks will sell for $20 - $30 unless its a variant.

I would have loved to see a Kristen Stewart, Cam Gigandet and another Robert Pattinson autograph. But that's the way it is.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Streich:
I see it as a cheap shot at inkworks, your not happy fine but do you have to take a shot at them by promoting another company?

Hi Jim,
My intent on my post was not to take a shot at Inkworks. The point I was trying to make had to do with the price point of boxes of trading cards.

Comparing the new release of Bond with 4 hits and Twilight with 1 hit for the same $50 doesn't make sense to me. Average pieceworks cards sell for $20 or less, some sell for $5.00. I can't see buying a box of Twilight for $50 knowing ahead of time the average card will sell for $20 on ebay.

If the dealers cost for a regular box of Inkworks is $50 and comes with 1 auto and 1 pieceworks card, than in my mind if there is only piceworks cards released and only 1 per box than the dealers cost should be $25.00.

But I don't see that happening.

And not to monopolize the thread, did anyone notice that the price per cases for Fantistic Four has increased. A case of James Bond is $960 and a case of Fantistic Four is $999.

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

I'm not sure where these price quotes are coming from, but as of a few minutes ago I can still get a case of Bond for under $650 w/S&H.

I also don't think anyone is taking a cheapshot at Inkworks by pointing out the obvious that one product has more value than another and all things being equal the average fan who is interested in both, will more than likely spend their hard earned cash on Bond if they have to make a choice between the two.

quote:

Originally posted by Arvin Sloane:
I also find it irrelevant that some of your Bond boxes, "were really disappointing." Since when is every box in any product a winner? I've seen numerous box breakdowns on this board where someone had what I thought were nice cards, only for them to complain about what they got. This is a purely subjective statement on your part.

It's relevent because Bond boxes were brought into the discussion. Just because they had 4 hits per box did not make them a joy to open unless you were a big Bond fan and knew every little character.

quote:

Originally posted by Arvin Sloane:
I agree wholeheartedly with your final statement and I'm sure there will still be buyers for the "Twilight" product, but I think that the market for this set will be greatly diminished due to a lack of autographs in this set.

Many of my buyers were "set in binder" and Mini Master customers so their desires have not diminished. But I did give all my box customers the option to change their order and about half of those opted out, so there is less demand.

quote:

Originally posted by Arvin Sloane:
I just hope that Inkworks will be able to deliver on the autographs for, "The Spirit", as that has the potential to be a monster set.

Uncle Allan mentioned that several of the autographs were already in hand, and that they were working on others. So it will be interesting to see a final lineup on The Spirit.

Ed

I was interested in this product because I like autographs and the young stars of Twilight might take off someday, even if the movie was so-so. If it is another Harry Potter series, they could replace the BIG THREE.

Now I have no reason to purchase it. Look at what happened to the Golden Compass cards with only pieceworks. Sure the movie was not considered a hit, but the cards made a fairly attractive set and there were a few inserts. However the lack of autographs or sketch cards or any sort of big hits made it totally lack luster. Now if Kidman or Craig or Greene or Elliot or the Kid had signed, what a difference that would have made!

Its just the nature of non-sport cards, and especially now that money has tightened up. If a set doesn't stay with the competition its a waste of money to even release. If that means fewer releases and more value I'm OK with it.

Even if a case would have had only one autograph (perhaps 3 different in the whole set), it would be better than none.

No autos for a film like this is very disappointing .I had thought that Inkworks use of stickers would mean they would be able to get autograph cards produced more easily as a sheet of stickers is much more convenient for busy actors.

Wonder whether the problem was licensing related or actors asking for too much money?Guesss wer'e not likely to find out.

This must be another BIG disappointment to inkworks - another set with no autographs. At this time the sets need more than 1 hit to have a real chance of selling well.

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:
No autos for a film like this is very disappointing .I had thought that Inkworks use of stickers would mean they would be able to get autograph cards produced more easily as a sheet of stickers is much more convenient for busy actors.

Wonder whether the problem was licensing related or actors asking for too much money?Guesss wer'e not likely to find out.

I have to disagree with you on this. The majority of my customers wanted sets and binders to give as gifts for neices/daughters. This set is going to sell with the teenager crowd and they don't really care about autographs. My customers who ordered boxes of this aren't into autographs, they're actually happy that the box price is a bit lower as it gives them more money to spend on finishing their chase sets and maybe even buying a pieceworks card that they really want.
There are plenty of people in this hobby who could care less about autographs and costume cards, they just want a base set and a couple of chase sets to go after.

Laura

quote:

Originally posted by WandringRebel:

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:
No autos for a film like this is very disappointing .I had thought that Inkworks use of stickers would mean they would be able to get autograph cards produced more easily as a sheet of stickers is much more convenient for busy actors.

Wonder whether the problem was licensing related or actors asking for too much money?Guesss wer'e not likely to find out.

I have to disagree with you on this. The majority of my customers wanted sets and binders to give as gifts for neices/daughters. This set is going to sell with the teenager crowd and they don't really care about autographs. My customers who ordered boxes of this aren't into autographs, they're actually happy that the box price is a bit lower as it gives them more money to spend on finishing their chase sets and maybe even buying a pieceworks card that they really want.
There are plenty of people in this hobby who could care less about autographs and costume cards, they just want a base set and a couple of chase sets to go after.

Laura

I agree Laura. I'm giving a box to my niece, who's 13. I think she'll be tickled beyond belief with a costume card.

I'd be willing to bet that the Twilight actors' reps wanted more than Inkworks could pay them to sign, period - stickers or not. Their agents and managers think these kids are going to be big stars in the Harry Potter vein, and don't quite understand the trading card world.

Your point regarding teenagers and what they will be looking for is correct and hopefully it will encourage them to look at other sets.

I would say that Inkworks must be disappointed as it woukd have been hoping for the same kind of buisness that Artbox does with the Harry Potter franchise.Not having autographs will hurt their sales to dealers whose main profit comes from the high end autos.

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:
I would say that Inkworks must be disappointed as it would have been hoping for the same kind of business that Artbox does with the Harry Potter franchise. Not having autographs will hurt their sales to dealers whose main profit comes from the high end autos.

You can bet the farm that they're disappointed. But don't forget that the Potter-card "franchise" didn't happen for Artbox until the third movie. Inkworks at least has the license and they can have high hopes if the series takes off.

There can be time after the movie comes out to consider an expansion/update set, and even the truncated first series without autos can become sought-after. I'm having a heck of a time finding an inexpensive source of base sets for LOTR FOTR first series so that all my nieces, nephews, the post office carrier's kids, and friends can have their own complete set.

Well who knows, if they end up making all four books into movies they will have plenty of chances to snag autos, and I can't see this movie NOT doing well at the box-office...that usually means sequels. Plus there will be an opportunity for a series (quadrillogy?) retrospective set at the end.

quote:

Originally posted by WandringRebel:

I have to disagree with you on this. The majority of my customers wanted sets and binders to give as gifts for neices/daughters. This set is going to sell with the teenager crowd and they don't really care about autographs. My customers who ordered boxes of this aren't into autographs, they're actually happy that the box price is a bit lower as it gives them more money to spend on finishing their chase sets and maybe even buying a pieceworks card that they really want.
There are plenty of people in this hobby who could care less about autographs and costume cards, they just want a base set and a couple of chase sets to go after.

Laura

Laura, I can see where you are coming from but at $40+ a box (and reduced chase cards in each box) a base/chase set is going to be quite expensive without the auto to offset some of the cost. At $20 a box I would agree with you but what sort of price will a Mini-Master Set cost for this set?

I think the question is more what people will be willing to pay for a mini-master. In general, base sets and chase sets are dirt cheap. Unless there are some ultra rare costumes, whoever is buying this set only to sell the contents is likely to lose money.