Upper Deck opened in 1989 and throughout most of the 90's it dominanted the sports market. Part of that was the trading cards, but also the exclusive autograph deals with certain athletes. UD wrapped up signing rights for Michael Jordan and that's what made them for a long time.

This deal with Craig seems to be along those lines of adding him to their exclusive line. It really doesn't mention specific new Bond cards, just that he is signing for them, and they have the sole authentication now.

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Originally posted by Raven:
This deal with Craig seems to be along those lines of adding him to their exclusive line. It really doesn't mention specific new Bond cards, just that he is signing for them, and they have the sole authentication now.

Not entirely sure how the contract works but does this mean he can't sign for another set if a different company gets it?

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Originally posted by mykdude:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
This deal with Craig seems to be along those lines of adding him to their exclusive line. It really doesn't mention specific new Bond cards, just that he is signing for them, and they have the sole authentication now.

Not entirely sure how the contract works but does this mean he can't sign for another set if a different company gets it?

Yes, I would assume so. In the past when UD did this, they locked up the exclusive rights to that signer for whatever contract term. You couldn't get an authentic Michael Jordan autograph on anything if it didn't come from UD.

Now this release mentions cards and a line of posters. Can Craig still do shows or personal signings if he wants? I don't know. Maybe, as I don't see the word "exclusive", but I'm sure UD won't allow him to sign anything that might compete with their own merchandise while they have his contract.

A few thoughts...

- Great that Upper Deck have secured more interest and participation from Craig.

- The autographs on the prints shown on their website are VERY nice examples of Craig's signature. They're as close to his 'full signature' as you'll ever get these days. Looking at the edition sizes though, I wonder how many autos will look that nice?

- The prices they are asking are ridiculous. He may be popular, but his is not a hard autograph to obtain. Craig currently signs TTM at theatre venues!
Robert Downy Jr. recently did a private signing in the $700 ball-park and up (depending upon piece). Craig at $1.8K upwards... not worth it.
I'll stick with a Craig Rittenhouse auto card thanks.

- Can only echo other comments in regards Upper Deck not making the most of the Bond card licence. No cards around NTTD or the 60th anniversary is disappointing. Then again, they've only given us two new signers in Christoph Waltz and Andrew Scott.
They've got some great repeat names to participate, but RA did it first, and better. I still have not bought any of UD's cards. Oh well.

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Originally posted by X:

I still have not bought any of UD's cards. Oh well.

Same here and i have collected all the Bond card sets before. It all just seemed to complex to collect it all.

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Originally posted by X:
The prices they are asking are ridiculous. He may be popular, but his is not a hard autograph to obtain. Craig currently signs TTM at theatre venues!

Robert Downy Jr. recently did a private signing in the $700 ball-park and up (depending upon piece). Craig at $1.8K upwards... not worth it.

UD is showing Craig signed items ranging from $1,800 to $3,000.00. Ridiculous is right.

Craig just did "Macbeth" on Broadway and to say he underwhelmed is an understatement. They barely made it through the limited run on the name power. His Bond was a one note performance to me. Besides Bond and "Knives Out", quick, name his best three starring movies. Bet you can't without looking.

As for UD's Bond cards, I liked them so far. They are a great option to have for interested new card collectors. If you already have most of the signers you want on RA's cards, then you don't need UD's versions. This special Craig deal nobody needs.

Daniel Craig seems like a nice guy and he was a very good Bond, but I have all of his RA Bond autos, and none of them cost alot at the time that they first came out. 1 to 3 K is way too much.

UPDATE: Wow, I just looked at ebay and 3 of them sold recently for $ 500 each.

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Originally posted by Tommy C:
UPDATE: Wow, I just looked at ebay and 3 of them sold recently for $ 500 each.

As the most recent Bond, and on limited certified cards, I thought he was always around that range. He is the top signer in the last few products, so his cards had to be up there.

Also, some people might look at UD's optimistic pricing and imagine they are getting a bargain on the cards by comparison.

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Originally posted by wolfie:

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Originally posted by X:

I still have not bought any of UD's cards. Oh well.

Same here and i have collected all the Bond card sets before. It all just seemed to complex to collect it all.

This. All day long.

Upper Deck make it WAAAAAY too complicated to keep track of what they release, what's in a set, and how things are actually available. They've made some nice looking cards, but I really can't be bothered with their business model. Too much like hard work and it's been a real turn-off for me as a collector.

Oddly, perhaps, I am the exact opposite.

I own tons of UD Bond, but none from RA.

The reason is simple -- it's available on ePack, it's super simple for me to buy.

I guess ultimately it has been impulse purchases.

If it helps Upper Deck has very clear checklists on ePack showing all the cards, plus if you look at the marketplace you can see how many of each card is available in the marketplace -- which generally is a very good indicator of rarity.

Webjon, have you been able to acquire most of the below ?



25 Bond Legacy cards-- 1 per box
8 other Bond Legacy cards--- 1 per 12 boxes
7 other Bond Legacy cards--- 1 per 36 boxes

15 Q Branch cards-- 1 per box

10 See the World cards-- 1 per 2 boxes

20 Bond vs. Villains cards--- 3 per box

About 88 different autos, 7 limited to 99 and 2 limited to 25

I haven't tried to acquire those cards, but they are all readily available on ePack and COMC.

I actually have quite a few of them just from opening packs as I was chasing autographs.

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Originally posted by Tommy C:
Webjon, have you been able to acquire most of the below ?



25 Bond Legacy cards-- 1 per box
8 other Bond Legacy cards--- 1 per 12 boxes
7 other Bond Legacy cards--- 1 per 36 boxes

15 Q Branch cards-- 1 per box

10 See the World cards-- 1 per 2 boxes

20 Bond vs. Villains cards--- 3 per box

About 88 different autos, 7 limited to 99 and 2 limited to 25

Unless they're short prints, pretty much everything can be bought off COMC for very cheap. Even a lot of the autographs are about the same as a pack cost on e-Pack, if not less.

I think it might highlight a couple things:

There was/is an established base of James Bond card collectors, but its smaller than for other franchise titles.

Like Doctor Who, Bond is more collectible in the UK than US.

Also like Doctor Who, when UK card collectors don't like something, they tend to stop buying. For Bond, it's the maker and stickers that they don't like, rather than the series/movie.

Even though there is no question that RA did a better job of it and were on-card, there is nothing wrong with UD's releases as far as I can see. I liked their look, and I would think that more of any repeat signers is still welcome to fans. But many Bond card collectors seem to have just shunned these autographs, with the exception of brand-new signers perhaps.

The boxes weren't even that high priced, but most hits were commons, so I can get that. Why they should be so cheap and available on COMC for most singles just shows that there is no demand for it. That being the case, I can't see why UD would want to put out anymore Bond cards.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
I think it might highlight a couple things:

There was/is an established base of James Bond card collectors, but its smaller than for other franchise titles.

Like Doctor Who, Bond is more collectible in the UK than US.

Also like Doctor Who, when UK card collectors don't like something, they tend to stop buying. For Bond, it's the maker and stickers that they don't like, rather than the series/movie.

Even though there is no question that RA did a better job of it and were on-card, there is nothing wrong with UD's releases as far as I can see. I liked their look, and I would think that more of any repeat signers is still welcome to fans. But many Bond card collectors seem to have just shunned these autographs, with the exception of brand-new signers perhaps.

The boxes weren't even that high priced, but most hits were commons, so I can get that. Why they should be so cheap and available on COMC for most singles just shows that there is no demand for it. That being the case, I can't see why UD would want to put out anymore Bond cards.

The reason they're so cheap on COMC is because it's directly connected with e-Pack. A couple of clicks and your cards are listed. As a result, there's a lot of supply in that one place all at once. It's common for everything that's sold on e-Pack -- non-sport and sports.

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Originally posted by Ryan Cracknell:
The reason they're so cheap on COMC is because it's directly connected with e-Pack. A couple of clicks and your cards are listed. As a result, there's a lot of supply in that one place all at once. It's common for everything that's sold on e-Pack -- non-sport and sports.

Yes, I get the connection, but that doesn't make them cheap. They would either be sold out or they would have higher prices based on buyer competition. It's a lack of demand and little competition that makes cards cheap.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryan Cracknell:
The reason they're so cheap on COMC is because it's directly connected with e-Pack. A couple of clicks and your cards are listed. As a result, there's a lot of supply in that one place all at once. It's common for everything that's sold on e-Pack -- non-sport and sports.

100% true. The race to the bottom on COMC is very real.

The prices won't start to rise until after the set sells out on ePack.

The thing that ultimately hurts low end card purchases on COMC is the shipping -- I believe it is $.25 a card + a base shipping rate.

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Originally posted by Raven:

Yes, I get the connection, but that doesn't make them cheap. They would either be sold out or they would have higher prices based on buyer competition. It's a lack of demand and little competition that makes cards cheap.

EVERY product that is on e-Pack is like this. I've built Marvel Masterpieces sets with most cards costing me less than $0.50 each. There are plenty of popular sports sets where you can get even top name rookie cards cheap. Many who are buying e-Packs are looking for chase cards and going after achievements. Add in shipping costs to take possession of physical cards and some don't find it worth it. So they list on COMC to make quick sales and recoup costs. The platform is set up for sellers to undercut one another. So when there are dozens of the same card, they stay cheap for quite some time. It's also a visibility thing as I suspect a lot of people still don't know of COMC.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryan Cracknell:

EVERY product that is on e-Pack is like this. I've built Marvel Masterpieces sets with most cards costing me less than $0.50 each.

I think we may be talking at cross-purposes here. My comments were directed at my favorite subject, certified autograph cards, not base cards or other inserts. That's what most of the prior posts were about, autograph cards.

If you get an ePack and pull an autograph card, you can I assume put it up for sale on COMC. By your own comments you said, "Unless they're short prints, pretty much everything can be bought off COMC very cheap. Even a lot of the autographs are about the same as a pack cost on e-Pack, if not less".

It stands to reason that if UD's Bond autograph cards are pulled from ePacks and listed on COMC so cheaply, that the supply exceeds the demand, or else they wouldn't be cheap. That was the only point I was making. Bond card collectors did not take to these UD products enough to buy in heavily. They already have better on-card signatures. UD didn't do well with these titles if almost everything is laying at COMC for cheap prices and why would they invest in making any more?

I'm assuming that the likes of a Craig or Janssen or Waltz signature would not be listed on COMC cheaply because the demand for those stars remains high. Their UD cards may not be worth as much as their best RA cards, but they won't be cut rate bargains either. Whatever is racing to the bottom on COMC is because too many were made and too few people want them.

I have never used COMC as an account, just got a couple of items as direct sales. I think lots of collectors know about it, they just don't want to be bothered with it. That also reduces demand for anything there.

For me shipping costs play a vital role in purchasing Upper Deck goods especially since you have to use COMC (which I have not used) and as yet although I have base sets of both UD Bond issues I have very little else. Both sets were obtained from a UK seller. I used to buy quite a lot of UD sets when they had a European distributor and not the set up they have now.

regards

John