I always say I was quite happy when autographs were 1 per every 2.5 or 3 boxes. Just hard enough to pull that you got a warm fuzzy feeling when you pulled one. I think that's what made the battlestar galactica sketches so prized, they weren't easy to get and was also complimented by overall quality. I'll take hard to get quality cards over the glut of easy to get blah-type cards we seem to be innundated with these days.

I'm 52. When I was a kid packs of cards & comic books were on sale at every candy/convenience store. Buying packs/collecting/trading was fun. The problem today is the limited availability of card packs at "small" retail establishments IMHO.

quote:

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Originally posted by WarHoundR69:
I'm 52. When I was a kid packs of cards & comic books were on sale at every candy/convenience store. Buying packs/collecting/trading was fun. The problem today is the limited availability of card packs at "small" retail establishments IMHO.

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Yes I agree about obtainability. I'm in the UK, and while i've seen posts from fellow brits mentioning which shop they found so-and-so in, I can only find packs and boxes online.

Star Wars Heritage are the only hobby packs i've seen in high street retailers in over 15 years

Do the card companies market their products directly to mass retailers, or only to distributors?

Our local Walmart currently has boxes of Star Wars Heritage, Li'l Bratz Stickers, the latetst Pokemon, LOTR ROTK update, and some packs leftover from boxes of Star Wars Clone Wars and Shrek 2. They also have a bunch of sports card and ccgs.

All Walmarts do not have a selection like this. Some have no cards at all. The reason our Wal-Mart carries cards is because the distributor who supplies their magazines also handles some cards. It seems like all Targets and K-Marts have cards. I don't know if they get them from distributors or directly from the card companies.

If the card companies want to expand their customer base, it looks like they would market their cards directly to the retailers who can reach the largets market. Most people never go to comic shops, and many towns (like mine) don't even have comic shops. If the card companies marketed directly to mass retailers, it might be good for the card business and hobby.

This is just like my post from a few months ago. Bottommline is that if the manufacturers don't take the time to put out a quality product we're not going to buy.
I'm tired of spending money on a box, when I can find one, and see that the cards aren't attractive and the one graph I get is hardly recognizable.

As a dealer who buys direct for most product.The bigest thing that affects my sales are the local retail market(Wal-Mart - Target ect)that get product often weeks before any of my distributors get it.This often occurs even when buying Direct.Upper Deck is the worst as the big companys get it the fastest.I have seen a dramitic drop in my sales since the advent of the online auctions.in the Non Sport area most of my sales still occur in the fantasy art area.
The kids will buy a pack of movie related or TV related product once in awile but will mostly spend there cash on videos or CCG games .I have had to grow in these areas and away from my loves Non Sport cards and Comics.I don't think it will ever die but at some point will settle down and distributors will change the way they do business.

My interest in cards has shot right up in the recent weeks with the announcement of Lost and the Serenity set. I'm more excited about cards than I have been in the past (excl. Buffy s7, which I bought.)

quote:

Originally posted by terihatcherfan:
My interest in cards has shot right up in the recent weeks with the announcement of Lost and the Serenity set. I'm more excited about cards than I have been in the past (excl. Buffy s7, which I bought.)

Hey gorgeous
If you don't have Buffy and the Men of Sunnydale base set yet I can send you one...have I already asked you that? You know I'm not good with the memory

-Claire

quote:

Originally posted by BuffyAngelFan:

Hey gorgeous

-Claire

Are you talking to me?

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:
Star Wars Heritage are the only hobby packs i've seen in high street retailers in over 15 years

W H Smiths in Burton has had quite a few, Harry Potter, Heritage, football cards and quite a lot of the sticker type ones.

I've found one of the better places to be a certain large us toy retailer. Had some good pulls from cards bought here. A large chain of UK sci fi shops has cards too.

Ah, this thread has been resurrected. There are always peaks and valleys no matter what you collect. Personally I was in a bit of a rut collecting-wise, Buffy was/is my main collecting passion but the last few sets gaven't really done anything for me, I just got 2 boxes of Spike and none of MOS. I still look forward to another character driven set based on Willow or Faith but even then there really needs to be something new added (again I say SKETCHES! and maybe prop cards) since between the 7 regular season, Reflections, Connections and WOS I have pretty much every autograph (not that I wouldn't want another Willow or some multi-autos) and pieceworks I could want and it's starting to get redundant. That being said, things look to really be on the upswing, Charmed Conversations was good but it was Serenity that got me excited again and Lost looks promising but it was the announcement of Veronica Mars cards that practically has me giddy about collecting again. Nothing like new blood in the card world to get the collecting juices flowing again.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfman-golf:

quote:

Originally posted by BuffyAngelFan:

Hey gorgeous

-Claire

Are you talking to me?

Aww I was talking to Olly (terihatcherfan) but of course you're gorgeous too Wolfie

-Claire

quote:

Originally posted by terihatcherfan:
My interest in cards has shot right up in the recent weeks with the announcement of Lost and the Serenity set. I'm more excited about cards than I have been in the past (excl. Buffy s7, which I bought.)

I thought it was claire who had got your interest up

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

quote:

Originally posted by terihatcherfan:
My interest in cards has shot right up in the recent weeks with the announcement of Lost and the Serenity set. I'm more excited about cards than I have been in the past (excl. Buffy s7, which I bought.)

I thought it was claire who had got your interest up

It was me! He was having a go the other week because he said its MY FAULT hes into trading cards now

-Claire

Claire's always getting people into trouble!!

quote:

Originally posted by Boggle:
Claire's always getting people into trouble!!

OI! Thats not true and you know it

-Claire

7-Year bump!!

Fascinating how much has changed since the last posts, the manufacturers we have lost and gained. The change in production and distribution of new releases.

I work in Toy-Retail and I happen to know the most popular toys in the world right now are pocket money toys. In the UK top 10 you'll find Moshi Monsters cards, Match Attax and "similar to card" items like Lego Minifigures and stickers.
Brought on by the crappy economy, people buy cheap things.

Think how much the manufacturers have adapted and changed their ways and LISTENED to what everyone has had to say on forums like these. The Internet that has contributed to the loss of dealers at card shows has helped to save the hobby in a way.

I'm 26 so still quite young, but got into the hobby in 1992! I remember having to meet people with mum and dad at service stations to trade my tea cards through adverts in the paper!

I am also fascinating by reading this.I merely appreciated the thought of "manufacturers have adapted and changed their ways and LISTENED"

The last time this thread was active was before I knew about the forum and I'm here 5 years.

Funny how the concerns about a diminishing customer base are pretty much the same then as today, even though manufacturers, products, premium packs, autographs and sketch card ratios, and ever increasing prices have all changed.

I guess it proves that the more things change the more they stay the same.