VOLUME 1, NUMBER 162
HOT*BUTTON*STORY
(BARRY ENDS LAST HOMESTAND, *** BALL TO HALL ***)
(The Beginning and the End.)
** TOPPS CHROME MICHAEL VICK CARDS SURFACE AT $500 PER
** TOPPS DEAL IS OFFICIAL WITH 53-PERCENT OF THE VOTE SAYING YES
** BARRY'S BALL GOES TO HALL BUT WITH AN (*)
** FALL EXPO IN CANADA BEGINNING TO BUILD
** IN THE GAME SAYS "OH CANADA!"
** UDA PUSHING CECIL'S KID BUT NOT CECIL
** STEINER SETTING DATES FOR 25 MORE PRIVATE SIGNINGS
** AN APOLOGY FROM MATTEL FOR CHINA RECALL
DETAILS ON THESE AND MORE IN TBR: THE BRILL REPORT
EDITORIAL COMMENT: TOPPS? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME VICK?
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(VICK CHARGED, PULLED CHROME CARDS SELLING FOR $500)
While the grand jury came down with less serious charges than expected on dog fighting financier Michael Vick, another unexpected development has hit the hobby. 2007 Topps Chrome cards of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback were to be pulled from production but now it looks as if a few got out and are selling for serious dollars on eBay.
(Blue Refractor 2007 Topps Chrome Vick card.)
So far The Brill Report has tracked five of the cards including a Blue Refractor. Sale prices have been strong. They sold for $350, $365, $405, $500 and one currently up for auction is at $152 with two days left to bid. Topps said they had pulled all Vick cards from their assembly line after Donruss/Playoff started the trend and Upper Deck followed. As has been the case with previous "pulls" (such as Alex Gordon in 2006) some of these cards got out and are selling for very high dollars.
A call and an email request for comment from Topps have not been returned.
Of the five on eBay, none have been graded so there may be some in grading companies which have not been listed so it is very difficult to tell how many there are. So far of the five there are three regular Chrome cards, one regular refractor and one blue refractor. For some sellers keeping the card was not an option.
"I pulled it from a hobby pack a few weeks back," said C. Brown who goes by the seller name "Browntrio2002." "Him being a scumbag turned out to be a blessing for us cause the money we get from this is going to our xmas funds for our two boys."
C. Brown is a stay at home mother and her card is the only active auction on eBay at the moment.
"Money is tight right now with only one source of income so we do what we can to make a little cash on the side," she added. "I don't feel like the best person in the world for selling this but I would feel even worse keeping the card."
(Alex Gordon Cut Card "mistake card" 2006.)
Last year Topps was ordered to pull all Alex Gordon cards from it's baseball products because a mistake was made and he was not on the major league roster as required when the season opened. Topps "cut" the cards out of the sheets but not only did some get out, a large number got out as just the frame or border of the cards. These sold for astronomical numbers.
The winner of all four Vick closed auctions was a collector going by the name CPADennis who has been on eBay since 2002 but only has 171 feedback. This means he is likely an opportunistic investor/collector. As it turns out he is both and might just destroy the cards.
He says he was helping his sons complete their sets of 2007 Topps Chrome when he noticed they were both short no. 111, the Vick card. He learned the card had been pulled but after looking on line did find the card for sale on eBay.
"Being a collector of rare unusual items, I thought this could be the next Honus Wagner card but for all the wrong reasons," Dennis told TBR in an exclusive email interview. "I was definitely not going to give the cards to the kids as he is not a role model for our Family."
So what to do with them?
"So to put it in simple terms I have not decided whether to keep any of the cards, or just save one and destroy the others," he said. "Maybe I'll let our neighbor's dog eat them."
Those would be some pretty expensive dog treats but the Humane Society wouldn't mind seeing this happen. The other sellers include Adam Atkins of Atrain Sports Cards in Westminster, Colorado (eBay store name atrain2004). His sold for $365 and he too pulled it from a pack of cards.
"I was surprised being Topps Chrome was one of the later products released after Topps announced he was being pulled from 2007 products," said Atkins. "Honest I had no second thoughts into auctioning it off because I knew someone would need it for a set. I had no idea it would get the high price it did."
(Vick no. 111 Topps Chrome Card on eBay.)
Atkins compares it to Maurice Clarett's problems from last year when collectors were chasing his cards believing they had been pulled.
"The Playoff Contenders was selling for $800-$1000 but can now easily be purchased for $50," added Atkins. "Topps and the other card companies release these on purpose, just look at the Jeter card with Bush and Mantle on it, it's the same concept."
Atkins says he didn't receive any threats and the only comments he got from eBayers was they were shocked the price got so high.
Another collector was not so happy with the move by Topps if it was on purpose.
"Releasing the Alex Gordon card everyone figured they did that on purpose and that was okay," said one collector. "If they did the Vick thing on purpose, after all that went on, that just isn't right."
Vick meanwhile was charged with several counts by a local grand jury but was not charged with the more serious counts of cruelty to animals. It's believed state prosecutors did not want to charge him with the same things the Federal prosecutors did. Vick awaits trial scheduled for December.
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(TOPPS CERTIFIES VOTE IN SALE TO EISNER)
Arthur Shorin and the executives at Topps needed only a simple majority of shareholder votes to sell the company to a group led by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. They got 53.4-percent. In these days of close votes in national elections, 53.4 is a pretty strong number. Shares actually voted at the special meeting and which were present were 65-percent of 31 million or a 2-1 margin.
(Soon to be the new head of Topps, Michael Eisner.)
Dissident stock holders owned nearly 7-percent of the shares but it wasn't enough to sway shareholders not to vote for the deal. They still contend the price is too low and want to be paid fair market and have filed for this through appropriate legal channels.
More industry figures weighed in on the sale of Topps to Eisner in the past few days. One of them is long time hobbyist Rich Klein, formerly of Beckett Media, who said there are many questions which must be answered over time.
"Will this whole situation be the impetus for Donruss to return to baseball and will Topps look for other sports/entertainment venues to produce cards/memorabilia in and will they be able to expand the distribution thereof said new and old products?" He asked. "I'm sure there will be many other issues that develop after the situation has settled and we'll see how new ownership reacts to those."
Meanwhile after the deal was announced several stock watchers downgraded the company from a "Buy" to a "Hold."
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(BONDS HOMER BALL TO HALL OF FAME, WITH AN ASTERISK*)
The ball Barry Bonds hit to break Hank Aaron's Homer Run record of 755 will be going to the Hall of Fame after all. But, says designer Mark Ecko, who bought the ball, it will go with an "asterisk." After paying $750.000 for the ball, he let fans vote on whether to send it to the moon or somewhere in outer space, destroy it or send it to the HOF with the notation. The fans had their input and the HOF gets a nice trinket.
Ten million people voted at his website, www.vote756.com, with 47-percent saying to brand it and give it to the HOF. Another 34-percent said bestow it on the Hall while 19-percent said banish it to another world.
Bonds had commented the guy was an idiot for what he was doing but maybe not so much now. At least the ball will be in the Hall and the asterisk will give it a little added weight; just like Barry.
Barry Bonds by the way played his last home game in his hometown park in San Francisco this week. The Giants are cutting him loose, officially.
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(FALL EXPO AUTOGRAPH LIST GROWING)
Net minders Felix Potvin and Curtis Joseph are locking into the 2007 Toronto Fall Expo set for November. The biggest hockey event for collectibles shows enters it's show no. 33 with an impressive list of signers and 100,000 square feet of showroom space. There will be 800 tables and 250 dealers.
"There is no doubt this show has made a name for itself as the best venue in North America when it comes to hockey collectibles," said Al Sinclair, President of the Expo. "The show continues to evolve, though, and there is a real nice selection of baseball, football and basketball cards and memorabilia."
Others scheduled to appear to sign include the line known as the French Connection; 1972 Sabres Gilbert Perrault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert. Show dates are November 9-11.
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(IN THE GAME AND NEW SET; O CANADA)
What else should a Canadian-based company come up with but an All Canadian Hockey Series called "O Canada." The series from In The Game will feature 90 autographs, a 100-card base set and a number of players from World Juniors to young players and former stars.
(One of the new O Canada cards from ITG.)
The series is set to debut October 18 with players such as Patrick Roy and youngsters like Angelo Esposito.
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(EBAYER TRIES TO SELL "RECENT" STARGELL AUTOGRAPH)
Sometimes you just have to look a little closer at what you are selling especially when you claim to sell something of very large importance. This comes from eBay Watchdog Chris Williams.
The seller was offering a recent NY Yankees Team Signed baseball. Included in the signatures were Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield. The ball was reported to be a 2005 baseball. The seller said she couldn't make out all the autographs but certainly could make out one; Willie Stargell.
As Williams correctly points out Stargell never played for NY and he died in 2001, or five years before the ball was made. No matter there were lots of bids on the item anyway.
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(UPPER DECK JUMPS ON THE PRINCE)
It didn't take long for Upper Deck Authenticated to jump on the 50/50 cause of Prince and Cecil Fielder. They are the first father and son duo to hit 50 homers in a major league season. This is the pitch line to dealers from UDA as the company pushes it's autographs of the younger player.
(Prince swings like Dad but they are far apart.)
UDA is offering dealers photos at just under $50, baseballs at $59 and Jerseys at just $179.
The father and son have an estranged relationship so it's not highly likely there will be dual signings anytime soon. An experienced promoter, or a knowing psychologist might be able to strike a deal getting the two together to sign, but don't expect it soon.
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(STEINER SETS 25 SIGNINGS)
No one can say Steiner Sports isn't the biggest autograph company in the industry. Steiner announced they have 25 private signings lined up for the near future. Among them are Matt Snell, Joe Torre and Don Maynard as well as current stars Eli Manning and Jaromir Jagr.
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(MATTEL APOLOGIZES TO CHINA FOR TOY RECALLS)
It was not something Americans expected and frankly not something most Americans wanted to see. Mattel however apologized to China for it's part in the toy recalls which have dominated the news recently. In a public apology Tom Debrowski, Mattel VP of world wide operations, said too much blame had been placed on China where Mattel was actually at fault.
"Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all our customers who received the toys," said Debrowski. The apology was directed to China's head of quality control.
(Barbie accessories not so much a target anymore.)
As it turns out while there were incidents of lead in paint which needed to be recalled, more than the lead were design flaws by Mattel. For Mattel there were 17.4 million items recalled, but only 2.2 had to do with lead in paint. The bigger issue has been magnets with faulty designs and these were developed by Mattel.
All this came after the CEO of Mattel apologized to Congress for the problems created for consumers by his company and China.
(Latest RC2 Recalls for Thomas Trains.)
Meanwhile, RC2 Corporation, which was the first of the recall companies is going for it again. Another 269,000 Thomas the Train toys are being recalled for lead in paint. Among them are the All Black Cargo Car and the Sodor Cargo Box. Previously 1.5 million RC2 toys were recalled. Also involved in the latest recall are the Britain's Knights of the Sword Series toys.
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(NEOPETS AND JAKKS STRIKE GOLD)
A new deal with JAKKS Pacific in the lead as Neopets will soon be landing on more store shelves rather than just in on-line gaming. JAKKS, Nickelodean and Viacom Consumer Products announced a deal to allow JAKKS to create a new toy line based on the fastest growing Internet property there is for kids and tweens.
(Neopets items are hot worldwide.)
"This is a very exciting deal for us," said JAKKS President Stephen Berman. "Neopets is a remarkable property for kids and tweens and we know how members love collecting Neopets and other virtual items, and now they can collect Neopets products."
The JAKKS line will focus on the plush Neopets toys and characters with toys and accessories. It's a huge boost for the virtual world to marry the real world.
"Our toy line with JAKKS will create new ways for kids to play and interact with the site in the months ahead," said Liegh Ann Brodsky, President of Nickelodean Products Division. "Consumer products based on the Neopets brand will continue to expand to mass retail in 2008 in categories including toys, electronics, apparel, accessories, books and videogames."
Expect the toys to hit store shelves in early 2008.
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