Almost a little under the radar, Upper Deck announced this past week that they were going to be bringing the uber-successful Basketball product, Fleer Retro, to Football. In case your frame of reference isnt quite there for Basketball products, Fleer Retro might have been the most buzz-worthy set in many years. Cases are selling at almost 300% above the original MSRP. With college uniforms and a overstated nostalgia for the gaudy looking products of the late 1990s, Upper Deck accomplished what Panini has been trying to do since drastically overpaying for the NBA exclusive license. Although this product, most likely, wont have the same level of success in football that it did in Basketball, it should be interesting to see how much collectors want it.
Fleer Retro was driven by a need for collectors to have a new shot at some of the ridiculously rare inserts of a time where few cards were victim to contrived scarcity. If a card was serially numbered, it actually was that rare. Capitalizing on that premise, Upper Deck managed to achieve insert cards worth literally thousands of dollars with no autograph or relic:
2012 Fleer Retro Michael Jordan Precious Metal Gems Green /10 – I dont even know what to say about this price.
2012 Fleer Retro Lebron James Precious Metal Gems Green /10 – Equally jaw dropping price.
2012 Fleer Retro Magic Johnson Precious Metal Gems Green /10
Football doesnt have the same sort of following or high end focused market that basketball does, but collectors will automatically assign value only because of how the cards performed in the sister product. Football did have Precious Metal Gems back in the day, but their value is peanuts compared to the big names in basketball.
Upper Deck definitely has a good thing going for them right now, and I have no idea what took them so long to come up with this as a strategy. With the ownership of retro names under their umbrella, this could be the step towards generating enough capital to get the license back. Regardless of any lawsuits or relationships. They already had success with college legends, based on their widely chased 1997 set, and if I am Gregg Kohn, I keep going to this well until its dry.
Upper Deck will never get a major sports license back again as long as Richard Mcwilliams owns the company. They are going to be lucky to keep a 1/2 license with the NHL as other companies have their eye on that marketplace. You cannot lie, cheat, slow pay/no pay, counterfeit, burn bridges, understate royalties, shred product at rapid shredding all in the face of a licensor and expect to get a license back. In my opinion, the CLC exclusive will go by the wayside when it comes up and Lebron and Tiger are heading out the door.
Out of all the sports I like hockey cards the best. It seems like there are several “hits” per team as opposed to the 2-3 overall hits for the rest of the major sports… I also like that you dont have a rookie until youve made it to the league..
I miss Chrome hockey. Imagine what 5 Star Hockey would look like..
Would anyone else sign Tiger to a exclusive deal that would pay any kind of return to said company?
McLovin sounds like someone that is bitter that Upper Deck cut them out of their program
I’m not buying anymore Upper Deck products. They’re junk. Outside of hockey it’s all college uniforms and fake university bookstore jersey patches. I bought SP Authentic Basketball last year and it was one of the crappiest products I’ve ever busted.
McLovin knows all as I worked in the evil empire. Welcome back to work Richard hope your health and mind are good. The trading card world needs you back.