Back in 1989 Upper Deck was something fresh and new. They really did revolutionize the hobby. It was easy to get behind them because they were forcing everyone to do a better job at producing cards. But more than two decades later, they're the establishment. They've got a massive market share in North America. These moves in baseball equate to me like a big, old flipping of the bird at Topps, Major League Baseball and anyone else who's bothering to pay attention. This is just the latest move of many that haven't been so much about competition as they've been about appearing petty to at least this collector. Other instances include the Sweet Spot Michael Buysner and the blatant ripoff of Topps designs masqueraded under the guise of O-Pee-Chee.
In the long run, I find it difficult to see how Upper Deck will be successful in landing future licenses. By sticking their thumb up to baseball (not to mention the whole counterfeiting CCG thing), they're showing disrespect to the hobby that has made them what they are today. I know if I were a licensor with a brand name and image to protect, I'd be very leery when dealing with such attitudes. I may be way off base here, and if I am I'd love to hear different perspectives.
Update:
This card from the Signed, Sealed and Delivered insert set shows Upper Deck is still willing to mention the team names as well, not just the cities:
3 comments:
I'll enjoy the drama as it unfolds.
but isn't this a 2009 product? isn't that their loophole? it'll be interesting to see what their first 2010 looks like for sure.
The wrapper might say it's 2009 but if I'm not mistaken, the set was announced only a couple weeks back - in 2010. A set that's announced in 2010 and released in 2010 is a 2010 product to me. Plus there's the whole issue of the license expiring at the dawn of the new year.
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