Baseball exclusive to Topps soon?

[beefycheddar]

http://TheSportsCardFile.com has another big scoop today. According to Steven, Topps is meeting with MLBP and MLBPA this week about the potential of Baseball going exclusive to Topps in 2010. Upper Deck had recently met with them as well, but this should be a huge and interesting story to follow through the next few months. Hopefully we will be speaking again with Steven on The Card Podcast.

 

[MacK]

I wouldn't mind it too much, just as long as they keep the quality of their cards up. I know competition increases quality, but maybe Topps will actually produce some awesome cards with an exclusive license.

 

[ffgameman]

Wow.

If there is credibility to this (in the end) the landscape of baseball with be changing along with basketball.

 

[ru4scuba]

I wouldn't mind it too much, just as long as they keep the quality of their cards up. I know competition increases quality, but maybe Topps will actually produce some awesome cards with an exclusive license.

I can see Topps keeping the status quo if they were to receive an exclusive license. This would be a bad thing for the hobby.

 

[Jaypers]

Need clarification - does this mean Topps wants to be the sole producer of LICENSED baseball cards, or baseball cards as a whole?

 

[cgilmo]

Wow.

If there is credibility to this (in the end) the landscape of baseball with be changing along with basketball.

Judd is the most reliable source we could ever ask for.

 

[beefycheddar]

Need clarification - does this mean Topps wants to be the sole producer of LICENSED baseball cards, or baseball cards as a whole?

They would potentially have the only MLB license.

 

[ffgameman]

Eh, I shouldn't have said "credibility".

What I meant is if this really goes down, the landscape of baseball will be changing.

Wow.

If there is credibility to this (in the end) the landscape of baseball with be changing along with basketball.

Judd is the most reliable source we could ever ask for.

 

[Card Magnet]

I hate exclusive deals. Whether it was Madden gaining the exclusive rights to NFL football games, or NBA licensing going to Panini. The lack of competition, in my opinion, means we won't see as great of a product. When there's a competitor out there, both guys try to top the other, and we see a better product, or at least that's how it is supposed to work.

If somebody has to get an exclusive, I would rather have Topps.

 

[Jaypers]

Need clarification - does this mean Topps wants to be the sole producer of LICENSED baseball cards, or baseball cards as a whole?

They would potentially have the only MLB license.

Oh. No big deal then, from a prospector's standpoint.

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

 

[ru4scuba]

Need clarification - does this mean Topps wants to be the sole producer of LICENSED baseball cards, or baseball cards as a whole?

Think of it this way, if the MLBP gets their way in court and unlicensed card companies aren't allowed to use the likeness of MiLB players Topps and TriStar would be the only baseball card producers.

 

[ru4scuba]

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

You've said this several times, but "EXCLUSIVE" has been around in the card industry long before Razor. Griffey and Jeter have been exclusive to UD for baseball for some time and then there are a ton of exclusives in basketball for both companies.

 

[beefycheddar]

Need clarification - does this mean Topps wants to be the sole producer of LICENSED baseball cards, or baseball cards as a whole?

They would potentially have the only MLB license.

Oh. No big deal then, from a prospector's standpoint.

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

But for the industry it's huge, and that would hit prospecting as well. As there are less companies there could be less collectors. Speaking for myself, if there were just Topps cards for my players I would have a lot less in my collection. So to me this could be a huge deal. Also for prospectors, if UD keeps losing licenses, will they stay around? USA would be gone if they are, at least in the form it is, and that would be a hit to prospectors.

 

[beefycheddar]

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

You've said this several times, but "EXCLUSIVE" has been around in the card industry long before Razor. Griffey and Jeter have been exclusive to UD for baseball for some time and then there are a ton of exclusives in basketball for both companies.

Shaq was the original exclusive that I can think of since he was Exclusive to Classic for a few months after being drafted.

 

[braden]

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

Not at all. Even ignoring all the past "exclusives" that UD has had, everyone in the hockey world has been sick to death of the word 'exclusive' since UD was granted exclusive rights close to three years ago.

 

[Card Magnet]

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

You've said this several times, but "EXCLUSIVE" has been around in the card industry long before Razor. Griffey and Jeter have been exclusive to UD for baseball for some time and then there are a ton of exclusives in basketball for both companies.

I'm waiting for the day a pro sport, like MLB, inks a deal to make all game used material exclusive to one company. That would suck.

 

[Jaypers]

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

You've said this several times, but "EXCLUSIVE" has been around in the card industry long before Razor. Griffey and Jeter have been exclusive to UD for baseball for some time and then there are a ton of exclusives in basketball for both companies.

True, but I'm fairly certain the word hasn't run amock or been discussed nearly as often as it has been of late.

If the interpretation in your last post above proves to be correct, then obviously it would be a bigger deal than I'd originally thought.

Beefy -- I'm confident in saying the USA brand lost quite a bit of its luster with their latest release in the eyes of many.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Need clarification - does this mean Topps wants to be the sole producer of LICENSED baseball cards, or baseball cards as a whole?

They would potentially have the only MLB license.

Oh. No big deal then, from a prospector's standpoint.

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

But for the industry it's huge, and that would hit prospecting as well. As there are less companies there could be less collectors. Speaking for myself, if there were just Topps cards for my players I would have a lot less in my collection. So to me this could be a huge deal. Also for prospectors, if UD keeps losing licenses, will they stay around? USA would be gone if they are, at least in the form it is, and that would be a hit to prospectors.

2009 USA is essentially "gone" anyway, do to the unnecessary tripling of the SRP

 

[ru4scuba]

Isn't it interesting how "EXCLUSIVE" is the new buzz word around the entire card community ever since Razor reintroduced it last year?

You've said this several times, but "EXCLUSIVE" has been around in the card industry long before Razor. Griffey and Jeter have been exclusive to UD for baseball for some time and then there are a ton of exclusives in basketball for both companies.

True, but I'm fairly certain the word hasn't run amock or been discussed nearly as often as it has been of late.

If the interpretation in your last post above proves to be correct, then obviously it would be a bigger deal than I'd originally thought.

True, Razor has been marketing "EXCLUSIVE" more than anyone in the past which is why we're noticing it more, but it the concept has been around for a while.

As far as player's likeness goes, lets just hope Donruss is right. "Donruss claims that MLBP has no standing to claim a violation of the New York Civil Rights Law by using minor league players’ likenesses."

 

[notjomommasclint]

i have recently switched my stance on the more card companies making the more quality you are likely to get. i now like the exclusive licensed cards to one company. it will straighten out the rookie card issue, help limit the releases per year, and bring some stability back into the industry. they would have to crack down on the likeness issue and we see some of that in the donruss lawsuit. 1 exclusive minor league company and 1 exclusive major league company fills all the cracks to me.