banjar
Well-known member
This is a cool thread. Thanks Jeff for blogging away during your trip!
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INDUSTRY SUMMIT- DAILY RECAP- DAY 5 WRAP UP
- Thread starter jeffv96masters
- Start date
jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
Now that the shows over I'll be trying to slow down for 5 minutes and talk more about the experiences. Still on DAY 3 which was busy to say the least. A few days ago I posted this set up picture of what turned out to be the remarkable sports artwork of artist Isaac " Ike" Rodriguez
Thanks to Erik for providing some background on his hobby participation locally. I can tell you if you own a shop-- or have the space- commission this guy. The in depth work he does is amazing. I did give him "constructive" remarks on his Bagwell ( sorta overdid Jeff's Popeye forearms) but otherwise-- WOW !!
I spent show time telling other dealers to check out his stuff-- good hobby shop material. While expensive-- which artwork can be-- its well within the range of most hobby participants if they save for 6-12 months. And easily affordable to those who earn enough to afford splurges on hobby stuff regularly. The few I had interest in all were in the $1000-1500 range and some he had autographed by the athlete.
While the show mostly had sports works he also does individualized items ( see below)
A few of his works are below. You can find him a variety of ways
www.ikesartstudio.com is his website and he's on Twitter (@IKERODRIGUEZ) Facebook ( /IKE.RODRIGUEZ) and Instagram (IZAK1976)
Here he is below pictured below ( far left ) with Alex Soriano of Beckett (computer facing Alex), Ted Barker of Beckett and another vendor I wont name
And along the lines of personal items-- check out a commissioned work of Nate Washington and family ( NFL player for Steelers/Titans/Texans)
Thanks to Erik for providing some background on his hobby participation locally. I can tell you if you own a shop-- or have the space- commission this guy. The in depth work he does is amazing. I did give him "constructive" remarks on his Bagwell ( sorta overdid Jeff's Popeye forearms) but otherwise-- WOW !!
I spent show time telling other dealers to check out his stuff-- good hobby shop material. While expensive-- which artwork can be-- its well within the range of most hobby participants if they save for 6-12 months. And easily affordable to those who earn enough to afford splurges on hobby stuff regularly. The few I had interest in all were in the $1000-1500 range and some he had autographed by the athlete.
While the show mostly had sports works he also does individualized items ( see below)
A few of his works are below. You can find him a variety of ways
www.ikesartstudio.com is his website and he's on Twitter (@IKERODRIGUEZ) Facebook ( /IKE.RODRIGUEZ) and Instagram (IZAK1976)
Here he is below pictured below ( far left ) with Alex Soriano of Beckett (computer facing Alex), Ted Barker of Beckett and another vendor I wont name
And along the lines of personal items-- check out a commissioned work of Nate Washington and family ( NFL player for Steelers/Titans/Texans)
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jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
OK folks some remarks about the experiences with JANYCE MABRAN of Tri-Star. I'll hopefully be getting some answers back from TriStar about the packaged goods related questions I had. Before I put my name on selling anything I want assurances on how its obtained and the authenticity of the item. Packaged goods sold at retail locales- or online which is my main industry presence- is essentially me representing something I am not involved in originally obtaining. Last thing I want is a ) my hobby integrity or honesty called into question and b) my reputation dragged thru the mud because I decided to sell someones product line that had false or fraudulent products.
Its been nothing but negative headlines recently for the sports memorabilia segment of the hobby with accusations of forged and / or authenticated items.. Along those lines how does Tri-Star Productions as a company combat the authenticity questions ?? What steps are taken to insure whats being offered will pass the authenticity tests ?? These are questions she couldn't answer directly ( was at the show basically just to pimp the product lines and offer sell sheets). Every single person I encountered had similar questions as well.
Many of the product lines are below. As you can see== particularly with the PLATINUM, YANKEE DYNASTY and TOM BRADY series-- I had answers I could not get.
How to contact them is easily seen on the sheet and I have her email should anyone be interested in direct packaged goods purchase from them instead of resellers
I'll pass on selling these items until my questions are appropriately responded to by TriStar first.
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Its been nothing but negative headlines recently for the sports memorabilia segment of the hobby with accusations of forged and / or authenticated items.. Along those lines how does Tri-Star Productions as a company combat the authenticity questions ?? What steps are taken to insure whats being offered will pass the authenticity tests ?? These are questions she couldn't answer directly ( was at the show basically just to pimp the product lines and offer sell sheets). Every single person I encountered had similar questions as well.
Many of the product lines are below. As you can see== particularly with the PLATINUM, YANKEE DYNASTY and TOM BRADY series-- I had answers I could not get.
How to contact them is easily seen on the sheet and I have her email should anyone be interested in direct packaged goods purchase from them instead of resellers
I'll pass on selling these items until my questions are appropriately responded to by TriStar first.
,
,
,
jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
As I posted the other Day we had that Racing forum on Day 3. After that forum I spent soeme time talking with the guys from Lionel Racing. Pictured below are John Strizzi (Direct of Sales) on the left and John Bickford (Director of Distributors) on the right with a female I won't ID. Stupid phone doesn't have autofocus- fuzzy as usual
I was struck of course by how similar the racing guys are to baseball cards collectors. We collect things we love and of course these folks do as well. The major difference between us however is level of access. In baseball how often you get to go to the locker room ?? How about to the dugout or bullpen ?
How often to the private conference area? Cafeteria the employees use? In NASCAR these folks can walk into any pit row area and see their drivers . They can view the garage staff, observe them, and can talk to drivers directly. Unreal amount of access. Little wonder why they travel to see their guys/gals.
Did you know that like the serial numbers on our cards die cuts also are limited production runs? Of course. Did you also know they have DIN ?? Whats that- a DIN? Well like the VIN number of a vehicle each production item thats limited carries with it a way of identifying that particular vehicle and its specific serial number. If you want to buy the item and put pics of it online you have to possess the "keys" to doing so. The DIN serves the purpose especially when building their online visual display "garage". Without it no one would know the identity in your garage or when you tried selling.
Below were a bunch of the items they showed me available. I was struck by how many of these items I "impulse" purchased way back when due to food connections. They wouldn't let me buy either of these-- trust me I was all over anything food related at this show.
Anyways below is a car from their " Elite" series . They wouldn't let me buy it either ( figures) but let me tell ya I'm an M&M collector junkie got all sorts of stuff. The difference in the "Elite" series shown below compared to the base level is not only in the type of materials used but the quality of reproduction.
If the vehicle for instance is a race winner- which this one was- the ACTUAL condition in Victory Lane is reproduced. And I do not mean a simple reproduction. If the driver peeled out, blew a tire, and the quarter panel below off-guess what? Reproduced "exactly"- hows that for detail ?? Everything- stickers, dents, tires, windows , flaps etc, etc- dirt that sprayed, oil that came off and marred the surface-- its ALL included
Unbelievable amount of stuff no wonder the NASCAR loving families enjoy it.
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Construction quality, differences in reproduction quality of key parts etc varies from the Elite series to the Base series. In the base series plastic instead of metal was used. Sort of like a high end card is totally different than some base issue. The parallels were astounding and interesting between these die casts and sports cards- very interesting for me to learn new stuff
You can find them here at https://www.lionelracing.com/ or on Twitter @Lionel_Racing
Interesting stuff
,
,
,
,
,
I was struck of course by how similar the racing guys are to baseball cards collectors. We collect things we love and of course these folks do as well. The major difference between us however is level of access. In baseball how often you get to go to the locker room ?? How about to the dugout or bullpen ?
How often to the private conference area? Cafeteria the employees use? In NASCAR these folks can walk into any pit row area and see their drivers . They can view the garage staff, observe them, and can talk to drivers directly. Unreal amount of access. Little wonder why they travel to see their guys/gals.
Did you know that like the serial numbers on our cards die cuts also are limited production runs? Of course. Did you also know they have DIN ?? Whats that- a DIN? Well like the VIN number of a vehicle each production item thats limited carries with it a way of identifying that particular vehicle and its specific serial number. If you want to buy the item and put pics of it online you have to possess the "keys" to doing so. The DIN serves the purpose especially when building their online visual display "garage". Without it no one would know the identity in your garage or when you tried selling.
Below were a bunch of the items they showed me available. I was struck by how many of these items I "impulse" purchased way back when due to food connections. They wouldn't let me buy either of these-- trust me I was all over anything food related at this show.
Anyways below is a car from their " Elite" series . They wouldn't let me buy it either ( figures) but let me tell ya I'm an M&M collector junkie got all sorts of stuff. The difference in the "Elite" series shown below compared to the base level is not only in the type of materials used but the quality of reproduction.
If the vehicle for instance is a race winner- which this one was- the ACTUAL condition in Victory Lane is reproduced. And I do not mean a simple reproduction. If the driver peeled out, blew a tire, and the quarter panel below off-guess what? Reproduced "exactly"- hows that for detail ?? Everything- stickers, dents, tires, windows , flaps etc, etc- dirt that sprayed, oil that came off and marred the surface-- its ALL included
Unbelievable amount of stuff no wonder the NASCAR loving families enjoy it.
,
,
,
,
Construction quality, differences in reproduction quality of key parts etc varies from the Elite series to the Base series. In the base series plastic instead of metal was used. Sort of like a high end card is totally different than some base issue. The parallels were astounding and interesting between these die casts and sports cards- very interesting for me to learn new stuff
You can find them here at https://www.lionelracing.com/ or on Twitter @Lionel_Racing
Interesting stuff
,
,
,
,
,
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jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
If you can send me that pic. Have an idea in mind to go with the below and may do a custom
My email of course as always [email protected]
]
And here is a better pic of Garvey with some of the Beckett staff I had to take the picture of course
I'll post more about Day 4 and Day 5 when I can I've whittled 1626 emails down to a mere 400+ should be caught up by Monday :lol::lol:
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jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
Okay on Day 4 of the Summit there basically were just a few connections I needed to make and of the two athletes who were going to show on Tuesday ( Steve Garvey and Dave Dravecky) sadly I could only attend 1 in the morning ( Garvey) as I had to work Tuesday night so Dravecky was completely out. I've already posted about that Garvey experience so I'll discuss my added meetings
The first vendor I met up with was UNCANNY BRANDS. We were doing a "Meet The Industry" tour and I popped into the Uncanny Brands presentation. If you can I'd encourage folks to stop over on their website or facebook or twitter pages. The main guy is Joshua Fink. The website is here https://uncannybrands.com/ or Facebook "UncannyBrands" or on Twitter @uncannybrands
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Anyways during the meeting learned about the newly signed MLB / NHL / NBA / NFL and other sports agreements they had in place to market numerous items. They generally concentrate on toys, appliances and limited edition collectibles. You probably have seen them all over the place as Pangea Brands
They are in Walmart, Amazon, Kohls, and many other mass retailers. As the pic below shows it can be anything from a Darth Vader Star Wars toaster to various other items from Kiss., Marvel , or other sports / entertainment genres. The Darth Vader toaster reminded me of one I'd seen at a Sam's Club event I thought was cool to own
The items Josh ( the bald guy) brought to the show were stuffed mascots , players, keychains etc = and the item that was most interesting to me were the unique prints. Each print was coordinated direct with an artist. Depending on order volume only a certin amount was allowed to be produced .The highest # I saw was 300 with most basic orders being 100 or less in order for the print to garner the most attention and earn sellers more money. Below is the Lebron print # to 300 I was provided as a freebie for my private meeting-- which I thanked him profusely for of course
Overall loved learning about a market segment I hadn't really thought much about. After seeing the dizzying array of items he sells and knowing how many I'd seen at various chains I'd say they do fairly well business wise !! As you can see they deal with Phenom Gallery for many artist recreations
I have more but will discuss those tomorrow at my energy limit. Includes the Leaf Meeting I had and the 2 minute meeting with Southern Hobby.There were several vendors I never got around to even starting conversations with for various reasons
Jeff
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The first vendor I met up with was UNCANNY BRANDS. We were doing a "Meet The Industry" tour and I popped into the Uncanny Brands presentation. If you can I'd encourage folks to stop over on their website or facebook or twitter pages. The main guy is Joshua Fink. The website is here https://uncannybrands.com/ or Facebook "UncannyBrands" or on Twitter @uncannybrands
,
,
,
Anyways during the meeting learned about the newly signed MLB / NHL / NBA / NFL and other sports agreements they had in place to market numerous items. They generally concentrate on toys, appliances and limited edition collectibles. You probably have seen them all over the place as Pangea Brands
They are in Walmart, Amazon, Kohls, and many other mass retailers. As the pic below shows it can be anything from a Darth Vader Star Wars toaster to various other items from Kiss., Marvel , or other sports / entertainment genres. The Darth Vader toaster reminded me of one I'd seen at a Sam's Club event I thought was cool to own
The items Josh ( the bald guy) brought to the show were stuffed mascots , players, keychains etc = and the item that was most interesting to me were the unique prints. Each print was coordinated direct with an artist. Depending on order volume only a certin amount was allowed to be produced .The highest # I saw was 300 with most basic orders being 100 or less in order for the print to garner the most attention and earn sellers more money. Below is the Lebron print # to 300 I was provided as a freebie for my private meeting-- which I thanked him profusely for of course
Overall loved learning about a market segment I hadn't really thought much about. After seeing the dizzying array of items he sells and knowing how many I'd seen at various chains I'd say they do fairly well business wise !! As you can see they deal with Phenom Gallery for many artist recreations
I have more but will discuss those tomorrow at my energy limit. Includes the Leaf Meeting I had and the 2 minute meeting with Southern Hobby.There were several vendors I never got around to even starting conversations with for various reasons
Jeff
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jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
A quick note on Day 4 morning session 2-- I won't bore you with the Ultra Pro meeting not much to show you know what they look like
Their rep was really clueless on tHE questions I had. Believe someone else should have been sent I knew more than he did sadly
Anyways I did spot an item I haven't seen much of- a BLACK BORDER game used holder ( 130 and 180pt were available as well)
While I've seen them on the thin cards this was my first experience on thicker game used
Really makes these white 2003 Leaf Certifieds POP !!! So if you weren't aware Ultra Pro has those available now you are
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Their rep was really clueless on tHE questions I had. Believe someone else should have been sent I knew more than he did sadly
Anyways I did spot an item I haven't seen much of- a BLACK BORDER game used holder ( 130 and 180pt were available as well)
While I've seen them on the thin cards this was my first experience on thicker game used
Really makes these white 2003 Leaf Certifieds POP !!! So if you weren't aware Ultra Pro has those available now you are
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Brewer Andy
Active member
- Aug 10, 2008
- 9,615
For those colored one-touches is it both pieces that are colored? I figured they could just produce a colored lid/top portion because that would fit any other size. They could sell packs of just lids and people would probably gobble them up
Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app
jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
Just the top and if that rep was anything but new and clueless might have mentioned it to him. I did place the suggestion out there to @UltraProIntl on Twitter. Had to have the wife show me first how sign up in order to tweet . Gonna have her monitor my feeds too.
When I get more time I'll post on Day 5 meeting with Leaf , my observations of the show, and show off the Leaf gift ( thank you Brian). Would have talked with him but he was surrounded by a bunch of dealers all show up to the end so I passed will try and hook up sometime he has 15 minutes. Had a series of questions I wanted to ask.
jeffv96masters
Well-known member
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,352
OK folks finally got more free time to close off the Summit. Day 5 was a standard breakfast and wrap up with Brian Gray from Leaf wrapping up. Brian talked about a host his products in a staccato voice and you needed to pay attention as the man flies when he's on a roll
Below is a pic you should save- Brian in a suit jacket. The mans more comfortable like the rest of us in jeans and short sleeve shirts. Took the pic cause its not often you see him dressed up nor does he sit still for long folks the mans always moving. Didn't see him sit all show He was always meeting with folks and let's just say Leaf's in no danger of going under.
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The one remark he did spend some time on- and one I personally felt was lacking all Summitt- was the need for hobby shops & dealers to accentuate the positive. Like the rest of society the hobby spends a lot of wasted time on negativity instead of promoting why its a hobby to enjoy. I was impressed with his detailed
grasps of the main issues and have to say he scored some personal brownie points. Below he discussed some of the upcoming products his company would be producing and while these pics don't do them justice they are very nice mock ups. He also discussed the holiday rewards program amongst other hobby shop items of interest. All in all one of the better presentations. The man even admitted you give him a prepared product = he's the King of Repacks. Honest to the nth degree
,
,
,
,
,
,
One of the things I have to do as someone on both sides of many equations ( buyer / seller , dealer / customer, manufacturer / user to name a few) I have to separate out my personal feelings towards people and concentrate on solely what the business side of things brings to the table. One thing I'll give the man he's PASSIONATE. He's honest, and he's gruff, and he's arrogant and he's a whole lots of personal turnoffs to many people-- all of which get ignored by me . I could care less what personality anyone brings to the business table. His business acumen is top notch and he's someone who can self-promote a la the late Al Rosen. I like the business side of him and he was so busy all show I couldn't get 15 minutes of his time. He's aware of what he is to the hobby, where his products fit in, how he fits into the market and how he can help the hobby
I'd love to spend some time speaking directly to him without all the show distractions. Once his presentation was over the crush began for freebie city. I waited- not one to care much for what freebies I get handed.
If its free I'm okay with it. I'll bust it over in my Box Break section rather than double post it here.
Many dealers / show folks left before Weds- oh well it was a great show
All of Brians Leaf freebies were show produced 1/1 labeled-- nice gift and personally I was grateful for any freebie== thanks Brian for your generosity !!
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One final note is my limited time and lack of advance preparation made it a show that was maybe 50% satisfying. I'd have like to have prepared better personally and not been forced to chose between work / attending sessions. Next year I'll plan better for it.
Box break section in a few I'll bust that freeebie Summit box
Below is a pic you should save- Brian in a suit jacket. The mans more comfortable like the rest of us in jeans and short sleeve shirts. Took the pic cause its not often you see him dressed up nor does he sit still for long folks the mans always moving. Didn't see him sit all show He was always meeting with folks and let's just say Leaf's in no danger of going under.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
The one remark he did spend some time on- and one I personally felt was lacking all Summitt- was the need for hobby shops & dealers to accentuate the positive. Like the rest of society the hobby spends a lot of wasted time on negativity instead of promoting why its a hobby to enjoy. I was impressed with his detailed
grasps of the main issues and have to say he scored some personal brownie points. Below he discussed some of the upcoming products his company would be producing and while these pics don't do them justice they are very nice mock ups. He also discussed the holiday rewards program amongst other hobby shop items of interest. All in all one of the better presentations. The man even admitted you give him a prepared product = he's the King of Repacks. Honest to the nth degree
,
,
,
,
,
,
One of the things I have to do as someone on both sides of many equations ( buyer / seller , dealer / customer, manufacturer / user to name a few) I have to separate out my personal feelings towards people and concentrate on solely what the business side of things brings to the table. One thing I'll give the man he's PASSIONATE. He's honest, and he's gruff, and he's arrogant and he's a whole lots of personal turnoffs to many people-- all of which get ignored by me . I could care less what personality anyone brings to the business table. His business acumen is top notch and he's someone who can self-promote a la the late Al Rosen. I like the business side of him and he was so busy all show I couldn't get 15 minutes of his time. He's aware of what he is to the hobby, where his products fit in, how he fits into the market and how he can help the hobby
I'd love to spend some time speaking directly to him without all the show distractions. Once his presentation was over the crush began for freebie city. I waited- not one to care much for what freebies I get handed.
If its free I'm okay with it. I'll bust it over in my Box Break section rather than double post it here.
Many dealers / show folks left before Weds- oh well it was a great show
All of Brians Leaf freebies were show produced 1/1 labeled-- nice gift and personally I was grateful for any freebie== thanks Brian for your generosity !!
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
One final note is my limited time and lack of advance preparation made it a show that was maybe 50% satisfying. I'd have like to have prepared better personally and not been forced to chose between work / attending sessions. Next year I'll plan better for it.
Box break section in a few I'll bust that freeebie Summit box
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linuxabuser
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2011
- 2,473
Nice write up. I met Janyce at last year’s National in Cleveland. She was very nice.
Randy Shields
Well-known member
So informative!
Pays real money!
Awesome insight!
Might try it!
Nah j/k, I hate SPAM!
mrmopar
Member
- Jan 19, 2010
- 3,698
Funny how it seems to alway be old threads that get chosen. I know Jeff mentioned that Garvey signature to me in another thread not that long ago, so it's funny this one popped back up. He was going to so something with it...
