Collectors Edition - Issue #011

The articles that make up Issue #011 of the FootyStars “Collectors Edition” newsletter can be found in this newsletter archive by following these links.

Editorial
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/05/what-you-would-like-to-see-included-in-series-2/

Footy Card Collectors Tips
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/05/newsletter-archive-launched-now/

Footy Card Spotlight
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/05/2007-box-cards-medal-winners-and-rookie-sensations/

Protecting Your Investment
http://newsletter.footystars.com.au/2008/05/ultra-pro-pages-for-horizontal-cards/

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Posted on Monday, 19th May 2008 by Ian

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What You Would Like To See Included In Series 2

At the end of the “Special Release Bulletin” we sent out in February I asked this question.

What would YOU like to see in Series 2 released by Select later in the year?

We had a bunch of people reply with suggestions, however I selected the three that I thought offered the best alternatives for improvement.

So here goes…

Darren G - a Carlton supporter suggests they include a few Game Day Jersey Cards or Guernesy Cards in the Series 2 release.

Game Used cards are HUGE in the American market across Baseball, the NBA and the NFL. It would be great to have them in the AFL and NRL again.

Not since 2003 have these been in a release - they were included in the NRL XL and the AFL XL Ultra series.

Steve Price Game Used Chris Judd Game Used

Each of these releases featured three players and the card included a small swatch of the players game worn jersey or guernsey.

These cards were limited to just 300 cards each and remain VERY popular. They are extremely hard to find, let alone buy.

The NRL XL series also included 100 Game Day Jersey Signature cards. Similar to the above card, they also included the players signature making them EVEN more collectable.

It would be fantastic to see Select include something as highly prized as this in the Series 2 release.

The next suggestion was from Mal S - a West Coast Eagles fan. While many people suggested Select should include more signature cards, Mal’s suggestion had a slight twist.

Mal said he would like to see a Signature Redemption Card featuring a “great” past player from EACH club, preferably from the last 20 years.

Although this would be a difficult task for Select, I would love to see something like this in both the AFL and NRL sets this year.

Both codes are celebrating major milestones (AFL 150 years and NRL 100 years) so there is no better time than now to honour our past.

Imagine how good it would be to have one player from each club AND only a short run of say 50 cards per person! That would be one signature in every six boxes in a release of 5000 boxes.

Super rare… very scarce and people who collect only “their team” would still have something to collect other than a Draft Pick Signature or a Top Prospect.

Daniel H - a long suffering collector and New Zealand Warriors fan wrote to us with what I think was the best suggestion of them all.

Daniel’s first love of card collecting is Rugby League, but he recently also got hooked on the Grand Slam Tennis cards produced by Ace Authentic.

Daniel got hooked on these cards because in his words:

“When you buy tennis boxes, you are guarranteed to find something exciting.”

He finds them that “little bit more interesting”, and ultimately more collectable than the NRL cards that he’s been collecting for over 20 years.

Here are some of the key things that Daniel likes most about the Tennis Grand Slam series that he would like to see Select incorporate into their release.

Daniel suggests they include more parallel sub sets. In fact he suggests they include three parallel sub sets for each of the 195 common cards.

Think of it like a Gold, Silver and Bronze Parallel Sub Set for each card.

  • The Gold Sub Set sequentially numbered to just 24 cards
    The Silver Sub Set sequentially numbered to just 48 cards
    The Bronze Sub Set sequentially numbered to just 100 cards

Essentially these are the same card, however each sub set has a different coloured foil highlight!

He believes serious collectors could try and build full 195 card sets at each of the different print runs.

This would add many different levels of inserts in EACH box and more importantly for EVERY box you buy, you will own something of value to someone else (encouraging trades).

For instance you might “bust out” a /#48 card of Joe Average, but for the collector trying to collect the /#48 parallel sub set this will have high DEMAND and is already very SCARCE.

I like this option because it’s simple and economically affordable for Select to produce - which in turn keeps it affordable for collectors to buy. The cards would feature the same design so there is no additional cost to design the card (no extra photos or new presentation styles).

Interestingly Select had dabbled in the area of parallel sub sets. In the last few years we’ve seen Jersey and Guernsey Die Cut Cards, Holiofoil cards (in the Champions releases), and the Footy Face Die Cuts.

All that needs to change is the addition of the sequential numbering on the back of the cards.

I’d love to see it happen in real life because it introduces a greater level of scarcity to the collection, and with scarcity comes high demand.

If you are interested in learning more about the Tennis Grand Slam Series, click here to visit the Ace Authentic website.

And before we finish up with Daniel’s suggestions, he also felt it was important for Select to go back to cards with a 1:72 insert ratio, suggesting there is nothing more disappointing than getting a box with NOTHING rare in it. And I agree wholeheartedly!

Some fantastic suggestions from Darren, Mal and Daniel. Thanks guys for sharing your thoughts with us and our other subscribers. Thanks to the other readers who submitted suggestions also… we appreciate it.

We wait in hope to see what Select have in store for us in the 2008 Series 2 release… and there’s not long to wait now.

I reckon about four to six weeks before they are available to us all.

Add you thoughts in the comment section below. What would you like to see in Series 2?

Enjoy the rest of this issue… I’ll catch you again next month.

Ian

Posted on Monday, 19th May 2008 by Ian

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Newsletter Archive Launched NOW!

In the last issue of the “Collectors Edition” newsletter I told you I had planned four new things for you and our other subscribers.

You will be glad to know the first of the four new additions is now ready for you!

I’m certain this new addition will please the handful of readers that email me each week asking for it… and I’m hoping it will help you even if who haven’t asked for it directly.

“Get on with it and tell me what it is” I hear you say!

We’ve finally gotten around to publishing ALL the previous issues of this newsletter on our site.

Now you and all our other footy card collectors have the ability to go back and read any issue that you might have missed (or deleted from your email)… but it’s even better than just that…

Now, the newsletter archive includes these features:

  • Photos and images of the cards we discuss (not just text)
  • The ability to Rate Each Article - how good (or bad) it is
  • The opportunity to Comment on each Article, and have your comments seen by all the other readers
  • You can subscribe via RSS as well as email
  • You can share your favourite articles with sites such as Facebook, Digg, del.icio.us, Newsvine, Technorati and others (using the “Share This” link at the bottom of each post), plus
  • Participate in reader Polls where you can have your say and vote

The newsletter archive is now permanently available at:

http://newsletter.footystars.com.au

The newsletter archive is fully searchable too. You can search for keywords, by category or by date using the links down the left hand side of the page.

It’s the perfect resource for both new and experienced collectors because it’s loaded full of news, tips and advice about footy card collecting.

It’s all here for you right now. I hope you like it, and remember there are still three more additions on the way!

Let me know what you think… leave a comment in the comments section below.

Posted on Monday, 19th May 2008 by Ian

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2007 Box Cards: Medal Winners and Rookie Sensations

This month I though we might take a look cards from the 2007 releases in both the AFL and NRL that were found only one card per box.

In this article we will look at the AFL Medal Winners and the NRL Rookie Sensations.

Adam Goodes Brownlow Israel Folau Rookie of the Year

The 2007 AFL Medal Winners cards were inserted only one card in every 36 packs (that’s one per box of cards) making them a relatively scarce footy card, and with the high profile players featured, they are always high in demand.

This excellent subset features:

Take a look at them all in store by clicking here.

Brendan Fevola Coleman Medalist  Danyle Pearce NAB Rising Star

The 2007 NRL Invincible Series included a true box card once again.

The NRL Rookie Sensations were literally only avilable if you purchased a box of cards. Sitting beneath all the packs, the Rookie Card sat waiting for the lucky person to find it.

The subset features six up and coming players, many of whom have begun to stamp their mark on the game.

Included in the set are:

Check them all out by clicking here.

Krisnan Inu Rookie Mitchell Pearce

If there’s a card that you would like us to put the spotlight on please leave your comments below along with details of the card and why you feel it should be put “in the spotlight”.

Posted on Monday, 19th May 2008 by Ian

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Ultra Pro Pages For Horizontal Cards

The world’s best protective pages are from Ultra Pro… we all know that, but did you know they are also available as 8 Pocket Pages for cards with a horizontal orientation?

That’s right… they are available!

Ultra Pro 8 Pocket Pages

Each page holds 8 landscape printed cards and offers superior protection for the life of your collection.

They are perfect for keeping your special insert cards that are printed horizontally which means every footy card collector needs some.

The Platinum Series pages are easily distinguishable from cheap imitations. They display the distinctive Ultra-Pro Hologram in the top left hand corner.

Ultra-Pro 8 Pocket Pages

The high clarity heavy gauge polypropylene makes for super strong pockets with solid seams and each page lays flat so your cards will stay in first class condition.

Best of all, with the 8 Pocket Pages from Ultra Pro you can still enjoy flipping through your collection without the need to worry about damaging your cards, and that’s always a good thing.

Containing absolutely no PVC materials means your cards will not be damaged whilst kept in the pockets.

With professionally punched holes down the side these pages fit in virtually any folder.

Whether you’re serious collector or just starting out, these are a must have item.

Check out the 10 Pack in our store.

Or if you have a large collection you might want to consider the Box of 100 pages.

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All the Ultra Pro Accessories mentioned in this newsletter are available at great prices on our website at:
Ultra Pro Accessories

Each month we highlight a different Ultra Pro item, taking a look at who uses it and why, and discussing if it will suit your requirements.

Posted on Monday, 19th May 2008 by Ian

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