Category Archives: upper deck

Free Upper Deck Cards on ‘National Hockey Card Day’

Are you a hockey fan who loves to collect autographs and/or trading cards?

Well, this weekend is ‘Hockey Weekend Across America’ and it is not a coincidence that ‘National Hockey Card Day’ falls this weekend. Hockey fans within the U.S. borders can net a free pack of Upper Deck NHL cards. Upper Deck is working with participating hobby and retail shops, NHL and the NHLPA to give fans a free 5-card pack on February 16th.

In these pack, Upper Deck has also randomly inserted a limited amount of autograph cards. The odds of pulling these cards are very difficult, so those who are lucky enough to score one really have a special collectible. The three players who have autographs inserted in these packs are Detroit Red Wings’ Brendan Smith, New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider and Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin.

Keep reading for instruction on how to obtain a free pack of Upper Deck NHL cards this weekend. Continue reading

I Want! – 3-D Topps Baseball Cards

I have probably 100,000 baseball cards at my parents house, but they didn’t make the trip with me to Ohio. I spent every dime that I had buying pack after pack, in hopes of finding my favorite players and/or a pricey rookie card that I could trade for something else that I wanted, or more packs. I collected from the time that I was 5-years old until I was about 15 or 16. About that time, most kids snap out of spending all their money on baseball cards and spend it on gas money or going on dates. I still buy a pack or two every 6-months, but nothing like when I was younger. The Topps Baseball Card Company are introducing 3-D baseball cards, it could very well get me back into buying baseball cards once again.

Topps was one of the first major players in the baseball card industry. They have been around since the 1950s and have helped keep kids interested in baseball. The stats on the back of the cards have helped bring baseball to life, but now with Topps 3-D Live, it could change the industry.

If you hold a special Topps 3D Live baseball card in front of a webcam, you will see a three-dimensional avatar of the player on the computer screen. Rotate the card, and the figure rotates in full perspective. It’s called “augmented reality,” a combination of a real image with a virtual one. Here is a video of how it will look.

The baseball card industry is struggling in the age of the Internet. Today’s collectors, most of whom are still boys, can just as easily and less expensively find the sports facts they want online. The New York Times reported that the industry once had revenue of a $1 billion a year, but the market for sports trading cards has shrunk to $200 million. These facts are according to information provided by Major League Baseball Properties in a recent lawsuit against a former card licensee. (The players’ association licenses the right to use players’ likenesses.)

Michael Eisner, the former chief of Walt Disney, had a plan to help rebuild the industry. In 2007 his Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners bought Topps for $385 million. Total Immersion, a French company, brought Topps the augmented reality technology. It has already been used in a theme park and for some auto design work. Using the technology, card collectors see a three-dimensional version of a player and can play elementary pitching, batting and catching games using the computer keyboard.

Mr. Eisner has also created Back on Topps, a 17-episode Internet comedy that spoofs his acquisition of the company. He is developing a movie based on another of the company’s products, Bazooka Joe bubble gum. He also wants to create sports films. It appears that he wants to make Topps into a multimedia corporation, similar, yet different to what Disney was when he was in charge. If you spread out the company into different media areas, the chances of future development and consistency are greater. The Topps 3D Live cards are a natural extension of the brand.

If you’re interested in purchasing some Topps 3-D Live baseball cards, they are affordable. Series 1 cards will cost $2 for a 12-pack while a $1 pack will contain five cards.

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