The Sports Cards Hobby Needs a Virtual Trade Conference

Have you ever been to a virtual trade show? They are awesome and this is something our card and memorabilia hobby need.

You can get so much information about the subject without leaving your PC. With all of the growth our hobby has seen in blogs, trading forums, and memorabilia sites - the time is now to bring it all together for a yearly showcase.

Of course this doesn't replace "The National." A virtual trade show would bring more information to more people for free!

You won't leave this show at the end of the day with a new Upper Deck card, a set completed, or an autograph baseball, but you will leave more information about what ideas card companies have for the future and make more connections in the hobby.

How would you like to attend a virtual trade show (for free) and get to hear Upper Deck and Topps talk about their products for next year. What do they plan on doing that is different? How are they going to earn our collecting dollars next year?

How would you like to hear from Tri-Star, Mounted Memories, CSA, and MAB about autograph shows they plan on having next year

How would you like to ask your questions directly to the card and memorabilia companies? Collectors would get to hear this via live webinar and get to ask all of their questions.

Wouldn't you like to win a Box of Bowman Chrome or an autograph mini helmet just for attending one of the presentations? This can all be done in a virtual trade show.

Beckett or SCD could have a presentation to discuss how they price cards or the future of card grading. Beckett could use the space to talk about the change of their web site and new magazines.

McFarlane can have a webinar on their newest products and who's going to be in the next series.

The virtual trade conference also has the ability to have a virtual lobby where you can trade information with collectors from other blogs and web sites.

The possibilities for information sharing and gathering are endless. The digital age is done with "finding" information - we've found it and now we're in a time of "connecting."

How does this work?
I have put these together for my work - they are a lot of fun (and work) and you make some great connections. If you are a collector, lets start making some noise about having one of these. If you are a card or memorabilia company then lets get to work. For some examples, check out Unisfair and Design Reactor, and talk to people who have "attended" virtual trade shows.

I know, this blog entry wasn't about a certain card or autograph I just picked up... I'm guilty of being in a marketing mood today and I think our hobby can really grow and get more connected with something like this.

Jake McFarlane (Todd's son) autograph

Sure, Todd McFarlane's autograph is easy to get, but what about Jake's?!

Jake was sitting next to Todd at the autograph pavilion and offered his autograph too. I don't know if he thought I was friends of Todd since I was talking to him or what. Heck, he's the "spawn" of a great comic artist, so I wasn't going to turn it down - even if he was 9 years old (or whatever his age is).

Todd McFarlane Autographs

I'm not a huge Todd McFarlane sports figures collector anymore, but I still admire Todd's art and creativity.

At the Super Bowl 42 Experience Todd signed at the Topps Autograph Pavilion. Here's a picture of his autograph on one of his Spider Man comics. I think this is an awesome cover and Todd signed it with a green marker. The autograph really stands out.

Every time I've met Todd he's been really cool - - he's also been really late for his autograph time! But he's always been really nice, so you end up forgetting that he was late.

Autographs @ NFL Experience

I scored a couple of nice autographs last week at the NFL Super Bowl Experience (despite the poor Topps showing).

The only one I got at the Topps autograph pavilion was Todd McFarlane. I knew he was going to be there because his booth and website said he was scheduled for 2:00 pm.

I came prepared with a baseball and the first Spiderman comic that he did. They both look awesome and he was really cool. It's hard to tell on the baseball I have pictured here, but he added, "HOF NEVER!" with his signature.

The Burger King booth was awesome. I got Roy Williams (of the Cowboys) on a Dallas mini-helmet and on an Oklahoma mini-helmet. He barely noticed my existance when signing the items and signed "Williams" as William$." Classy.

I also got Archie Manning at the BK Booth to sign a Saints mini-helmet with "GEAUX SAINTS" inscription. At the Airforce Booth I got Braylon Edwards and Chad Johnson signing 8x10s. Edwards seemed cool to everyone but Chad Johnson couldn't wait to get out.

Overall I think they are good autos - worth the price of admission.

McFarlane to Sign @ Super Bowl Experience

Our friends at the Beckett Blog say Todd McFarlane may be signing at Saturday's Super Bowl Experience.

I saw Todd McFarlane at the Super Bowl 40 Experience and he was really cool. He talked to people in his booth at the Topps Trading Card Show and couldn't have been a nicer person to everyone. And he didn't just talk about this McFarlane Sports Figures (that I think have gone too retail), but he also talked sports. He talked about his fantasy team, the odds on the Super Bowl, and just about anything else you may have asked him.

If you like his McFarlane Sports Figures, Spawn, or any of his comic book art, then I'd definitely recommend stopping by his booth. I'm hoping the rumor is true and he does do some autographs on Saturday - I plan on being there.

So now the question is... What do I get him to sign?

More Self-Promoting Than SportsCenter?

I didn't think it was possible to be more self-promoting that ESPN SportsCenter, but I found a challenger!

If you thought the ESPYs were shameless way to self promote, then this one will really get you going. McFarlane Sports Figurines is having their 5th annual Action Figure Awards.

You can vote online and through their message boards on categories such as: best series, best pose, best likeness, and best legends figure.

I think Todd McFarlane is awesome – his artistic abilities are amazing (I have his autograph on a S.B. XL mini helmet), but a series of awards to promote your own product? It's one thing if a 3rd party industry publication did the awards and included other figurine production lines, but you can't have your own and expect anyone with intelligence to take that seriously!

From a collection standpoint, I think the McFarlane figures were (at first) very cool. They had limited production runs, cool variants, and were reserved for the elite athletes in sports.

But they became too retail and it seemed that nearly every athlete named to an all-star team was molded into a McFarlane figure. It’s no longer exclusive and rare.

Does Matt Leinart deserve to have two collector’s edition figure? What has he done other than date Paris Hilton - and that's a club about as exclusive as the White Pages!

Maybe next year I can have my own awards: Favorite SportsLocker rant, Favorite Collector’s Idea, Worst spell-checked entry, and the Entry With Most Screwed Up English Language Usage!