The Pro Football HOF is Missing an Opportunity

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is on the edge of having a really cool draft event.

Art Rooney Jr. is the headline attendee at an NFL Tailgaiting Party in Canton, OH on April 26, 2008. The event (for a $40 presale ticket) offers fans an “insider’s” look at the workings of an NFL war room with Art Rooney Jr. and former player/scout George Saimes.

This is a great start, but lets add some players and autographs. $40 is pretty high for two drink tickets, a chair to watch the draft and listen to Art Rooney Jr. I'd like to see some NFL Greats talk about their experience when they got the call from their new head coach. I'd even like to hear the thoughts from players who dropped further than expected in the draft like Brady Quinn or Aaron Rodgers. Brady's from Columbus and plays in Cleveland - couldn't he spend an hour at the HOF?

The HOF could end the day with a cool autograph session with the players who attended. I think it would be even be cool to have a "Mr. Irrelevant" reunion of sorts. How many people have a "Mr. Irrelevant" collection?

The Hall of Fame is so close to making this really cool and getting a larger turnout! Here's a link to the HOF flyer.

My Shea Stadium Home Opener Experience

Today is Shea's last home opener. I'll miss "beautiful Shea Stadium" (as Steve Zabriskie used to say on WWOR).

My most memorable home opener experience came about 5 years ago. I took an early train to Shea so I could arrive at the park with plenty of time to experience everything that is opening day in New York. I walked around the stadium, took several pictures, and stopped at the souvenir store.

My last stop before heading to my seat was the Shea Stadium Snack Stand - one souvenir cup of cola and Shea Dog. I would soon be ready for the line-ups after a quick stop at the Shea condiment stand. I loaded my Shea Dog with mayo and mustard - and then noticed something odd with the Shea Sam's Club size condiment containers. They were only half-full. Not necessarily a big deal if this was the end of a long homestand... but this was the home opener?! Ugh, they were serving last season's mustard and mayonnaise!

I'll miss Shea and some of the great memories I have of it, but I'm also looking forward to the new Ebbets, err, Citi Field, and new packets of mayo and mustard!

Beckett Product Review - New Sports Cards Monthly

Beckett's Sports Cards Monthly magazine (BSCM) has been met with mixed reviews in the card collecting web world, but I think that should be expected.

Question: Why should have Beckett expected to get mixed results from their new product? Answer: Because it impacts 4 of their other magazines. Any time you launch a new product that causes changes to service or client expectations with other products, then there is going to be some resistance to the new product. Beckett should have (and probably did) expect some of the negative feedback on their blog.

BSCM is a monthly magazine that covers the four major sports (and more). It has monthly commentary, hot lists, and current card pricing. Since BSCM is monthly, the single sport magazines will be changed to only come out 6 times a year. For example, my subscription to Beckett Football will come out 1/2 as frequent as I originally signed up for.

So there are two reviews that collectors should consider when reviewing this new product. One - review the magazine independently of the other products. Two - review the magazine and how it affects their other magazines.

BSCM Pros:

• One star player from each sport is highlighted with inventory with all of the sports cards that go to that player.
• Great pricing guide if you collect very current cards.Big magazine with with a variety of content for the 4 major sports.
• Small autograph collecting price guide.
  

BSCM Cons:

• Current player card reviews only Current price guide info only. If you don't collect all 4 sports, then part of the magazine is worthless to you.
• TuffStuff has been doing a very similar product for a long time. How can Beckett convince people that their monthly magazine is better?
• It affects the publication time of 4 other Beckett magazines by changing their frequency to 6 times a year.

I'm not a current card collector and my limited card collection is geared more towards 'old school players,' so this magazine probably isn't for me. I'm also not has happy with it because of the collateral damage it causes. I signed up for a monthly football magazine with Beckett... this magazine is causing them to change the service that I signed up for. I do appreciate Beckett sending their new BSCM to single sport magazine subscribers for free. I think this was a nice gesture and great way to introduce their new product.

Beckett - Upper Deck Scam - Dr. Wax Battle Show

Dr. Wax has Beckett's Tracy Hackler answer questions on the authenticity of the video box breaks. At the 47 minute mark, Dr. Wax asks Tracy about the box breaks. It's a great interview - Dr. Wax really asked him some good questions.

Beckett Graded Cards Received

I received my graded cards from Beckett this week. Getting them involved a Benny Hill-esque chase that involved the FedEx delivery truck, baseballs, and a tub of salsa (but lets not get into that).

My '76 card came back as an '8.' I was pretty happy about that. It's a duplicate one that I have graded a '7.' The '55 Bowman came back as a '5.' I was a little disappointed, but it's actually pretty high on the Beckett population report, so it's better than I thought.

I wish Beckett would tell us what the actual surface, corner, edges, and centering grades were that comprised the final grade. I think they used to do this, but discontinued this level of service for the vintage cards.

I'd like to see how they came up with the final grade. It doesn't have to be part of the label like they do for modern cards. Maybe there could be a final grade report that I could download from their site?

I love the cases and getting cards graded. Now I can actually share my collection with people without worrying about my friends dorito-stained fingers!

What is Beckett's Blog Doing?

I know blogging is new to Beckett, but I don't understand their recent attack on the readers of their blog who didn't like their new magazine?

Beckett's the leader in the industry and they're getting on board with the web 2.0 market place. Their blog connects them to their readers and buyers. So why attack them by inferring they aren't in the real world and only blog to snipe? I don't get it.

I like the hobby and always read their blog, so I look forward to seeing it improve and grow. It'll be interesting to see the other comments made about their recent entry. Maybe I'm the only one who thought it was offensive - I'll check tomorrow.

Here's my comment entry to Beckett:
PH - That was a pretty harsh and negative blog entry (use of caps, strikethroughs, etc.)

My advice to Beckett: if you don’t want constructive criticism and potentially negative product feedback, then go back to web 1.0.
Every corporate blog has it’s share of positive and negative feedback when soliciting customer opinions - especially about new products.

That’s the greatest thing about the web 2.0. You are closer to your customer than ever before. Sometimes you get a pat on the back… and sometimes you get a kick in the tail. But if you’re afraid to get negative information, then stop blogging and go back to press releases.

I’d recommend reading Seth Godin’s books and blogs and check out Steve Johnson’s pragmatic product marketing blog. I think you’ll find them informative and entertaining.
Good luck.

Helmet Hut Product Review

Zap! Pow! Fast! That describes the Helmet Hut shipping policy.

I've talked about Helmet Hut before and I blogged about their sale last week. I can't say enough good things about them.

I took advantage of their 15% off and free shipping sale last week. I probably saved $40 or so.

I ordered this 1963 Roger Staubach Navy helmet. Notice the face mask, the "Beat Army" and name stickers. This is awesome.

I ordered it Friday and received it Monday! I can't wait to get Roger's signature with a Heisman inscription.

Helmet Hut is great for customizing your collection. It makes a lot of sense to get your autograph on a helmet that reflects the player's era.

Chicago Sun-Times Show Report

The GavelChat has a good recap on the Chicago Sun-Times show from last weekend. I've heard pretty good reviews from previous shows, so I hope to make it to one of these in the future. Check out his blog.