The rumors just won`t stop. Upper Deck isn`t filling customer orders, Upper Deck cards aren`t available, Upper Deck is going out of business. Upper Deck this, Upper Deck that.
Don Bodow is getting used to the rumors. So much so that, when answering reporter`s calls, Upper Deck`s marketing vice president prefaces ”hello”
with ”we`re still in business.”
This isn`t hard to understand. In its rookie season as a baseball card manufacturer, Upper Deck is, simply put, the big winner of 1989. Readers of Baseball Hobby News, a respected monthly tabloid in San Diego, voted Upper Deck their ”Set of the Year.”
Actually, Upper Deck may be the finest baseball card ever made. Certainly, it`s the best card money can buy.
And that`s where the biggest criticism comes in: Upper Deck cards are for the classes, not the masses. Kids can`t afford the cards they see, fall in love with and desire so much.
Yes, first series Upper Deck packs have sold for around $1.50 much of the year. Recently released packs that include high-number cards (701-800) are up to $3. Complete 800-card factory sets are a ”bargain” in these parts at $80. They sell for nearly double that price on the West Coast and some other parts of the country.
In contrast, sets of Upper Deck`s competitors-Topps, Fleer, Donruss and Score-can be had for between $20-25 apiece. Their packs sell for around 45 cents each.
But you get what you pay for. Upper Deck cards are on high-quality paper. They offer color photos on both sides of the card, with plenty of action shots included.
So, says Bodow, the rumors aren`t true. Upper Deck is here to stay.
”We have not issued a single refund check,” said Bodow, whose company stunned the hobby by sending interest checks to dealers who prepaid for cards that were late in being shipped. ”Every dealer who has ordered from us will receive the product.”
Complete boxed high-number sets, expected to be released by month`s end, are another reason Upper Deck is the hobby`s hottest product. High number sets will sell for between $25-$50, depending on where you buy.
The Jerome Walton high-number card alone already goes for $20; Dwight Smith is at $9. Jim Abbott`s ”motion” card, with three superimposed action shots, is up to $10, while the card of Cardinals rookie catcher Todd Zeile commands $7. Dealers actually have broken up factory sets to sell the high numbers to anxious collectors.
Yet, despite having a highly coveted product, Upper Deck is having its share of headaches.
”We can`t say anything about (setting) price,” said Bodow. ”What`s pleasing is that we did pick the right players to add in the high-number series. The price is up to the consumer, really, and people are buying our product. The buyer is setting the price, not the seller.
”This has been a year that met and surpassed our expectations. We`ve been accepted by the hobby, been nationally distributed to some chain stores and done very well in total sales.”
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Bodow won`t give figures, but you can bet the rumors of Upper Deck`s demise are, as the saying goes, premature.
”We`re in this for the duration,” said Bodow. ”All our orders for factory sets should be shipped by the end of this week, and then the high-number sets go out. Then, it`s back to work again for our next issue.”
Bodow says to expect 1990 Upper Deck cards sometime in December. Exactly when, he`s not sure. But, you could find a set under the Christmas tree, if Upper Deck`s elves have anything to say about it.