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Knowing full well some of the shenanigans Upper Deck has pulled in recent years, would you rather see them under new management or just see them go out of business? Do you think having new people leading the company would ever allow MLB to issue them a license again or has Upper Deck done to much damage for that name to be trusted again?
Do you even think it's possible for them to return to their glory days?
I'll be looking forward to your comments.
I think Upper Deck phoned it in more at the end than Topps has since "earning" the exclusive license. To me, that's bad - and some of their other (well-documented) sins were reprehensible...
ReplyDeleteIt's possible for any company to improve, but not necessarily return to "glory" I can stand behind Upper Deck as they are the company that I pulled my first relic from, and they do have some nice looking cards. It's also much easier to stab someone in the back if you are standing behind them!! Keep that in mind for all these contests where you want someone "following" you!! LOL
ReplyDeleteThey should try to get their stuff together and get a license for their high-end sets (Icons and SP Authentic, for example) and Goudey and not worry about 1,000 card base sets.
ReplyDeleteI personally was never as big an Upper Deck fan as most collectors. However, the only reason I would want Upper Deck to remain in business would be for the grand return of Fleer (and maybe Ultra) under new management of course. Then all we have to do is get Panini a license for Donruss and we could have the big three of the 80s back.
ReplyDeleteI think Upper Deck still has a chance to return to form. The sets they were able to put out last year were well received by many collectors. If they can just find a new way of creating cards and getting around their legal limitations, then UD might have a shot at getting its licenses back.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason that I would want Upper Deck back is so that Topps would have more incentive to step up their game. I'd also like to see the return of a .99 pack from them - Collector's Choice or Victory. Would be nice to offset Topps Opening Day.
ReplyDeleteWhatever brand equity Upper Deck had has run out with me. I don't want to see them go out of business, but I don't have any interest in buying any more of their products.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to bring back a past baseball licensee, I'd rather see the return of Fleer.
I never was a big Upper Deck person either. And that last unlicensed set was just awful. I know they had limitations, but it was not only a bad product, but it got the MLB guys angry. I'm with hiflew, bring back the 80s.
ReplyDeleteNew Management. And if that didn't work they'd go under anyway.
ReplyDeletewell, if they go under, some one else will just buy up their name and issue Upper Deck cards anyway...I guess it doesn't matter to me.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Upper Deck will ever get a license back under current management, not real sure if they will get it back with new management though.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see Upper Deck continue under new management. As I mentioned in the previous thread more choice is always better. We can still decide whether or not we want to buy the product, I don't see the downside to it at least being out there.
ReplyDeleteDon't really know about what goes into obtaining an MLB licence to answer the second part of the question. I do think another licensed product would be a good thing, though.
Upper Deck produced some good sets over the years. However, without a license, they are virtually out of business as far as baseball cards go. The 2010 had a decent design but the photos were a joke due to lack of a MLB license. Also, I miss Fleer circa 2006/2007.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see Upper Deck go under for one reason. I'd like to see the people who design the cards for Upper Deck go and design cards for either Topps or Panini. Stuff at a Topps price that looks like Upper Deck would be the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeletethey need new management. I don't think they need to return to glory, they are already there.
ReplyDeleteThey still produce the best hockey product out there. Light years ahead of anything Panini/Score/Donruss/whatever the hell they call themselves, could ever hope to put out.
I'll take Upper Deck again, with new management or not. I miss Goudey, and whatever it takes to get it back, I'm on board. New management would help, but mainly Topps needs competition.
ReplyDeleteShenanigans or not, Topps needs come type of competition. Their monopoly sucks and, after one year of it, I am sick of them.
ReplyDeleteI think UD is done with MLB and I think MLB is done with UD. Having said that, I think if you read between the lines of Beckett's Chris Olds' tweets, Panini may be making some sort of play into getting a license to do MLB trading cards of some sort. I think Topps' will see competition sooner than it though it would.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the book Card Sharks, I really don't have a good opinion of Upper deck's management. What happened the past few years is likely a manifestation of karma coming back to bite them in the backside.
ReplyDeleteUD needs new management to have a shot, but I think it's too late if we put hypotheticals aside. If they were going to have a chance at winning consumers back and a shot at a license, they should have shown their hand by now with some actual non-licensed baseball cards. Let's see some real creativity. You know collectors are dying for something from someone based on the last set of comments. The fact that nothing is on the table shows that they're giving up under the stricter limitations they basically imposed on themselves (and made official by courts).
ReplyDeleteMaybe they could return to form, but I think they need to do it through hockey and them win a basketball license or football. Then attack baseball. Under new mgmt, I'd say 5-7 year plan to get back and hope the non-sport and hockey carry you through until then.
--Jon
It's totally possible for UD to regain their place in cards but there has to be new management first. I hope they come out of their funk soon and are able to redeem themselves
ReplyDeleteNew management needs to be firmly in place without the old corrupt management pulling the strings. Then there needs to be a step by step plan of attack in place, down to every last detail. This is the only way I could see them getting a license again any time soon.
ReplyDeleteNew management couldn't hurt, right? And while I don't hate Topps' monopoly like many others do, competition is usually a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see UD return.
I was never an Upper Deck guy (except in '93) and they deserve everything they got from a business standpoint.
ReplyDeleteI don't even care whether UD returns to the baseball game, just as long as someone does.
I'd like to see them back with new management just to have some competition in the marketplace.
ReplyDeleteI was not a real big Upper Deck fan, and feel that there were some major problems with management. However, with new management in place I would be willing to give them a chance, but the name may be tainted forever due to the crap that was pulled.
ReplyDeleteI'd really like to see Upper Deck make a comeback, but they really to need to cut out all the shenanigans that they were pulling at the end of 2009. They probably need to clean house and then beg MLB for a second chance.
ReplyDeleteI like Offy's comment, that UD needs to go under so their designers can move to the other companies. I would love to see Topps Masterpieces.
ReplyDeleteLike I said in my previous post, I miss UD for their non-base sets. I really don't think anyone else would do sets quite like that. Certainly not Topps.
ReplyDeleteYou can see their idea of a portrait-based set. National-Freakin-Chicle. There's a reason that thing was one and done.
I hope UD comes back to baseball. But it'll take a house-cleaning and going hat in hand to MLB and the MLBPA for it to happen.
I agree with community gum - they'd need new management. Before they made great cards, iconic cards a lot of times, but it was all with shadiness going on. If they could get rid of the fake relics and mass printed errors and all that nonsense and just make some damn good cards again, then we could have some competition on our hands finally.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've barely collected Upper Deck products, compared to a lot of you (I still don't own a base set of theirs, and I've never tried to build one), and their entry into the hobby was the point at which I said "I'm out" as a kid. I've also heard most of the horror stories about how they do business, and seen a few of them.
ReplyDeleteWith that having been said, though, they produced what's probably my favorite set of the last 20 years (2007 Goudey; after '07, it just wasn't as good) and a few other truly great products (Goodwin Champions, the '93 set, Sweet Spot, '02 A Piece Of History, '07 Legendary Cuts, and every once in a while, I'll find a product where I'm like "Wow, this was pretty good!" like '94 Collector's Choice when I was recently sorting a set I picked up and forgot about). That's a handful of examples out of a complete and utter avalanche of products, but their art department really did bring it once in a while. Oh, and as everyone else mentioned, they do own the Fleer name, and this hobby thrives on nostalgia, so I'd hate to see it go the way of the dodo completely, almost as much as I'd hate to see you-know-who buy it and make it yet another brand of theirs.
So, I say that the best answer would be to have a new company poach Upper Deck's art people and buy the Fleer license. ;)
I don't see a point to wishing the company would go under. New management could take their existing resources and potentially make a terrific product.
ReplyDeleteI'm short on time, so I'll leave you with a short comment that will require a slight bit of deciphering: No
ReplyDeleteI personally would like to see it go into new management. I'm not a massive fan of Upper Deck, but did like some of the products. If nothing else competition breeds innovation. Topps has done a good job thus far being the sole license holder, but that doesn't necessarily mean Topps won't get lazy as the years go on, and with no real competition who would blame them, people are still going to buy the licensed product no matter what.
ReplyDeleteNew blood could definably help. Get some people in there who care about the hobby not just the bottom line.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anyone that collected a base set of UD every year. If not for masterpieces I wouldn't know anyone that collected UD sets at all. THey rule the high end game though.
ReplyDeleteI think UD is in a sort of catch-22 in that without a license, what reason do they have to improve their name/return to glory? They most likely did too much damage, but new management/faces can change things. Maybe change their name to "Cheap Seats" and start putting out some new lines of cards.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind seeing Upper Deck revamp there upper management and take another run at the hobby the right way. Competition is always good and variety is always good.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Benny here. I think some of the UD stuff was cool and I am disappointed they are not an option anymore.
ReplyDeleteNew management, definitely. I would like to see them (and topps) in a somewhat more limited release schedule though.
ReplyDeleteI think Upper Deck should break out it's baseball wing into a complete rework of management and rebranding. While still under UD umbrella, a baseball department rebranded as "Masterpieces" that begins with a re-introduction of the Masterpieces set would be a great start towards getting the license back. Don't worry about relics at this point, do verifiable autographs, innovative parallels and quality art. Market it as a sophisticated set aimed at people who enjoy the art of the cards. My humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think they should come back to add some levelness to the playing field. I think they need to go back the what they did best in the beginning, and quit with all the fancy stuff. Most of us just want regular baseball cards.
ReplyDeleteI would always be hesitant to buy anything from Upper Deck, because the owners are underhanded enough to line up shell companies to hide the true identity of the ownership.
ReplyDeleteI don't know enough about the shenanigans they pulled to really say, but I know that for the most part I liked the end result of Upper Deck having a license - the products themselves, aside from some bizarre missteps, were pretty nice and had their own feel to them that Topps will likely never replicate.
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed Upper Deck products, with the exception of a few years here and there. I'd like to see them get back to their roots, back to simplicity.
ReplyDeleteI think Topps needs competition, and I like what Upper Deck has done, at times. Give them a limited license - maybe 5 sets or so, and let them prove themselves. (I've heard and seen a lot of good things coming from Panini too, so let them have the same chance.)
ReplyDeleteAnd I think Upper Deck probably should be bought out or at least reorganized - new leaders at the top (who know what they're doing as far as quality cards) can bring some respectability back to them. Upper Deck has had issues with ethics since their beginning.
There won't be glory days again until ideas at the top change. Brand management and licensing have to change where the value is there for the consumer and company. Upper Deck has a long-time name, but I think they should be welcomed back only with new management. Too many issues would be repeated again.
ReplyDeleteContest closed.
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