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Best Sellers | | Home Card Sharks: How Upper Deck Turned a Child's Hobby into a High-Stakes, Billion-Dollar Business | |
|  | |  | | | Card Sharks: How Upper Deck Turned a Child's Hobby into a High-Stakes, Billion-Dollar Business | | | | | SKU:
G0026290618I3N00 | | In Stock | | Availability:
Usually ships in 1-2 business days | | Only 1 left in stock, order soon! | | | | | | Takes the reader from the birth of sports cards in the 1880s to the present day. The largest manufacturers of sports cards is "Upper Deck", with sales of several million each year. This is an investigative look at the running of this and similar companies, and the tactics they use to stay ahead. | | | |
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Pete Williams | | Hardcover: | 288 pages | | Publisher: | Macmillan General Reference | | Publication Date: | 1995-05 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0026290618 | | Package Length: | 9.5 inches | | Package Width: | 6.6 inches | | Package Height: | 1.0 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.25 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 6 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 6 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Baseball Cards, Autographs and the Shrewd Marketing of Pop Culture Aug 03, 2008
By Bicycle Day
The back-stage temper tantrum of Mickey Mantle speaks volumes on what has become a multi-billion-dollar industry in baseball cards and sports memorabilia.
Author Pete Williams shows an angry and bitter Mantle after a 1993 appearance on a national home shopping program that was in conjunction with the MLB All-Star Game festivities put on by Upper Deck - railing about the the host's questions, which may not have helped in pushing his autographed merchandise - and attempting to negotiate the following weekend's appearances for the company into being considered as two events, which will make the Yankee legend closer to accumulating enough dates in the year for his nearly $3 million salary to sign autographs on "exclusive" memorabilia.
From the days when baseball cards were used as inserts to secure the packaging of tobacco products to the bubble-gum wars waged by Topps on other companies and a landmark judicial decision in 1980 that opened the doors wide open for a competitive marketplace in baseball card sets, Williams ambitiously covers the bases as he delves into the creation of Upper Deck, an idea from a frustrated card dealer who was tired of buying bogus memorabilia and an inventor who could add a unique identification tag to thwart counterfeiters.
While the story is initially driven by an entrepreneurial spirit born in the 1980s, neither of the founders are in the picture a few years later as the company profits explode as it becomes the high-end retailer in sports cards and collectibles through aggressive marketing and the securing of legends with exclusive and lucrative promotional contracts, along with the baggage from any number of controversies and allegations of unsavory business practices and fraud.
This is an incredible tale on how a kid's summer pastime became an industry monster that seemed so solid on the outside, but could pop at any time like a bubble blown too large from one small stick of gum. With the shrewd marketing of pop culture and the creation of a unique sports boutique based on its alleged rarity, Williams forges a classic story driven by the dreams of youth....and greed of adults.
8 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Well written book that is a must reading for card collectors Nov 18, 1998
I enjoyed this book very much. It has two themes: first, it shows how one company with the right idea and the right people behind it can revolutionize an entire industry, against all odds. Second, it tells us that to succeed in today's competitive markets you have to elbow your way in. While the allegations of wrongdoings by trading card companies seem like unsubstantiated hearsay, the book does make you feel that you are on the inside, witnessing how the real entrepreneurs do it. Very entertaining read.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Fascinating look at the sports collectables industry Jan 14, 1999
The "Barbarians at the Gate" of the baseball card industry. Fascinating, yet creepy, to see from the inside how a child's hobby has been exploited by sleazy characters. Will definitely turn you off collecting new cards as an investment.
very creative Nov 11, 2011
By Daniel J. Kobasic Sr.
"Dan kobasic Sr."
the book is very creative and goes into deptabout how the card market evolved.it also tells you how the card shows grew over time.
6 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 A lot of mud slinging. Nov 10, 1999
I found the book to provide an interesting history on collecting from early times to present. After the history lesson is over, William's seems to spend an inordinate amount of time dwelling on the various misdeeds of Upper Deck President Richie McWilliam. McWilliam has a very strong (and negative) reputation that is well understood within the industry. Why spend half a book telling everyone that he is dishonest, a liar and a cheat when it is already well understood?
See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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