Weekly Market Report - December 20, 2005

A Fresh Look at Sports Collectibles News

Last week, Upper Deck signed Pittsburgh Penguins phenom Sidney Crosby to an exclusive multi-year deal and then quickly announced the launch of their "Where's Sidney?" campaign. Starting next week, UD will place Sidney Icons (whatever that means) in Upper Deck Product, on Upper Deck's web site, industry web sites, hobby publications and ads. Collectors will then be able to log on to www.WhereIsSidney.com to claim the icons for prizes. Prizes include a trip to the 2005/06 Stanley Cup Finals. This is a very cool idea. I like the fact that you won't have to purchase UD cards to get the icons - I think it will involve people that don't normally buy hockey cards, and then suck them into the hobby. It's brilliant on UD's part, and it will likely be good for the hobby. Good job Upper Deck. [read official release]

Barry Halper, owner of one of the most extensive collections of baseball memorabilia and a limited partner in the New York Yankees, passed away this week at 66. In 1998 Major League Baseball acquired some of Halper's collection and donated to the Hall of Fame. He also fetched a staggering $21.8 million in a weeklong auction at Sotheby's in 1999 (a record for sports memorabilia). The hobby will certainly miss this passionate collector. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this holiday season. [read official release ]

McFarlane Toys has announced their third annual action figure awards! They have opened a new message board for voting: http://board.spawn.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22 There are two posts in the forum with multiple polls set up to take your vote. One post is for sports awards and the other for all the non-sports lines from this year. Sports categories include Best Likeness, Best Pose, Best Chase/Surprise Figure, Best Exclusive, Best Boxed Set, Best Lineup, Best 12 Inch Figure, Best Legend, Best Series, and Best 6 Inch Figure. It is great that McFarlane does this each year. It encourages customer feedback and participation. Todd McFarlane is one smart businessman - he values his customers. Sounds simple, but how many businesses actually do it? [read official release ]