UD e-Pack® store: A Marvel Sale is Live!

[Raymond23]

Originally Posted by Xazark

Yea marvel trading is dead on the site. Might pick back up when DC arrives but I'm not so sure

Yeah, Marvel trading was quite good during the sales (especially sets that had top tier achievements still available). I can’t imagine anything is happening with Marvel now…

[YayNJ]

while we're talking about trades, I'm desperate for these :

Fleer Throwbacks '89 - Wolverine #4 - Base
Fleer Throwbacks '89 - Cyclops #10 - Base
Fleer Throwbacks '59-63 - Loki #36 - Base
Marvel Platinum - Venom - High Series #124 Base (just need one)

[Rictor]

I wonder how many years the Fanatics/Topps Marvel/Disney license is for? There's always a chance Upper Deck gets it back in 3-5 years.

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by Rictor

I wonder how many years the Fanatics/Topps Marvel/Disney license is for? There's always a chance Upper Deck gets it back in 3-5 years.

With how well the early Topps Marvel/Disney stuff has sold, I doubt Topps lets the license lapse that quickly. We are probably looking at them having it for at least a decade or so.

Maybe UD can carve out something like a sticker license instead of trading cards? Topps puts out hockey stickers while UD has the trading card license locked up. So maybe UD could do something similar with Marvel.

[Rictor]

Originally Posted by finfangfan

With how well the early Topps Marvel/Disney stuff has sold, I doubt Topps lets the license lapse that quickly. We are probably looking at them having it for at least a decade or so.

Maybe UD can carve out something like a sticker license instead of trading cards? Topps puts out hockey stickers while UD has the trading card license locked up. So maybe UD could do something similar with Marvel.

I don't know. With how much Fanatics overpaid for their sports licenses and how card sales have been trending downwards since then (they bought the licenses at the inflated Covid high prices), I could see Fanatics dumping Topps at some point if it became unprofitable for them.

Fanatics paid half a billion for Topps, an inflated price based on their 2021 NFT sales and valuation. Their NFT division went from an estimated value of 1.5 billion to what I would guess now is closer to 1.5 million. To be fair, Topps brought in about 1.5 billion in revenue and Fanatics made about 8 billion total in revenue in 2024 (mostly from their merchandise sales), but I don't believe they reported any profit. They are expecting to report a profit in 2025 though.

Time will tell if buying Topps at it's inflated post-Covid value was a good move or not. At least they didn't pay the billion plus asking price in 2021. I'm sure they're kicking themselves for not buying in 2020, when they could have probably scooped the company up for $100 million.

Basically, the Fanatics plan right now seems to pay whatever for licenses at the cost of profits, drive the competition out of business, and then turn a profit after the competition is dead.

Also, Panini has the Marvel sticker license, I believe.

[DynaEtch]

I have a hard time seeing Fantatics dumping Marvel in the foreseeable future…but I sure would be glad if they did. Not really interested in the topps chrome marvel era.

I’m curious how the DC gambit pays off for UD….is it me or does there seem like almost no chatter or much interest in DC card sets…it’s real early but still there just isn’t a big collecting base of DC from the looks of it.

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

I have a hard time seeing Fantatics dumping Marvel in the foreseeable future…but I sure would be glad if they did. Not really interested in the topps chrome marvel era.

I’m curious how the DC gambit pays off for UD….is it me or does there seem like almost no chatter or much interest in DC card sets…it’s real early but still there just isn’t a big collecting base of DC from the looks of it.

With DC, I think Upper Deck should have lead off with something other than DC Annual as the first full set. Metal will do well but Annual has always pretty much been a yawner.

[HiltonL]

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

I have a hard time seeing Fantatics dumping Marvel in the foreseeable future…but I sure would be glad if they did. Not really interested in the topps chrome marvel era.

I’m curious how the DC gambit pays off for UD….is it me or does there seem like almost no chatter or much interest in DC card sets…it’s real early but still there just isn’t a big collecting base of DC from the looks of it.

To be fair to DC trading cards as a category, they've been done pretty dirty over the past 20 years or so. Cheaply made, junk-wax style cards at first, then a burst of excitement over Cryptozoic making a few sets, a couple of Rittenhouse releases with big time gaps between them. The latest insult being the HRO NFT set, whatever that was. All that on top of the corporate drama that is DC ownership.

If you're putting on your collecting hat, would you dedicate a piece of your attention to the hot mess, or do you settle with the devil you know, the overpriced (in the last 20 years) and overproduced, overexposed, Marvel?
Plus MCU screaming in our faces, look how many movies we can produce, with all the A-list actors. The Feige-verse! The DC movie universe is much smaller, but has had some big success (Wonder Woman) and big inconsistency (how many Batman actors are we up to these days?)

There are a lot of places to put hobby/collecting dollars and trading cards is like a plastic bin for your garden tools compared to the overall pop culture McMansion that has continued having room-sized additions bolted onto it.
If UD can keep the license for a while, and put out consistent content like Annual and Masterpieces, they have a chance to break Marvel's stranglehold on trading cards. I'm not a fan of Topps Chrome Marvel either, so my hobby dollars are finding other routes out of my wallet

[finfangfan]

I think whether or not the new Superman movie is a success could also factor into how well DC trading cards do for Upper Deck. I love James Gunn and hope Superman does well, but admit it’s not a guarantee in the current movie environment.

Also, a lot of people simply like Marvel more than DC and their loyalty as to where they will spend their trading card dollars is with the property not the manufacturer. Sure there are ePack fans that will buy anything Upper Deck produces but a lot of people were there the last few years on the nonsports side primarily because Marvel cards were sold there.

[HiltonL]

Topps has been doing digital cards and print-to-demand for a long time now. They get no passes from me.
UD did a smart thing in partnering with COMC and making epacks the half-step into digital that the Gen X collectors could understand (mostly) and closely followed the analog trading card model. Even in the frantic dying throes of their holding the Marvel trading card license, there were an absolute crapton of dormant/abandoned epack accounts. UD needs more than Halo and Looney Tunes to keep interest up

[finfangfan]

It looks like Topps is doing a better job of trying to get more Marvel stuff into more bricks and mortar. For example it looks like they are ramping up their relationship with GameStop and pretty much every town is close to a GameStop. Walmart and Target seem to have more Topps products than UD products and will probably be a better source for Marvel as well going forward.

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by HiltonL

If UD can keep the license for a while, and put out consistent content like Annual and Masterpieces, they have a chance to break Marvel's stranglehold on trading cards. I'm not a fan of Topps Chrome Marvel either, so my hobby dollars are finding other routes out of my wallet

I should probably withhold judgment until the DC Masterpieces comes out at least. That’s got potential. I mean if they got a major comic artist like Jusko for that…sky’s the limit (I know that’s a pipe dream and basically won’t happen).

There’s just something about DC cards…I guess it goes back to the 90s- they simply don’t catch on like Marvel. I think regardless of what’s going ok with MCU/DC cinematic universe etc, a lot of us just didn’t collect DC growing up whereas many did Marvel. And it carried over. People are set with their character collections and set runs in Marvel. There are many large FB groups catered around Marvel cards, not nearly as many around DC. Large Reddit subs geared towards Marvel..and a much smaller one for DC. That sort of thing. Can UD upend that if epack DC catches on? Will be interesting to see.

I tried to get interested in the first DC set…debating if I should collect Superman or something. Just not really moved to get into it much…like finfang said…it’s also just Annual, so that’s part of it. I’m not really seeing much DC card talk at all. The Marvel Chrome talk far surpasses it for example, a set I find pretty lackluster.

[finfangfan]

DC is definitely a step down for Upper Deck from Marvel and UD will definitely suffer from losing the Marvel license. However, there is still some cool DC stuff.

My advice for collecting upcoming DC sets is that if you aren’t too interested in the universe overall but still want to participate in ePack is to find a cool second or lower tier DC character to character collect that won’t cost a boatload and just stick to that character. Deathstroke is a cool looking character (and inspiration for Deadpool’s creation!). Lobo is cool. King Shark? Gorilla Grodd? Creeper? Azrael?

And I am sure Poison Ivy, Zatanna, and Power Girl will all do well as characters to collect as a step down from WW, HQ, and Catwoman.

[YayNJ]

Originally Posted by HiltonL

and big inconsistency (how many Batman actors are we up to these days?)

There's been three Spider-Man actors over the last quarter of a century, and three Batman actors.

Maguire, Garfield, Holland
Bale, Affleck, Pattinson


which is only one more than both War Machine and Hulk in the MCU.. over a much shorter period of 17 years.

[HiltonL]

I give Marvel a partial pass on the Spiderman/FF/X-men titles since the movie rights were sold off for pennies long ago, only recently re-joining as distant cousins are welcomed to family reunions

[YayNJ]

ah, one rule for me, one rule for thee :P

[HiltonL]

Is casting for Batman run by Gotham City Casting, Joe's Attractive Action Heroes, or Sony Pictures?

[PurplesaurusRex]

Once Batman Metal hits epack, trading activity will pick back up. And of course DC Masterpieces, but I don't think that's going to happen this year. Would be cool if they got Jim Lee to do an X-men Universe style set with DC Characters, that could draw more non-DC folks in.

[NHRonin]

Originally Posted by YayNJ

There's been three Spider-Man actors over the last quarter of a century, and three Batman actors.

Maguire, Garfield, Holland
Bale, Affleck, Pattinson


which is only one more than both War Machine and Hulk in the MCU.. over a much shorter period of 17 years.

Does the Batman actor in those State Farm commercials count?

[mmbtvs]

Originally Posted by NHRonin

Does the Batman actor in those State Farm commercials count?

That's Will Arnett, who also played batman in the Lego movies.

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by mmbtvs

That's Will Arnett, who also played batman in the Lego movies.

You sure about that?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ykyvHV...cJCdgAo7VqN5tD

[YayNJ]

Is anyone able to help?

I need 2x Doctor Doom #32 Fleer Throwbacks '59-63 - Glossy Gold

Even base is good.

Just need two more to complete the Glossy Black, and it's been ultra-tough to get this done, far harder than Spider-Man! and I'm about to give up. Thanks!

[mmbtvs]

Originally Posted by YayNJ

Is anyone able to help?

I need 2x Doctor Doom Fleer Throwbacks '59-63 - Glossy Gold

Even base is good.

Just need two more to complete the Glossy Black, and it's been ultra-tough to get this done, far harder than Spider-Man! and I'm about to give up. Thanks!

I have one base, you're welcome to it. Same username as here.

[YayNJ]

Originally Posted by mmbtvs

I have one base, you're welcome to it. Same username as here.

Cheers dude!