I would like to offer an update on my previous blog.
I spent three days talking with collectors at the Fall Expo in Toronto. The dialogue was both very civil and informative. I understand the collectors’ point of view and I will continue to strive to satisfy their needs.
Negotiations have been finalized to reacquire the assets described in my previous blog. Once they are in my hands they will be organized and the Final Vault product will be configured. You can be assured that the Final Vault will give collectors a great “bang for their buck”.
In addition, a portion of the profits from The Final Vault will be donated to the Make A Wish Foundation.
As soon as I have a final configuration, I will blog the information to all my followers. In addition, I will send the information out to our distributors.
This week I am working on restoring info@itgtradingcards.com so that collectors will be able to communicate directly with me. I will blog when the email address is fully functional.
The analogy has been made that sometimes it’s too late to get the milk back in the bottle once it has been spilt. I understand that, but I am trying to sponge up the milk and empty the sponge back into the bottle. That’s the best I can do.
Hopefully, I will be successful.
When the In The Game brands were sold and the company ceased operations, the company had assets and liabilities. In business, when winding down a company, the assets must be sold to pay all debts to the creditors and this was the case with In The Game.
Some of the assets sold caused issues with collectors, this was unintentional.
During my twenty plus years in the hobby it has always been a top priority of mine to put the collector first and I want to continue to do so in my retirement.
For that reason, I am negotiating in an attempt to reacquire the assets that caused these issues with collectors. If my negotiations are successful, those assets will be used in a Final Vault product so that cards in question will not be confused with any cards issued in In The Game products.
With respect to individual situations that have already occurred with collectors, I will be prepared to deal with them in order to hopefully satisfy the collectors’ needs.
I certainly will try my best to do so.
More information about how to contact me directly and the Final Vault product will be available in the near future. In the interim, I will be available at the Sportcard and Memorabilia Expo this weekend at the International Centre in Toronto.
A name that Toronto hockey fans will immediately recognize is back, Doug Laurie Sports.
Originally located inside Maple Leaf Gardens, now Doug Laurie Sports can be found on eBay. The store is located at dOuglauriespOrts (both of the o’s are zeros).
The eBay store will feature some creative new concepts in sports memorabilia.
Relive the glory years of the Toronto Maple Leafs by acquiring for your home or office vintage Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art.
There are 10 pieces in the first series of Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art. These reproductions have been painted by sports artist Mike James. Each print is serial numbered out of 1917.
Sweeney Schriner Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Baldy Cotton Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Frank Finnigan Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Syl Apps Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Charlie Conacher Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Bob Davidson Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Andy Blair Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Bill Thoms Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Babe Pratt Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Buzz Boll Maple Leaf Gardens Program Art
Each 24″ x 18″print comes beautifully framed and ready to be hung in your sports cave. All of the ten pieces in the first series of these program reproductions can be found at dOuglauriespOrts on eBay.
I am also pleased to introduce you to some incredible hockey jerseys hand painted by sports artist Mike James. Each one of these jerseys is a true 1/1.
Steve Yzerman Autographed Hand Painted Jersey
Wayne Gretzky Hand Painted Jersey
Doug Gilmour Autographed Hand Painted Jersey
Alex Galchenyuk Autographed Hand Painted Jersey
Saku Koivu Autographed Hand Painted Jersey
Gordie Howe Autographed Hand Painted Jersey
All the above hand painted jerseys and many more can be found at dOuglauriespOrts on eBay.
Check out these items and more in our eBay store. Doug Laurie Sports is back.
In The Game and Leaf Trading Cards are proud to announce a groundbreaking Redemption Program to be held at the upcoming Fall Expo, November 7th – 9th at the International Centre, Toronto, Ontario.
“The hockey trading card market has become saturated with too many products being released in short period of time. This hurts collectors, dealers and distributors. As the new kid on the block in this segment of the hobby, I wanted to do something about it” commented Leaf Trading Card President, Brian Gray. “So I have created an exciting Redemption Program for the Fall Expo with help of Universal Distribution, Prince Wholesale and The Hockey Connection to help dealers and distributors sell already released products while delivering some great Redemption Cards for collectors. A win-win-win.”
This Special Redemption Program allows collectors to redeem all 2012-13 and 2013-14 products bought at certified dealers at the Expo for 1/1 specially stamped Redemption Cards at Redemption Centre inside In The GameLand. The stamped Redemption Cards 1/1 cards will be from all the products released during those two years.
“This program is a little twist on past Redemption Programs” said In The Game’s Dr. Brian Price, “this program only allows product purchased from Certified Dealers at the Fall Expo to be redeemed but we are going back two years, we have never done this before. It should result in a crowd at the Redemption Table at In The GameLand but it will also reduce the inventory levels of all these products in the marketplace.”
Only products purchased at Certified Dealers will be eligible for redemption.
When the products are purchased, Certified Dealers will give their customers a Redemption Certificate which must be presented when the box is being broken at In The GameLand to receive your 1/1 stamped Redemption Card.
Dealers who want to participate in this Redemption Program should contact Universal Distribution, Prince Wholesale or The Hockey Connection for information on how the participate.
Here are the products being redeemed:
| 2013-14 Products | ||
| 2014 Draft Prospects | 2 | redemption cards |
| Lord Stanley’s Mug | 2 | redemption cards |
| 13-14 Between The Pipes | 1 | redemption card |
| In The Game-Used | 2 | redemption cards |
| StickWork | 2 | redemption cards |
| 13-14 Heroes and Prospects | 1 | redemption card |
| Superlative The First Six | 3 | redemption cards |
| Enforcers II | 1 | redemption card |
| 2012-13 Products | ||
| Decades The ’90s | 1 | redemption card |
| 2013 Draft Prospects | 2 | redemption cards |
| UM-12 | 3 | redemption cards |
| 12-13 Between The Pipes | 1 | redemption card |
| Motown Madness | 1 | redemption card |
| 12-13 Heroes and Prospects | 1 | redemption card |
| History Of Hockey | 2 | redemption cards |
| Superlative Hockey Vol. III | 3 | redemption cards |
| Forever Rivals | 2 | redemption cards |
Don’t be late for this one as the Redemption Program will end as soon as the supply of the 1/1 Redemption Cards runs out.
Don’t get shutout. Come early and come often.
See you at the Fall Expo.
Brian Price
It’s been a while since I have posted to my blog. A lot has changed in my life over the last six months but that’s another story.
What I want to bring to your attention is the incredible Redemption Program being held at In The GameLand during the Fall Expo for Ultimate Memorabilia 14th Edition.
This is the first edition of Ultimate Memorabilia being created and manufactured under the new Leaf/ITG banner, the product will be released in time for the Fall Expo, November 7th to November 9th at the International Centre in Toronto.
For each pack of Ultimate Memorabilia 14th Edition you open at the Redemption Table at In The GameLand, you will receive a 1/1 Ultimate Archives card. That’s right a 1/1 for each pack opened. The Ultimate Memorabilia Archives cards feature specially stamped 1/1 cards from past Ultimate Memorabilia releases.
These 1/1 cards are in In The Game Ultimate slabs and are spectacular.
Dual Rocket Richard/Gordie Howe Card
Toronto Maple Leaf Cornerstones
Patrick Roy Ultimate Names “Y”
Detroit Red Wings Ultimate Originals
Pavel Bure Ultimate Emblem
Bobby Hull Patch
Montreal Canadiens 59/60 Road To The Cup
The Ultimate Memorabilia 14th Edition Redemption Program is limited and will continue while supplies last.
A special bonus of two additional Ultimate Archives cards will be available to collectors who break a sealed 4 box case of Ultimate Memorabilia 14th Edition.
Go to the Leaf Trading Cards website for additional information on other programs taking place at In The GameLand during the Fall Expo.
Remember, there is only one real Ultimate.
See you at the In The GameLand.
Brian Price
Congratulations is in order for the upcoming release of the first product under the Leaf/In The Game banner – 2014 Draft Prospects.
The following is from an email sent by Leaf Trading Cards President, Brian Gray today.
“Leaf is pleased to announce that 2014 In The Game Draft Prospects Hockey is a COMPLETE SELL OUT. There are no additional cases for reorders on this item.
PRODUCTION ON THIS ITEM HAS BEEN CUT OVER 30% FROM LAST YEAR!
We will be verifying this reduced print run by NUMBERING the inner and outer cases.
THE PRODUCTION RUN ON THIS ITEM IS 277 20-BOX CASES. THAT’S IT!
Base Set and Memorabilia card parallels in this set are SERIAL NUMBERED for the first time. “
Again, congratulations on the joint effort of the Leaf and In The Game teams in making this great product for collectors.
Brian Price
It looks like the marriage of In The Game and Leaf Trading Cards is paying off with big dividends.
The first product will be released later this month – 2014 Draft Prospects and it looks like a great one.
Here are some images of the Jumbo Patch Cards (all cards will be serially numbered when released).
This product will also feature Autograph Cards and Auto/Memo Cards of 2015 Projected #1 pick, Connor McDavid.
New innovations along with great Authentic Game-Used Memorabilia, a great combination.
Remember, all 2014 Draft Prospect autographs are hard-Signed.
Production has been cut back, so don’t wait too long to order yours.
Brian Price
I can’t believe it has been a year since the inaugural release of Draft Prospects.
This year’s product looks to be another great one, featuring Hard-Signed Autograph Cards from the projected top picks in the 2014 NHL Draft.
Aaron Ekblad – Barrie Colts
Sam Bennett – Kingston Frontenacs
Sam Reinhart – Kootenay Ice
These are only three of the players eligible to be drafted this year.
Remember all autographs are hard signed with silver and gold versions.
There will be three Autograph Cards in each box.
2014 Draft Prospects will also feature a 100-card Base Card set featuring the current crop of draft picks, future draft picks and legendary draft picks.
There will be seven Premium Base Cards in each box.
The Authentic Game-used Memorabilia inserts will feature designs from the new ITG/Leaf design team.
Top Prospects Complete Jersey
Prospect Nameplates
Go Big or Go Home
Jumbo Patch
There will be two Authentic Game-Used Memorabilia Cards in each box.
To order your product please contact Brian Gray at brian@leaftradingcards.com.
Don’t get shut out, production is more limited than last year’s product. Order yours today.
As most veteran collectors know, I have been in this hobby for twenty-two years.
In order to understand what lead me to make the decision I made last week, you would have to hear my trading card story. For those who already know it, I apologize but here is the condensed version, I probably could write book on the subject, if anyone cared to read it.
I started out as a licensor of the Parkhurst name first to Pro Set in 1990 and after they went bankrupt to Upper Deck in 1993. I found the Parkhurst name dormant and brought it back to hockey cards, something I am very proud of.
By 1995 I was out of the business and back to collecting both cards and game-used jerseys. By now visitors to both the Spring and Fall Expos have seen some of my game-worn collection, that too I am very proud of.
In 1999, I was asked by Ted Saskin of the NHLPA to manufacture their Be A Player brand. In The Game, Inc. was born.
In 2003-04 during the lock-out, the NHLPA gave Upper Deck an exclusive licensing agreement for five years without even giving In The Game a chance to match or beat their offer. We were just told to close shop, but not so fast.
Well I was either too stubborn or too stupid to do that and I continued to make hockey cards utilizing our hockey knowledge, vintage memorabilia, great player relationships, my loyal staff and our passion for the game of hockey and the hockey trading card hobby.
Did the NHL or the NHLPA approve of this, absolutely not!
They have threatened, they have contacted agents and players about our products, they have done lots of things over the past 10 year period to put us out of business.
The road I have followed has not been an easy one.
After the lock-out ended and during the Upper Deck exclusive era, collectors wanted another choice for collecting and In The Game provided that. We had five great years. Thank you all for that.
Then along came Panini. It is not important what I think about Panini and their products but they did give collectors another choice for those who would not buy Upper Deck and the last three years have been difficult ones for In The Game.
We have come out with some great products during this period of time that have been embraced by collectors; Forever Rivals, Ultimate Memorabilia 11 and 12, Superlative Hockey III and The First Six, Motown Madness, Decades The 80s and 90s, Lord Stanley’s Mug and StickWorks to name a few.
But the battle to stay viable continued to get more and more difficult.
Two years ago the NHLPA did a backdoor deal with the PHPA (union for the AHL players) and we lost that license after nine loyal years. To date no licensed AHL cards have been produced although I hear Upper Deck is doing a boxed set product one day.
This was another blow to our product line but we kept marching on. Competing with Upper Deck and Panini, while fighting the NHLPA and their continued interference with our business relationships was a daily routine that I and my loyal staff had to deal with.
This past year we went through the charade of applying for a license with both the NHLPA and NHL but I soon realized that they never gave us any real consideration. Upper Deck was given another exclusive licensing agreement.
In January, I sold the assets of my Famous Fabrics group and gave up my rights to produce Sport Kings cards to Brian Gray of Leaf Trading Cards in order to concentrate on In The Game hockey products.
During this negotiation Brian and I spent a long time discussing our mutual concerns about the industry, distribution issues, product creativity and trading card licensing.
I realized that we were both fighting the same battles on a daily basis, the only difference is that Brian Gray is twenty years younger than I am.
As the 2014 Spring Expo grew closer and we worked day and night to get our products out on time, I realized that everything I was doing was not paying off.
No redemptions, on-time release dates, authentic game-used memorabilia and many other features that In The Game was known for were being dominated by photo shoot jerseys (has anyone really seen the photo shoot pictures that these jerseys come from), redemption cards that never get fulfilled and eventually get replaced, parallels of parallels of parallels (you get the picture).
I finally got the message collectors were delivering, the other companies seem to be delivering what they wanted and it seemed that ITG wasn’t giving it to them.
We had our very loyal collector base (I think they are the most sophisticated and passionate collectors in the entire hobby) but that was not enough to make a go of it.
Not sure if I was stubborn or stupid but I just didn’t want to give up especially when the NHLPA and the NHL announced that they had given Upper Deck another exclusive.
Should I fold my tent and let Upper Deck have the hockey card market to themselves?
Should I let the NHL and NHLPA finally defeat me?
Well I was close to making the decision to wind up In The Game after the Spring Expo and then Brian Gray and I spoke.
He called me because both our companies were not invited to the 2014 Industry Summit and wanted my thoughts on the matter. In The Game was not invited because Panini and the NHLPA put pressure on the promoter to exclude us. More crap from the NHLPA.
I told Brian that I was too old to keep fighting the same battles day in and day out and that there were more important things in life at my age than hockey cards, although I have been a collector for sixty years and still love collecting.
Brian suggested that we continue to talk and hope that two creative guys could come up with something that made sense.
After couple months of talking with Brian Gray, a meeting in Dallas was set up where I met his staff and toured his facility.
After this trip and based on what I saw and what I heard, I was ready to work with Leaf on ITG hockey products in some capacity.
So Brian Gray came up to Toronto one week before the Spring Expo with his key employees and after many hours of discussion an agreement was reached.
Our new relationship was announced at the In The Game Customer Appreciation Night on May 3rd at the Woodbine Centre.
Both Brian Gray and myself share the view that it is totally unfair to hockey card collectors that there is a monopoly.
So Upper Deck can produce whatever they want and if collectors don’t like it, they have nothing to collect. That’s just not right.
New products will come out with the two companies working together, adding elements from each to make new products better than ever.
Leaf will have a hand in new designs and adding elements from their brands that collectors have enjoyed over the years.
Leaf will also handle distribution and solicitation for all the products under the new relationship. ITG has never had as good distribution in the US as we would have liked but we do have exceptional distribution in Canada, so the combination of the two companies will solve this problem as Leaf is very strong on the US side.
The first product under the new arrangement will be the 2014 Draft Prospects release, a product that In The Game pioneered last year, this product comes out in June in time for the 2014 NHL Draft.
ITG worked on the autograph acquisitions while Leaf took care of the Base and Game-Used Memorabilia cards utilizing In The Game’s memorabilia inventory.
Leaf and ITG will work out more specific details on how the partnership will move forward in the coming weeks.
Get ready for a new era of Hockey from Leaf/ITG. Things are changing and collectors will now have a viable choice to the exclusive licensee.
To our loyal collectors, stick with us and give the new ITG a chance to keep your valued business.
To collectors who have never collected ITG products, take another look at what the new ITG has to offer and see if it appeals to you.
Brian Price
Contrary to popular rumors, ITG still has a jam packed warehouse.
It has been report on a not-to-be-named site, that while ITG was celebrating its 2014 Spring Expo Customer Appreciation party, trucks were lined up to empty the warehouse and move all its contents to Dallas, Texas.
That’s news to me, because when I arrived on Monday morning, the warehouse was still packed to the rafters as you can see below.
I will be publishing information on ITG’s new relationship with Leaf Trading Cards in the next day or so but I couldn’t believe people were making this claim about our warehouse so I had to take some pictures this afternoon.
Let’s take a mini tour of our facility (warehouse only).
Here are the skids that just came back from the Spring Expo with our booth floor, display stands, posters and all the other stuff that goes into making In The GameLand.
Here is our trusted shrink-wrap machine that did such a great job on Lord Stanley’s Mug and got it ready for released just in time for the Spring Expo. It’s an oldie but a goodie.
Racks of packaging and finished product.
More “empty” warehouse space. I wish!
Dan Hurst slabbing the He Shoots He Scores redemption cards for the second group of 2013-14 Heroes and Prospects. We couldn’t get them finished before the Spring Expo as we were too busy.
More “empty” warehouse.
Our StickRack. Will there be a StickRack II?
Organized player stick boxes.
More equipment on the second floor. Pants and gloves. Shelves don’t look empty to me.
Skate area. Some great vintage skates on these shelves.
The Jersey Room. Thousands of game-worn jerseys waiting to get into In The Game cards.
Just a quick shot of the uncut goalie pads.
Well that’s my mini tour. The warehouse is anything but empty. What can you do about people starting these rumors, nothing.
Brad Paisley said it best in his country song “I’m so much cooler online”. Anyone can post what they want without consequence.
This blog is not for them, it is for our loyal supporters to let them know that nothing has changed at In The Game except that we are trying to get better and be there for collectors who want an alternative to the licensed monopoly created by the NHL and the NHLPA.
Brian Price
According To Dr. Price 