Daniel McAbee of The Tangled Web in Spartanburg, South Carolina saw the news of Blockbuster's short-term exclusive on Upper Deck's Shaman King exclusive (see 'Shaman King TCG Exclusive to Blockbuster') and the comments of Dean Phillips (see 'Dean Phillips of Krypton Comics on Shaman King Exclusive') and Bob Cosner (see 'Bob Cosner of Bob's Baseball Cards on Shaman King Exclusive'), and adds his voice to those that are upset about this step:

It is really no surprise to me that Upper Deck is doing this because they have shown nothing but contempt for the direct market since Yu-Gi-Oh! became a hit.  They have consistently demonstrated their uncaring attitude towards the direct market by serving up every Yu-Gi-Oh! 2004 new release as a 30-day exclusive to Wal-Mart and other big box stores.  No, there hasn't been a lot of press about it but each and every Yu-Gi-Oh! release of 2004 was in Wal-Mart a full 30 days before we received our product locally.  As a result of this arrangement, our sales on new Yu-Gi-Oh! product fell by over 50%. 

We are also going to refuse to carry the Shaman King TCG. I am not trying to say that I believe that Upper Deck or any other manufacturer owes me anything special.  I am also not trying to say that my boycott of Shaman King will have a marked effect on the success or failure of the game nationwide.  I WILL step out on a limb and say that my boycott will have an effect locally and it won't be a positive one.

No one ever said that integrity was cheap.

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