Bill Eckman of Classic Cards & Comics in Castle Rock, Colorado saw the recent comments on Upper Deck release dates in the various sales channels (see 'Paula Fuge of Gnome Games on Upper Deck Release Patterns,' and 'Bob Cosner of Bob's Baseball Cards on Upper Deck Release Patterns') and felt the need to add his comments:

Upper Deck doesn't care about the small retailer!  Period.  Not now, not ever.  If they did, they would support the stores that provide a place for their games to be played, the stores that hold tournaments that help increase the popularity of their product.  As Paula stated, 'We are your 'customer loyalty nurturers,' 'public relations builders,' 'product testers,' 'tournament organizers,' as well as being your customers!'

When asked what they're doing for the small retailers, Upper Deck representatives always talk about their tournament support and exclusive prizes--tournament support that we had to literally pay for and boxes of prizes that could be found on eBay, when we couldn't order them.

When (past tense) I was buying product straight from Upper Deck, I had to buy a case at a time.  I was able to justify that when my store was getting the product before or at the same time as the big chain retailers.  Then I noticed that the kids were playing with the new set that they bought at my local Wal-Mart.  I was still waiting on mine.  Target had the newest product and I was still waiting.  Mine showed up two weeks later.  I had a tough time moving that product, because the kids already had the cards.   From then on out, the chains had the new sets before I did.  I inquired of Upper Deck, 'Why can't I get my product on time?'  Answers ranged from, 'production issues' to, 'We fill the largest orders first.'

Eventually, after a lot of frustration, I gave up.  If Upper Deck doesn't want to support the places where their games grow then I don't want to support them.  I stopped running tournaments and quit trying to actively sell their games to new customers.  I'll concentrate on Wizards of the Coast, WizKids, and the other game makers that give away tournament support and give me the chance to sell their products competitively.

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.