Whats the deal with In The Game cards

[The Germinator]

People doesnt like ITG because theres no rookie and everyone love getting event used patch from the big rookies. How cool is that to get a jersey wore by Taylor Hall for 30seconds on a photoshoot used. Way better than getting a nice Maurice Richard game-used glove I say.

Yeah the design is pretty weak sometimes, but I only collect set that I think look nice. You dont have to go after every set. Yeah some design are ugly, same with UD and same thing with Panini...

And I prefer getting 15cards for 6-700$ instead of 5-6cards for 4-500$.
I broke 2boxes of ITG UM and got my money back. Dont think I would have done the same thing with Cup.

[jbudny]

I actually thought ITG was very popular among collectors and then noticed at this years Toronto Sports Card Expo that there was next to none ITG singles to be found.

Being a collector who loves 90's players, I personally like ITG. Yes the base cards can be somewhat dull, but not many people bust boxes for base.

Itg has some very nice patches on there cards, with that being said, the window is often too small or not thick enough for the patch they put in. The result is the window area gets very creased.

Personally I like the creativity of ITG with how much they are limited. Upper Deck puts out the same players over and over again. Which isn't bad for collectors who want main stream players, but when you collect them little guy or the retired player. ITG provides much more.

I actually LOVE that people dislike ITG, it just means I can pick up cards for much less!

[edthesandwich]

I love the guys who feel their opinion is the only one that matters and are more than willing to let you know that you cant have an opinion until it's the same as theirs. This condition is primarily found in ITG enthusiasts.....just an observation

personally I do NOT like ITG . it's flat...boring , lifeless. I cant stand the slabbed cards either. I have a few but I generally dont buy alot of ITG . A few H&P here and there and the odd UM. There Canadiana was kinda cool.


Obviously the masses agree it's not as desirable as UD , clearly indicated by the lack of secondary market activity. And statement like this " BAP Ultimate Memorabilia craps all over UD The Cup" should automatically be dismissed because of this. Thanx for sharing but you are OBVIOUSLY a minority who, like I said in opening, is an ITG enthusiast who insists on imposing his opinion the only one possible.

Dude, get over yourself. I'll track down just as many people who will never, ever give ITG the time of day and are even more adamant about it than the ITG enthusiasts "imposing their opinions."

People debate topics in different ways. Some force their opinions down your throat, others are more respectful and use facts to reinforce their thoughts. But it works both ways, with both companies.

"This condition is primarily found in ITG enthusiasts" is easily one of the more ignorant sentences posted in this forum in a while. And that's saying something.

[RGM81]

With anything in life, you get people that really really like something or really really dislike something - and everybody in between. This thread has featured a little bit of all of that.

Some of the finest cards in my collection are made by ITG. There's a very good reason that an entire shelf of my Carey Price display case has nothing but ITG cards: they have fantastic memorabilia pieces, the old-school signature used before UD had him sign a billion of everything, and some of the designs look really sharp.

While there's always room for improvement in a product line--and that's certainly not restricted to ITG--on the whole the company makes many cards that make many collectors happy.

[Bauldie]

I love the guys who feel their opinion is the only one that matters and are more than willing to let you know that you cant have an opinion until it's the same as theirs. This condition is primarily found in ITG enthusiasts.....just an observation

personally I do NOT like ITG . it's flat...boring , lifeless. I cant stand the slabbed cards either. I have a few but I generally dont buy alot of ITG . A few H&P here and there and the odd UM. There Canadiana was kinda cool.


Obviously the masses agree it's not as desirable as UD , clearly indicated by the lack of secondary market activity. And statement like this " BAP Ultimate Memorabilia craps all over UD The Cup" should automatically be dismissed because of this. Thanx for sharing but you are OBVIOUSLY a minority who, like I said in opening, is an ITG enthusiast who insists on imposing his opinion the only one possible.

Talk about riding around on your high horse.. you seem more like the one trying to impose your opinion on other people while OBVISOUSLY dismissing everyone's opinion. Don't be a hypocrite.

I haven't bought an ITG product since 2003.. they don't make cards of my PC player so I don't have any ITG cards since that time so I'm certainly not an ITG apoligist. That certainly doesn't mean they don't make quality products and don't have a place in the hobby though.

[2010CTyler]

Can you back this post up with some examples instead of accusations?

I strongly disagree with most of the posts or claims that people are making in this thread. ITG has cards that are original, and they have a niche market but I guess if you don't like the hobby than you don't like ITG.

I don't think I need to mention the major misprint on last years BTP set. I and many other collectors bought several of the misprints. I had no idea of the error, my LCS had no idea about the error, and ITG only announced it the day before the product was released. I contacted ITG and tried explaining my situation, that I had paid a large amount of money for one of these misprinted cards........they basically told me to *$#! off.lol. I tried explaining to them that while they did make notice of the error (the day before), it was simply not enough time for everyone to know. I tried explainging how much money I dropped on this worthless card and how much money I regularly spend on ITG products.....the still told me to *$#! off.lol. When I contacted Dr. Price myself, the arrogance and atiitude was overwhelming. He didn't care about my problem at all. They made the mistake, they decided to alert everybody the day before release.......and I got to pay for it. Haven't bought a single ITG product since then. I haven't seen a company in my life with this kind of arrogance and little value for their customers.

[Bonesp5]

Another reason I havent seen here is that ITG cannot produce Crosby cards anymore. Continually having the biggest guy in the hobby left out of all your products cant help much.

Parkhurst Champions has no Crosby cards in it, and everyone I know loves the product.

I think the people that hate this product are the people who bought it, cant move it, and are in the hobby more for money than collectability. Haters be ragin'!!

[edthesandwich]

With anything in life, you get people that really really like something or really really dislike something - and everybody in between. This thread has featured a little bit of all of that.

Some of the finest cards in my collection are made by ITG. There's a very good reason that an entire shelf of my Carey Price display case has nothing but ITG cards: they have fantastic memorabilia pieces, the old-school signature used before UD had him sign a billion of everything, and some of the designs look really sharp.

While there's always room for improvement in a product line--and that's certainly not restricted to ITG--on the whole the company makes many cards that make many collectors happy.

THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!

ITG produces the kinds of cards you will never, ever see made by UD and Panini. It's the nature of their business plan, and it serves them well. Are the designs weak? In many of their sets, yes, their "ordinary" cards are a bit too plain for my liking.

But for collectors looking for Felix the Cat or Crunk Juice logos that make you go "wowwwwwww", ITG is the only place to go. Cards like those alone will keep ITG junkies coming back.

And guys, remember ... it's okay for people to like something you don't, and vice versa. The world isn't run by robots. At least, not yet.

[Fatty McGee]

Recapping what many have said:

- Not NHL licensed
- RIDICULOUSLY expensive at times while offering little in return (ie. Ultimate Memorabilia).
- Very low sale/trade value
- Sticker autos (especially on their most high-end product)
- Too many parallels (especially on their most high-end product)
- Card design is pretty much the same year-in year-out and is horrendously ugly. Even Panini does a better job sorry to say.

The only thing I like (or appreciate) still today about ITG are their Ultimate 1/1 Numbers, Emblems, Tags, Gloves, etc. And even those are beginning to bore me. Same ugly design every year.

Ding! Ding! Ding!! Hot dog! We have a wiener!

I find that EVERYTHING that was said above is so bang on it should be sticky. Seriously, reality doesn't lie. Except for the parallels argument (Some people like parallels, NOBODY likes dropping $100 for a pack that has a sticker auto in it).

There will ALWAYS be people who buy ITG products, though. Just like there will always be people who buy collector spoons, bobble heads and stamps. But that doesn't mean you'll be able to easily find someone to trade or buy your excess product off of.

[Fatty McGee]

Another reason I havent seen here is that ITG cannot produce Crosby cards anymore. Continually having the biggest guy in the hobby left out of all your products cant help much.

As for my opinion on ITG ..... like many have said, the designs do not change a bunch from year to year. On the flip side, neither does UD or Panini ... but I think they get away with it more because they put out so many more products ( than ITG ) each year.

Here are a few visual aids tho as to why I like ITG:

Thank you for posting these pics. I think this is the best example of what is good and bad with ITG. I'm a HUGE, HUUUUGE Brodeur, Luongo, Roy, etc fan. HUGE! But I see those GU cards above and think, "Meh, it's GU. So common, I'll just get the cheapest I can find. If I wanted to display that particular GU, no one would know if it was limited or not. No numbering on the front."

Then I see the dual auto below and immediately think, "I WANT THAT!!" But then I realise it's a dual sticker auto and I think, "Meh. I'll wait for a hard signed auto". In fact, I'd rather buy two separate cards or an auto'd 8x10. Who cares about sticker autos? I could buy a cheap Luongo sticker auto, carefully peel it off the card and put it on a stick, or my car and say that was an auto'd Luongo item. I'll get something else.

Also, If I CHOSE to collect every Luongo item from ITG, once displayed I would have no idea what year was what. ALL THE CARDS LOOK THE SAME! In 2011 you simply can not blame the lack of license for the lack of imagination. Those days are long gone.

BTW, I do LOVE the non-sport and 1/1 stuff that ITG does. The cut auto's are AMAZING. But once again, I think a lack of a photo hurts their resale value. Luckily, you can get almost any high quality photo online now and with the cut autos you can make a pretty amazing display for your office, etc. So I'm not an ITG hater, just a lack-of-imagination hater.