SCF Live Chat Transcript - Dr. Brian Price (ITG President) - October 25, 2012

[RGM81]

I've edited the original transcript to remove logins/logouts as well as put discussions together so that there is a more natural flow to reading it. I also removed some basic "LOL" or other comments that didn't advance the discussion. No other comments were edited or altered for content reasons - the good Dr. was kind enough to spend some time with SCF members on a Thursday evening and people were very respectful throughout. Topics discussed included Forever Rivals, plans for 2012-13 Heroes and Prospects, Superlative III, Motown Madness, and a very interesting fact about licensing.

Enjoy!

(21:30:31) (RGM81): all right, it is now 9:30 (for you folks on the east coast anyways), so let us officially begin our live chat with Dr. Price!
(21:31:03) (bprice): I'm ready when you are.
(21:31:10) (RGM81): Dr. Price is here to chat with us about the latest ITG release, Forever Rivals, and if time permits hopefully we can discuss other upcoming releases
(21:31:11) (ravens_creed): I will give the threads another reminder update just in case
(21:31:30) reoddai: 1972 is a great product. Exceptional resale value too for the SP autos.
(21:31:49) (waf): you have many I need (21:31:55)
(bprice): To me it's an "oldie but a goodie".

(21:32:20) (scottkoz20): Dr. Price - have you ever given thought to creating parallels to the Heroes and Prospects in a similar fashion to what Topps does with Bowman Baseball? (21:32:31) (bprice): The Summit Series autos are great as well. Especially with this year being the 40th anniversary.
(21:32:46) (phatboy31): My favourite product of ITG would have to be H&P / BTP...Reason being you have lots of big upcoming names with mem which I dig.
(21:33:12) (bprice): I am open right now for any new ideas on Heroes. Exactly what does Topps/Bowman do. I don't like too many parallels.
(21:37:10) (scottkoz20): They have a bunch of parallels, different color refractors, some with autos, some just as a parallel itself. This is something that we could possibly talk about at Expo if you have a few minutes as well.

(21:33:01) (RGM81): Let's begin by allowing Dr. Price to address an issue that a couple members on the boards have raised about Forever Rivals, that of the "bubbling" which appears on a small number of the autographs in the product, largely those of the Canadiens players. Dr. Price, the floor is yours...
(21:33:35) (bprice): This might be long winded, give me a minute to start typing.
(21:34:19) (bprice): I felt that it would be a great idea to have the Maple Leafs sign in blue and the Canadiens sign in a red.
Once that decision was made, my staff ordered the blue version and red version of our usual autograph marker.
We test the blue and red pens on the finished cards and found that we had to take an extra step before sending them out, we gently had to wipe off some of the U/V so that the signature could be written on an even more stable surface.
(21:35:00) (bprice): We didn't wipe very hard though to ensure that the card wasn't damaged as U/V coating can vary in thickness even within the same sheet of cards so how a signatures looks on a card can sometimes be unpredictable. Black is by far the best marker to use because it appears that black ink seems to react best.
(21:35:58) (bprice): The vast majority of the red signatures that we received back looked great. If a signature is a little light in some places or appears to be missing ink, that's due to the inconsistent pressure that the signer applied or how the ink is reacting with that particular level of UV. That's something we couldn’t control.
(21:36:33) (bprice): Collectors love the fact that the Maple Leafs are signed in blue and the Canadiens are signed in red. If some autographs are a little light in some spots that doesn't make them bad autographs. When using colors other than black on 18,000 signed cards, a little
variance has to occur. But, the use of the blue and red markers really contributed to a great looking Forever Rivals product.
(21:37:02) (waf): agreed
(21:37:18) (bprice): That's really the story, the reason I didn't respond on the thread was the tone of the posts. Especially the one that said there was not possible excuse.
(21:38:20) (RGM81): It's something that we have seen in other products as well recently, including Panini's high-end product Prime. It is a case of a high-quality card with glossy U/V not reacting well to the pen unfortunately.
(21:39:18) (bprice): It is unfortunate but it seems other manufacturers get a pass on these things and we seem to get hate mail. Saying all the signatures are bad etc,ect. I don't understand it.
(21:40:04) (ravens_creed): I would say those are just complainers who represent a very small piece of pie.
(21:40:34) (scottkoz20): and they would yell at their mother if given a chance
(21:40:48) (RGM81): Those of us that support the product will be understanding, hopefully.
(21:41:09) (bprice): I realize that but where are they tonight when I have given them an opportunity to talk directly to me.
(21:41:35) (phatboy31): They hide Dr, Not worth yours or any members time
(21:41:37) (RGM81): Someone had suggested a rather absurd idea of a replacement program - logistically this would be a nightmare, in no small part because one of the signers (Emile Bouchard) passed away earlier this year.
(21:42:11) (scottkoz20): its easy to gripe behind a forum and when given a chance to go face to face, they shy and run
(21:42:12) (ravens_creed): I, for one, am thrilled with the autos. There are a number of Leaf players I grew up watching whose autos I haven't previously seen in the hobby (Dave Ellett, Dan Daost, to name a couple), and a few others that required me to go to the ole Google search to learn more. I was especially impressed with Wally Stanowski's connection to the 1942 Cup winning team (and that he is the last surviving member). When a card like that is available, I find it hard to take anyone who complains seriously.
(21:42:30) (bprice): Are they trying to promote another brand by downgrading a competitor or are they just bad for the hobby? I don't know them well enough.
(21:43:17) (RGM81): The relative anonymity of the Internet makes for some very brave people.
(21:43:45) (bprice): I still think the idea of red and blue ink was a good one. It just was impossible to make it work on u/v cards.
(21:43:46) (scottkoz20): probably bad for the hobby... I will not complain at all with ITG CS. 2 weeks to get a BTP HSHS Redemption
(21:44:05) (bprice): Next time, if I do this again, I won't u/v the cards.
(21:45:10) (bprice): I guess that would be their complaint. "They didn't even u/v the cards, those autographs are useless. No excuse or explanation for not putting u/v on the cards. I will never buy ITG again."
(21:45:14) (bprice): Sound familiar.
(21:45:34) (ravens_creed): That sounds bang-on!

(21:44:49) (scottkoz20): it could have been worse, you could have had an Emerald issue again (21:44:54) (scottkoz20): *runs*
(21:45:56) (bprice): Don't remind me of that. You know we all make mistakes, we're human. I would hope we are judged by what we do to make them right.
(21:46:03) (waf): speaking of emeralds (21:46:16) (bprice): I think on the Emerald issue, we made most people happy. It cost us a fortune.
(21:47:01) (waf): still looking for the population report on the redemptions:D (21:47:20) (scottkoz20): i'm not judging, I'm just pointing out it could have been much worse. You and your team always seem to do right by the collectors and the hobby
(21:47:39) (RGM81): I think this made up for it: https://www.sportscardforum.com/scf/i...e/show/1316939
(21:47:44) (waf): yes the have Scott.
(21:48:04) (bprice): I have a population report done, it was done months ago but one of my production people think its wrong. I really didn't want to publish something that might not be accurate.

(21:45:44) (RGM81): Keeping with the Forever Rivals theme, how many players from the two teams were approached and how successful were you getting them all on board?
(21:47:01) (bprice): Very few players said "no". There were several we could not find but most knew us and were willing to participate. The retired players are great
(21:48:27) (ravens_creed): now that we have you in a live chat, I would be interested in hearing a more detailed version of the story about what happened to Nikolai Borschevsky's cards, and any other cards that had dramatic adventures before finding their way back
(21:49:19) (bprice): Nicklai's cards made so many stops across Europe, it was almost comical but we weren't laughing.
(21:49:37) (bprice): You should have seen all the different customs tape on the final box.
(21:50:09) (bprice): Lot's of sleepless nights but they made it and I was pleased.
(21:51:05) (bprice): Right now we have over 100 Red Wings players autographs in stock for Motown Madness which will be out in January or February.
(21:51:20) (RGM81): one name that surprised me by not being on the list was Saku Koivu - he's been in a number of your products over the years with signed content - was this just a case of him not being interested?
(21:52:27) (bprice): We're not sure. We could not contact him. He did not say "no" he never responded. We contacted his brother who passed on a message to him but still no reply. So you judge. He was badly missed.
(21:53:20) (RGM81): That's too bad - with the lockout wiping out Anaheim's visit to Montreal a lot of us are very disappointed that we'll likely never see him "at home" again.

(21:53:12) (cool-vintage): Dr.Price- Do you have a price range for a pack of The History of Hockey?
(21:54:42) (bprice): Not really. I know the wholesale price which I should not mention on these board. You would have to contact a dealer to get the selling price. We just got back the rookies from Beckett today and the PSA/DNA authenticated autograph cards. I have not opened too many of the boxes but they look good. The original artwork being done, blows my mind.
. (21:56:16) (scottkoz20): hey cool - this is from DA Cardworld (21:56:20) (scottkoz20): http://www.dacardworld.com/sports-ca...bby-4-box-case

(21:55:48) (RGM81): Feel free to ask your questions for Dr. Price, folks, the floor is open.
(21:56:09) (bprice): Yes, before I fall asleep at the keyboard

(21:56:29) (ravens_creed): Have you ever considered doing inscription autos for a particular set?
(21:57:09) (bprice): Inscriptions are cool but now that it has been done before, it doesn't interest me that much.

(21:56:32) reoddai: I'm curious about The Vezina GAme Used. stocks. I noticed that he was removed from the 11-12 BTP MTO list and his SP have moved from /9 to /6 instead. How are they holding up?
(21:58:09) (bprice): Vezina memorabilia is drying up. We are breaking down old customer service cards and we are being very frugal with what we have. Not sure where I will find replacements, May be impossible.
(21:59:15) (waf): Many other oldies drying up?
(22:00:26) (bprice): Our vintage memorabilia is always scarce; however, I can still draw from my personal collection when necessary. However, I do not have any of Vezina's in my personal colllection, I am sad to say.
(22:00:32) (waf): Much Tim Horton stuff to be found?
(22:01:25) (bprice): We have lots of Tim Horton stuff. In my office I have a stunning Leaf's equipment bag of Tim's with a pair of his game-used skates hanging over it. Looks stunning.
(waf): I am sure it does............droool
(phatboy31): I doubt this will ever happen but Dr would you ever have a SSP or SSSP of Ken Dryden in BTP? (Auto)
(21:58:50) (bprice): The only Dryden autographs we can use right now are cuts. I don't think his attitude towards hockey cards will change.
(21:59:04) (phatboy31): Ok thanks Doc
(21:59:34) (bprice): The Dryden original art in History of Hockey is simply outstanding.

(21:57:23) (blade): Were there any autos for Forever Rivals that came in too late to be included?

(22:00:21) (cool-vintage): Besides Motown Madness do you have any plans to release another product with a One or Two team focus?

(22:00:53) reoddai: TY. Will you be releasing a checklist for the history of hockey? If so, ball park timeline?
(22:01:55) (bprice): History of Hockey checklist will be published mid-November when we have all 16,000 cards in.(22:01:58)

(22:02:34) (phatboy31): Dr, I PC Robert Mayer (AHL Hamilton Bulldogs) he's been in BTP since 07-08 to present, Never made an apperance in H&P...Will this be his year?
(22:03:21) (bprice): I don't think so. Not this year, we are doing special things with Heroes.
(22:03:54) (phatboy31): He had jerseys and patches in BTP (11/12) Any left over peices to use in 12/13?
(22:04:43) (bprice): We have a new method of doing 3D cards and we will debut them in Heroes.
(22:05:05) (scottkoz20): :O
(22:05:11) reoddai: 3D? Sounds impressive. Hopefully those will grace BTP too.
(22:05:13) (waf): Do i need glasses?
(22:05:24) (ravens_creed): That sounds awesome!
(22:05:28) (bprice): No they look amazing without them.
(22:06:00) reoddai: Especailly if you can make it looks like pucks are being shot out of the card or something.

(22:03:13) reoddai: TY. BTW, I wanted to compliment your staff on the superlative autos. I noticed that the Sakic seems to have Colorado colours running through the card. I hope that its representative for the rest. Team colour borders, not fully colorado colours I mean
(22:03:52) (bprice): Superlative in my opinion is superlative. Can't wait for the release date.
(22:04:10) (ravens_creed): Anything you'd like to leak to those of us here tonight about the new plans for Heroes? :)
(22:04:17) (bprice): We will have to see about that. I will do my best.

(22:06:05) (ravens_creed): are you bringing back the puzzles on the backs of the BTP cards again? I found that they were a hit last year.
(22:06:13) (bprice): For BTP I have some other new ideas that we are experimenting with.
(22:06:34) (bprice): I thought the puzzles were great to and we certainly will be using them again.
(22:06:29) reoddai: darnit. GTG. Bye all

(22:06:34) (scottkoz20): what happens to leftover redemption cards that go unclaimed from either HSHS or shows?
(22:07:03) (bprice): HSHS card made in groups based on how many we need.
(22:07:33) (bprice): Redemption cards not redeemed are put in player's boxes and the memorabilia is taken out of those cards when needed.

(22:07:30) (cool-vintage): Besides Motown Madness do you have any plans to release another product with a One or Two team focus?
(22:07:58) (bprice): Not sure, can't do Boston without Orr. That bothers me. What team are you interested in?
(22:08:41) (ravens_creed): I wonder if a battle of Alberta set wouldn't be hugely popular with the western Canadian crowd!
(22:09:11) (bprice): I would agree but I can't do Gretzky and he is a vital part of that rivalry.
(22:09:29) (scottkoz20): I'd love to see various expansion sets... ie: Sabres/Canucks; the WHL expansion into the NHL, etc
(22:09:57) (bprice): What is the WHL expansion into the NHL mean? Sorry.
(22:10:26) (scottkoz20): Oilers/Whalers/Jets and Nordiques
(22:10:42) (bprice): Sorry, you meant the WHA. Good idea.
(22:10:43) (scottkoz20): but w/o Gretzky...
(22:11:07) (scottkoz20): whoops... :)
(22:11:11) (waf): But the Toronto Torro's

(22:09:33) (bprice): Can I get two more questions and then I have to log out..

(22:10:41) (waf): when are you going to say sorry to the NHL and get you license
(22:11:21) (bprice): I was offered a license this summer by the NHLPA. They offered me two releases a year and I just couldn't run a company with two relaeses.
(22:11:38) (bprice): I asked for four releases and they said "no".
(22:12:05) (bprice): So I said "no".
(22:12:06) (waf): It is a shame they don't offer you equal billing as UD
(22:12:34) (bprice): That was out of the question, but I would have been happy with just four releases.

(22:12:12) (cool-vintage): I would like to see Blackhawks,maybe one with defunct NHL teams, I know this one would never happen due to lack of popularity but St.louis.

(22:12:23) (ravens_creed): If I may have the honour of the final question of the night... is there a political reason why they seem to give you such a hard time with the licensing issue?
(22:13:45) (waf): Think they want you to sit on the fringes and keep pushing UD so they don't get too comfortable.
(22:14:52) (bprice): In 2004 the NHLPA and Upper Deck conspired to get Upper Deck and exclusive and Pacific and ITG were shut out. After five years the NHLPA wanted to get into Panini's deep pockets Since they gave basketball a ton of money. It is not political it is about the only thing the NHLPA and the NHL care about. MONEY. You can read about that everyday, it's called the LOCKOUT.
(22:15:12) (waf): Every year you have your staples and then try new things like Broad street, Rivals 1972
(22:16:23) (waf): UD is same old same old year after year
(22:16:34) (waf): ITG keeps it fresh

(22:16:34) (ravens_creed): if you had a specific question for Dr.Price, the floor is yours very quickly before he leaves...
(22:16:38) (bprice): We do what we can with the limitations we have. We try our best. We care about our collectors. That's all I can say. When our collectors stop buying our products, I'll quit. But we have had six sell-outs in a row. Superlative is the seven. You heard it hear first.
(22:17:16) (ravens_creed): Superlative is a beautiful product that has stood the tests of time

(22:17:31) (mw83krk): I wanted to inquire about the auto issue, but I'm sure that has been asked -- to avoid asking the same question I will look for the transcript

(22:17:37) (waf): Thanks for your time Dr. Price
(22:17:41) (bprice): This year's goes to new heights. Wait until you see the skate laces.
(22:18:07) (scottkoz20): ty Dr. price... see you at the expo.
(22:19:06) (ravens_creed): I saw the preview for the skate laces card and I nearly lost it! An incredible take on a memorabilia card. Wonderful innovative idea there.
(22:19:17) (bprice): Thank you all for being here. One day I will be able to dialogue directly with those who choose to bash our products on the boards. That's my goal. If you know them personally, extend them the invitation. Until then, thank you all for being here and supporting our products. I appreciate it.
(22:20:37) (mw83krk): thank you. Gn
.(22:21:00) (ravens_creed): Thank you for once again making yourself available to us tonight. We appreciate your time and, more importantly, your products! Do it for those of us who love them, and let the haters blow their hot air into the wind, I say. I also look forward to seeing you at the Expo again this year in a few weeks.
(22:22:45) (ravens_creed): Thank you for coming out tonight everyone, this officially closes tonight's chat session
*********

[87sluggo]

Thanks for the transcript sir!

I just have one little thing I'd like to mention, where you stated..............


(21:41:37) (RGM81): Someone had suggested a rather absurd idea of a replacement program - logistically this would be a nightmare, in no small part because one of the signers (Emile Bouchard) passed away earlier this year.


I think that someone might have been me and I'm pretty sure I mentioned the "logistical nightmare" part in the same sentence. I was actually trying to defend ITG in my post.

Just sayin...............

[RGM81]

Saw it posted elsewhere and was not aware of your comment about it, my friend. No offence intended so I sincerely hope that none taken.

[87sluggo]

Saw it posted elsewhere and was not aware of your comment about it, my friend. No offence intended so I sincerely hope that none taken.

Hahahaaaaa I'm over it :)

Seriously tho, that was a great read.

[Fatty McGee]

What I want to know is; when Dr. Price said he couldn't run a company on 2 products, does that mean he wouldn't have been able to release any products with unlicensed hockey in it? If so, then I get what he means, if not, then I have no clue why he wouldn't do the two products and go with Series 1, Series 2 and Update for each set. That would in a sense be 6 products. He could have made each set 800 cards (Include every NHL player possible, plus RC's, Old Timers, Inserts, etc) and still made a serious go of things.

Also, when he says, "It is not political it is about the only thing the NHLPA and the NHL care about. MONEY." I would have asked, "How much money?" Because if they offered him 2 sets, but said no to 4, then I would assume that what he offered to pay for the rights would have landed him only 2 sets. So would it have been to his advantage to have the four sets? Obviously he feels, "No", but if he would have done the Series 1, 2 plus Update for all, well then maybe.

I believe that according to the contract the NHL and NHLPA have with trading card manufacturers, you can do a series 1 and 2 and an Update set. You can stagger the sets however you like. Unless I'm mistaken on this or things have changed over the past little while.

In all honesty, it seems to me from his conversation that the NHL & NHLPA ask for a ton of cash for licensing and a company like ITG doesn't feel that it would be financially beneficial to pay that money out when they can still turn a profit with unlicensed product. I mean, it would be nice to see another competitor, but honestly, the inclusion of Panini hasn't been the boon that everyone thought it would be. UD still makes the same stuff and it's becoming more and more obvious that the industry of Hockey cards (And trading cards in general) is slowly choking to death. Just look at how much prices have dropped on certain 2011-12 products simply because there aren't any high dollar RC's to pull.

The only questions I would have really wanted to ask Dr. Price would have been; "Why does everything look the same year to year? Why don't you take a risk and change things up with the card design, background, etc.?" Also, "Where are the innovative inserts? Where's the 1/1 hand written motivational note from Gordie Howe? Where's the 1st overall draft pick insert set for Superlative that has an auto from every guy that was drafted #1 overall from 1963 to the present (You could use cut auto's for those that are deceased and make these SP's). Where's the Great Beginnings SP'd cards depicting hockey players from the first 50 years of the NHL (1917 -1967)? You could make that set run through-out the entire ITG series of cards ranging from Heroes & Prospects to Ultimate to Superlative and everything in between. The ol' set-within-a-set. You could make those cards on old style cardboard, etc. or as the decoys or whatever". These are only examples of things I could think of off the top of my head. But what do I know? I'm just some d-bag who always dumps on ITG. Except for History of Hockey - which is an innovative and interesting sounding product.

All I'm saying is that ITG, without a license can literally do anything they want. They're only limited by their imagination, but for some reason that imagination seems to be stuck in 1995... except for History of Hockey - which is an innovative and interesting sounding product :-)

[dahabsfan]

"(21:39:18) (bprice): It is unfortunate but it seems other manufacturers get a pass on these things and we seem to get hate mail. Saying all the signatures are bad etc,ect. I don't understand it."

Really Brian? You wanna try the sympathy route? Even after you take your snide little shots at all the other manufacturers for much the same issues? I said the same thing about Panini's terrible bubbled Prime autos and I'll say it again in this cse...you've been in the business long enough and produced enough cards that you should be able to admit that the level of quality in those autos is not up to ITG standard that collectors (myself included) have received over the years. Once in a while you can admit there's a problem rather than casting stones at others....remember the all the warped ITG cards from a few years back that you claimed never existed until many people provided samples and pictures on another forum? Not everything is personal yet you seem to always try to turn it that way. Perhaps it would be time better spent working on sets/production than playing the blame game and trying to spin the story.

Darren

[RGM81]

Where were you last night to ask that question?

[dahabsfan]

Where were you last night to ask that question?

If it's really any of your concern....working.

[iidaemmi]

Thank you for your answers Dr. Price. This clarified things.

A few comments caught my attension. You said:
The vast majority of the red signatures that we received back looked great. If a signature is a little light in some places or appears to be missing ink, that's due to the inconsistent pressure that the signer applied or how the ink is reacting with that particular level of UV. That's something we couldn’t control

Still you do not take responsibility for your own cards. That's sad.

(21:41:09) (bprice): I realize that but where are they tonight when I have given them an opportunity to talk directly to me.
(21:41:35) (phatboy31): They hide Dr, Not worth yours or any members time

If you guys meant me, I was sleeping and later I was at work, clock is here at eight hours ahead of your time. I do not need to hide from anyone. Sorry I wasn't there.

I want to clarify that I am not a fan of any of the card companies. I just pointed out because there is a clear problem.

Thank you.

Harri

[MasonRaymond0320]

Thanks for the read! Hope to see more Tim horton stuff out:)

btw, was Brian once a doctor? Is that why people call him 'Dr. Price'??