Upper Deck to Reduce Basketball Cards for 2008

In an effort to further stimulate the NBA trading card market, Upper Deck has announced it will further cut production on all NBA releases for the remainder of the 2007-08 season. Additionally, for hobby shops that purchase direct from Upper Deck, no allocations will be guaranteed for the remainder of the season, and NBA product will only be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“The cuts actually started with 2007-08 SP Authentic Basketball, and they have been pretty significant,” shared Chris Kollmeyer, Upper Deck’s basketball brand manager. “The cuts are difficult to take from a financial standpoint, but allow us to make improvements to the brands in ways collectors appreciate.”

Citing an example, Kollmeyer said 2007-08 UD Black Basketball will now have two true “A” level autographs per 10-box case on average. Those in that category include Kobe Bryant, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Kevin Durant and Michael Jordan. along with Upper Deck exclusive superstar spokesmen like Kevin Durant.
“This is the type of enhancement the production cuts allow us to make to improve the brand and ultimately the market,” Kollmeyer said.

Two of Upper Deck’s higher-end products are being cut significantly to increase the overall value and collectibility of the sets. The release of 2007-08 UD Premier Basketball (April 2) will be limited to just 499 cases. The release of 2007-08 NBA SP Rookie Threads (April 18) will be limited to just 599 cases. Furthermore, the cases will each be sequentially numbered on the outside to prove there were only a finite amount of them produced.

“These cuts afford many sports fans the opportunity to invest in their passion as most market experts believe the NBA trading card market will rebound and collectors will come back to this rookie class,” said Chris Carlin, Upper deck’s hobby marketing manager. “When it does recover, we anticipate the limited supply available on Upper Deck products will act as another catalyst to improve values on products from 2007-08 season.”