Retailers hoping for strong NBCD turnout

The latest edition of National Baseball Card Day takes place Saturday, with an estimated 750 hobby shops across the U.S. and Canada, along with nearly 600 Toys R Us locations, distributing free packs of baseball cards to consumers.

“We are thrilled to once again partner with MLBPA, Topps and Upper Deck to give hundreds of thousands of people the chance to own an exclusive set of baseball cards and engage in one of the most time-honored traditions of the game,” said Howard Smith, senior VP for licensing for Major League Baseball Properties. “We’re also proud to have the support of Toys R Us retailers nationwide, as well as local hobby shops, backing this ever-growing program.”

Visitors to participating stores will receive a 13-card pack. Every pack will contain the same 10 players (five base cards from Topps and five from Upper Deck). There will also be two rookie cards inserted (one of three rookies produced by each of the two manufacturers). The final card in the pack will be an informational card.

John Arcand, owner of Big John & Little Debbys in Chicago, said the pack giveaways are a great way to get customers in his store for other events on that day. “We usually throw a lot of other promotions with it and get word out to the local press,” he said. “Last time, we encouraged Sox fans to come in and trade their Cubs cards and vice versa, and we made it a big trade day. You can’t ask for a better promotion when the leagues support the efforts to drive customers into our shops.”

To learn more about the event, click here.