Press Pass closes their doors...

[AusRam]

A sad day in the hobby with Press Pass confirming on Facebook that they are shutting up shop. PP always made great cards and there customer service was pretty amazing, especially when compared to the other companies. They were true pioneers, being the first to put memorabilia in cards and some of their NASCAR designs have been the most innovative and attractive cards in the hobby. Unfortunately, without a big sports licence in a dwindling market, it seems they couldn't keep going.

Any way you look at this it isn't good for the hobby. We need more manufacturers in the hobby so there's more competition and creativity. Having them continually go under, or only having one manufacturer with exclusive deals to too many sports and no competition can't be a good thing for us collectors.

 

[Jesse Dart]

That's very sad, don't own a press pass card but the ones I've seen on here have looked wonderful so a big thanks from me

 

[Lazlow]

I was a late comer to their NASCAR products, but I was loving their work. So much so I was looking at getting into their football stuff too.

Busting their boxes you always felt you got something good. Great designs, nice relics and no redemptions!

That said, sucks for those waiting on redemptions or replacements, as they aren't going to to fulfill them if they haven't already.

Actually have to go pick up an order from dacardworld that has two boxes of Cup Chase.

 

[AusRam]

I was a late comer to their NASCAR products, but I was loving their work. So much so I was looking at getting into their football stuff too.

Busting their boxes you always felt you got something good. Great designs, nice relics and no redemptions!

That said, sucks for those waiting on redemptions or replacements, as they aren't going to to fulfill them if they haven't already.

Actually have to go pick up an order from dacardworld that has two boxes of Cup Chase.

Yeah, the one good thing about the redemptions is they were pretty rare in the NASCAR releases, usually only one or two drivers in a release at the very most and they were usually filled within a month or so of release, so there shouldn't be too many outstanding. Still be a few sitting around in unopened product though I suppose..... Don't think there were any redemptions in Cup Chase at all...

 

[Lazlow]

So who would you rather see take over the NASCAR license?

Upper Deck could probably do with another big license, and they do nice work. You'd worry about redemptions, but then if NASCAR had no problems accommodating Press Pass, Upper Deck shouldn't be any different unless UD drop the ball.

Leaf are decent, but I find their umbrella of products generally all look the same.

Topps are HORRIBLE with redemptions, and are too reliant on sticker autos. Sick to death of "high end" UFC cards having sticker autos. But they have their fans.

Panini can just FOAD

 

[AusRam]

Upper Deck would be my choice too I think, and they'd probably do more with it than Panini or Topps who have the bigger sports and probably wouldn't care too much at all about the NASCAR collectors. But with they way Panini are buying rights at the moment, who knows ??? We can only hope they don't get NASCAR!

 

[ozballer23]

Very sad day, they were the first company to release gu cards.

 

[bjho852]

Didn't realize that someone has already posted the news here. I love and will miss their collegiate/amateur basketball products even though I didn't bust many of them back in the 90's. Affordable prices.

 

[Brian Lee]

Sad to see a card company shut down... UD should just buy them out and continue the lines/brands, but I guess a lot of people don't collect non-licensed cards.

 

[Matty76]

As a lover of all things retro, I purchased a couple of "Essential Elvis" trading card boxes (released by Press Pass). Was very happy with these two:

Press Pass did a great job, their NASCAR releases looked fantastic.

 

[Lazlow]

So i just went looking for info about this seasons hockey Heroes & Prospects, and forgot about last year's announcement with ITG & Leaf entering into a partnership.

More like acquisition. Word is everyone at ITG was let go, with only Brian Price staying on as a consultant.

As for Heroes & Prospects, it appears to have morphed into a Leaf Metal product. Gone are the base cards, inserts, autos and patches, all you get is 5 sticker autos on prismatic cards. Making matters worse is there are are variations specific to the Canadian and US releases.

So between the deaths of Press Pass and ITG; Upper Deck gaining NHL exclusivity; Topps losing the NFL license, being completely inept with the UFC license and having a Doctor Who set that's gone from a March 2014 to an April 2015 release date; Panini landing an exclusive deal with the CLC, flooding the market with rapid fire releases loaded with ridiculous variations; and a plummeting Australian dollar, the future doesn't feel all that bright to me.

 

[AusRam]

Yeah, a lot of changes going on right now... And that last one, the falling Aussie dollar could be the biggest of all. Used to be able to cop the few percent in extra costs here and there but it's fast heading towards adding 25% to everything - singles, boxes, breaks, shipping. It's real money now ...

 

[Lazlow]

Yep, dropped another dollar over the weekend

 

[Lazlow]

So Nick Matijevich who was VP of Operations at Press Pass is now working at Panini in product development.

Also a poll on Beckett as to who people want to see take over the NASCAR license sadly has Panini and Upper Deck pretty much neck and neck, though the sample is small.

http://www.beckett.com/news/2015/02/nascar-continues-to-explore-its-card-options/

 

[AusRam]

Quick, everyone vote for UD....I just can't see Panini looking after it with all their other licences...

 

[FreshJays23]

As a lover of all things retro, I purchased a couple of "Essential Elvis" trading card boxes (released by Press Pass). Was very happy with these two:

They looks awesome. Im off to ebay now to buy one