No ffa cards next year

Dissapointing but not unexpected. The Caltex Socceroos Cards looked great. Hopefully in a year with two new clubs it will add some variety to the set (and the league).
 
Let's be realistic - how many people were buying it? Same as the ARU and Netball sets.

Netball has a huge opportunity to do ok but you need a RRP price point to allow kids to buy packs and start to build up a collector base in what is an entirely new market. First set you do wouldn't have many bells and whistles but enough to start young kids collecting.

This years release at $3 would have been a great start......$5 a pack for the first set release was about $2 more expensive per pack than it should have been given the support it received from the league.
 
The Netball sets were also used as promos for Netball showbags I heard.

Love the idea of all sets but with so many $$$ to go around, I can't justify collecting them.
 
No screams of outrage across the Football/Soccer Card collecting community, so this announcement from TnP clearly doesn’t come as any surprise.

IMO a disappointing decision but not unexpected. The box/pack format is never going to be economically viable when it seems there is no sense of who the target market/s are, and no real promotion supporting growth beyond the current collector base.

Hopefully this ‘down time’ can be used for some reflection on where such releases are heading. As we know each release has been problematic, whether it be Issues on price, promotion, distribution or the product itself.

But overall this is a football code with multiple problems on many fronts, and you don’t get any sense of where trading cards sit within an overall promotional strategy.

Just disappointing that the decision not to product a release does nothing for the small & dedicated group of collectors who have continued to support these releases, despite all the problems.

I am sure that existing collectors would buy either team sets or a complete a-league set of all teams (just base cards) if something was produced. Something like what TnP did with teams sets for each country in the cricket ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 & peoplecouls buy them direct from TnP, or a re-seller.

Of course there would be costs associated with doing any small scale release & no economies of scale. But maybe it’s just all too hard to this point, given the current state of the game.

End of the day people are going to to sit somewhere along the continuum - at one end being those who would be happy with just something to be released, whereas at the other end there are those who’s view is ‘do it right, or don’t do it at all’.

If, or when, an Australian football/soccer release is produced in the future, hopefully those who have supported such releases will continue to do so.
 
I agree with you Mike. Being a card fan a minimum release would have been great. And maybe you might have made some losses first couple of years as you lead in but if the market and fraternity is in disarray then what would you expect. Everyone has to be on board from FFA to the clubs promoting this to fan's kids clinics etc. I heard only Perth Glory has got on board in the past (you would be happy Mike)

They should have at least purchased some cases each to sell and to hand out . But no. Perfect for family days and clinics.They should have assisted with signatures more freely so we could avoid redemption. If other sports do it why could not the FFA have arranged it?

The other big issue is the big commitment of fans and collectors to still collect EPL and overseas releasesetc. That shows a failure by clubs/FFA to adopt and connect fans to players. Japan does it better

All other issues like price points etc are valid. But in the end, we all have to row in the same direction to have a chance to make it work. It's, i am afraid, a long term play which is a big ask unless you have a open checkbook or a profitable exit strategy
 
@Wookiedragon and I have plenty of time chatting at NRL and cricket games solving the card industry in Australia.


For mine...I don't know why they don't produce sets (think NRL or AFL premiers sets in an UP box and slider cardboard wrap) for each team and sell at home games. Sell a binder too.

Also put ALL team sets and binder on A League website.

Get in to bed with dealers and/or target fans direct by their website too.

There are too many sports and too many releases. You see servos AND newsagents with boxes of stock that barely moves in some instances - NRL, AFL, netball, A League, Panini soccer stickers, RU, cricket...

For A League fish where fish are...games.
 
Hi all, new here - first posting.

Newcastle Jets are handing out A League season 18/ 19 cards at home games - Jets players only, but I wonder if they are part of a larger set?

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