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Posted by: jaderock Apr 17 2010, 03:45 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/sports/baseball/17cards.html?

Major League Baseball’s players union told agents in an e-mail message on Friday that the trading card company Upper Deck was experiencing financial difficulty and had not paid a large number of players money it owed them.

The union said it was working with Upper Deck to ensure that the players would be paid. The union strongly advised players not to return to Upper Deck any autographs they had signed for the company or to enter into any new agreements with the company until the payments were made.

The e-mail message was from Evan Kaplan, the union’s director for trading cards and collectibles, and was sent to all player agents. A person who received the e-mail provided a copy of it to The New York Times on the condition that the person not be identified.

A spokesman for the union declined to comment. A spokesman for Upper Deck did not respond to an e-mail message.

About a month ago, Upper Deck settled a lawsuit by agreeing to pay Major League Baseball Properties a “substantial” but undisclosed amount for issuing three sets of cards since last year without a license. It also agreed to pay baseball $2.4 million to settle previous debts.

In the lawsuit filed in January, M.L.B. Properties accused Upper Deck of trademark infringement and asked that it be restrained from using teams’ uniforms, helmets and cap logos.

Last summer, baseball chose Topps as its exclusive licensee, leaving Upper Deck without a license for the first time since 1989.

Posted by: Luke2411 Apr 17 2010, 05:28 PM

Upper Deck is DUN!!

You reap what you sow.

Thanks for the article Peter.

Posted by: aceecards Apr 17 2010, 06:22 PM

what does UD care about baseball..

they cant release any sets so..

Posted by: edgerrin32 Apr 17 2010, 06:29 PM

WOW! Were they just dropped on there heads or what! One thing after another. They better get it together and FAST! They are hitting rock bottom so fast they might not rebound!

Posted by: Kmart6nets Apr 18 2010, 12:32 AM

I mean... they've lost SO much business.. they're going to have to make a LOT of cuts to become profitable again.

Posted by: bigalexx Apr 18 2010, 01:45 AM

I heard that Upper Deck will be filing for bankruptcy on Monday

Posted by: northicehero99 Apr 18 2010, 07:36 AM

Please tell me this is not true?

Also, I agree with Steve, why pay for autos you cannot use for products. The MLB screwed over UD, once they did that it made virtually all the contracts with MLBPA worthless. I would think the lawyers for UD would have been smart enough to include that clause in those auto contracts with players. Then again who knows they might not have. I would think they would have to pay for the autos issued and return the unused portion to the MLBPA.

Posted by: ffman Apr 18 2010, 12:50 PM

Is Upper Deck no more? Will it be going the way of Fleer, Pacific, etc? Looks that way.

Posted by: Ducks3087 Apr 18 2010, 01:24 PM

The thing is UD owes them money for autos they already used(Im guessing). If this is the case then im would be willing to bet that they are going to end up being taken back to court for what they owe.

Posted by: aceecards Apr 18 2010, 01:57 PM

why would you say that?

Posted by: ffman Apr 18 2010, 02:10 PM

All the trouble they are having.

Losing licenses. Can't (or won't) pay athletes. Plus, I've heard rumors of an upcoming bankruptcy.

Posted by: aceecards Apr 18 2010, 02:43 PM

There certainly will be some restructuring!

Posted by: bigalexx Apr 18 2010, 03:16 PM

I don't have a source to confirm it, but that was what was going around this weekend at Frank & Sons. (Mini card show every weekend, with about 30 dealers)

Posted by: edgerrin32 Apr 18 2010, 03:48 PM

I hate to see them go but I truly feel that they are nearing the end! But there auto/memorabilia business is big and might help them! But they just have so many things stacking up against them. The biggest and best can only take so many blows before they fall! And that applies for anything! UD is not untouchable. I would be sad to see them go and I was with Fleer, Pacific, Collectors Edge, etc. But on the flip side if you do shady and crappy things, this is where it gets you! And you make your bed and now you must sleep in it!

Posted by: Gadsden86 Apr 18 2010, 04:10 PM

Well whatever happens i am glad i dont have any redemptions. Thinking if something happens more than you may see a fleer type dump.

Posted by: CardCraze Apr 18 2010, 08:33 PM

Everyone is so quick to bash Upper Deck, but when we face facts, this hobby can't survive without them.

Upper Deck is the definition of high-end. Sure Topps and Panini have a fwew sets, but what is the hobby looking like without products like SPA and Exquisite?

Posted by: sahetu Apr 18 2010, 10:24 PM

The hobby existed before Upper Deck and it will exist after Upper Deck.

Posted by: edgerrin32 Apr 18 2010, 10:45 PM

I never bashed them! But if you run your business like a joke the joke will be on you! You have to do everything you can to make sure you business doesn't belly flop, but that doesn't mean doing shady things!

And the hobby will go on. Maybe not at as high of a level but it will go on! Some new company will come along or one of the other will make a new sister brand!

Posted by: Zimbow Apr 19 2010, 02:45 AM

Well....Looks like we all have to go back to buying packs without hits and boxes with a guaranteed "average" hit percentage. I had no problem going into a hobby shop and buying packs or boxes with no hits and those excellent inserts that fell 1:4,000 packs. Putting base sets together and collecting that certain player. In the early 90's when I did collect I didn't mind opening a box of 30+ packs and getting commons of my favorite players. Products now are washed up and almost everyone chases that 1 hit that is released in a product.

Posted by: Johnny Number 5 Apr 19 2010, 03:20 AM

OH no??


NO more 500 dollar packs of 8 crappy single color patch cards and worthless Omar Jacobs like autographs! Oh know, no more 24 packs of ud spa base crap cards with a damaged or missing patch autograph, oh no????? NO more 150$ one hit packs of Upper deck ultimate garbage Oh well oh NO...

I used to open 1992 score, 1986 Topps and Stadium Club! ALl i want is base, give me base, yeh right!

ANYWAY
who cares

Like andrew said

Hobby before UD
Hobby After UD

no difference

end it now UD

blah

Posted by: sahetu Apr 19 2010, 09:10 AM

That SAID, Johnny Mango, I would prefer if UD stayed in business (and changed how they did business).

Posted by: northicehero99 Apr 19 2010, 11:19 AM

Me toooo! Got a few better redemptions on waiting status and don't want to dump and run.

Posted by: urbanmonk Apr 19 2010, 03:04 PM

Yes the hobby has evolved for sure, I kind of miss the days of the tough insert pulls which were your "hits". Not many set builders left anymore, and like you said many folks just going after the hits and tossing the base. I like AU's and GU but they have become so common that they not really worth all that much anymore (less than some of the better RC's even).
But I wonder if they will stay around as I have seen their customer service go from bad to about non-existent as of late (least they don't answer my emails anyway when trying to get a number, and I don't have time to hang out on hold waiting to talk to a person).

Posted by: NYStateOfMind1976 Apr 19 2010, 04:20 PM

Me too...


Personally I liekd the products that many bash. I loved SPA for football and basball. I thought alot of the cads were really sweet to look at. Very visual appealing. Personally I like Vintage as much or more than lots of folks but I am getting tired (I know shoot me) of Topps redoing old sets over and over again. To me its the 2000s let evolve and put out some great stuff!!!

Posted by: ffman Apr 19 2010, 04:39 PM

Very true.

I miss the chase of inserts and star base cards; now it's a good GU/AU/patch or nothing (even for me).

Posted by: bigalexx Apr 19 2010, 08:54 PM

Upper Deck is by far my favorite of the card companies.

Posted by: busyb85 Apr 19 2010, 09:16 PM

SPA is the only product I liked from UD. The rest was garbage. There customer service has been by far the worst. I won't miss them if they are gone for good.

Posted by: sharktitanfan May 20 2010, 04:21 AM

With no real competition, I hope Topps does not get lazy with their products. I always did like the photography with Upper Deck.

Posted by: Beavers98 May 20 2010, 07:24 AM

UGHH...I just hope I get something for my 4 outstanding redemptions...

Posted by: dodgerblue38501 May 30 2010, 01:30 AM

Posted by: jam92102 Oct 30 2010, 04:14 PM

Upperdeck has made plenty of mistakes but they also changed the face of the hobby. Who can forget 89 upperdeck baseball? The first year of their basketball jersey cards (96-97?), Exquisite, ultimate collection, for all the crappy stuff they've pulled their have been some AMAZING cards over the years that no other company can touch.