Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Gentle Art of Selling Customs (aka Finally Got My Cease and Desist!)

I've been photoshopping up digital "cards that never were" since the early days of this blog. Last year, I began taking it to the next level by printing out hardcopy customs. I eventually got pretty good at it and was so happy with the results that I wanted to spread them around a bit. These days, the majority of trade packages I send out have at least one custom in them to spice up the batch of cards and give my own personal touch. I know not everybody cares much about "fake cards" but most collectors at least get a mild kick out of a well-crafted custom, treating them as quirky oddballs.

I got to the point where I was so proud of the cards I was coming up with that I started trying to make a few bucks selling them on eBay and Twitter. It was slow at first, but eventually I got into a groove for a stretch where I was maybe selling a card or two per day at around $5 a card. After various costs/fees, it wasn't much, but I got to the point where I was pretty much supporting my hobby purchases with my PayPal balance rather than the associated bank account. So that was nice.


This Trevor Story card of mine was a good seller. Topps Now is a great idea. Topps won't get shut out with any out-of-nowhere rookie sensations thanks to this card-making system. But even with the several ToppsNow Trevor Story cards available, I saw quite a bit of interest in this faux 1983 card for the rookie who came out of nowhere to a blazing start this season.

But perhaps I flew too close to the sun, getting brazen offering it and other customs on Twitter. Two or three haters started tweeting shit like, "Does @toppscards know he is making fake cards with there (sic) logos[?]" The next morning (moments after I started drafting this rebuttal post, funny enough), I got a firm but polite email from Topps' Deputy General Counsel essentially telling me to stop selling fake Topps cards.

I gotta admit it gave me a big smile. It was an honor to have even gotten on Topps' radar. Just some collector fanboy printing a small handful of cards on his home printer, apparently good enough to threaten Papa Bear of the baseball card world. For a trip back in time, check out my January 2015 blog post "Concern over counterfeit and custom cards on the market" highlighting my feelings over the rise in ease of making customs, and more dangerously, counterfeits. I lamented the fact that Topps seemed to do nothing to stem the tide of fake cards flooding the market. So in that regard it almost feels like a win.

I've made no secret on this blog over the years that I'd love a job in the sportscard industry. I'd like to think the fake cards I've come up with over the years have been like a "portfolio" showing that I'm capable of coming up with good ideas for cards and adequately executing those ideas. And the fact that I've put out several customs that've seen strong interest has helped validate that for me.

To my credit, I definitely never attempted to counterfeit any cards nor tried to trick people into thinking my customs were actually put out by Topps or whomever. I always made it very clear that the card I was making available was a fan-crafted "card that never was" meant to fill a void real card companies hadn't filled. My customs were clearly marked as such on the back. There's no doubt that my customs were supplementary to real cards, never in direct competition.

But yeah, I may have gone a bit overboard and totally understand Topps draping a wet blanket over my little operation. I hope they continue their pushback against fake cards-- Counterfeits, specifically (customs aren't really that big of a threat), but yeah.

And for the record, any profit I made from selling customs went straight back into the hobby. I recently pre-ordered a couple hobby boxes of 2016 Topps Archives that I'm excited to get when that product releases in a few weeks. I also used that Trevor Story custom money to buy a real Trevor Story card:


I can tell you that without the extra padding in my digital wallet, I would not have pulled the trigger on that card. Big picture, me selling a handful of homemade cards helped the hobby and Topps way more than hurt it.

But yeah, I've agreed to not sell any more Topps custom cards going forward. I quickly compiled with Topps' request the day they sent it and did my best to remove any posts/tweets where I had offered faux Topps cards for sale. They were pleased with my cooperation and even offered to maybe send me some product as a thank-you if I'd be so kind as to provide my address. Realizing this might just be a ploy to have my information on file with their legal department, still I couldn't resist the possibility of free cards, and happily responded with my full name and address. I'll let you know if anything shows up. (Update: They sent a box of 2016 Museum Collection! Nice!)

Let's wrap up this post. Will I stop making cards? I don't think I can; it's like a form of self-expression for me. But I'll definitely do my best to tread lightly in regards to stepping on toes from a legal standpoint, especially if I attempt to make a buck off them. I'm thinking more original designs and tributes to forgotten oddballs. I'd love to follow in the footsteps of someone like fellow custom card creator, the guy behind Gypsy Oak, who seems to squeak out a living cranking out original-ish cards. But he's an incredible artist whereas my sketchcards would barely get me a passing grade in a high school art class, much less make me any money. So my dream of supporting myself with baseball cards is not likely to be realized anytime soon. Still though, making cards is a lot of fun. This is a great hobby and I'm happy to be an active part of it.

Very cool Roberto Clemente 1965 penny card I got from Gypsy Oak
So there you go.
Thanks for reading!

16 comments:

  1. Translation: "Stop making cards that are better than ours because we're boring and lazy." Screw you, Topps.

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  2. I think your biggest error, outside of selling them, was including the Topps logo. Companies really hate that. Second biggest error is using a Topps design (again, without selling them, they might let that go). The error that hasn't hit, yet, is using a major league player in a major league uniform. Panini can't do that, why should you be able to (hypothetically speaking)? Everybody is making custom cards these days and, in general, IMHO, it does help the hobby and the sport more than it hurts it. I do customs, but I favor my own designs these days. And I've never even considered selling them, though I think I would reject such a notion immediately anyway.

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  3. Good for you dude. F Topps.

    Their monopoly breeds zero competition, so they gotta go after guys like you. Also F the Twitter police.

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  4. You aren't going to stop making customs entirely though, right? The '89 UD Kris Bryant you sent me is sick! You can still focus on other popular designs like UD, Fleer, and Score. You could also keep doing Donruss and see how long it takes to get a letter from Panini!

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  5. Make them, give them away as a bonus for buying an overpriced 80's or 90's card. Just saying.

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  6. Yo dawg, we should team up! I'll handle the art duties, you work out the designs & manufacturing, & letsa get dat cash!

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  7. My customs generally start out as "inspired by" mainstream designs and go through a few tweaks. I've never sold any but I've had requests from autograph collectors for guys new to their local team. I send them a couple of copies and they return one to me signed. A few players have asked for copies as well which is always kind of neat.

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  8. That stinks, but not really too surprising either. No company wants free publicity anymore. Hope no baseball bat toting goons show up at your door, and if they do, at least let you know they are hired goons before you open the door. (you should get that reference)

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  9. There's always gotta be someone out there who tries to rain on another man's parade. Although counterfeiting cards totally sucks... and I'm against that 100%... the fact is... you weren't counterfeiting. You were creating original cards that were totally awesome. If there is a bright side to this story... maybe Topps will finally recognize your TREMENDOUS talent and offer you a job. If not... they should at least send you a case of 5 Star baseball ;)

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  10. Reading through the other comments, I have to say I stand a little closer to Topps on this than popular opinion seems to. Its called Brand Protection. Honestly, if your cards had a "baseball card breakdown" logo instead of a Topps logo, I don't think they'd have bothered you. And, all in all, it sounds like they were pretty nice about it. If you want to get nailed to the wall, try making or selling something custom with Disney's name on it. That four-fingered mouse is a mean mutha.

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  11. First off, I have said it a million times, you make some incredible stuff. Secondly, can't you just make the cards without the name Topps but use the same design or very similar?

    I hope they actually send you something but it stinks it all had to go down this way because of a few downers. It was fun for you and the hobby.

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  12. You make awesome customs. As others have said, I hope you don't stop making them altogether. Hopefully Topps is taking notes on your designs.

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  13. It is kinda cool that you showed up as a blip on the Topps radar. Great custom Story and I'm glad you snagged one of those Topps Now cards too! Keep up the good work!

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  14. Have to agree with Stubby about the Brand Protection, especially once you branched out and actually sold cards with their logo on them. But you're doing a great job with them, and I hope someday that a card company does approach you to work with them.

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  15. It's the logo they probably have the biggest problem with.

    Also I have a few Gypsy Oak myself! Nice cards...

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  16. I agree the logo is the problem, but you were always crazy honest and I think they see (like we see) that you weren't trying to be a scumbag about it. I'm glad they at least hooked you up, and it is pretty cool that your customs got so noticed that Topps messaged you about it! Moving up in the world lol.

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