2022 Series Custom Cards: PRINTED (Plus a Giveaway)

Fun news from Nine Pockets Headquarters:

 

The 2022 custom cards have arrived!

I finished the year with a total of 15 unique custom cards on the official Nine Pockets checklist, which is a solid number for me. And that doesn't include the special sets: There was the 8-card rock band set, the 6-card Blazing Saddles set, and the Mets broadcasting team card, which had three related short prints. That brings the total to 33, which is a new high.

Here's a closer look at a card front and a card back:

 

 

 

 

 

To keep the brand going, I used the same template that was used for the card backs from previous years, changing just the ink color to distinguish this year from the others. (2019 dark gray, 2020 indigo blue, 2021 maroon, 2022 dark green.)

The special card sets received custom card backs that more closely resemble the style of the original set, like this example. 

 

 

 

Those are always fun to do.

The 2022 cards are available for sale in my eBay store, but just as always, I'd like to get some of them into the hands of you fellow collectors, free of charge. So let's do a giveaway for the first 10 commenters.

Here's what to do:

(1) Go to my custom card gallery and find two cards you'd like from the 2022 list. The only unavailable cards are the Adam Richmans and the Mets Booth short prints (orange, green, mint).

 

(2) Come back here and leave a comment that includes your two card choices, plus one consolation choice just in case every single commenter wants the same two cards and I start running out of stock.

 

(3) If you haven't sent me your mailing address during a previous giveaway, or if your address has changed recently, please email me with that information. A link to my email address appears on my blogger profile page. You can also contact me on TCDB.

 

And that's all you have to do. 

 

Thanks so much to all you readers, fellow collectors, and fellow bloggers for spending some time here at Nine Pockets. You guys continue to provide great inspiration and entertainment, and I look forward to getting these custom cards out to you.

2021 Series Custom Cards: PRINTED (Plus a Giveaway)

 

Fun news from Nine Pockets Headquarters:

 

 

 

The 2021 custom cards have arrived!

I finished the year with a total of 16 unique custom cards, not including the 1980-81 Topps hockey scratch-offs. If you do include those, it brings the total to almost 30. That means I put out more customs this year than ever. (22 designs in 2020, 9 designs in 2019.) I feel good about that.

Here's a closer look at a card front and a card back:

 

 

For continuity, I used the same template that was used for the 2019 and 2020 card backs, changing just the ink color to distinguish this year from the others. In 2019, the ink on the back was a dark gray. In 2020 it was indigo blue. This year, it's maroon.

The new cards are available for sale on my bonanza store and eBay store, but just as I did with the release of the 2019s and 2020s, I'd like to get some of these 2021s into the hands of you fellow collectors, free of charge. So let's do a giveaway for the first 15 commenters.

Here's what to do:

(1) Go to my custom card gallery and find three cards you'd like from the 2021 list. The only options currently unavailable are the Samurai Jack menko and the 1980-81 Topps hockey scratch-offs. (The scratch-offs pose a rather complex printing challenge that I haven't tackled to this point, but might try to tackle at some point in the future.)

 

(2) Come back here and leave a comment that includes your three card choices, plus one consolation choice just in case every single commenter wants the same three cards and I start running out of stock.

 

(3) If you haven't sent me your mailing address during a previous giveaway, or if your address has changed recently, please email me with that information. A link to my email address appears on my blogger profile page. You can also contact me on TCDB.

 

And that's all you have to do. 

 

Thanks so much to all you readers, fellow collectors, and fellow bloggers for spending some time here at Nine Pockets. You guys continue to provide great inspiration and entertainment, and I look forward to getting these custom cards out to you.

Custom Card Store: The eBay Option

Quick post today.

 

First things first, thank you very much to the folks who've already purchased some custom cards from my new bonanza store! The site offers some good analytics tools, and it's been fun looking through the stats to see which cards are being viewed and purchased the most. To this point, the Beastie Boys Future Stars card has been the biggest hit, far and away.

 

But for those who might not want to go through the trouble of setting up an account on bonanza.com just to make one purchase, I totally understand. That's why I've decided to take some of my stock and post it on eBay as well. 

 

 

 

Being that a lot of collectors (myself included) already do a good amount of buying and selling on eBay, and sometimes even receive special discount codes or eBay Bucks, I figure the platform might be more convenient to use.

 

As for the base price of each card, it's a bit higher because eBay charges about 5 times more in seller fees than Bonanza. However, I've tried to combat that higher base price by offering discounts if more than one custom card is purchased. Here's the rundown:

 

1 card is $4.00

2 cards are $3.40 each

3 cards are $3.20 each

4 cards or more are $3.00 each.

 

So, if you want to use Bonanza, absolutely do that. But if you already have an eBay account and would rather use that site, you also have the option now. Check out the Nine Pockets eBay store here.

 

Thanks again for the support and enthusiasm so far. It's definitely given me a boost of inspiration and energy to whip up some new custom cards. In fact, I'm working on a couple right now.

 

Stay tuned!

Custom Cards: PRINTED (Plus a Giveaway)

 

Big news from Nine Pockets Headquarters:

 

 

 

My custom cards are now available in print form!

After spending a few months looking into various printing companies and their products, services, and prices, I finally found one I felt good about and went for it. 

 

Here are a couple of close-ups of the finished product:

 

 

I'm happy with the results. The cards have a similar thickness and feel to the standard "vintage" card (i.e., 1980s and earlier). Slight gloss on the front, no gloss on the back. 

 

And speaking of backs, here are two examples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of basing each card back on whichever Topps design appeared on the front, I decided to give them more of a "compete set" feel. The cards are separated into series by year, and they're numbered in the order in which I designed them. For example, George Costanza up there was the first custom card I created in 2019, so he's card #1 in the 2019 edition. And likewise, the Toxic Twins card was the 11th that I created in 2020, so it's card #11 in the 2020 series. (Note the different ink color for the 2020 backs.)

 

Also note the hand-stamped Nine Pockets "NP" circle in red, which is my little way of letting you know that you've received an authentic custom card, straight from the source.

 

For a card like Costanza's, which compares a celebrity's likeness to a ballplayer on an original Topps card, I thought about placing a small image of the original card on the back (à la 1991 Stadium Club). However, that would have been clear misuse of property I don't own. Instead, I decided to go with a brief write-up that mentions the original card. Collectors can then use that information to look up the originals themselves. Maybe that makes it a more fun, interactive experience. There's too much instant gratification in the world these days, anyhow.

 

So, what am I going to do with these cards now that they've been printed out?

 

I've set up a store on bonanza.com where the cards can be purchased for prices that I hope everyone will feel are affordable. The site offers some built-in marketing and advertising features, so I'm interested to see what kind of traffic it brings in.

But wait. Don't purchase anything from the store just yet. I have some gifts to give out. If you're one of the first 20 commenters below, I'm going to send you three custom cards of your choice.

 

It's a way to thank you for reading about my designs and for always leaving such enthusiastic, complimentary comments here on the blog.

 

Here's what to do:

(1) Go to my custom card gallery and find three cards you'd like from the 2019 and/or 2020 lists. (I haven't ordered the 2021 designs yet, as I'm still working on a couple more.) The only options from 2019 and 2020 currently unavailable are the Sadaharu Oh stained glass card and the Mr. Bean Topps Giant card.

 

(2) Come back here and leave a comment that includes your three card choices, plus one consolation choice just in case there's high demand on a particular card and I start running out of stock.

 

(3) email me with your mailing address. A link to my email address appears on my blogger profile page. You can also contact me on TCDB.

 

And that's all you have to do. 

 

Thanks so much again for spending some time here at Nine Pockets, and for helping to fuel my creativity. I look forward to getting some of these cards into the hands of fellow collectors.