"Ads hope ‘geek’ can boost trading card sales" Vol 8, issue 21, page 10 by Steve Jacksons

The trading card industry has been in a slump since the card “glut” of the mid 1990’s, says Peter Gudmundsson who is the president Beckett Media L.P. They are offering “Card Geek” ads to sports magazine in hope to spark the rest of the trading card industry and the general sports publications, the purpose is primarily to agree that trading cards are a cause worth getting behind.
The ads are going to be full-color ads which feature athletes such as Carmelo Anthony, Mike Modano, Mark Teixeira, Lito Sheppard, and many more. All though only Modano appears in uniform, right now MLB, and possibly NBA are going to agree to show the players in uniform.
Since Beckett’s spark in this new found energy F+W Publications, and Upper Deck, who are rivals, have become mildly turned on. Beckett says that they encourage this behavior yet hope that everything maintains civilized while doing so.
What Beckett is doing is slightly impressive and very daring. For the most part when I write a critique it is because of a good article and an excellent idea. Although in this case I think that Beckett might just be throwing out a desperation move. Trading cards in the past generation and in our younger youth days were “huge”, I do remember buying boxes that fit the trading cards that I would buy, there was a good industry for some time to be involved in trading cards. In today’s society I can’t see the youth absolutely “needing” a Michael Jordan rookie card like I once felt about it.
My belief of this being a desperate move stands, but for a desperate move Beckett is doing it the right way by not trying to do it on there own, they are also attempting to sparking the rest of the trading card industry, and as we know you can’t be all by your self in a huge market, you need others to compete with.