Friday September 28, 2012

One of the most frequent complaints we receive at Upper Deck comes from fans who have purchased older product and pulled expired redemption offers for autograph trading cards. Upper Deck understands collector’s frustration when pulling these cards because they can no longer be honored for the item indicated on the card.

Upper Deck publishes on all boxes and packs, “Packs may contain time sensitive Redemption cards. Be certain to adhere to the expiration dates in order to redeem your card. No redemption will be honored past the expiration date.” Upper Deck has also made a conscientious effort to raise awareness of when redemption cards expire by publishing a “Last Call” list for redemptions. And the best way to avoid issues with expired redemptions is not to put them in the product in the first place. Upper Deck has had significant successes with packing out products in 2012 that have minimal, or in some cases zero redemption cards in the product. While some releases may be delayed to get more autograph content in, Upper Deck believes it helps provide collectors with a better pack opening experience if there are fewer, or better yet, zero redemption cards in a product.

That being said, collectors still purchase older products and can have a really negative experience if they find an autograph redemption card that has expired. At the 2012 National Sports Collectors Convention, Upper Deck experimented with a new program to help collectors who pulled expired redemptions by holding a raffle where 100 prizes were offered to fans consisting of autograph cards, memorabilia cards, unopened boxes and signed promotional items like pucks and hats from Upper Deck Authenticated. Everyone walked away with a prize that day and some collectors were lucky enough to get more than one item. All the collectors in attendance loved the opportunity to turn their expired redemption card into the chance of receiving a high-end collectible.

Upper Deck fans gathered at the Upper Deck booth to participate in the first ever expired redemption raffle.

Fans were all smiles as their names were called and they scored some sweet collectibles from Upper Deck for their otherwise worthless expired redemption cards.

Some collectors really scored walking away with autograph cards from Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretzky!

Upper Deck is excited to share that based on the success of that event, we will be continuing The Upper Deck Expired Redemption Raffle Program with some enhancements at the following events throughout the year:

The 2012 Sportscard & Memorabilia Fall Expo in Toronto – Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
The 2013 Las Vegas Industry Summit – Monday, March 18, 2013 (time to be announced)
The 2013 National Sports Collectors Convention – Saturday, August 3, 2013 (time to be announced)

Collectors may bring up to five (5) unscratched, expired Upper Deck autograph redemption cards to the Upper Deck Booth on Saturday, November 10 before 4:00 p.m. to take part in The Upper Deck Expired Redemption Raffle Program at the 2012 Sportscard & Memorabilia Fall Expo in Toronto. For the first time ever, collectors DO NOT need to attend the trade show to participate. Collectors can send in up to five (5) unscratched, expired Upper Deck autograph redemption cards to the address below to participate as well.

The Upper Deck Company
Attn. The Upper Deck Expired Redemption Raffle Program
2251 Rutherford Road
Carlsbad, CA 92008

Collectors who send in their cards need to legibly write their name, address, phone number and email address to the front of the expired Upper Deck redemption card (in the white area) in black or blue ink. Upper Deck will have 100 PRIZES available in this raffle consisting mostly of limited autograph cards, memorabilia card, unopened boxes and signed promotional items like pucks and hats from Upper Deck Authenticated.

This is an example of how collectors should put their information on the expired redemption card.

The Upper Deck Expired Redemption Raffle Program will begin promptly at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 10 at the 2012 Sportscard & Memorabilia Fall Expo inToronto where we will pull unscratched, expired autograph redemption cards and reward prizes. Collectors in attendance can pick up their cards right there. Collectors not in attendance will be mailed their card the following week.

What cards are eligible for The Upper Deck Expired Redemption Raffle Program?

• Expired redemption cards must have been manufactured by Upper Deck (legal copy on the back of the redemption card will indicate if it was produced by Upper Deck or not). Redemption cards from other manufacturers will NOT BE HONORED.
• Expired redemption cards must be modern-era redemptions with a scratch off code that has not been scratched. Older redemption cards without a scratch off code are not eligible for this promotion.
• Expired redemption cards must be for an autograph trading card or signed memorabilia item. Redemption cards for unsigned draft picks, rookie cards, regular cards or memorabilia cannot be honored. Additionally, expired sweepstakes offers are not valid for this promotion either.

Redemption cards for unsigned trading cards like draft pick redemptions are not eligible for this promotion. Expired redemptions must be for autograph cards.

Other Details

• Collectors sending in their expired Upper Deck autograph redemptions for the 2012 Sportscard & Memorabilia Fall Expo in Toronto must have them received here at UD headquarters by October 31, 2012.
• Upper Deck is not responsible for any lost, misdirected or postage due mail. To confirm your expired redemption(s) are received, we encourage collectors to send them a traceable method.
• Entries that are not addressed correctly, that are not qualified expired Upper Deck redemptions or that do not have customer information added to the card will be returned to the collector in the condition received.
• Collectors can submit expired autograph redemption cards from any sport. The drawing will occur randomly so collectors who submit a hockey card for example may not receive a hockey card in return. Upper Deck will raffle off prizes from a variety of sports and brands including a couple non-sport cards.
• Upper Deck reserves the right to scratch off and confirm cards have not been redeemed previously. Qualified cards must have a valid, unfulfilled redemption code under the scratch off area.
• There will not be a tiered element to the draw. All qualified redemption cards have the same value, meaning that if pulled they can win any of the prizes available.
• Upper Deck will also video tape these raffles and publish them to YouTube so fans can see who won.
• Collectors are not guaranteed to receive an item if more than 100 expired redemption cards are received in.
• Collectors can win more than once if they submit more than one qualified expired redemption card (but no more than five) per drawing.
• Should participation rates decline, Upper Deck reserves the right to alter or discontinue this program at any time.

What are some of the noteworthy cards that will be included in The Upper Deck Expired Redemption Raffle Program at the 2012 Sportscard & Memorabilia Fall Expo inToronto? Take a look!

See all the items available first hand at the 2012 Sportscard & Memorabilia Fall Expo at the Upper Deck Booth this November!