John Ireland Caricature Trading Cards - The Eagle Has Landed!

nazimcricket

nazimcricket

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Guys, not sure if I'll be able to pull this off, but happy to report that I have been working with the English caricaturist, John Ireland in a quest to produce a set of cards based on his work.

Very very early days, but happy to report some big players on the trading card scene have responded positively, at least initially. We are miles from turning this into reality, but if it doesn't get off the ground, it won't be for lack of trying on my part.

If any OCT members are interested in providing logistical, financial or moral assistance, please drop me a line!

To whet your appetite, here are a couple of unpublished caricatures from John. I'm sure he won't mind me sharing them with the OCT gang!

watto.jpg

gilly.jpg
 
Well done Nazim - they look great. Will send you a PM mate. Will be happy to help out where i can to get this off the ground.
 
Thanks for the support guys. Financially speaking, I don't know what the numbers will look like. I'm initially investigating a limited release of say 1000 sets comprising of 30-40 cards. Futera have promised to get back to me with some prices.

I would really like to get some corporate support from a mob like Sanitarium (Weetbix), but unfortunately as of yet, they have not returned my messages.

If playing with the big boys doesn't work out, I'll be knocking on the doors of some smaller printers, maybe even the local ones to see what it would take to print lower grade cards like County Print Services produced for John Ireland back in 1994. Then it's a matter of paying John for his artwork and distribution. I reckon I could start selling some through my own website and maybe get a few ebay sellers on board, but all of this is hypothetical at this stage. Be nice to get something happening though.

If we progress to stage two, I'll definitely talk to you guys about potential design options and get some feedback on what you would like to see in a set of cards.

I'm also still waiting on a ruling from the Australian Cricket Board regarding the need for licensing with them. John and I believe that an artist's impression of a public figure should not be subject to licensing unlike a photograph. Anyhow, so many bridges to cross to make this a reality.
 
Nazim you should have a chat to footycards.com.au and get some advice from them. They are just about to release an AFL Draft set by themselves.
 
One thing to keep in mind, you might also want to be careful of any logos used in these photos....there are bound to be copyright issues associated with them if you use them without permission.

Otherwise, I like them!

Cheers
Matt
 
ooneil said:
Nazim you should have a chat to footycards.com.au and get some advice from them. They are just about to release an AFL Draft set by themselves.
Click to expand...

Raj mentioned those guys as well. I'll drop them a line. Thanks!

---------- Post added 19-12-2011 at 09:05 PM ----------
Matt26 said:
One thing to keep in mind, you might also want to be careful of any logos used in these photos....there are bound to be copyright issues associated with them if you use them without permission.

Otherwise, I like them!

Cheers
Matt
Click to expand...

Aah yes, you make a valid point. John can easily obscure the logos if ACB insist upon it. It's just something he's finding difficult to understand as he's published two books and the last set of cards of course, without any licensing costs, so something we have to work through.
 
Futera have advised that they will be able to offer some private printing facilities in a few months, though I doubt we'll end up going with them as their production costs are quite high. Shame really, as having their logo on our product would be really beneficial.

I'm also still waiting on some quotations from local printers.

Overall though, I'm pessimisstic about this as even though I have the financial backing to produce the cards, given our low print run and a realistic price-point, I cannot promise John Ireland a lucrative return on his work, so I honestly don't know if he'll want to proceed with this.

At this stage, I'm facing the prospect of selling 500 sets of 40 cards at a price of $45. Even if I were to achieve this, the returns would be modest. The only way to increase the profits is of course to sell more sets and to do that we need a good distribution method, but I don't have the necessary contacts to achieve that. Sanitarium have declined to assist at this time, so not sure what we'll end up doing. I haven't given up though!
 
ooneil said:
Have you spoke to footycards yet mate?
Click to expand...

Yes ... what can I tell ya .... they wished me well :D

Honestly speaking, my local printer has been really helpful and even though I'm waiting on a couple more quotations, I know for a fact that the only "real" impediment to getting this project off the ground is the fact that the returns will be far too modest to make it worth John's while to draw up a bunch of new caricatures. We could reuse perhaps a dozen or more of his latest unpublished work, but he'd still have to draw a good 25+ more and that is a big ask!

Anyhow, the number crunching will continue and I'll keep working on John to see if I can find the right number to entice him into this project and make sure I don't lose my shirt in the process!
 
Hey guys,

I think I'm getting closer to kicking this project off. Time for a show of hands on any support I might be able to count on. Some people have offered to pitch in money to the project, but as it's a dicey venture with a real risk of losing money, I don't think I ought to take money from my friends. Instead perhaps I could get some logistical and moral support?

The game plan at this early stage is:

  • Commission the artwork, ensuring the artist is paid his dues upfront.
  • Seek out some voluntary assistance with Design of the cards. Perhaps get a Photoshop template of sorts developed in a way where I only need to slot in the caricature and add statistical details on the back etc. Can anyone help with this aspect?
  • Have printed, a set of 45 cards called "Cricket Characters" limited to either 250, 500 or 1000 sets. Any thoughts on the numbers? The more I get printed, the more I will have to sell, so don't wish to exceed the 1000 set mark.
  • Collate a list of past and present players to be represented. This list will be evolve based upon a lot of factors, but the goal is to choose players from almost every team and ensure the players we choose are not deceased, so collectors stand a good chance of obtaining autographs. Feel free to share which players you would like to see in this set.
  • Initially I was thinking of packaging these in Ardmona style boxes, but packaging has been really difficult to source, so am now contemplating obtaining penny sleeves and 9 pocket pages at wholesale prices and just selling the sets in those? Any thoughts or advice on places to source these items from, economically?
  • The set of 45 would retail for $50 + postage. Would people be prepared to buy at this rate? Can anyone help on-sell these if offered a wholesale price of $40 per set? If I don't sell every single set I get produced, I risk losing my shirt on this project. So, this is where I really need to get as much support as possible.
That's all I can think of right now. Will post further updates and questions etc as the project moves forward. The real kicker here is that the potential returns are a fraction of the initial outlay, so not a very smart business plan at all, but to price the sets any higher than $50 poses the risk of getting stuck with a whole lot of unsold product. If anyone has some good ideas on how to market the product (with zero budget), beyond just the few collectors on OCT, do let me know.
 
In terms of promotion....you have your website and all you would need is a social media platform (twitter/facebook) to get your message out there. These can be very effective.

Another area you may be able to save money with a printer is to ask them if they would be willing to reduce their costs if you include some free promotion for them. if you include an extra filler card in the set which has their details or they are allowed to place their logo on your card, this would be a good way to potentially lower your costs whilst giving them a benefit in the way of potential new customers?

Another idea is to maybe lower the number of players in the set. Im sure most people would pay about $2 per card (25 in the set - 3 pages of 9 sleeves). That way you still sell them for $50 but maximise your margin and be enough to cover any losses.

Just some thoughts

cheers
Matt
 
Matt26 said:
In terms of promotion....you have your website and all you would need is a social media platform (twitter/facebook) to get your message out there. These can be very effective.

Another area you may be able to save money with a printer is to ask them if they would be willing to reduce their costs if you include some free promotion for them. if you include an extra filler card in the set which has their details or they are allowed to place their logo on your card, this would be a good way to potentially lower your costs whilst giving them a benefit in the way of potential new customers?

Another idea is to maybe lower the number of players in the set. Im sure most people would pay about $2 per card (25 in the set - 3 pages of 9 sleeves). That way you still sell them for $50 but maximise your margin and be enough to cover any losses.

Just some thoughts

cheers
Matt
Click to expand...

Some good ideas there Matt.

I always intended to use my own website and social media pages to promote the sets, but I'm skeptical of my ability to convert these into "actual" sales.

We did think about a lower numbered set, but that means less money for the artist, who is already vacillating, so I had to settle for the higher number.

I guess the bottom line is that I need to be able to sell ALL the sets I produce for between $40 - $50 in order to not lose my shirt on this. Million dollar question, Is there enough of a market for this product to be able to achieve this?
 
Hi Nazim,

I would approach it that potentially 25-50 autographed stamped sets would make it interesting.
Bundled into unmarked packs it would be tempting to purchase more than 1 set to increase the odds of getting a signature set.
People could still then get their own sets autographed but there would always be those special sets.
Cricket officials need to get behind people like you who are trying to encourage interest in the game.
I would also list them as buy-it-now on ebay to reach the wider audience which allows increased marketing of the product across the wider audience.
You can use the body of the spiel to hopefully promote/market what you are doing.

I will put my hand up for 4 sets no matter what (and hopefully I can pick up a special set in that and keep the others for a rainy day).
Hopefully numerous others are like minded to get multiples because a number of us like clean issued cards and others like to collect sigs in addition.

You have my support mate.=D>

Regards Russell:thumbsup:
 
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