Okay folks, here's some more insider info on next year's production of intaglio prints from the BEP. I just got off a follow-up conference call and they are solidifying their plans. I wanted to spin this off from the standing Souvenir Card thread (Souvenir cards), because I have some specific questions at the bottom that I'd like a wider range of collectors to respond to. The Bureau will be printing two regular 8x10" cards for the year, plus the large-sized reprint of the Panama-Pacific award certificate. The smaller cards will be multi-colored, with the stamps in their original colors. The first one will feature a circular portrait of Balboa (from the award cert), the battleship USS San Diego, and the 1 and 2¢ stamps, originally issued in 1913. The second will feature a circular portrait of Columbus, the "Hatch" eagle vignette, and the 5 and 10¢ stamps. The regular run of the award certificate will be in black. They will only be attending one show next year -- it will be the FUN show set for January in Florida. At that show they are planning to do their usual raffle of limited edition "pulled proofs" for both the battleship card and the award certificate; probably 75 of the battleship and 50 of the award cert over the three days. These will be hand-numbered and printed in a different color, most likely brown. They are going to bring both the spider press and an "elephant press" to do printing demonstrations. There is a lot of uncertainty about the large-size certificate in terms of sales --the piece is almost 19x24". It's a spectacular showpiece, but cumbersome to ship (it will be mailed flat, because the card stock is too stiff to roll) and too large for any collector album. It's really only appropriate for framing. So here are some questions for the collector community: • What do you think the demand will be for the large card? • Would you personally buy one if it were priced at $50 or $60? • And as for the pulled proofs at the show (I've never been to FUN) is $75 an appropriate price point for the large card, and are 50 proofs likely to sell out? Just out of curiosity, who all is planning to attend the FUN show this year?
I have no doubt you're right on the #1. But let me spin the question a little -- what do you think would be an appropriate number of proofs, for both the large and small cards? 75 large and 100 small? The BEP is a little gun shy after the last two shows they attended -- I don't believe they sold all their special proofs at that those, so they're thinking demand is down. My perception is the shows weren't as well attended and the print designs weren't as attractive. But that's just me.
Well, speaking for someone who will fly to the FUN show, I would hesitate to buy one that size because of having to carry it onto the plane in the stiff cardboard to hopefully protect it from getting damaged. Stick it in luggage and you can kiss it goodbye, either stolen or damaged when they throw other luggage on top of yours. Don't think I'd want to hassle with mailing it home either....although that could be an option the BEP could have in place for people that want one at the show.
I think they had problems selling because of the offered cards. I think they will have no problem selling in the quantity of 100+ at $50 to $60 for the large. $50 for the small pulled proofs would be no issue. $75 is close to that upper limit. I personaly would love to own both. To get either I might make a special trip to fun. Wish the BEP would have gone to WFOM instead.
• What do you think the demand will be for the large card? I think there will be plenty lot of interest, perhaps enough to sell out a small run of say even 100, especially if they were numbered or otherwise date-stamped (canceled) at the show. I might expect slow sales of the entire edition if not numbered despite indicating a limited run. The challenge of travelers flying in/out of the venue will be shipping it home, what to do with it while at the show, etc. and this will influence some decision to purchase or not. • Would you personally buy one if it were priced at $50 or $60? Yes, the price point is attractive. I expected it to sell for even more. However, due to a lack of display space and/or appropriate flat storage space for the piece, in the end, I personally wouldn't buy the large card. • And as for the pulled proofs at the show (I've never been to FUN) is $75 an appropriate price point for the large card, and are 50 proofs likely to sell out? With such a small edition available, I think a figure of $125 to $150 would also sell out. Some additional thoughts... Whatever concerns are being expressed internally, I should hope they would take advantage of the online platform and sell any remaining ("limited") stock to collectors via moneyfactory.gov. If they haven't discussed this or made the possibility available for liquidating show merchandise in the case of limited edition pieces, then they should seriously look into this. Moneyfactory.gov could also be advertised at FUN and used to direct collectors interested in purchasing a large card online. It would offer customers the option to have it shipped direct to home/office/other. This would be optimal for show attendees who are flying in/out of the venue, who don't want to roll it, handle and deal with shipping the piece on their own. There ought to be adequate time to set up a page for this product online before the show and to encourage sales at the show, set up an iPad for customers to register online (if they are not already customers of moneyfactory.gov), and place an order at the show. That may even drive sales of other merchandise sold online, educate anyone who isn't familiar with navigating the site and what it has to offer, and reduce the amount of pre-printed inventory the BEP has to physically haul down to the show, display and potentially return with after the show. The online site would also allow any interested customers who cannot attend the show, access to prints– perhaps even opening online sales to the public during the show dates or immediately following the conclusion of the show.
Very thoughtful input. I especially like the idea of have the BEP ship large card purchases at the show, instead of having visitors try to tote them home. As to selling excess "pulled proof" show cards online after the fact, this is something they'd really like to avoid. These limited run cards are one thing that drives traffic to the show and to their booth. I'm sure they'd like to sell more, but if collectors think they can just wait until later to buy one it's likely to be counterproductive. I think for the large cards, even the "standard" ones will be numbered -- though I'd like to get confirmation on that. I'm going to convey all the pertinent info I get on this forum to my BEP contact, so keep the comments coming!
Here's the latest news from the BEP, gleaned from another conference call today. The platemaking process is going slow, particularly for the large card, so they have not been able to print proofs yet which will be used to market the cards. They are hoping to have something by around Thanksgiving. The subscription rate for all three 2015 cards will be $99; individual cards will be $75 for the large award certificate and $22-ish each for the small cards. The pulled proofs of the eagle card at the FUN show will be the usual $50, the large pulled proofs will be $100. The BEP marketing rep apologized that the larger card turned out to be more expensive than anticipated, but the production costs have also been higher than expected. They are also concerned that they may not have enough time to make many of these large pulled proofs before the show -- the plant shuts down over the holidays and the show is Jan. 8. Each card has to be individually inked and I know from personal experience how exacting that process is on just a tiny intaglio print. At best they will have 50 ready for the show (and 60-80 of the smaller eagle cards), but if things get bogged down these may be among the rarest cards the BEP has ever produced. Depending on demand for subscriptions, the run of standard cards will be 1,000 to 1,500. It would be nice if we could generate some higher sales numbers for this series. If that happens, I think the Bureau will be far more receptive to collector input in the future. This is probably the most transparent design process they have ever attempted -- I'm very impressed by their outreach to the collector community. But if this project tanks in 2015, things don't bode well. To quote the rep: "We're not making money on these cards. We're doing this to build collector interest."
The news is out! The BEP just posted details on their website about the 2015 intaglio print program with images of the cards and the large certificate. I wish the pictures were larger, but they give you a good idea. I like the card designs -- they kept it simple, as requested. Nothing yet regarding the "pulled proofs" to be offered at FUN. http://www.moneyfactorystore.gov/panamacanalcommemorativeprogram-100thanniversary.aspx
I saw the notice. December 17th. Will pick up the set. Still have to find someone to pick up the pulled proofs at fun.
