http://rant.sportslizard.com A fresh look at the collectibles and memorabilia industry Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:09:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I promised to post updates on the planned site overhaul, so I figured I'd share the new logo that was designed over the weekend.  I also got a long way on the web design side of things.  The site follows the "modern" look of the logo and mimics a stack ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/07/13/new-sportslizard-logo/ Guest post by Cardcollectingrambler from Break Open Another Box! There are a few star pitchers this season who have performed well (evident by their low ERA's), but due to their team situations (for the most part), their records are relatively disappointing. One of the most high-profile pitchers that is falling victim ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/07/13/good-performance-sub-par-record-falling-values/ I'm all in. Time to take a shot at really changing things. I haven't posted in the past few weeks because I've been thinking a lot about my last post about how I think blogs will save the card industry.  I read the comments, got a few emails, talked to my ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/07/03/now-that-i-think-about-it/ Way back in 2004 when I started SportsLizard I couldn't find too many other sites where collectors spoke their minds.  In the past four years my role in the industry has changed.  I went from collector, to collector who owned a collectibles business and wrote about it, to business owner ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/06/18/blogs-how-i-think-the-card-industry-will-be-saved/ Guest post by Cardcollectingrambler from Break Open Another Box! Josh Hamilton has been on fire in ’08, batting .326 (2nd in AL), 14 HR (1st in AL) & 61 RBI (1st in MLB). After being drafted first overall by Tampa Bay back in ’99, Hamilton spent the next 7 seasons in ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/06/03/mlb-briefs-2/ Ben Henry runs arguably the best card blog on the web - The Baseball Card Blog. If you don't already read it, you should. The other day he posed an interesting question: in five years will Beckett and Tuff Stuff have price guides that still matter in ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/05/28/would-we-be-better-without-beckett-and-tuff-stuff/ Over the past few years our customs section has grown more than I ever imagined it could back in 2004 when I started it. In particular, the gallery has taken off and become one of the most popular sections. I thoroughly enjoy interacting with all of the customizers ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/05/21/new-customs-submission-form/ In what's becoming an increasingly competitive landscape, PSA recently opened their own online marketplace as a part of their popular Collector's Corner marketplace - which sells only certified coins and cards. Considering they already had this infrastructure in place, what took so long? Overall, the site seems adequate but not ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/05/07/psa-launches-marketplace-on-collectors-corner/ To commemorate the Giants historical Super Bowl victory McFarlane is producing an ultimate team set of the New York Giants team. Featured in their white Super Bowl jerseys, this set also differs from the original Giants set by replacing Shockey with Boss and Finn with Hedgecock. Like ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/05/07/mcfarlane-announces-giants-championship-team-set/ Feeling the pressure of sites like NAXCOM and facing a perception that card collecting doesn't have a place in today's day and age, Beckett is finally attempting to bring the cards and collectibles industry into the 21st century with a major site redesign.  Let's face it: all collectors use Beckett ... http://rant.sportslizard.com/2008/04/29/beckett-announces-major-site-overhaul/