This blog series is inspired by Rob Fleming, the protagonist of Nick Hornby’s novel “High Fidelity,” originally published in 1995, and the film, Broadway, and TV adaptations that followed. Rob, and his trusty employees Dick and Barry, are known for creating Top 5 lists for almost anything, but especially music. We encourage you to play along by commenting on your own Top 5 or sharing a Top 5 subject matter you would like to see in a future post.
Since the introduction of Magic the Gathering, dozens of other games entered the CCG space, each hoping to take a piece of the market. This was especially true in the ’90s, when there seemed to be a new game premiering every month. Sadly, not all games found lasting success, with many cancelled after a single release. Fortunately, even when a game loses official support, it is still enjoyable to collect and play. To a degree, they have advantages over currently produced games.
Music fans can rejoice. Record Store Day‘s June 18 drop date is almost upon us. This Saturday date is a follow-up to the main event, which took place on April 23, bringing out the rest of the releases originally slated for April that didn’t make the shelves because of manufacturing delays.
As has been widely reported, the growth of new vinyl releases has put a strain on existing pressing plants, causing delays on pre-orders and pushing back independent releases for months. This year, even Record Store Day was not immune.
Of course, the good news for both collectors and independent businesses is June 18 marks another chance to celebrate record stores with a batch of exclusive, limited, and first-release titles on vinyl and CD. Be sure to check the list before you hit up your favorite store.
In the meantime, here are five of the most anticipated music releases to look for on Saturday.
There’s a familiar mantra among crate diggers when they pull a classic record from a bin to discover a well-worn jacket.
“Well, you play the record, not the cover, right?”
Yes, vinyl condition is everything in the hobby, but truth be told, most collectors would prefer that the jacket be as pristine as the record itself, especially when it comes to ringwear.
Ringwear is the visible imprint of the vinyl disc shape on both the cover and the back of a record jacket that occurs over time. While it is most often caused by improper shelf storage, the repetitive nature of pulling a record out and then returning it to the jacket can also contribute to ringwear.
Unsleeved LPs with ringwear and rough edges on the jacketContinue reading →
If you plan to ship vinyl records, extra care should be taken to make sure the record, the outer jacket, and the inner sleeve arrive at their destination in the same condition as when they left. Whether you’re shipping 12-inch or 7-inch records, BCW Supplies has several shipping accessories to help you ship vinyl safely.
12 Inch / 33 RPM Paper Inner Sleeves, Square Corners, With Hole, Polylined
The first step is to examine the record to make sure it is clean. You don’t want dust or pet fur on your record or inside the inner sleeve. If the original inner sleeve is damaged or worn, slip that into the jacket by itself and put the record in a new replacement inner sleeve before shipping.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin series started with a 5 issue mini-series (IDW Publishing, April 2022). The series depicts a future NYC where a lone Turtle seeks justice for his fallen family and friends. These comics are not the common “current comic size”, making it a bit more challenging to bag and board these book if you plan to protect them in the normal fashion. The Last Ronin comics measures 7 1/16″ x 10 13/16″, larger than most current comics. These are thick perfect bound issues, meaning they have wraparound covers that are glued to the interior pages, like paperback books.
The Last Ronin are essentially the height of a traditional magazine, and the width of Golden Age comics. Therefore a bit of customizing is needed to get the desired fit when storing these with bags and boards. Get Golden Age Comic Bags (7 5/8″ x 10 1/2″). The version without the resealable strip is best in this instance, as the flap in the back will not reach down to the resealable strip, so the flap will need to be taped down. For the backing boards, get Magazine Boards (8 1/2″ x 11″) as those are the appropriate height. It will be necessary to trim one inch off the side of the Mag Boards in order to get the desired width.
Pokémon TCG has cemented itself as a staple in the realm of collectible card games. Every year, new collectors and players discover this fun game and its myriad of rarities and printings. Regardless of your motivation for collecting Pokémon cards, eventually you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to store them all.
Lord of the Rings LCG is a living card game produced by Fantasy Flight Games set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, with the events of the game taking place in the 17 years between Bilbo’s 111th birthday and the week Frodo leaves the Shire. Players cooperate to complete various quests before dark forces overwhelm the heroes.
Players create a deck consisting of at least 50 player cards. They also choose 3 heroes that will begin the game in play. Each hero has a sphere of influence which determines the cards usable in the deck. Each deck can have 3 copies of a card with the same name. Some cards, and all heroes, are unique, and cannot be used if another player has the same card in play. Talking to the other players beforehand will prevent a lot of issues during the game. Taking turns, the players work together to defeat enemies, explore locations, and advance the mission. If at least one player finishes the final part of a scenario, the players collectively win. When a player has no living heroes, or when they reach 50 or more Threat, that player is eliminated. If all players are eliminated, they lose. The video below has a more details.
The 2022 GAMA Expo returned after a virtual-only event in 2021. This trade show, hosted by The Game Manufacturers Association, brings together board game, card game, RPG publishers, game shops, and distributors to look at new games and discuss topics in the industry. The 2022 GAMA Expo was held in Reno March 14th to the 18th. The 2023 Expo will also be in Reno, and it was announced the 2024 through 2026 Expos will be in Louisville.
Board Game, RPG, and Card Game Accessories Seminar Hosted by BCW Supplies
BCW Supplies managed a seminar on Tuesday, March 15th, hosted by Andrew Phillips. Much of the presentation was about BCW products, including our Spectrum brand of board game, RPG, and card game accessories. Andrew has a wealth of knowledge about game shop accessories, so he also shared ideas in the supplies category beyond the BCW and Spectrum brands. In addition to working for BCW, Andrew is the owner of Level Up Games which has two retail locations in Georgia. Andrew also worked for GTS Distribution for several years, so he has seen the industry from several angles.
Unopened packs of trading cards have been an important part of the collectible card market, both for sports and non-sport cards, with sought-after sets increasing in value. Some collectors like to keep a variety of unopened packs. No matter the reasons for keeping unopened packs, keeping them protected and safely stored is important.
Many traditional sports cards were wrapped in wax paper, hence the term “wax packs.” Today, card packs usually are sealed in cellophane, plastic, or foil. Packs of card games such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon are typically called “booster packs.” There are several options to keep card packs in mint condition. Below are some of the affordable storage options BCW Supplies offers.
Sealed Card Packs in Thick Toploaders
While the pack itself offers protection to the cards, it is still possible to damage the wrap or get it dirty. A basic solution is to put a pack in a Toploader. Most modern packs have sealed flaps at the top and bottom, and those flaps must be carefully tucked inside the Toploader. For thin packs, such as the Pokémon booster pack pictured above, a 197 Point Thick Toploader is the appropriate size (5mm thick). For thicker packs, such as the 2021 Topps Baseball shown above, use a 240 Point Thick Toploader (7mm thick). 360 Point Thick Toploaders are also available (9mm thick). BCW offers several boxes and bins to store toploaders.
