Inkworks - ceasing operations

meatmancgy

meatmancgy

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According to our buds over at Non Sport Update, Inkworks has shut down. I called there on Monday to try and get an update on some things, and the phone just rang and rang. Today the owner of NSU got a call from the owner of Inkworks to say they're done. A sad day for the hobby and non-sports overall.
 
Disappointing news to say the least. I'm really starting to get into Non-Sports cards so it's sad to see one of the manufacturers close shop. Hopefully this isn't the first of many.
 
Damn you, "The Spirit". Damn you.

That SUCKS...Inkworks is a big time player in the non sports hobby and I certainly didn't see this coming. Business just picked up for Rittenhouse. I would imagine they now have their pick of Inkworks' sets (unless of course, someone else steps up to the plate).
 
The writing has been on the wall for a few months as upcoming projects (mainly Ghost Whisperer and Lost Season 4) got pushed back and no information or checklists were released. Phone calls and emails from concerned customer as well as distributors went unanswered. And I don't need to get into the distaste over their decision to go for sticker autos.

As much as I loved Inkworks their so-called 3-6-9 and case loader formula was getting a little long in the tooth. However, they have a soft spot in my heart since Roswell was the first non-sport Master Set I built (not that hard, but it was still the first), and I spent a ton of $ on their Lost releases.

And yes, The Spirit bombed and there are reports that Inkworks may already be out of some redemption fulfillments for that set.

All in all, a very sad day. It will be interesting how the non-sport world will be now. Also it will be interesting to see if anyone picks up the licensing for Lost, Ghost Whisperer, or whatever they may still have.

Inkworks always had a knack for the lesser licenses. Who else would have picked up Journey to the Center of the Earth, Scorpion King, or Robots? And you would never find a more exemplary level of customer service.

So I guess we have these as the bigger players:
Rittenhouse - the obvious "winner" in this, if there really is one (Marvel/DC licenses, Bond and Trek franchises)
Topps - Indy, SW, LotR
Artbox - Harry Potter, 24 (though their website has been "under construction" apparently for a couple of months, potentially?)
Breygent - movie poster stuff
Strictly Ink - Dr Who?

And who knows what Panini will do with Donruss' Americana.
 
That's true, I had forgotten about Dexter, only because it hasn't been released yet. In fact, hasn't it been pushed back a couple of times? In any event, the Dexter set will do quite well for them despite the blandness of the autos.
 
weasel-king said:
That's true, I had forgotten about Dexter, only because it hasn't been released yet. In fact, hasn't it been pushed back a couple of times? In any event, the Dexter set will do quite well for them despite the blandness of the autos.
Click to expand...

You mean blandness of the signers, or the auto card design?
 
Breygent is also having issues regarding the authenticity of some of the memorabilia they used in some sets. I wish I could find the link, but I read an article about some of the stuff they bought and where they got them.
 
Triple B said:
Breygent is also having issues regarding the authenticity of some of the memorabilia they used in some sets. I wish I could find the link, but I read an article about some of the stuff they bought and where they got them.
Click to expand...

Authenticity issues? Would this include some of the memorabilia that will be used for their Classic Vintage Movie Posters card set? That's going to stink because we have a few boxes on order...
 
that bites there the only ones that make smallville cards i feel like it's a death in the family i hope they arise again
 
I don't think they had any other Smallville sets in the works anyway.

Bruce, since you asked, I obtained permission from the other board to show them here.

Sample of the back:
DexterBack.jpg


Some fronts:
DexterFronts.jpg


Some of the images show somewhat noticeable lines. I know nothing about Breygent's stand on sticker autos, so they may or may not be stickers; or perhaps the cards just have different finishes on them for the auto portion. I have no idea, sorry. Nor do I know why the wording on the Velez is different.
 
It's not up on Razor's web site, but I received a preorder sheet for this product today:

09 RAZOR INKWORKS ARCHIVES 09 RAZOR INKWORKS ARCHIVES

# Product Information 1 Encapsulated (in a Magnetic One Touch Holder) Certified Non-Sports Autograph Per Pack
# 5 packs per box / 12 boxes per case
# Look for autographs from Ozzy Osbourne, Jennifer Garner, John Ritter, The Cast of Lost, X-Files, Buffy & many more!

Razor Entertainment Group is proud to present "INK ARCHIVES". This product is unique in its composition including over 400 different entertainment autograph cards. Razor is excited to announce that it has acquired the remaining autograph inventory of a fellow manufacturer. We are excited to present to you this amazing selection of high quality and desirable autograph cards in pack form to create an exciting pack opening experience for non-sport and entertainment trading card fans everywhere.

Autographs in the product include ALL autograph cards featured in major entertainment properties including:

# LOST
# SERENITY
# FIREFLY
# BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
# ANGEL
# CHARMED
# SEEKER
# SUPERNATURAL
# FAMILY GUY
# X-FILES
# SMALLVILLE
# THE SIMPSONS

AND MANY MORE!.....

Razor announced on Thursday that it has acquired the remaining autograph inventory of Inkworks, a staple of the non-sport autograph industry that announced it was ceasing regular business operations earlier this month.

More than 400 autographed cards will be included in Razor's upcoming InkArchives product, a release that includes one encapsulated autograph per pack in every five-pack box (12 boxes per case).

Many notable past Inkworks inclusions include Jennifer Garner (Alias), Ozzy Osbourne (The Osbournes), Evangeline Lilly (Lost), the late John Ritter (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) as well as Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan (Charmed).

Razor announced that only 299 cases will be produced.

With over 400 different names in the set it is impossible to list them all out, but below is a rough list:

Seth McFarlane, Eliza Dushku, Jennifer Garner Ozzy Osbourne, Evangeline Lilly, John Ritter, Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan, Gillian Anderson, Lara Flynn Boyle, Summer Glau, Josh Holloway, Brendan Fraser, Heather Locklear, Steve Martin, Kristen Bell, Alicia Silverstone, Kirsten Dunst, Lacey Chabert, Jamie Lynn Sigler, plus many many more....

Complete / Fairly Complete autograph sets:

Mummy Returns, Serenity, Firefly, Lost, Lost Revelations, Sopranos (MINUS ILER), Loony Tunes, Seeker, Witchblade, Simpsons Mania, Lost in Space, Scooby Doo 2, Osbournes, Smallville, Veronica Mars, Buffy, Jericho, Family Guy, Spike, Seeker, Supernatural, 4400, Charmed, Charmed Conversations, plus many more.

Kinda breaks my heart. I wish I had known Allen and Inkworks were going to sell everything off -- I might have tried to make a run at everything, especially the sketch cards, and I have no idea what happened to all of those.
 
There's a sell sheet over on Beckett somewhere. This is just the autos, so they either still have the Pieceworks cards, inserts, and sketch cards sitting around, or they were sold off, too.

In any event, get ready to see the sharks on eBay. There's a lot of chum coming our way once people start breaking these Razor boxes.
 
I called the president of Razor to find out if they were just slabbing the cards or cutting them to make their own cards.

God, I hope they aren't, but they've done it in the past.
 
I just purchased this one from a seller who claims to have bought a bunch of stuff off Inkworks. Ebay name is hux77, and he has quite a few of these never released Iler autos. I love the Sopranos, so I wanted to get this one. Hope it's legitamate! From what I understand, these were recieved back from Iler too late for the pack out process, as was the Chianese auto which was handed out to case purchasers as a bonus. Not sure why they hung on to Iler, as it would have been nice to know about it until now. :rolleyes: According to the seller there was approximately 340 of these signed. I've also noticed an unusual amount of Heather Locklear "Dusty Tails" autos, and Denise Richards "JAMES BOND WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH" autos on ebay lately. I probably overpaid on this one at $44.95 (free shipping) but didn't want to take a chance, and not get one. :o

242603375_tp.jpg
 
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Yep, hux77 is one of the sellers who bought up a ton of stock, and the card is legitimate. The number signed sounds about right, and the details you have on it are correct.

Others have questioned why they held onto this. My guess is that they just stuck them in the warehouse and forgot about them. There have been a number of unreleased cards (mostly promos so far, I think) show up on eBay. Inkworks also claimed that once they lost a property due to licensing they destroyed any related cards. I'm pretty sure that was not the case.
 
weasel-king said:
Yep, hux77 is one of the sellers who bought up a ton of stock, and the card is legitimate. The number signed sounds about right, and the details you have on it are correct.

Others have questioned why they held onto this. My guess is that they just stuck them in the warehouse and forgot about them. There have been a number of unreleased cards (mostly promos so far, I think) show up on eBay. Inkworks also claimed that once they lost a property due to licensing they destroyed any related cards. I'm pretty sure that was not the case.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for the confirmation, Joe! I actually emailed the company late Friday evening in regards to the legitamacy of the signed Iler card, and to my surprise when I got home this evening, there was a reply from them. The reply was short, and sweet from an Allan Caplan (whoever he is) stating that "Yes, the card is legit." I have his personal email address should anyone need it to contact them, just LMK. Again, I have no idea if he is someone big in the company, or if he's just a customer service rep. Happy that the card is the real deal, and that I have one for the PC now, which reminds me I better send the paypal for it right away. :eek:
 

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