Card Companies Ready National Exclusives

The biggest show for sports cards and collectibles in the United States is less than a week away. The 29th edition of the National Sports Collectors Convention (better known simply as The National) starts Wednesday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago.

Along with a truly diverse selection of cards and memorabilia and a star-studded lineup of autograph guests, The National is always a great place to pick up cards you can't get anywhere else - at least without buying them on the secondary market. Card companies always have some exclusive goodies in store at their company booths, usually as part of redemption programs. Collectors who open a certain number of packs or boxes of that company's product receive cards made just for the show.

Increasingly, the manufacturers are making low-numbered memorabilia cards and autographs part of the mix. Case in point, the Derek Jeter/LeBron James/Wayne Gretzky triple autograph pictured here.

If you're thinking about heading to the show, you can find more details on these exclusives and a lot more information on my 2008 National profile page.

Image courtesy of and copyright Upper Deck.