Artbox Sorcerer's Stone Set: Have Your Say!

Dear Artbox,

We would like to bring to your attention the concerns we have with your upcoming release of the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone Trading Card Set.

First let us mention that as collectors we have been really impressed with the quality of your two Harry Potter card sets and have spent many hours admiring and actively seeking them.

However, it is in this context that we were also very disappointed with your last release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Update cards - both dealers and collectors who bought boxes and cases of the product have felt let down in many respects.

One major criticism we have had with both sets is that a good deal of Hobby boxes were "duds" i.e. there were no props, costumes, autographs or film cards in them. No other card manufacturer has so many problems with dud boxes - finding a "dud box" is very rare in Topps cards and manufacturers such as Inkworks and Rittenhouse guarantee that you will receive something in each box. At $60 per box in the US and �45 per box in the UK it is unacceptable to get one to two base sets and a few foil cards.

The collation problems extended to the cases. There were far too many cases that contained no autographs or no props. While we can understand that this will happen occasionally, and not every box or case will have inserts exactly meeting the specified odds, it was far too prevalent for collectors to ignore.

We also find it unnerving that there is a lack of information about the details of the sets prior to release. We appreciate that you may wish to "surprise" us, but when dealers and collectors are putting out a great deal of money upfront, it seems better to have some reliable information on insert cards and ratios from an accountable source. Perhaps such information could be published on your website? Many other successful card manufacturers work this way -- for example take a look at Inkworks (www.inkworks.com) and Rittenhouse's (www.scifihobby.com) websites. You will see that they publish pictures and insert ratios for all their cards, well in advance of a release (a month or more), along with some indication of how many cases will be produced and the rarity of the autographs.

We encourage you, as other card companies do - to let the customers know what to expect.

Would this be too much to ask given how much money we've already spent on your products and intend to spend in the future?

Yours,

The Undersigned