N.Y.-based Topps has signed a three-year deal with
eBay, under which etopps, Topps' Internet-based sports
cards, and the Topps Vault, the company's sports memorabilia
auction initiative, will be offered. Topps plans a soft
launch of etopps by December 2000 and a full launch of both
etopps and Topps Vault in March 2001. The company estimates
that its Internet business will incur expenses of about $6M,
about half of which will be expensed and the other half
capitalized, in its FY ending March 3, 2001 (Topps). The
WALL STREET JOURNAL's Weinbach & Bensinger report that the
etopps cards will be "issued over time on the Topps site in
a process called 'Initial Player Offerings.'" Buyers will
be able to purchase a limited number of cards, which will
sell for "anywhere from" $3-12 for "hot players." The
customer has the option of having the card sent to him or
her or having the card held "like stock certificates in a
virtual portfolio for future sale via" eBay. Topps will pay
eBay between 1-5% of every new card sold. Weinbach &
Bensinger add that while Topps does no TV/radio advertising
for its sports products, it is "planning a marketing blitz
to promote the new cards" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/29).
NFL LINKS WITH EBAY: The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Noah
Liberman reports that the NFL and eBay "are close to a two-
year deal that will create a league-branded section on eBay
where top-end memorabilia and NFL-related fan experiences
will be auctioned." The section, which would "probably
carry its own URL, would launch in time" for the NFL's
opening Labor Day weekend (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/26).
