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Tri-Star shows Bonds-like timing with
bobber
Labor Day show kicks off five-show, joint
promotion with Shop At Home
By Ross Forman
November 8, 2001
If you offer bobble head dolls, they will come. To stadiums and arenas across the country, we have learned over the last year or so. And now, to card shows, too.
The 14th-annual Labor Day Show in San Francisco, held August 31 – September 3 at the Concourse Exhibition Center, featured free, limited-edition Barry Bonds bobble head figurines to the 100 or 200 guests per day.
That meant lines. Long lines.
Some fans even arrived at the venue before 7 a.m., Saturday and Sunday, hoping to be first into the show.
“What a great sight,” said Jeff Rosenberg, president of Houston-based Tri-Star Productions, Inc., the show promoter. “This hobby never ceases to amaze me. We never know what exactly people will be chasing; we just know they will be chasing something. And this year, it’s bobble head dolls, definitely.”
Tri-Star gave away 100 Bonds bobbers Friday and Monday, 200 on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s supply was distributed (one per person) in about seven minutes, and the mass of collectors keep coming into the show non-stop until 10:25.
These were the first Bonds figurines ever produced by Bobble Dobbles with Bonds in the San Francisco black jersey. He is shown leaning on a bat, on a green base.
The Bonds bobber promotion was sponsored by the Shop At Home Network, which made about 2,000 of these figurines. Tri-Star and Shop At Home will distribute free bobble head dolls at four future Tri-Star shows: Tony Gonzalez in Kansas City (Oct. 19-21), Mark McGwire in St. Louis (Nov. 23-25), Houston Texans in Houston (January 25-27, 2002) and Luis Gonzalez in Phoenix (March 15-17, 2002).
“We’re very fortunate, through a partnership with the Shop At Home TV Network, which is one of our corporate sponsor, to offer a very unique series of bobble head dolls at future shows,” Rosenberg said. “I don’t think you could kick off the promotion (with Shop At Home) any better than with Barry Bonds.
“It’s a great promotion, that’s for sure. Heck, we already have had dealers and collectors say they are going to attend all four future shows (with free bobble heads), just so they can have the entire set of bobble head dolls.
“What a great story the bobble head doll has become.”
Rosenberg said the bobble head deal was several months in the works with Shop At Home, and mostly done due to Shop At Home’s interest in expanding its name within the hobby. “They wanted to do more than just put their name up at the show, hang banners and some of the other things that sponsors do,” Rosenberg said.
Each bobble head doll given away at the Tri-Star show includes a certificate, explaining the five bobble set.
“These bobble head dolls are a fabulous idea,” Rosenberg said. “Their popularity doesn’t surprise me, nothing really surprises me anymore in this industry. I’m not shocked or surprised that people waited in long lines, just hoping to get these bobble heads because, well, they’re just super-popular.
“Bottom line, collectors want ‘em. There also are those (collectors) who want ‘em yet weren’t able to be there; those people are willing to spend big money for ‘em.”
Can you say, eBay?
All bobble heads are bringing big bucks these days, including these special Bonds bobbers.
“It’s definitely an interesting phenomenon,” Rosenberg said. “I thought (the bobble head give-away was a real positive for the show. You’ve got two things that were super, super hot: Barry Bonds and bobble head dolls. The bobble head dolls were a real value for the customers. They definitely put a smile on the face of collectors who were able to get them.
“I just wish we had more to give away; that’s how popular they were/are.”
These Bonds bobble heads have sold for more than $50 on eBay. The Bonds bobble head doll given away this past June at Pac Bell Stadium is selling on eBay for more than $125.
Several of Bonds’ teammates attended the show on Saturday, most notably Jeff Kent and Rich Aurilia.
Also appearing: Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Rich Gannon, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and others.
“I thought the show was great,” Rosenberg said. “In this day and age, and considering where the industry is, I was super-pleased with the way it went. We had a great response from collectors; we had a great response from dealers and corporate sponsors; and the athletes who signed seemed to be very pleased, too. Everyone seemed pleased with the show. The show was everything we could have asked for, and more. I’m real excited with the way it went.
“It definitely was one of the best Labor Day shows we have ever promoted, perhaps the best. In fact, it might have been the best show we’ve had all year. It’s been a great show summer for us, that’s for sure. We had great shows in Kansas City, Houston, Arlington (Texas) and San Francisco. We've had a great summer; we’re real excited.”
More than 9,000 attended the four-day show.
Also appearing: Jim Davenport, Harmon Killebrew, Bobby Doerr, George Blanda, Ted Hendricks, Shawn Chacon, Juan Pierre, Joanie Laurer (formerly known as Chyna in the WWF), Calvin Murray, Frank Menechino, Mark Mulder, Eric Chavez, Tim Hudson and Steve Sax. Former wrestler Virgil signed autographs all four days, while former WCW commentator Mike Tenay on Sunday hosted a unique, one-hour question-and-answer session for fans, and also signed free autographs.
“We did real well with the young A’s and Giants, led by Mark Mulder and Rich Aurilia. They all drew really, really well. Aurilia and Mulder each signed more than 500,” Rosenberg said. “All guest at the show did at their expectation, or higher. I’d say the biggest surprise, at least to me, was: Barry Sanders. Now that he’s retired, I didn’t know what to expect, but he really did well. Bobby Doerr signed for about three hours. The fans who showed up to see Joanie Laurer were really, really excited to see her. I hoped for a little bigger crowd (for her), but she is phenomenal to work with. Everyone who worked with her had a great time. The Mike Tenay seminar was seminar, really, really well-received and well-attended.
“San Francisco is a fabulous show market. Collectors from around the country know they will find the best dealers from around the nation at the annual Labor Day show. Plus, they get a great vacation out of it.”
Carlton signed a limited-edition poster (16-by-20) titled K-Kings, and also featuring Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. Ryan and Clemens also will sign the item, which will be available from Tri-Star later this year.
“The K-Kings print is a wonderful,” Rosenberg said. “That’s a project which our Creative Team put together and it’s been very, very popular. It’s an off-shoot of the 20K lithograph that we produced (earlier in the year). That was a total sellout and I’m quite certain this will be, too.