Good evening collectors!
Tom here, from Spellbound Games and Reliq.
I hope everyone is keeping safe and well during the level 4 lockdown; hopefully, we will be back to our normal lives soon.
I would like to thank this opportunity to thank everyone who has shown their support for Reliq. Over the past several weeks, I've met quite a few new collectors who all share the same passion about their cards.
Reliq. is a business founded by a passionate card collector for other passionate card collectors, and it’s important that I listen to feedback from you – my customers. I have a mindset of continuous improvement – always striving to offer the best service possible and listening to your feedback. So, after obtaining some valuable feedback, I have decided to make some changes and revise the design of the labels.
The current Level 4 lockdown has provided an opportunity for me to work on the new label, and I’ve been working industriously over the past couple of weeks in order to get this ready for you.
It’s my pleasure to share with you today the new label design and features; this will be the label we will move forward with at Reliq.
As you can see, a new printing method has been developed for the labels. While it was my original intention to utilise an embossed print for the labels, feedback indicated customers felt the printing on the labels was a bit “fuzzy” and not sharp enough. I’ve heard you, and while this was a tough decision (I really loved the embossed labels), the new label utilises a sharper print, making the text crisper and cleaner. Essentially, this came down to a decision between clarity and security, and feedback from you indicated clarity of the labels is more important. Who knows – perhaps the legacy Reliq. slabs with the embossed labels may become collectable in their own right in the future .
I have kept the new design in the spirit of the original concept – your eyes still fall primarily on the card within the slab. The card is still the showpiece – as it should be.
You can see on the new labels, the design remains essentially the same; however, the text is crisper and sharper.
Since I was redesigning the labels anyway, I also took the opportunity to create metallic effects for the final grade. Each final grade will have its own unique metallic effect. I’ve provided you with a view of this below, and I must say, it looks terrific in person.
For another surprise, I’m now also ready to offer more colour gradients for the labels. Previously, you had a choice of two colours – red or blue – for your label. I’m pleased to share with you that I now offer four unique colours for the labels so you can choose which label will look best with your card. Each colour will still utilise a gradient by default; however, if you want a solid colour with no gradient, please request this when you order, and I’ll take care of it for you.
Importantly, the elusive Class S Grade will have an exclusive design. Currently, I’m still testing what this will look like, but I’m planning on keeping it relatively simple in order to showcase the card. Below is a glimpse of what I’m working on; I call this the “polarity label”. Please note this design is still in draft while I’m finalising it, so changes may still be made.
Labels for Reliq.’s Authentic Encapsulation service will also utilise the new label design (but, of course, will not have the metallic grading effect as these cards are not graded).
In further news, Reliq. will also be introducing a landscape presentation for all landscape-oriented cards. If a card is landscape-oriented, the grade and our Reliq. laser sticker will also be oriented in a landscape fashion so, when the slab is displayed, it will look terrific. Please note, the landscape option will be the default option for landscape-oriented cards when ordering, but you can still request to have it laid out in a portrait-orientation should you wish. Pictures of landscape-oriented cards are forthcoming, and I expect to be able to share these with you soon.
Also importantly, the barcode will also now be printed on the labels instead of the cases. This change was made, based on your feedback, due to concerns with clarity. While the Legacy QR codes did scan, they appeared blurry if viewed close up. I am considering still having something printed on the acrylic case instead. As Reliq. is the world’s first company to implement printing information on the slab itself, I would like to continue with this going forward.
For those who have used Reliq.’s services prior to these changes, I would like to thank you for your feedback. Your feedback is what enables me to continuously improve Reliq. as a grading an encapsulating service for passionate collectors.
When the database is online, there will be a notation next to cards that have already been graded; these will be known as “Legacy Reliq.” and will act as a identifier of cards which have the original Reliq. label – there are fewer than 200 of these out there, so they’re pretty special. Our database is still under development, but I’m working with the coders to get this done, and I’m definitely seeing progress, so we’re not far off.
One last thing. In a previous announcement, I informed you about the weld lines that could be visible on the slab. I’d like to let you know that I’ve made a small change to help with this. Essentially, the corners will have some matte effects that will completely hide the weld lines and do not take away from the slab itself. The back will still be totally transparent so you’ll be able to make sure no one’s tampered with it. I’m really happy with this change, and I’ll share pictures soon. As it will take a few months, due to production processes, we’ll continue to use the current version of the slab, and I’ll let you know when we’re ready to move to the new slabs.
So this has been a lot of information. I thank you for reading and sharing your feedback so Reliq. can improve. I will be taking card submissions once we hit Level 3, and I look forward to assisting you to protect your most treasured relics. In the meantime, please get in touch with any questions you might have. I’m happy to help.
Take it easy and stay safe,
Tom
Feel free to email me at Askrias@reliq.co.nz if you have any questions
