Hi everyone! We just finished up a very successful PANINI PLAYER OF THE DAY FOOTBALL CONTEST, and CONGRATS to our store's GRAND PRIZE WINNER MIKE QUIGLEY! Mike joined SEAN SUPPLEE, MATT SCHOETTLE, MAX SHMELZER, and our newly crowned Week 5 Winner MICHAEL ROMANO in the final raffle and walked away with over $400 in GIFT CERTIFICATES, a MILES SANDERS AUTO, BREAKER MAT, and BLASTERS! He's now entered in Panini's National Raffle (which is how Matisse Thybulle came to visit us...our customer Quinn Slack won the National POD Basketball Contest!). During the course of this Football contest (especially on the last day!), we gave away over $1000 in PACKS & GIFT CERTIFICATES to reward everyone who participated. It was the highest amount we've ever given away during the course of a Player of the Day Contest, and it was an exciting finish to a popular promotion. THANK YOU to everyone who entered, and please be on the lookout for the POD Basketball Contest, coming up in a few months.

Before I talk about our BLACK FRIDAY EVENT, I want to let everyone know that we are, as we do every year, collecting toys for TOYS FOR TOTS. We would be THRILLED to accept any new and unwrapped toy until Saturday, December 4th; so while you're out Black Friday shopping, maybe add a toy or two to your cart for a needy local child. We thought of a fun idea this year, where we offer merchandise in return for Toys for Tots donations. We have PIKACHU FIGURINES at $15, for example, and your entire $15 is a donation to Toys for Tots. We then buy toys with that money (we've already cleared off a few Target toy shelves). Other items we have are SUPER BOWL EAGLES CHAMPIONSHIP BOBBLE HEADS available for a $25 donation; a set of 13 large POKEMON STICKERS for $10; a POKEMON GRENINJA GOLDSTAR PROMO for $5; and a variety of other revolving items. Be on the lookout for new ways to help, and THANK YOU to the generous peeps who have contributed so far!

Okay, our BLACK FRIDAY EVENT. We're doing BLOCK POOLS and RAFFLES, and our PRIZES are SWEET! You get TO CHOOSE THE BLOCK POOL you get a spot in. Do you want to win a 2021 LEAF AUTO FOOTBALL JERSEY BOX AND a 2021 TRI STAR AUTOGRAPHED FOOTBALL MINI HELMET, or would you rather win a $225 GIFT CERTIFICATE instead? Maybe you're a POKEMON FAN and want to win a FUSION STRIKE BOOSTER BOX AND your choice of an EVOLVING SKIES or VIVID VOLTAGE BOOSTER BOX? Even the HALF TIME WINNER gets a FUSION STRIKE BOOSTER BOX! The next two paragraphs will detail exactly what the prizes are for each pool, what game we're using, and all that good stuff. So, if you know how a block pool works, skip to the next paragraph. The general idea behind a block pool is this...it's a 10 by 10 grid with numbers (representing the last digits of the score of a game) randomly assigned to each row and column. By "last digits", if a team had a score of 14, then the last digit is a 4. Let's assume is Eagles v Jets (spoiler alert!), and the score is Eagles 34 Jets 16, then the last digits (and thus winning block) is Eagles 4 Jets 6. If you had that block, you would also win if the score was Eagles 14 Jets 6, Eagles 24 Jets 16, or even Jets 26 Eagles 14. Do you see how that works? Okay. Let's move on to the details.

THE SPECIFICS...We're using the Eagles-Jets game on Sunday, December 5th. The Grand Prize is won by the person with the block matching the FINAL SCORE (just in case they go into OT and the final score is different from the score at the end of the 4th quarter). For any of the following three pools, you get a block with a $100 purchase (there is a limit of 10 blocks per person per grid). There is a less expensive grid option I'll discuss later.

"Football Prize" BLOCK POOL #1...

End of Game Prize...2021 Leaf Autographed Football Jersey AND 2021 Tri Star Autographed Mini Helmet
Half Time Prize...2021 Tri Star Autographed Mini Helmet
Each Quarter...$50 GIFT CERTIFICATE

"Gift Certificate" BLOCK POOL #2...
End of Game Prize...$225 GIFT CERTIFICATE
Half Time Prize...$125 GIFT CERTIFICATE
Each Quarter...$75 GIFT CERTIFICATE

"Pokemon" BLOCK POOL #3...
End of Game Prize...Fusion Strike Booster Box AND YOUR CHOICE of an Evolving Skies OR Vivid Voltage Booster Box
Half Time Prize...Fusion Strike Booster Box
Each Quarter...Fusion Strike Elite Trainer

As a less expensive grid option, we are also offering one with blocks given for a $50 PURCHASE (ONE block per person per day).

$50 Block" BLOCK POOL...
End of Game Prize...$125 GIFT CERTIFICATE
Half Time Prize...$75 GIFT CERTIFICATE
Each Quarter...$35 GIFT CERTIFICATE

And last, we are having an "easy to enter" POKEMON RAFFLE, designed especially with our young collectors in mind. A $20 purchase is all that is required to get a raffle ticket. The WINNER will get a FUSION STRIKE ELITE TRAINER, and then TEN LUCKY CUSTOMERS will win a FUSION STRIKE PACK AND little 1 pocket portfolio (card album). THEN, still 20 MORE PEOPLE will be picked to win just the portfolio! That's 31 prizes to win! Each customer can enter once per day.


 

You may enter the POKEMON RAFFLE thru Saturday, December 4th. Entry into the BLOCK POOLS has to close no later than that day in order to use Sunday the 5th's Eagles-Jets game for the block pools. BUT, DON'T WAIT TO CLAIM YOUR BLOCKS because it's possible that once the first 3 grids fill up, there may be no more blocks left. Steve and I will consider adding a 4th Block Pool, however, depending how quickly the initial batch fill up. The completed block pools will be posted on FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM Saturday night, the 4th. Watching the game will be so much more fun now that there are prizes involved! You'll see!

We wish everyone a wonderful Thaksgiving! Steve and I are very grateful for the friendships we've developed over the past 25 years. Our customers mean a lot to us, and we literally couldn't do this without you. We hope to see you on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday (the 27th), or just the next time you can come visit! And early HAPPY HANUKKAH wishes to our customers who celebrate (an early Hanukkah this year!). See you on FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM for daily updates, NEW PRODUCT INFO, and HOT PULLS!