Bench Warmer International
Bench Warmer International was the first [citation needed] trading card company to put beautiful girls on collector cards. Their motto is "Trading Cards Never Looked So Good". Some of the first models included Baywatch beauties Cory Givens and Traci Bingham. They would usually be posed in swimsuits wearing a baseball glove or football helmet.
Founded in 1992, Bench Warmer International, Inc. is the creation of entrepreneur and trading card expert Brian Wallos. Key elements of Bench Warmer trading cards are its quality. Its cards feature full-color crisp photography, high-quality white card stock, front and back UV coating and tamper-proof foil packaging.
Bench Warmer's appeal to the Trading Card collectors has made it a recognized and growing brand in the trading card market. According to Krause Publications, the largest publisher of collectables publications -- the average age of a Trading Card collector is 33 and 98% of Trading Card collectors are male.
Although Bench Warmer cards are sexy, they are also tasteful and can be sold from any store shelf. Their cards are typically available at Trading Card Shops, Hobby Shops, Comic Book Stores, Convenience Outlets and Novelty Shops worldwide.
Most series typically consist of 100 cards. These series traditionally include 60 different model cards, complete with "stats" and biographical information on each model, "Replay" cards, "Double Play" cards, "Series 2 Preview" cards and checklist cards for the serious collector.
Insert cards tend to feature Authentic Bikini Swatch Cards -- a new and exciting concept that capitalizes on current trends in the Sports card Industry -- cards with a piece of a bikini worn by Bench Warmer celebrities. To increase collectibility, 25 cards are signed by each celebrity. Other inserts include 20 different autographed cards; 12 "All American Chromium" cards; eight "Hottie Chromium" cards; and eight 5" x 7" "Jumbo" cards.
Celebrity Connection
A key element for the popularity and identification brand is the celebrity element. Over the years, models who have appeared
on the wrappers and boxes throughout the years have included Jaime Bergman,
Brande Roderick, Nikki Schieler and
Victoria Silvstedt and
The models who have appeared on the Benchwarmer cards themselves have been a veritable who's who of Playboy models and future WWE Divas including Christy Hemme and Candice Michelle.
Cindy Margolis Auction
An e-Bay auction featuring a "Bikini Swatch Card" autographed by Cindy Margolis netted $335 in an auction on eBay.com. The card was numbered #22 out of only 25 autographed. It was sold in a 25-bid auction that began at $5 and climbed all the way to $335. In addition to being a signed and numbered limited edition, the "Swatch" card features a piece of a bathing suit that was actually worn by Margolis, known as the web's "Most Downloaded Woman."
Appearances by Playmates
- Jaime Bergman
- Lauren Michelle Hill
- Tina Marie Jordan
- Brande Roderick
- Nikki Schieler
- Victoria Silvstedt
- Tiffany Taylor
References
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