It seems like every day another new city, state or country is getting more and more infected with COVID-19. Tons of people have been exposed or has had contact with someone who’s been infected with the virus. A lot of collector’s including myself are worried and have questions regarding the bobbleheads this season if they will be delivered in time. We all know they are manufactured in China so there is immediate concern.
I’ve spoken to several manufactures and as of right now 90% are expected to be delivered on time. Several factories in China were shut down weeks ago but are slowly starting to open back up. Many of the bobbleheads have already been completed as the factories have had ample time to make them the past 6 months. I know the Cleveland Cavaliers Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye dual bobblehead is being delayed so it all comes down to what factories were ordered to shut down. Also, as of last night, I found out that the Diamondbacks Ketel Marte bobblehead was removed from the website and we can all assume production won’t be completed in time.
Now, there’s several options teams can choose to do in the event that pallets of bobbleheads aren’t delivered on time. First, teams can push the date back but I’m going to assume that will fuck up the fans plans to attend the game on that day. Second, which I believe is the right decision to do is give out vouchers. The day of the game, if the bobbles aren’t ready, hand each fan a voucher to redeem their bobblehead at a later date. This is the safest way to guarantee that the fan will receive his or her bobblehead.
In conclusion, this virus is super deadly and is spreading faster than an Astros player can bang the shit out of a trash can. Our health as a country is obviously more important than our bobbleheads but I understand the cause for concern. We are all excited since the promo schedules came out and as of right now, expect deliveries to be on time for the majority of giveaways but keep this in mind. I spoke to a top manufacturer the other day and he said for me to be cautious as anything can happen. I read between the lines what he told me and I could only assume that if this virus spreads even more rapidly, that our bobbles can be delayed. This is definitely a situation to monitor for the next 3-4 weeks.