Upper Deck vs. Panini?

BenDMitchell

BenDMitchell

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What is everybody's opinion on this-- Is it generally considered that UD products are worth more than Panini's? An example would be, as I understand it, The Cup is worth more than Dominion. UD Series 1 is worth more than the comparable Panini product and the same goes for SPA. Am I totally wrong in my thinking?
 
I'd say yes that's correct right now. Panini doesn't have the product longevity that those u.d products have yet.
The cup also has a higher price point
 
I do not agree that one is worth more than the other. I think you should take a look at what is appealing to you as there are cards from both companies that I thoroughly enjoy. Contenders was an excellent product with lots of eye appeal this year whereas SPA returned to the same product line as the past 4 or 5 years, making it boring, or less appealing.
This year I have been picking up all Gardiner and Colborne RCs. Prices have been relatively similar at release time and 60 days later. Unfortunately people see SPA two months after Contenders and believe the RCs sell better. Take a Gardiner from both products today and you will find the SV to be very similar. Compare apples with apples.
If I were a betting man I would think that Dominion will have a better return for your dollar if it is the financial side of the hobby that makes you tick. If it is the quality of the card, then Dominion wins hands down in my humble opinion. (and by no means am I a Panini follower as I like products from both companies equally) Both have quality products and both have crap product..at least now, we the collectors, have variety and choice
 
For me ITG has the best products but I am not a RC collector so that makes a big difference.
 
cmcdonald1 said:
I do not agree that one is worth more than the other. I think you should take a look at what is appealing to you as there are cards from both companies that I thoroughly enjoy. Contenders was an excellent product with lots of eye appeal this year whereas SPA returned to the same product line as the past 4 or 5 years, making it boring, or less appealing.
This year I have been picking up all Gardiner and Colborne RCs. Prices have been relatively similar at release time and 60 days later. Unfortunately people see SPA two months after Contenders and believe the RCs sell better. Take a Gardiner from both products today and you will find the SV to be very similar. Compare apples with apples.
If I were a betting man I would think that Dominion will have a better return for your dollar if it is the financial side of the hobby that makes you tick. If it is the quality of the card, then Dominion wins hands down in my humble opinion. (and by no means am I a Panini follower as I like products from both companies equally) Both have quality products and both have crap product..at least now, we the collectors, have variety and choice
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No need to state my opinion. Cyril did the heavy lifting in that regard . What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
I have only one thing to say:
Collect what you like. Don't worry about what it's "worth". If you like it, that's the only valuation that matters.
 
I also think ITG has great products, but because they are not officially sanctioned, get put down. I agree that UD has higher values, but I still collect what I like, for instance the Prime this year has some amazing looking cards and I have no problem putting them in my PC.
 
to expand on my earlier point, the value of the ud standards tends to hold it's value over time. That being said, it's because when a collector thinks of the standard rc cards they still think of the young gun, the spa rc or the cup rc.

Panini has done a great job getting it's products out there and creating some really cool stuff. With time the Dominion rc's will increase in value in my opinion.

I think Panini, being new to the area, is able to show more new concepts because of this.

I personally love panini, it's the little things like the backs of auto's and game used where they have a small write up vs. the standard Richard McWilliam disclairmer.
 
UD>Panini IMO.

The silhouettes are classy and elegant cards that seem to hold their value in the secondary market, and the dominion ARPs boast some pretty decent patches.

Overall, however, I find panini product to be cheap, tacky and obtrusive; Prime epitomizes this notion. If I wanted to buy a jumbo patch without the players face on it, I'd just buy the jersey. Bigger does not always mean better, though I will admit that a lot of their patches are unique. Also, Redundant parallels and they're 'unique' player selection is boring. I am partial to rookies though, so I can appreciate the added representation of different HOF'rs in Panini for those who collect HOF.


Lastly, an RNH cup /99 sells for $2500-$3000~, whereas It's dominion counterpart sells for ~$1000. Panini does not hold it's value and is harder to sell.

It could be the markets valuation that holds weight over my opinion, but either way, I am left with a 2nd rate impression of panini relative to UD.


Their checklists, pack material and boxes suck (even the cardboard box the case comes in seems cheap lol).

Conclusion:
A+ some patches
A+ Silhouettes
B+ Dominion ARPs


Just $ .02 from a guy with 0 feedback though!
 
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People are quick to compare values from the end game. Yes, the cup rnh rc is worth more but then again, he is one player.

As the guy who sells the stuff, I could care less about the rnh cards as they please everyone regardless of brand. I worry more about what matters to me..... Happy customers...

So for me, I sit in anticipation worrying each and every time someon busts ultimate collection or the cup or dominion or prime as they just forked out some good coin. A dud box affects their enjoyment of the hobby and future purchases.

IMO, prime and dominion deliver better results for the money paid (on a consistent basis) compared to ultimate collection of the cup. Sure, you can hit home runs with all 4 but as we all know, there is only one case hit.....

If I was ranking bang for the buck of the bigger product lines, I would have Panini above UD.

Again, I sell the stuff. My bias is on happy customers.
 
Yes, the cup rnh rc is worth more but then again, he is one player.
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Almost every players' Cup ARP sells for a disproportionately higher amount than the Dominion ARP, relative to the cost of each product. It was the same last year too.

I'm pretty sure this notion extends to many other cards, but I don't follow it close enough to give an accurate assessment.

The margin seems to be that the cup rookies are, on average, at least 2-3 x more expensive. And this margin is even greater in some cases; for example, a Landeskog dominion arp redemption sells in the $400 range (this was the most expensive one I could find), whereas in the Cup, it sells between $1000-$1500, that's not far off 400% increase.

The cost of a box of dominion is a little less than $400 I think, and then for the Cup, give or take $500. I know there are 2 more cards in Dominion, but with rookies being the driving influence for most collectors these days, more weight needs to be given towards this relative comparison. This 200-300% discrepancy is way too high considering that the Cup only costs 25% more (pending my pricing on the product being accurate).


To add:
- Panini doesn't have an answer to the young gun (probably the most collectable rookie card)
- Panini doesn't have an answer to ice /99
- Panini Dominion changed their product line from last year to, essentially, mirror the Cups rookie set-up (ie. arp /249 or /99, arp to jersey number, GOLD /25, /5 BS, and the black 1/1).
- SPA fwa (and the fwap) > contenders, or whatever Paninis' answer is to it.
- I don't know what the point is of Certified, maybe to make SPX look good, or even Black Diamond?
- I busted a case of Anthology, and I couldn't tell you what a decent card is from that set, seems way too arbitrary. ( I realize it has silhouettes in there, but some of those luxury suite patches feel so light and lame).
- Limited RAPs are pathetic, they don't even offer legit patches. Is limited supposed to compete with Ultimate?
- I don't know much about Prime other than the massive, yet decent looking, patches. No action shots/players faces is a faux-pas though.
- If you don't hit a silhouette in Crown Royale, you cry...
- Elite was very forgettable
- Titanium was decent (because of the rookies).


Ultimately, I just think most of Panini's design leaves something to be desired, with exception to a few. I know it's hard to be super original when everything has already been done, and especially when your competing with a top-dog like UD, but still, I have very few positive things to say despite that. Most people I talk to seem to hype this notion of 'more value' with Panini, but I think, in a lot of cases, people are just disenfranchised with UD over redemptions etc, but it's not like Panini doesn't issue redemptions. It just seems like the proverbial clock starts from scratch with Panini, and peoples threshold for tolerance and acceptance is a littler higher.

So thumbs down for design aesthetics, rookie value in the secondary market, and originality.


...I'm running out of ideas now lol.


* Titanium rookies to jersey number are a pretty cool and novel idea.




Again, my bias is revolved around rookies, and more specifically, high-end rookies. And doesn't necessarily reflect a comprehensive criterion.
 
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There are a few thing that come into play, but I don't think that UD holds a greater value than Panini across the board. Whether it's due to whoever hits the market first or to collectors being faithful to a product, collector preference goes back and forth between the two companies when they put out comparables. There are several Panini products that have outsold their UD counterparts on the secondary market (see Score vs Victory, Certified vs SPx...at least in 10-11). Of course there are other situations where UD does better than Panini (UD Series 1 vs Donruss, Cup vs Dominion). So to me it really depends what products we're talking about...
 
Just wait until UD loses their NHL license though. They've lost it for football and baseball already too. Then we'll see interesting stuff going on with values.
 
For some products, UD is doing it better, for some others, it is Panini.

In my opinion, Score is superior to Victory. Also, it is a better value for the money than OPC. Certified is better than SPx too.

Some UD products are doing much better than their Panini counterpart too. Like UD 1-2 versus Dunruss.

The great news is that there is some competition.


Personnally, my collection is going more and more on the ITG side of things, but that's another story.
 
quincy said:
I have only one thing to say:
Collect what you like. Don't worry about what it's "worth". If you like it, that's the only valuation that matters.
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I agree with you 99.9%.....Only in regard to knowing what your card is worth when it talking about higher end or just hot items that sell at or above beckett value.
ie..While do not care that Simon Despres auto'd RCs are selling for about a 1.00 before shipping. I would not trade a certain "60.00" auto for 6 of them(even if I want 6)..since that auto sells for 75+ and the S.D.'s sell for much less.


When it comes to the company that I like more.....I really like both..or all 3 if including ITG. If I bought more of one it is somewhat of a coincidence...or because the site I buy off of doesn't get too much new UD(BOC that is)
 
Stadium Sports said:
People are quick to compare values from the end game. Yes, the cup rnh rc is worth more but then again, he is one player.

As the guy who sells the stuff, I could care less about the rnh cards as they please everyone regardless of brand. I worry more about what matters to me..... Happy customers...

So for me, I sit in anticipation worrying each and every time someon busts ultimate collection or the cup or dominion or prime as they just forked out some good coin. A dud box affects their enjoyment of the hobby and future purchases.

IMO, prime and dominion deliver better results for the money paid (on a consistent basis) compared to ultimate collection of the cup. Sure, you can hit home runs with all 4 but as we all know, there is only one case hit.....

If I was ranking bang for the buck of the bigger product lines, I would have Panini above UD.

Again, I sell the stuff. My bias is on happy customers.
Click to expand...

I agree with Scott here, I've been getting way better value out of Panini and ITG over Uper Deck, and by such a margin that I will only break Panini or ITG now. UD has way too many dud boxes in their mid range stuff.
 

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