Between The Pipes - Canceled?

While it's certainly not good news that pre-sales have been so poor that they were considering cancelling the release, from a purely selfish stand point, I'm really glad that I've already made my order. Sounds like the boxes are going to be loaded and the price per box will increase dramatically. I'm really looking forward to busting this open, I doubt I'll be able to save any for the Expo redemption program.
 
I'm going to be really curious about the set. It's looking stronger than last year, but will last year's reluctance to bust packs carry over to this year, despite the increase in value?
 
Great to see that ITG came through for the goalie collectors out there, and pumped even more value into the BTP breaks. I may have to try a box of BTP this year!
 
Triple B said:
Should be interesting to see how wholesalers and dealers react to this news.
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I doubt you will see much of any reaction. The product was over-priced IMO out of the gate and that contributed to the lack of pre-orders from shops and wholesalers.

Someone has mentioned $130 Canadian a box (that's about right with taxes and a 30% markup). Really, is that a reasonable price for this product? (I know this is where someone will chirp in how I am likely charging to much but I mark-up everything 30% - have done so since 1990). It is up there past Black Diamond, ICE .... You can like those products or hate them but it makes it a more difficult sell, especially with ICE just being released.

H&P was the same way. Too much out of the gate. What used to be around the same price point as UD is now out of whack. My price for BTP is $25 more than UD. They have some cool stuff in BTP but for $1.50 less a pack, you can get 6 RC's, 2 jerseys, etc.... Or for $1.50 more, you can get maybe 2 autos and a jersey.... The base cards have dropped off to Victory level.

Last year we went through 4 cases of H&P (48+ boxes). This year, I have box #4 still half full on the shelf. We have had plenty of people asking about BTP when they see the cool stuff on the sales sheet - When they ask how much, the conversation ends. No one wants to pay $130 for this stuff.

I only pre-ordered 4 boxes versus 2 cases in the past.

BTW - not including shipping, a box of BTP costs me $90.30 (Canadian). If I mark it up 30% and then add the tax, we're over $130.

Look at O'Canada. Cool idea. Cool inserts. Same ITG ratios. Brutal base cards. At the end of the day, it too was a bit over priced. I can buy it now for under $40 a box. Basically 1/2 of what I uesd to pay.

Business wise, I can't have a case of BTP or any product collecting dust on the shelves or blowing it out at a loss to get rid of it. That would be terrible for my business. I am glad they are loading the boxes up - I should now be able to sell the 4 I have coming. I may even order 2 more.

At the end of the day - we have to bring in what the customers want. The reaction will be based solely on that. If the wholesalers/distributors move the price point up - forget it.
 
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Stadium Sports is on the money here boys and girls. In my opinion the product is a winner, it's the price point that is way off. I recently busted a case of 07-08 BTP. Got it for under $500US. It is a GREAT break at that price even though the HSHS are expired. It also seems like over the past couple of years the auto checklist has become more of a H & P Goalie Edition. Most boxes yield an auto (prospect), a gu (usually a sweet card), and a mask that's it. There is no set building component to the product, no parallels, no "extra" value... To me, BTP should have a box price in the same range as UD1 or 2. Having said all that, Dr. P knows his production cost etc. so I guess he cannot make that price point work. Too bad really and it makes you wonder if this years release is BTP's Swan Song. My $.02.. Mike
 
Glad to see ITG reacting to the market. I didnt purchase a case for this product this and Im glad that they have added value to the product. Would love to see US do this for a product like SPA but you know it wont happen
 
These little corrections are going on in several markets, it can be looked at as being bad for the companies and good for the consumers but in the end it is a necessity to balance out supply vs demand vs price...

I have a hard time busting Series 2 at $95 or SP Authentic at $140-150.
 
hextall27 said:
These little corrections are going on in several markets, it can be looked at as being bad for the companies and good for the consumers but in the end it is a necessity to balance out supply vs demand vs price...

I have a hard time busting Series 2 at $95 or SP Authentic at $140-150.
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You raise an interesting point here.

UD Series 2 this year is really not a very good product at all. Yeah people still buy it, but in my mind, with black parallels all over the place, a very poor series 2 YG checklist, and no other real innovations in it, it a DEAD product. And at $95/box, it is GROSSLY overpriced.

SPA, at $150/box... is no different than any other year of SPA - 3 autos per box, a 1:12 chance at an auto patch (checklist is not great this year, given the way the rookie crop has generally underperformed/underwhelmed), and other than that, 21 packs of base. And if your rookie auto /999 is Lauri Korpikoski and your SOTTs are Robbie Earl and that Gragnani guy, how much ice will you need for your nads?

At $130 or whatever the price will be, given the reduced run this year, makes BTP superior to both products, IMO. Only Dr. Price can tell us what the revised odds will be, but I'm quite confident that you'd feel better after breaking BTP than SPA...
 
I got a case of this years UD2 for 600 USD or 50 USD per box and made a small profit off of singles. The case had a 'case hit' in every box including 3 black cards.
 
I always buy BTP and this year will be no different. I am a big goalie fan and I love this product. I wish ITG had a lic and could actually produce rookie cards as Mason BTP rookies would drive this product just like Price would have last year. I am even more excited to hear that the boxes will carry extra pulls, that is great news for loyal goalie collectors.

Thanks Dr Price for putting the collectors (customers) first. I can't wait to crack some 09 BTP.
 
As I mentioned earlier, I purchased a box online for $87 delivered. I paid around $70-75 for UD, so for me BTP is only a few dollars more and I think will be a better break.

Also, none of the dealers in my area carry ITG products. They used 2 several years ago, but have not since then. Not sure why that is, but I can understand Dr. Price's concerns. If a whole part of the state of Florida has stopped carrying his products, I can imagine things in this economy being bad!
 
I really hope that the fact that the production run has been cut and the boxes will have extra hits will help boost sales for the product but i think it will only persuade dealers to boost their prices to gouge the collectors.
 
I wonder how much extra will be added to each box, probably 1 extra gu or auto per box. Regardless its a nice bonus since I always buy that product. Do anyone know how many cases will be produced, do they release that kind of info?
 
Well, with bumped up insertion ratios of GU and autos, I'll definitely give this a try. I'm really liking the looks of the super-sized pads, super gloves and roots inserts
 
cardz1976 said:
I really hope that the fact that the production run has been cut and the boxes will have extra hits will help boost sales for the product but i think it will only persuade dealers to boost their prices to gouge the collectors.
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Now just isn't the time to gouge customers. Hey, I'm sure some will try and I sure hope collectors don't buy. At $130, walk away. At $100, this may be one of the best values of the year. It may even be good value at $130, but neither collectors nor dealers know the insertion rates and so if any dealer is gouging then don't give them your business - please.
 

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