ePack - 5 Year Anniversary - Thoughts?

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(Hope Mods can keep this on this hobby discussion board) :)

Hi all,

It’s going to be 5 years this month that ePack has launched. What are some of your thoughts? Has it helped or hurt the hobby? Good and bad points?

For me, I think it only helped grow the hobby. In those 5 years we have seen big rookies come into the league like McDavid, Matthews, Laine, Marner, and now Alexis.

It’s definitely here to stay as it keeps flooding more $ straight to UD. I can see within 3 years the “big hockey products” also hitting ePack - SP Authentic and The Cup.
 
I cannot stand it. It absolutely ruins the fun of opening cards. Is it addictive and easy? Sure, does it grow the hobby? Sure, but to think there are cards that are low numbered that were thrown into epack that I have 0% chance of getting from a physical hobby box , is trash. This is a physical hobby; there are digital sides to it, but keep it digital (IE Topps Now). I hate that they’ve been combined.
 
As a set collector, it facilitates cards going directly to COMC. Im talking about you young guns. This means im picking the low end players up for $1 a piece or less. I love it. The flip side to that is where is the incentive to open if values are so low, but it doesnt seem to stop people

Pacman
 
I can see how it benefits the hobby and UD:

UD - More $$$ direct to them. Increases their reach directly to customer and accessible to those who are not near hobby shops and have limited ways to open product.

I also do hope that they keep certain products off of epack, such as SP Authentic and The Cup.
 
Have never used it. If I'm going to open packs - which I rarely do because the ROI is so poor - I will at least enjoy the physical sensation.

Mike
 
I've only ever opened the free daily packs. I have had an account for years but it has never been my thing.

I would prefer to support my LCS or in my case my OCS since I do most of my buying through BreakawaySC.
 
For lower-end stuff, I think it's fine.

But the mid/high-end stuff being thrown on ePack (Think Ultimate, SPGU, etc, etc) just devalues some of those cards unless you hit it big. There is also the argument of some big chase cards never being inside in-person boxes, which could rub some the wrong way.

(I hope The Cup never gets put on there, but who knows at this point... It wouldn't surprise me one of these years.)

I think if there were low-end stuff put on there, it would help keep both sides happier. Collectors can have fun breaking products, "building" cards up for those achievement cards to keep those ePack collectors hooked, UD gets more direct revenue from that low-end product, but the mid/High-end products are distributed in a traditional manner, helping LCS's drive sales and collectors who chase the big hits.

Just my 2 Cents. I don't think ePack is bad for the hobby, but I do wish it was scaled back a tad. But money is money at the end of the day, so what do I know?

Great topic to discuss.
 
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1) As a manufacturer, ePack is the option for UD to enjoy the lucrative/rising pack prices we see for their most popular brands. Otherwise, it must stink to produce a product for $x only to see others profiting even more down stream in the market by selling it for $x++. I can't blame them for wanting to double dip on their own success.

2) ePack is just another distribution model. Collectors complain that some big cards are only available in ePack. Sure. Just the same as some big hits are only available in a box opened by a Breaker, or sitting on a shelf of an LCS on the other side of the continent. From what I understand from various YT Content (Billy Celio on Sports Card Live chat), ePack population may come from pre-packaging, but using the collated cards (by hit ratio,etc). ie, similar to how A% of boxes are held back for QA, B% of boxes are sent to ePack.

3) I recall LCS'es ranting how Breakers were going to ruin the Hobby when they first came on the scene ~10 years ago. ePack is just a different way for collectors to get their cards. But I find it ironic that many Breakers now complain about ePack, when they themselves were once considered the downfall of the Hobby.

4) I am sure it has introduced new collectors to the Hobby. Generally, I don't think ePack has been the demise of any LCS in the past 5 years. Overall I think ePack is doing more good than harm to the Hobby and UD's revenue.

In the end, collectors will use their $ to support their favourite method(s) of "opening wax". Regardless where you get your wax, if you like it, then support it.
 
I have never spent a penny on e-pack and seriously doubt I ever will. I support the local hobby store. Frankly I don't trust UD about these "hits" being random. I have seen too many big hits being pulled on e-pack that I doubt were ever put in a physical product because it is to Upper Deck's benefit to pack them in e-pack so that collectors will continue to support Upper Deck directly instead of the local store. Direct money in UD's pocket.

Sorry, I want to support the local business, so no e-pack for me.
 
Thoughts..
1. It is here to stay.. digital is top of the pops now
2. I don't have to play the game with the LCS of "you are not my top customer so i wont sell to you"
3. It's easy, the price is set, you pay it, it doesnt go up or down with distributorship implied pricing..
4. ePack maybe what keeps collectors collecting because wax is not affordable anymore and won't be for a very long time.

I have no issue with it. LCS's haven't done a good job of keeping fringe collectors like me in the game. I really don't care that they can't get product or not. My money will go to ePack whenever I feel like need an itch to scratch
 
ronfir said:
I have never spent a penny on e-pack and seriously doubt I ever will. I support the local hobby store. Frankly I don't trust UD about these "hits" being random. I have seen too many big hits being pulled on e-pack that I doubt were ever put in a physical product because it is to Upper Deck's benefit to pack them in e-pack so that collectors will continue to support Upper Deck directly instead of the local store. Direct money in UD's pocket.

Sorry, I want to support the local business, so no e-pack for me.
Click to expand...

It’s too bad locals are jacking up their prices now, amd as a working father of 3, it’s not worth my drive in a pandemic to pay over $125 on standard UD 1 and 2. If I want to break, Epack is easy, cheap and convenient, not to mention I’ve hit some pretty nice stuff. I may feel differently if 20-21 Series 1 hits Epack at over the standard price though.
 
I've been dabbling with it this year more than I have in the past and I'm now working on trading out of my account, so I may have a dissenting opinion...

My overall opinion is that it's another hobby niche. It has it's plusses and minuses and, for me, it's an overall miss. If you want to scratch the pack-opening itch, sure. If you have time to kill trying a challenge or playing virtual pack wars, why not. I feel it's an overall miss is because it add another layer of complexity to the hobby. [I do NOT think it's going to go away.]

My top issues:

(1) Your cards are already at COMC. Say I open a box on epack, I can trade, etc. in their interface, but those cards are already at COMC. Now to 'get' my cards, I have to 'transfer' them from the epack interface to the COMC interface. Then I have to pay COMC to transfer/ship them to me... I've worked with supply chain in my professional life - increasing the complexity of a supply chain through the use of software is a VERY backwards concept. To expect the customer to pay for it is not usually a long-term win. [If I had to make a guess, COMC will eventually take over management of the epack interface. If I were going to go a step further, I'd suggest they offer a 'shipping credit' with the purchase of an epack product. If I go for the trifecta, COMC accounts will eventually allow for trading between accounts.]

(2) The 'community' and trading is frankly a nightmare. I haven't gotten to 100 trades yet, so I'm still 'new' and I get a lot of garbage trade offers. And I get a lot of messages telling me I'm 'crazy' to expect a trade at COMC pricing, or ebay pricing, or any pricing that wouldn't be at least 2-to-1 in their favor... Again, in my opinion, it's the wrong direction to take the community. I've been collecting for 4 decades and, if I'm make what seems like a low-ball offer, I can tell you why based on market factors rather than 'you're new here and just don't understand.' [If the platform shifts to COMC, this is eliminated and the education level of most users is automatically elevated.]

(3) The economics do not seem to be very good. I love OPC Platinum and have looked at that the most - eBox price is $95.99, you will get 0 base (all digital) and ~16 physical cards. To get those physical cards, you have to transfer to your COMC and then ship to yourself (cheapest is ~$8.99 in US - $4.99 + $0.25/card with delivery in 3 months). That's $104.98 for 'the hits' of a box - that's almost $20 more than a physical box and you're not getting the 65-ish base cards and waiting 3 months to receive... [Quick calculation FYI - the average value of an insert/parallel in 19-20 OPC Platinum isn't $8]. I'm not sure how so many people can afford to get kicked in the junk so many times and for so long, but, hey, that's their choice - not mine.


It seems to be working for UD and COMC has hinted at opening an office closer to UD, so their relationship may be expanding. And, as a 'buyer', it's great because it keeps prices down on COMC. I mean, you can get a complete 100-card set of 19-20 OPC Platinum Retro on COMC for ~$8.00. Even with the (somewhat ridiculous) $30 shipping cost, you will still beat ebay prices by a clean $20-$30 for that set and you are getting 'uncirculated' cards.

I don't think lower prices on COMC alone are going to grow the hobby, though... People talk about the 'growth' of the hobby this year on the back of record HIGH prices on cards. It's not growing because I can get OPC Platinum Rainbow commons for 2 cents...
 
If UD isn’t solving their money problem in this environment with ePack...to have minimal overhead and charge LCS prices is a thing of beauty.
 
I enjoy the daily free pack and try to put the base sets together (currently doing this years MVP), the only packs I've purchased are compendium and that was to buy the game dated moments cards. I do enjoy the filters to look for cards of my favorite players but find it is typically just easier to wait 6 months and go on and pick up the singles for cheap. When I want to open a box of cards, I go and support my LCS (breakaway sports cards) but I think it is great for people that don't have an LCS.
 
Fred Bear said:
(2) The 'community' and trading is frankly a nightmare. I haven't gotten to 100 trades yet, so I'm still 'new' and I get a lot of garbage trade offers. And I get a lot of messages telling me I'm 'crazy' to expect a trade at COMC pricing, or ebay pricing, or any pricing that wouldn't be at least 2-to-1 in their favor... Again, in my opinion, it's the wrong direction to take the community. I've been collecting for 4 decades and, if I'm make what seems like a low-ball offer, I can tell you why based on market factors rather than 'you're new here and just don't understand.' [If the platform shifts to COMC, this is eliminated and the education level of most users is automatically elevated.]
Click to expand...

This is was drives me crazy with ePacks. The platform is BRUTAL in comparison to what it should and could be. Technology should make trading via virtual platform an easy and enjoyable experience. It currently is not. I found trading difficult and time consuming. I have stopped buying ePacks until they make some improvements in this area.
 
Tried it a couple of times, it's alright. I do still prefer to open the physical thing as there's a joy in pulling a card, sleeving it, and then just holding it versus opening a digital one and having it sent to you. Same end result, different process.

I will say though that price is king. I opened a couple of boxes of 19/20 S2 because they were about $25? cheaper than what I could get near me so it was fine by me. If the prices are similar, I'll go physical and if not then then epack is the way to go. Just my 2 cents here.
 
I have an account and got a few of the free packs a few years ago. I tried trading, I wanted to get multiple of Habs base cards to turn them into color parallels but it was so hard to get trades made that I stopped and never went back to epacks.
 
I can’t even think past the horrific rollout of the product when they stunned the world by telling them that not all of the hobby hits were in the boxes without littering my post with swear words. While it may be for some, it was certainly a defining factor in me mostly stepping away from the hobby.
 
A hard no from me. I can say a few positive things though:

1) saves a few trees

2) To this point, it's been more expensive than hobby SRP, so at least they are not undercutting the established hobby shops.
 

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