Is There Just Too Many Cards Out There?

[creasecollector]

I wonder why the players sign that many cards. Is the compensation decent? That's a lot of work to sign 7000 cards.

It's some of the easiest money they'll ever make in their careers, which is why they agree to it, even if it's $1 (or less) per auto for some players. The compensation can vary of course, but it's earned without much effort.

For some (most) of these rookies, it's the only cards they'll ever sign for a card company so might as well take advantage of that if UD wants them to sign some cards.

 

[TMLFan3]

So probably 10,000 autos going to be out there of the Hughes bros. just in this years releases. That’s lot. Not sure there’s that many Hughes bros. fans out there.

I can’t tell you how many times at card shows you see the same cards at the same dealers tables, year after year. No one wants them

 

[dahabs26]

Breakers....breakers....breakers!!! The average collector cannot afford to open boxes. We used to pay approximately $120 for a pack of SPGU....what's the price point this year?? My box supplier has to charge me $200 and he's barely making a penny. What about NHL credentials?? Came out at about $120-$130....wave 4 pricing (lol!!) is not close to $200. How about the infamous SPA??? A few years back when I was business partner with my buddy, we were able to sustain our business just on selling this product at about $120 ALL SUMMER!!!!! What does it sell for today?? $200++++ AND ONLY TWO AUTOS...

What am I getting at?? Upper Deck will continue to produce massive amounts of product because Breakers are selling it....at about 150% mark-up, right?? If we keep buying the Avalanche at $300 a spot in a break, Upper Deck, the wholesalers, and breakers will continue to up the prices of boxes.

Does it go something like this: SPA box from UD sells to wholesaler for say $80-$100...wholesaler sells to Brick and Mortar for $140-$150....Brick and Mortar sells to customer at $210 OR Breakers sell for $230 (price average for what they get for their teams).

What's the solution if any is needed???? If we continue paying these kinds of prices, they will continue charging what they do.

The ONLY way I see less product (or lowered box prices) is less demand for opening wax through breakers. I guess this might be a different topic altogether and one I"m sure that has been talked about at length.

As someone who LOVES to crack wax, I open cases at wave 1 prices...then I realize I"m probably done with that particular product when wave 2-4 pricing comes around. For example, UD2 this year was awesome at $110 per box....at $150 NOT AT ALL!!!! That's $480 more for the case = BRUTAL.

 

[hockeyguy2006]

Breakers....breakers....breakers!!! The average collector cannot afford to open boxes. We used to pay approximately $120 for a pack of SPGU....what's the price point this year?? My box supplier has to charge me $200 and he's barely making a penny. What about NHL credentials?? Came out at about $120-$130....wave 4 pricing (lol!!) is not close to $200. How about the infamous SPA??? A few years back when I was business partner with my buddy, we were able to sustain our business just on selling this product at about $120 ALL SUMMER!!!!! What does it sell for today?? $200++++ AND ONLY TWO AUTOS...

What am I getting at?? Upper Deck will continue to produce massive amounts of product because Breakers are selling it....at about 150% mark-up, right?? If we keep buying the Avalanche at $300 a spot in a break, Upper Deck, the wholesalers, and breakers will continue to up the prices of boxes.

Does it go something like this: SPA box from UD sells to wholesaler for say $80-$100...wholesaler sells to Brick and Mortar for $140-$150....Brick and Mortar sells to customer at $210 OR Breakers sell for $230 (price average for what they get for their teams).

What's the solution if any is needed???? If we continue paying these kinds of prices, they will continue charging what they do.

The ONLY way I see less product (or lowered box prices) is less demand for opening wax through breakers. I guess this might be a different topic altogether and one I"m sure that has been talked about at length.

As someone who LOVES to crack wax, I open cases at wave 1 prices...then I realize I"m probably done with that particular product when wave 2-4 pricing comes around. For example, UD2 this year was awesome at $110 per box....at $150 NOT AT ALL!!!! That's $480 more for the case = BRUTAL.

Lots of products are now catered to breakers since they break a large portion of product now. Not really a fan of it or increasing box prices. Couldn't tell you the last box I opened due to pricing and or availability.

 

[dahabs26]

Lots of products are now catered to breakers since they break a large portion of product now. Not really a fan of it or increasing box prices. Couldn't tell you the last box I opened due to pricing and or availability.

I guess this is how it feels to be a kid who wants to get in the hobby but CAN'T because it's too expensive lol!!

 

[WatchMyBreaks]

I guess this is how it feels to be a kid who wants to get in the hobby but CAN'T because it's too expensive lol!!

There are entry points for kids in the hobby still. I don't know about you guys but when I first started opening hockey I wasn't buying it by the box or the case. Series 1 and 2, OPC Platinum, Synergy, SPA, Ice, etc are all affordable by the pack.

Can kids build a high end collection to compete with 45 year old network engineers on Instagram? No. Can they break packs? Sure. The bigger issue is LSCs closing and the unavailability of loose packs. I know when I lived in Nashville the local LSC had a program that was very affordable that would send loose packs to kids in the mail, the overall cost was supplemented by the adults buying into breaks.

 

[TMLFan3]

And let’s not get into epack flooding the market *grumble*

 

[Burner]

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many rookie autos and barely any autos of players outside of their rookie or sophomore year. Then you have the same batch of a handful of retired veterans. It's the same players in the same products every year.

Some products nowadays barely even have veteran autos or memorabilia. It's all rookies and when you have a pretty bland rookie crop like this year, you get next to no value.

Plus dahabs26 is 100% correct. Prices are going up so much and quality is going way down. SPA used to be great value and fun to break at 3 autos per box. Now they're down to 2, and you'd be lucky if 1 of those 2 autos wasn't a $2 rookie that will never play more than 10 NHL games. It's like Apple taking out the charger and headphones from the iPhone 12, giving us a BS excuse about waste and then charging us more for less, yet people keep buying it.

It's a good thing McDavid still signs frequently for UD otherwise you'd be hard pressed to find an auto that sells over $100 that's not Gretzky, an SSP or the #1 pick in a strong draft. I'm sure that'll stop soon just like most of the vets.

 

[BlindThomen]

I was kinda curious how much these guys sign once I read this -
so I looked into 19-20 releases (before Clear Cut and The Cup are even released)

Jack Hughes autographs:
197 different auto'd cards for a print run of 7091, 36 cards dont even have serial numbering

Quinn Hughes autographs:
169 different auto'd cards for a print run of 6745, 32 cards dont even have serial numbering

And how about a lesser auto pull like Nico Sturm:
84 different auto'd cards for a print run of 5985, 15 cards dont even have serial numbering

Just thought of a comparison to give soem kind of perspective. The first two Be A Player sets had stated 2,400 autos/player (1994-95) and 3,000 + 400 die-cuts (1995-96).

That being said, I don't think anyone really needs around 10,000 total Nico Sturm autographs.

- Sauli

 

[joshpackham]

I always look at it as I don't have to buy every product and with them releasing many products each year, I'm able to pick and choose which products I would like to support. I've also learned to be more patient and that always makes it easier on the pocketbook.

 

[frankiefives]

I always look at it as I don't have to buy every product and with them releasing many products each year, I'm able to pick and choose which products I would like to support. I've also learned to be more patient and that always makes it easier on the pocketbook.

Ding ding ding!

It doesn't matter how many products are out there. Buy what you like. If you're a player collector, do you NEED every card? No. If you're a set collector, you can build whichever set appeals to you most.

It seems we have a thread like this every year (or more). If UD had only 8 products per year, there would be threads about how boring the hobby is.

 

[gomaz]

Ding ding ding!

It doesn't matter how many products are out there. Buy what you like. If you're a player collector, do you NEED every card? No. If you're a set collector, you can build whichever set appeals to you most.

It seems we have a thread like this every year (or more). If UD had only 8 products per year, there would be threads about how boring the hobby is.

Ding ding ding!

 

[chakhae1]

The biggest problem in the sports card market is the over saturation of products. Hockey is actually light years ahead of the other major sports which have several products that are essentially the same product with a different name. Upper Deck does a pretty good job with the new products they come out with such and some are really good such as Engrained and Statured, but sports such as football have products such as XR and Phoenix which are rip offs of Certified which has been around for years.

Which gets at me are all the sister products of major brands such as Prizm Fast Break, Optic Choice and all of the First of the Line Products. Stick to one brand and do it right!!!

 

[TheGriceBoys]

There's not too much if you buy the "correct" (buy what you like of course) hockey cards. Graded vintage. Very, very, EXTREMELY high grade vintage. Night kids.:beer:

 

[TMLFan3]

There's not too much if you buy the "correct" (buy what you like of course) hockey cards. Graded vintage. Very, very, EXTREMELY high grade vintage. Night kids.:beer:

Yup Gretzky graded rookies seem to go up daily!

 

[jogesc2]

Maybe we should just be glad hockey wax prices haven't gone up like other sports have. What was Score Hobby Football at release? Like $400 CAD!!

Soccer and Basketball wax prices are insane.

 

[weasel-king]

If you're a player collector, do you NEED every card? No.

Not to be argumentative, but as a player collector, yes. I have a list of every Aho card made, including Finnish releases. I won't get them all, but my definition of a player collector IS all cards. So there are some of us out there.

 

[gomaz]

Not to be argumentative, but as a player collector, yes. I have a list of every Aho card made, including Finnish releases. I won't get them all, but my definition of a player collector IS all cards. So there are some of us out there.

Also not being argumentative but my definition is much less stingent. I collect Selanne, Roenick, Doan and Francis yet only have around 20 cards of each. 98% of their cards do not interest me in the least. Yet I still consider my self a player collector of those players.

 

[frankiefives]

Not to be argumentative, but as a player collector, yes. I have a list of every Aho card made, including Finnish releases. I won't get them all, but my definition of a player collector IS all cards. So there are some of us out there.

I mean no offense but to me this makes no sense. Why do you need every single card of a specific player? It’s supposed to be a hobby of yours, right? Needing every card is more of an obsession than a hobby. Why buy cards that you don’t find appealing just because you feel you have to?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gomaz]

I mean no offense but to me this makes no sense. Why do you need every single card of a specific player? It's supposed to be a hobby of yours, right? Needing every card is more of an obsession than a hobby. Why buy cards that you don't find appealing just because you feel you have to?

My thoughts exactly.