The Cup

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avsalot

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Perhaps I was less observant in years past, but does it seem this product on the secondary market isn't selling very well? It seems singles are not fetching what they perhaps should be.....
 
After 3 years, it's almost run it's course already in my opinion. Even the lower end rookies used to bring in "reasonable" returns ont he secondary market. Guys would take a chance and plop $25 - $40 on a guy with "promise". When you can't even get an opening bid of $10 on a rookie that is supposed to be one of the two "hits" in a $300 pack, the warning signs siren should be going off for everyone.

They came up with an idea or two this year that seem to be going over alright, but for the most part it's the same old same old. Lack of creaitvity on the majority of the insert sets, rookie selection that is the whose who of never gonna even sniff NHL ice type guys that have no business being in a product this expensive, and the same old rehashed player checklist on the insert sets. Really, how many Steve Sullivan, Miroslav Satan, Steve Shutt, Lanny McDonald, and Larry Robinson autos and game used cards do people really want? Yet they can't get Mike Richards in the set, one of the hottest guys in the hobby the last year?
 
I think it has more to do with the TON of stuff that hit in the first few days.
The wax is drying up, and the setbuilders are plugging away.
Secondary sales will start rising as we get closer to training camp and the start of the season.
 
cards-gotta-go said:
I think it has more to do with the TON of stuff that hit in the first few days.
The wax is drying up, and the setbuilders are plugging away.
Secondary sales will start rising as we get closer to training camp and the start of the season.
Click to expand...

I'm more in this camp than the perception that it's flattened out entirely. Sadly, UD needs to better space out these super premium products - when three top drawer products like UD Premier, OPC Premier AND The Cup release within the same 60 (or so) day window, it's not easy for all the collectors to keep up with 'em. Bottom line, they're still super limited and will be desired after the dust settles. Just my opinion, and I'm probably wrong... ;)
 
I think it's all of the above... It's year 3 and there are several repeated insert sets that are tired. I agree with Tony on some of the "names" on that checklist. Guys like Mike Richards would have garnered huge money on the open market for Limited Logos, Emblems of Endorsements, etc. UD needs to do a better job of having the young, popular, upcoming players under contract for these high end releases and let go of the old repeats like Shutt, Robinson, etc.

Spacing out the high end brands is a must as well. OPC Premier was gawd awful on the secondary market because of it. It had some of the nicest cards produced this year yet got zero love.

I also agree with jai. The set builders will still be plugging away and the market will be drying up of singles. Sales will start to go up rather than down...
 
Buy now sell later. The Cup is the same beast every summer. People are on holidays, not thinking about hockey. Come Fall the price will up turn.

Thinking back to 05/06 I was buying 5 color patches of guys for $40 - $100 at this time, I sold some for $150 - $500.

If you are set building I suggest getting everything this summer while you can.
 
I'm actually happy UD keeps bringing back the insert sets like Limited Logos and Signature Patches, etc. They're kind of the foundation of The Cup and I really do look forward to them when they come out. The biggest killer in my opinion is the timing, just too much high-end at one time. But in 6 months from now if we look back on all the product UD has released this year I still think The Cup will be holding it's value the most. OPC Premier will be a close second I think, like someone had said before me it's one of the best (if not the best) looking sets this year.
 
It doesn't help that they've brought out Cup, Ultimate and OPCP within six weeks of one another.
 
I think they should go back to the drawing board and completely revamp The Cup. Make it “limited” like Superlative, we have already seen people are willing to pay $400 - $500 for a pack of cards so they can jack the price a bit and I don’t think it will hurt as the value will be there (hopefully). Instead of having 84 rookies /249, and 6 rookies /99, make it a bit more reasonable. Take the “top 10” rookies and make them /99, and maybe the next 30 rookies out of /150. Seriously, are there really 90 rookies every year worthy of being a “hit” in a $300 per pack product? That makes it 5490 packs total. Overhaul the patch and jersey cards to be similar to SPGU - Singles, Duals, Triple, Quads, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, etc. Lower the numbers on the autographs, instead of Signature Patches /75, make them /50. Limited Logos should be that, LIMITED. Make those out of /25 instead of /50, with the SP’s being out of /15 or /10. The Enshrinements can be lowered to /25, with duals /15, triples /10 or /5, quads could be true 1/1 cards, those alone will draw in the gamblers.

I could go on and on, but really, The Cup is supposed to be the best of the best, why not lower production, raise the price, but provide more quality? When people see they have doubled their chance of pulling one of the top tier rookies, and their odds are better of hitting at least a respectable rookie since there are only 40, it will draw people in even at a higher price point. The athletes will have to sign less cards, the cards should hold better value on the secondary market, and for the most part, it is a win-win for everyone. Well maybe not for UD as they can no longer over saturate the product with lame duck rookies, but it you want to be the one and only best manufacturer, make the best product.
 
IMO there shouldn't even always be a RC that is #/99, why are not on the truly prized Rookies #/99.

Such as Crosby, Ovechkin, Phaneuf, Malkin, Kane, Toews, Stamkos, Turris. Tlusty shouldn't be a 99 rookie his cards are selling for $100 - $200 its laughable. As for RCs #/249 there should be about half of what there is, and numbered alot lower to say 150 - 199. Guys like Methlot do not deserve a Cup Au/RC/Patch.

Make it actually hard to get these "high end" RCs.
 
4Ant4 said:
I think they should go back to the drawing board and completely revamp The Cup. Make it “limited” like Superlative, we have already seen people are willing to pay $400 - $500 for a pack of cards so they can jack the price a bit and I don’t think it will hurt as the value will be there (hopefully). Instead of having 84 rookies /249, and 6 rookies /99, make it a bit more reasonable. Take the “top 10” rookies and make them /99, and maybe the next 30 rookies out of /150. Seriously, are there really 90 rookies every year worthy of being a “hit” in a $300 per pack product? That makes it 5490 packs total. Overhaul the patch and jersey cards to be similar to SPGU - Singles, Duals, Triple, Quads, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, etc. Lower the numbers on the autographs, instead of Signature Patches /75, make them /50. Limited Logos should be that, LIMITED. Make those out of /25 instead of /50, with the SP’s being out of /15 or /10. The Enshrinements can be lowered to /25, with duals /15, triples /10 or /5, quads could be true 1/1 cards, those alone will draw in the gamblers.

I could go on and on, but really, The Cup is supposed to be the best of the best, why not lower production, raise the price, but provide more quality? When people see they have doubled their chance of pulling one of the top tier rookies, and their odds are better of hitting at least a respectable rookie since there are only 40, it will draw people in even at a higher price point. The athletes will have to sign less cards, the cards should hold better value on the secondary market, and for the most part, it is a win-win for everyone. Well maybe not for UD as they can no longer over saturate the product with lame duck rookies, but it you want to be the one and only best manufacturer, make the best product.
Click to expand...

I cannot disagree with ONE thing in this post. Tony, you hit the nail directly on the head!

Is it Friday the 13th or something? :D
 
2fnlo said:
Buy now sell later. The Cup is the same beast every summer. People are on holidays, not thinking about hockey. Come Fall the price will up turn.
Click to expand...

I agree with this notion. Cup and OPC Premier prices will rise in the fall. Hockey singles sales slump every summer.
 
well, some good points out there. however nobody has brought up that what the hell is UD thinking of putting in two different set's of plan auto's (NO PATCHES) both of which are number to fifty and making case hits one from each set! (top players i.e. gretzky, orr, lemieux)... did they forget how much they where charging for this product...:crazy: i can get on board with the all-star auto's being super SP's but the others give me a break:| UD is just trying to line there pockets now at our expense. there are still some up side to the cup, property of..'s, legendary cuts and the limited logos but they almost screwed up the property of...'s by making them vertical:crazy: thank god only a few;):)if you ask me it's only going to get worse next year.

just my two cents

sean.
 
Personally, I think the product was just released too late in the summer. It's expensive, and hits the market when everybody is watching football, baseball, and Wimbledon.
 

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