Well, after over four years at my current job, it was time to move forward to a new challenge, and today was my last day. In celebration of that, I decided to buy myself a box of cards.
I chose the new 2005-06 Fleer (ok, UD with Fleer badging...) Hot Prospects. Not cheap by any stretch, and to be honest, I know very little about it, other than it has some good stuff in it. Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there.
Pack 1 - Turco, Raycroft, Nash, Nabokov, Kiprusoff
A goalie collector's dream. Different design, sharp photography with a nice emphasis on the player.
Pack 2 - Recchi, St. Louis, Zetterberg, Kariya, Richards
If I was paying $15 per pack, I wouldn't be happy. Thought I'd share that.
Pack 3 - Bertuzzi, Murray, Giguere, Gonchar, Hossa
Ok.
Pack 4 - Andrew Alberts Prized Prospects Rookie Auto Patch 239/349
One colour (black), and more initials than an autograph. Better than a kick in the teeth, but barely.
Pack 5 - Thornton, Weight, Kyle Brodziak RC 0598/1999, Sundin, Staal
Well, a rookie is a rookie.
Pack 6 - Koivu, Jackman, Hasek, Jokinen, Lecavalier
Into everyone's life, some commons may fall.
Pack 7 - Thornton, Jim Slater Hot Materials Jersey (blue), Marleau, Khabibulin
No idea who Jim Slater is. And for there to be doubles in a box of this size is kinda crazy.
Pack 8 - Kovalchuk, Hejduk, Mark Giordano RC 0980/1999, Malone, Roenick
A rookie is a rookie. But who ARE these people?
Pack 9 - Kolzig, Gaborik, Luongo, Drury, Ribiero, and an Upper Deck Store discount coupon
When will UD learn that most people don't want to pay $199.99 for an autographed Tiger Woods 8X10 with a cheap frame? Anyway.....
Pack 10 - Shanahan, McCabe, Nick Tarnasky RC 1216/1999, Fernandez, Hemsky
(takes another swig of beer) Mrs. Tarnasky is getting some mail. A hockey card of her son.
Pack 11 - Alfredsson, Bergeron, Brian McGrattan RC 0840/1999, Elias, Jagr
FINALLY a rookie I've heard of. A goon, but goons are worth something in the card world.
Pack 12 - Frolov, Belfour, Forsberg, Sullivan, Gagne
If I'm going to get commons, can I at least get a freaking Doan card???
Pack 13 - Lemieux, Miller, Corey Crawford RC 1897/1999, Horcoff, Sakic
(silence)
Pack 14 - Robitaille, Evgeny Artyukhin Hot Materials Jersey, Pronger, Modano
I've heard of Artyukhin. Had to look on the spelling though. And the Modano is cool. Can I get a Doan in pack 15?
Pack 15 - Heatley, Selanne, Svatos, Prospal, Joseph
Nope.
Verdict?
Well...... can't really complain about an auto rookie patch, 2 jerseys, and 5 numbered rookies in a box. I could have picked up a UD Series 2 box for slightly less, but I would have got less too, unless I managed to pull an Ovechkin. The auto patch was disappointing in the auto and small one colour patch, but it is what it is, and they're selling. Would I buy another box? I'd pay less on eBay for it, and.... yeah, I might. It's a little more expensive than most boxes, but there's some value here, and it's a fun break.
Where I give UD major points is that this is unique. And for UD, that's a MAJOR thing. Again, it looks like they need to sharpen the cutting blades a little, as there are some damaged sides, but the cards look nice, and the design is actually a different.
Grades out of 5:
ROOKIES: 4
- For quantity, not quality. And an auto rookie patch per box is a nice thing, especially considering SP Authentic's price versus value.
GAME USED: 3
- 2 per box is fine, and both were rookies (I think.... I don't know for sure.... and I follow hockey pretty closely). But small pieces, and photo shoot pieces. This late in the year, that's questionable a little.
SET BUILDERS: 4
- Looks to be a 100 card regular set, and a box puts you close to it, I think. But I got a double. And that bugs me. Call me petty if you must, but......
AUTOS: 2?
- Only auto was the patch (if you can call it an auto). I heard there was supposed to be 2, and there was one. So I'm judging hard.
OVERALL: 4
- I was going to say 3.5, but I'm assuming I got a bit of a dud box. It's a nice set, and while it's not necessarily cheap, nothing is this year, and this is pretty good value for the buck. I'd buy more. But definitely buy by the box, not the pack. As a warning, with the patch the only card in the pack, it's very very searchable. If you're going to buy packs, get them from a dealer you trust.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Blaster box and more packs
Found a Parkhurst blaster - 7 packs for $12.99, under $2 per pack. Although this does worry me a little, seeing as the hobby version is kinda sparse, what does this look like?
Well, upon opening pack 1, I decided not to do a pack by pack breakdown. 1 rookie and 2 "limited" cards in the box. In other words? Garbage. Do yourself a favour, and either wait until this product's price falls through the floor, or buy MVP instead, similar price with a lot more upside. Heck, buy Victory instead. I know I'm done with Parkhurst until prices crash, if I even try again. This should have been $1.99 hobby and $0.99 retail per pack. Instead, it's far higher. Horrific value.
Found blister packs of Rookie Update and UD Ice. Tough to find, and will probably be gone in a hurry, if Black Diamond blister packs were any indication.
Oops. Didn't see that the Rookie Update was Retail packs. Got nothing. Oops. Got nothing from Ice again. Wow. Shocking.
One day I'll realize that buying packs isn't worth it. But I'm not that smart, so it could take a while......
Well, upon opening pack 1, I decided not to do a pack by pack breakdown. 1 rookie and 2 "limited" cards in the box. In other words? Garbage. Do yourself a favour, and either wait until this product's price falls through the floor, or buy MVP instead, similar price with a lot more upside. Heck, buy Victory instead. I know I'm done with Parkhurst until prices crash, if I even try again. This should have been $1.99 hobby and $0.99 retail per pack. Instead, it's far higher. Horrific value.
Found blister packs of Rookie Update and UD Ice. Tough to find, and will probably be gone in a hurry, if Black Diamond blister packs were any indication.
Oops. Didn't see that the Rookie Update was Retail packs. Got nothing. Oops. Got nothing from Ice again. Wow. Shocking.
One day I'll realize that buying packs isn't worth it. But I'm not that smart, so it could take a while......
Friday, July 07, 2006
Another pack break
Today, as I get a new job, I decided to treat myself to a few packs of hockey cards. Two new ones that recently came out. Here we go:
Parkhurst. To hardcore hockey card collectors, it evokes memories of Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard, and the days of old, where hockey cards were 5 cents a pack, and the cards are now worth thousands - a tale of hockey history. To card "collectors" who caught the fever in the early 90s, or people who were young then, it is memories of ProSet's attempts at a higher end brand, and some of the first full set parallel sets, when hockey cards were up to $1.00 a pack, and the cards are now worth basically nothing. Today? Upper Deck Parkhurst. A 700 card monster set. Worth it? Let's open the packs:
Pack 1 - Elias, H. Sedin, Brown, Koivu, Rucinsky, Valtteri Filppula RC.
Hmm..... a 700 card set will have a lot of commons, I guess.
Pack 2 - Exelby, Dallman, Plekanec, Erskine, Chouinard, George Parros RC.
Hmm..... a 700 card set will have a lot of commons, I guess.
Pack 3 - Lidstrom, Morrow, Knuble, Koltsov, Frolov, Steve Yzerman Captains Insert.
Hmm..... a 700 card set will have a lot of commons, I guess.
Verdict? Decent looking cards, but at $3 per pack, pass until the prices come down. This is a set for rookie and set collectors. 1 auto per box, 1 jersey per case - but 8 jerseys PER CARD! Not a horribly bad set, but do yourself a favour and wait until boxes on eBay come down.
Next is Rookie Update. I don't know much about it aside from it having a LOT of rookies. Let's go:
Pack 1 - Fedorov, Turco, DiPietro, Kiprusoff, Milan Jurcina Black Diamond Triple RC.
First thing I notice? Big mistake by UD. The BD rookie has gold colouring on the bottom, which in the regular BD was the colour of cards #/10. Nice regular cards though.
Pack 2 - Roenick, Primeau, Alfredsson, Tanguay, Brad Richardson Artifacts RC 669/750
Second thing I notice? Rookies from high end sets with packs at $8 instead of $20+.
Pack 3 - Kovalchuk, McCabe, Jokinen, Gomez, Jordan Sigalet BD RC
Third thing I notice?..... if I didn't like rookies, I'm not getting much here.
Pack 4 - Iginla, Svatos, Yzerman, Miller, Connor James Rookie Update RC 1795/1999
Fourth thing I notice? Well.......
Rookie Update appears to be a nice product. Pack price of around $8 seems a little pricey until you realize that you're getting a lot of rookies, and from packs that were in the $15-$50 range in earlier ones. No, the rookies aren't as good now as in the original sets, but if you like rookies, this looks like a great set, especially for variety. I'd recommend you pick some up.
Parkhurst. To hardcore hockey card collectors, it evokes memories of Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard, and the days of old, where hockey cards were 5 cents a pack, and the cards are now worth thousands - a tale of hockey history. To card "collectors" who caught the fever in the early 90s, or people who were young then, it is memories of ProSet's attempts at a higher end brand, and some of the first full set parallel sets, when hockey cards were up to $1.00 a pack, and the cards are now worth basically nothing. Today? Upper Deck Parkhurst. A 700 card monster set. Worth it? Let's open the packs:
Pack 1 - Elias, H. Sedin, Brown, Koivu, Rucinsky, Valtteri Filppula RC.
Hmm..... a 700 card set will have a lot of commons, I guess.
Pack 2 - Exelby, Dallman, Plekanec, Erskine, Chouinard, George Parros RC.
Hmm..... a 700 card set will have a lot of commons, I guess.
Pack 3 - Lidstrom, Morrow, Knuble, Koltsov, Frolov, Steve Yzerman Captains Insert.
Hmm..... a 700 card set will have a lot of commons, I guess.
Verdict? Decent looking cards, but at $3 per pack, pass until the prices come down. This is a set for rookie and set collectors. 1 auto per box, 1 jersey per case - but 8 jerseys PER CARD! Not a horribly bad set, but do yourself a favour and wait until boxes on eBay come down.
Next is Rookie Update. I don't know much about it aside from it having a LOT of rookies. Let's go:
Pack 1 - Fedorov, Turco, DiPietro, Kiprusoff, Milan Jurcina Black Diamond Triple RC.
First thing I notice? Big mistake by UD. The BD rookie has gold colouring on the bottom, which in the regular BD was the colour of cards #/10. Nice regular cards though.
Pack 2 - Roenick, Primeau, Alfredsson, Tanguay, Brad Richardson Artifacts RC 669/750
Second thing I notice? Rookies from high end sets with packs at $8 instead of $20+.
Pack 3 - Kovalchuk, McCabe, Jokinen, Gomez, Jordan Sigalet BD RC
Third thing I notice?..... if I didn't like rookies, I'm not getting much here.
Pack 4 - Iginla, Svatos, Yzerman, Miller, Connor James Rookie Update RC 1795/1999
Fourth thing I notice? Well.......
Rookie Update appears to be a nice product. Pack price of around $8 seems a little pricey until you realize that you're getting a lot of rookies, and from packs that were in the $15-$50 range in earlier ones. No, the rookies aren't as good now as in the original sets, but if you like rookies, this looks like a great set, especially for variety. I'd recommend you pick some up.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Live pack break!
Today, three regular type packs - 1 2005-06 Upper Deck Ice Hockey, and 2 2005-06 UD SPAuthentic hockey. Also, have a blast from the past.... brought to the present. NHL Pogs! Also, at the end, one surprise pack that I've heard of, but never seen in person. More on that at the end when I open it. :)
First, the POGS pack. Don't know much about it, but it has a Shane Doan card in it, so if I pull that, we call this a success. "Collect all 60" it says. 5 POGS per pack, 1 "slammer" (whatever that is) and 1 "series card" (whatever that is.....). Anyway, on to opening:
The opening tab on the side of the pack is nice. It's also in a blister pack. Ooh.
The series card is a checklist, probably should have figured that out. An Ovechkin in here, but no Crosby. I guess Upper Deck owns Crosby. The slammer appears to be a plastic mini-puck about a 1/4 inch thick, with the NHL logo on the back. I guess this IS supposed to be a game of some type, so this slammer must facilitate that.
Pogs? Daniel Briere, Jarome Iginla, Keith Primeau, Mark Recchi, Glen Murray. Funky holograms on the back, much better quality than the previous ones. This was a loose pack I saw at Superstore. No price tag. I hope I didn't pay much. Oops, looked at the sales slip. $4.98. Well, once is fine.
UD Ice pack - I reviewed this already :). On to the pack: Esche, Nabokov, Poti, Antropov, Luongo. You know, I don't really like the one insert per pack idea..... but crap, if you don't pull an auto or jersey, you get nothing from these.
SP Authentic. One of the sets rookie collectors look forward to every year. Feast or famine, really. You get something great, or you get..... well, cards. Anyone who's collected hockey cards knows the drill on these, so I won't go into detail. Let's look at the two packs and see what's there:
Pack 1 -Palffy, Lindros, Ribiero, Stajan, Roloson
Worse than crap. Unimaginable.
Pack 2 - Biron, Gomez, Gionta, Khabibulin, Yzerman
Slightly better than pack 1. Slightly worse than eating thumbtacks.
Cards look nice. High quality card stock, no damage. But again, feast or famine. In my case, famine.
Now for the odd one. I found a pack of 2003-04 UD Manchester United soccer cards! Match-worn shirts 1 per box, autos 1:96 packs (1 in 4 boxes). Definitely a rare item. Finding it alone is tough, so really, even if I get all commons, finding it was a reward. Although it would be nice not to find crap. Here we go:
Opening..... A checklist card. Sir Alex Ferguson hoisting a trophy. To be honest, I have no idea which one, and I've been unable to find out. It's got kind of a crown thingy on top. Four regular cards, Diego Forlan, Bojan Djordic, David Bellion, and Wes Brown. Then, a "Ruud Awakening" insert card, seeded 1:12 packs.
Unique cards, but the design reminds me of UD's golf card offerings, or the old Collector's Choice hockey. The red foil should have been yellow or gold, not red. They tried to use red and black for everything, it just makes it difficult to see properly. Pics are rather boring. The Diego card is the only one with actual in-game action. The rest are practice, or in the insert card's case, a pic, but no background. I give them points for being different to me, but there isn't much special about them.
Overall, not a great pack busting episode. I basically got nothing except something unique in the ManU cards. Oh well, I guess there's those days.
First, the POGS pack. Don't know much about it, but it has a Shane Doan card in it, so if I pull that, we call this a success. "Collect all 60" it says. 5 POGS per pack, 1 "slammer" (whatever that is) and 1 "series card" (whatever that is.....). Anyway, on to opening:
The opening tab on the side of the pack is nice. It's also in a blister pack. Ooh.
The series card is a checklist, probably should have figured that out. An Ovechkin in here, but no Crosby. I guess Upper Deck owns Crosby. The slammer appears to be a plastic mini-puck about a 1/4 inch thick, with the NHL logo on the back. I guess this IS supposed to be a game of some type, so this slammer must facilitate that.
Pogs? Daniel Briere, Jarome Iginla, Keith Primeau, Mark Recchi, Glen Murray. Funky holograms on the back, much better quality than the previous ones. This was a loose pack I saw at Superstore. No price tag. I hope I didn't pay much. Oops, looked at the sales slip. $4.98. Well, once is fine.
UD Ice pack - I reviewed this already :). On to the pack: Esche, Nabokov, Poti, Antropov, Luongo. You know, I don't really like the one insert per pack idea..... but crap, if you don't pull an auto or jersey, you get nothing from these.
SP Authentic. One of the sets rookie collectors look forward to every year. Feast or famine, really. You get something great, or you get..... well, cards. Anyone who's collected hockey cards knows the drill on these, so I won't go into detail. Let's look at the two packs and see what's there:
Pack 1 -Palffy, Lindros, Ribiero, Stajan, Roloson
Worse than crap. Unimaginable.
Pack 2 - Biron, Gomez, Gionta, Khabibulin, Yzerman
Slightly better than pack 1. Slightly worse than eating thumbtacks.
Cards look nice. High quality card stock, no damage. But again, feast or famine. In my case, famine.
Now for the odd one. I found a pack of 2003-04 UD Manchester United soccer cards! Match-worn shirts 1 per box, autos 1:96 packs (1 in 4 boxes). Definitely a rare item. Finding it alone is tough, so really, even if I get all commons, finding it was a reward. Although it would be nice not to find crap. Here we go:
Opening..... A checklist card. Sir Alex Ferguson hoisting a trophy. To be honest, I have no idea which one, and I've been unable to find out. It's got kind of a crown thingy on top. Four regular cards, Diego Forlan, Bojan Djordic, David Bellion, and Wes Brown. Then, a "Ruud Awakening" insert card, seeded 1:12 packs.
Unique cards, but the design reminds me of UD's golf card offerings, or the old Collector's Choice hockey. The red foil should have been yellow or gold, not red. They tried to use red and black for everything, it just makes it difficult to see properly. Pics are rather boring. The Diego card is the only one with actual in-game action. The rest are practice, or in the insert card's case, a pic, but no background. I give them points for being different to me, but there isn't much special about them.
Overall, not a great pack busting episode. I basically got nothing except something unique in the ManU cards. Oh well, I guess there's those days.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
UD Ice pack break.... and pack wars!
Went to a card show today and participated in my first "pack wars". I'd heard a lot about them, but had never done one. A dealer I know invited me to play - 4 of us, $20 per person, 6 packs each of UD series 2 hockey. The first person says a number that would appear in the set, and everyone opens one pack. The person with the card in the newly opened pack that is the closest to the one said gets all 4 packs. So if you pull a pack with an Ovechkin Young Guns and you don't have the number closest to the one said...... fork it over.
Sounds maddening, but for pack rippers like myself, it's potentially addicting. I ended up winning twice out of the 6, but I didn't get the Joe Thornton Majestic Materials /50. :( Oh well, I had fun, and for $20, I got 8 packs of UD Series 2, with 3 rookies. Not a bad return.
Bought 4 packs of UD Ice at the show. The dealer I knew gave me the Shane Doan card I needed. Decent looking cards, I think. But very reminicent of the old Ovation brand, the same nicked up ice design. Still, I liked that design, so it's not a bad thing. I also picked up a Jussi Jokinen Cool Threads jersey for $8 at the show. Odd jersey piece - looks like it might be from a retro North Stars jersey. I should e-mail UD about it. Anyway, nice card, but not acetate, which was too bad. To the packs! Here's live play by play: :)
Pack 1 - Sakic, Jagr, Staal, Weiss, Selanne (all base)
Nice cards for the price point. No damaged cards, another plus.
Pack 2 - Weekes, Frolov, Alfredsson, Ryder, DiPietro (all base)
Like the first pack, except about a quarter of the star power. I figure it can't get worse than this one.
Pack 3 - Kovalchuk, Lehtonen, Yashin, Nabokov, Poti (all base)
Ummm...... has this box been searched?
Pack 4- Sundin, Morrison (base), Maxime Talbot Fresh Ice jersey card (acetate!)
Finally. Although I nearly soiled myself when I saw the Penguins logo on the back. Photo shoot jersey, but a very nice card.
Thoughts? Nice cards. I didn't have a whole lot of luck, but this is a nice enough set that I might actually collect it as an entire set. And NO damaged cards, which is an amazing plus considering UD's quality issues this year. I got them at $5 per pack (tax in), which might appear a little high, but for better quality nicer looking cards and some nice inserts, it's better than something like the atrocious Beehive. I'd recommend you buy a few packs. From what I hear, if you get 4 packs, you'll get something at least. I've heard some disastrous box breaks, though.
Ratings 1-5:
Design: 4.5
- a slightly reused design, but well done and fairly nice, I think.
Rookies: odds ?, value 1.5-2
- I didn't pull any. It looks like they are plentiful, but not of much value. The Crosby is out of 99 (I think), but it's a long pull.
Game used: 4
- Nice cards, values aren't looking too good though
Autographs: 5
- Acetate autos for many of them, and autos on the actual cards.
OVERALL RATING: 4
- Well done, I think. Maybe a little high priced, but compared to other offerings this year, not bad.
Sounds maddening, but for pack rippers like myself, it's potentially addicting. I ended up winning twice out of the 6, but I didn't get the Joe Thornton Majestic Materials /50. :( Oh well, I had fun, and for $20, I got 8 packs of UD Series 2, with 3 rookies. Not a bad return.
Bought 4 packs of UD Ice at the show. The dealer I knew gave me the Shane Doan card I needed. Decent looking cards, I think. But very reminicent of the old Ovation brand, the same nicked up ice design. Still, I liked that design, so it's not a bad thing. I also picked up a Jussi Jokinen Cool Threads jersey for $8 at the show. Odd jersey piece - looks like it might be from a retro North Stars jersey. I should e-mail UD about it. Anyway, nice card, but not acetate, which was too bad. To the packs! Here's live play by play: :)
Pack 1 - Sakic, Jagr, Staal, Weiss, Selanne (all base)
Nice cards for the price point. No damaged cards, another plus.
Pack 2 - Weekes, Frolov, Alfredsson, Ryder, DiPietro (all base)
Like the first pack, except about a quarter of the star power. I figure it can't get worse than this one.
Pack 3 - Kovalchuk, Lehtonen, Yashin, Nabokov, Poti (all base)
Ummm...... has this box been searched?
Pack 4- Sundin, Morrison (base), Maxime Talbot Fresh Ice jersey card (acetate!)
Finally. Although I nearly soiled myself when I saw the Penguins logo on the back. Photo shoot jersey, but a very nice card.
Thoughts? Nice cards. I didn't have a whole lot of luck, but this is a nice enough set that I might actually collect it as an entire set. And NO damaged cards, which is an amazing plus considering UD's quality issues this year. I got them at $5 per pack (tax in), which might appear a little high, but for better quality nicer looking cards and some nice inserts, it's better than something like the atrocious Beehive. I'd recommend you buy a few packs. From what I hear, if you get 4 packs, you'll get something at least. I've heard some disastrous box breaks, though.
Ratings 1-5:
Design: 4.5
- a slightly reused design, but well done and fairly nice, I think.
Rookies: odds ?, value 1.5-2
- I didn't pull any. It looks like they are plentiful, but not of much value. The Crosby is out of 99 (I think), but it's a long pull.
Game used: 4
- Nice cards, values aren't looking too good though
Autographs: 5
- Acetate autos for many of them, and autos on the actual cards.
OVERALL RATING: 4
- Well done, I think. Maybe a little high priced, but compared to other offerings this year, not bad.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Hockey card review: UD PowerPlay
(Ok, late summation of this set, but here goes.....)
UD Victory. Usually sells pretty well, for the first little while. It's usually the first official card set of the year (this year was the BAP auto set, but..... I don't know, just wasn't a hockey season set to me.....). Low price, and not much to justify a higher price. It's hockey cards. Period. Some parallels, clean design (ok, maybe not that), sturdy card stock.... it's a way to start the collecting year, and stoke the hockey card fire. But at some point, after getting a set, people go "Ok, I'm ready, give me something better."
Enter the newest UD set, Power Play. Decent price point of $3-$4 per pack, two jerseys per box, and two redemptions per box each for one of 4 sets of 10 rookies. So with 24 packs, when you buy a box you're getting 20 rookies. Not a bad return, really. 90 card set, with limited cards 1:4 packs. They are numbered in the set order, so to collect a master set, be prepared to buy a lot of packs/boxes, or pay secondary prices.
The cards are decent looking. Nice relatively understated use of foil on them, decent pics, new type of design. Value? Well, you're looking at $75 per box, and in there, if you get the A redemption with Crosby, that's a $40-$50 set. The B with Ovechkin is $30ish, and the other two are $20. So minimum $40 BV return. 2 jerseys, and with some players of note, not just no names. 6 limited cards, which are selling decently well on the secondary market. Are you going to make double your money? No. Should you make somewhat close to your money back? Probably.
Ratings 1-5:
Design: 3.5
- clean and room for the pic, but nothing special
Rookies: odds 5, value 3
- easy to get, not necessarily high value in the end
Game used: 5
- big swatches for the price point, and decent checklist
Autographs: 2
- very very tough to get, and sticker autos. And a very uninspiring checklist.
OVERALL RATING: 4
- considering the price point, there's nothing wrong with this set. Just nothing of special note.
UD Victory. Usually sells pretty well, for the first little while. It's usually the first official card set of the year (this year was the BAP auto set, but..... I don't know, just wasn't a hockey season set to me.....). Low price, and not much to justify a higher price. It's hockey cards. Period. Some parallels, clean design (ok, maybe not that), sturdy card stock.... it's a way to start the collecting year, and stoke the hockey card fire. But at some point, after getting a set, people go "Ok, I'm ready, give me something better."
Enter the newest UD set, Power Play. Decent price point of $3-$4 per pack, two jerseys per box, and two redemptions per box each for one of 4 sets of 10 rookies. So with 24 packs, when you buy a box you're getting 20 rookies. Not a bad return, really. 90 card set, with limited cards 1:4 packs. They are numbered in the set order, so to collect a master set, be prepared to buy a lot of packs/boxes, or pay secondary prices.
The cards are decent looking. Nice relatively understated use of foil on them, decent pics, new type of design. Value? Well, you're looking at $75 per box, and in there, if you get the A redemption with Crosby, that's a $40-$50 set. The B with Ovechkin is $30ish, and the other two are $20. So minimum $40 BV return. 2 jerseys, and with some players of note, not just no names. 6 limited cards, which are selling decently well on the secondary market. Are you going to make double your money? No. Should you make somewhat close to your money back? Probably.
Ratings 1-5:
Design: 3.5
- clean and room for the pic, but nothing special
Rookies: odds 5, value 3
- easy to get, not necessarily high value in the end
Game used: 5
- big swatches for the price point, and decent checklist
Autographs: 2
- very very tough to get, and sticker autos. And a very uninspiring checklist.
OVERALL RATING: 4
- considering the price point, there's nothing wrong with this set. Just nothing of special note.
Upper Deck's monopoly on the hockey card industry - good or bad?
Having been an avid hockey card collector for 25 years now, it seems odd that it's come full circle in one major way. In 1980, you collected O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey cards. If you were in the US, you collected Topps. Now, you collect Upper Deck NHL hockey cards. And that's where the similarity, for all intents and purposes, ends.
O-Pee-Chee would have hockey cards, and for a few years, also had a hockey sticker offering. For a few years, they also lauched mini cards. I believe they also had a hand in some cards made for Post cereals. In any case, they would probably plateau at 5 offerings a year.
Zoom forward to this year. O-Pee-Chee hasn't existed as a standalone company for years. Now, unless you want to collect the junior players, AHL players, or retired players from In The Game, your choice is Upper Deck. But all is not lost. Do you want variety? By the end of the season, they will have at least 18 mainstream sets. From the bottom end Victory to the uber-top end Ultimate Collection, it appears that they have covered most collectors' demands and wallet abilities. But, even to a lot of collectors who were around in the O-Pee-Chee days, this isn't necessarily a good thing. Why? Lots of reasons:
1) Quality - I would say that 1 out of every 4 UD packs I've bought this year have had at least one damaged card in them. Even more maddening is the fact that many of those cards are rookies or game used cards. Now, this isn't to say that their quality was sparkling in other years, because it most definitely was not. But this year has been terrible in terms of card damage, incorrect information, and incorrect game piece and autographs on cards. In the O-Pee-Chee days, prior to grading and in the middle of the "put them in your bike spokes" era, this wasn't a big thing. But the packs were also only 25 cents a piece. When you're paying $5+ per pack, quality shouldn't even be something you have to think about.
2) Redemptions, Redemptions, Redemptions - It used to be that BAP was the company that was skewered for issuing redemption after redemption for their Signature Series. What did they do in response? As far as I know, they no longer have any redemptions - all of the autos and game used are in packs now, and were in 04-05 as well (if there were any, I don't think it was an unacceptable amount). This brings us to 05-06 UD. From PowerPlay's and Artifacts rookie redemptions, which weren't that bad, since the rookies weren't actually playing yet, to the recently issued Ice product, which has tons and tons of unacceptable redemptions, and everywhere in between. Yes, I realize that they expect players to send back the autographs on time, and can't always control that. The key is that if the autos aren't there, you don't make the cards. Period. Which falls into the next problem......
3) Redemption wait times and customer service - I have waited nearly 5 months for my PowerPlay redemptions. That's significantly longer than 8-10 weeks that's the expected norm. Supposedly they are on their way, but not after a terse excuse filled, blame shifting response to an e-mail I sent after 4 months asking about it. From what I've heard, I'm not alone in receiving that kind of treatment. The other problem is replacement of damaged cards. Prior to this year, I heard many stories of UD's impressive response to damaged card requests - people getting 5-6 times book value for their damaged cards.
This year? Well, here's an example. Someone I know sent 2 damaged Dion Phaneuf UD Series 1 rookies for replacement, and got 2 Zach Parise rookies in return. When the person enquired to UD about the switch, he was told that they didn't have any Phaneufs left - a reasonable response. But why Parise's when the Phaneuf book value is higher? Well..... they are getting a lot of damaged card requests this year - cue the surprised face. So they are running out of duplicates rather quickly. So he got the best book value ones they had left, within a certain level of book value. Need a replacement for your damaged Crosby? Good luck.
4) Autograph stickers - This has been beaten beyond recognition in previous years, but has gotten beyond ridiculous this year. I understand their use. Players can sign hundreds, even thousands of stickers, and send the sheets back quickly and easily, and without bulk, they can even take them on the road. They can be stuck to anything, and the liability for card companies is heavily reduced. I also understand the major concerns of collectors. Less player interaction - not touching the card, just a random sticker on it. Autograph quality on stickers has proven to be far, far inferior. They just don't look as nice as cards with on-card autos on them. And they can be stuck on the wrong cards. UD might think that Cam Barker and Gilbert Brule are the same player (happened), but alas, they are not.
But here's the new one for me. How on EARTH, with such an ability to plan ahead with stickers - the cards don't even need to be made yet! - can you have a redemption for an autograph card with a sticker!?!??!? Ok, so they ran out of stickers. But how could you plan that poorly to plan your sets ahead of time but not your autograph stickers? I suppose they have their reasons and something we don't know, but to collectors like me, that's very strange, and a little maddening.
5) Paaaaaaarallels - Note to Upper Deck: Any idea why a lot of people said "Good riddance!" when Pacific Trading Cards went bankrupt? Parallels.
I collect Shane Doan cards. He's a hard working player and by all accounts a very generous and gracious person off the ice. But he certainly doesn't have the collector base of a Gretzky, Lemieux, or even Todd Bertuzzi. But in UD Artifacts, between all the different cards and parallels, there were 20 different Shane Doan cards, by my count. So for a completist like me (ok, cards # under 25 are listed in my books as "depends on the price"), this is annoying, especially when they seem to be mostly the same cards over and over again. And if you don't collect Shane Doan, is this of any value to you? Hmm...... value........ now that I say that word.....
The biggest problem, IMO:
6) Value and long term collectability - "We can't control what the cards sell for on the open market, we give an MSRP for the boxes and go from there" says Upper Deck. On this note, I actually give UD a bit of a pass. From speaking to several dealers, they would order a case or two from their wholesaler, then try to buy a second one, and would have to pay 50% more. That's not UD's fault. Unless, of course, they are printing on demand. Which in some cases this year, they are. They can't control price levels on items that are simply in too much demand to keep at the same price. But when they limit quantities, especially on pedestrian sets like the regular Series 1, they do.
Take a look at prices on eBay these days. Other than the massive prices being paid for highly limited and rare rookies, nothing is as it seems anymore. I picked up a Doan SPx dual jersey rainbow parallel #/10 for $10, and a Majestic Materials from UD Series 2 #/50 for $3. A few years back, picking up cards like that for those prices would only be possible if a seller was highly intoxicated, or if assault weapons were pressed up against a seller's nose. This year, it's more the norm than odd. But try and buy a decently high level Crosby. You will pay. Big. But..... over time, less and less big. (By the way, Ovechkins are high priced too, but might have a ceiling in the end due to one factor. See Bure, Pavel or Federov, Sergei).
So what's the verdict? Good or bad? For collectors, UD is still putting out a lot of different, although a little short on imagination like Pacific, types of sets. Expensive as ever, but when not damaged, decent looking. For investors? Well, time will tell. UD has taken the opportunity to put as many rookies as possible in their sets, and some are already lagging. Right now, it's a single buyers market. People are flipping cards for nothing to get the next big thing. So there are bargains. Just try not to buy too many packs. If UD ups their quality a little, and stops apparently feeding us the"We're the only game in town, so you'll take what we give you and LIKE IT!" attitude, this isn't necessarily a bad thing in the end.
O-Pee-Chee would have hockey cards, and for a few years, also had a hockey sticker offering. For a few years, they also lauched mini cards. I believe they also had a hand in some cards made for Post cereals. In any case, they would probably plateau at 5 offerings a year.
Zoom forward to this year. O-Pee-Chee hasn't existed as a standalone company for years. Now, unless you want to collect the junior players, AHL players, or retired players from In The Game, your choice is Upper Deck. But all is not lost. Do you want variety? By the end of the season, they will have at least 18 mainstream sets. From the bottom end Victory to the uber-top end Ultimate Collection, it appears that they have covered most collectors' demands and wallet abilities. But, even to a lot of collectors who were around in the O-Pee-Chee days, this isn't necessarily a good thing. Why? Lots of reasons:
1) Quality - I would say that 1 out of every 4 UD packs I've bought this year have had at least one damaged card in them. Even more maddening is the fact that many of those cards are rookies or game used cards. Now, this isn't to say that their quality was sparkling in other years, because it most definitely was not. But this year has been terrible in terms of card damage, incorrect information, and incorrect game piece and autographs on cards. In the O-Pee-Chee days, prior to grading and in the middle of the "put them in your bike spokes" era, this wasn't a big thing. But the packs were also only 25 cents a piece. When you're paying $5+ per pack, quality shouldn't even be something you have to think about.
2) Redemptions, Redemptions, Redemptions - It used to be that BAP was the company that was skewered for issuing redemption after redemption for their Signature Series. What did they do in response? As far as I know, they no longer have any redemptions - all of the autos and game used are in packs now, and were in 04-05 as well (if there were any, I don't think it was an unacceptable amount). This brings us to 05-06 UD. From PowerPlay's and Artifacts rookie redemptions, which weren't that bad, since the rookies weren't actually playing yet, to the recently issued Ice product, which has tons and tons of unacceptable redemptions, and everywhere in between. Yes, I realize that they expect players to send back the autographs on time, and can't always control that. The key is that if the autos aren't there, you don't make the cards. Period. Which falls into the next problem......
3) Redemption wait times and customer service - I have waited nearly 5 months for my PowerPlay redemptions. That's significantly longer than 8-10 weeks that's the expected norm. Supposedly they are on their way, but not after a terse excuse filled, blame shifting response to an e-mail I sent after 4 months asking about it. From what I've heard, I'm not alone in receiving that kind of treatment. The other problem is replacement of damaged cards. Prior to this year, I heard many stories of UD's impressive response to damaged card requests - people getting 5-6 times book value for their damaged cards.
This year? Well, here's an example. Someone I know sent 2 damaged Dion Phaneuf UD Series 1 rookies for replacement, and got 2 Zach Parise rookies in return. When the person enquired to UD about the switch, he was told that they didn't have any Phaneufs left - a reasonable response. But why Parise's when the Phaneuf book value is higher? Well..... they are getting a lot of damaged card requests this year - cue the surprised face. So they are running out of duplicates rather quickly. So he got the best book value ones they had left, within a certain level of book value. Need a replacement for your damaged Crosby? Good luck.
4) Autograph stickers - This has been beaten beyond recognition in previous years, but has gotten beyond ridiculous this year. I understand their use. Players can sign hundreds, even thousands of stickers, and send the sheets back quickly and easily, and without bulk, they can even take them on the road. They can be stuck to anything, and the liability for card companies is heavily reduced. I also understand the major concerns of collectors. Less player interaction - not touching the card, just a random sticker on it. Autograph quality on stickers has proven to be far, far inferior. They just don't look as nice as cards with on-card autos on them. And they can be stuck on the wrong cards. UD might think that Cam Barker and Gilbert Brule are the same player (happened), but alas, they are not.
But here's the new one for me. How on EARTH, with such an ability to plan ahead with stickers - the cards don't even need to be made yet! - can you have a redemption for an autograph card with a sticker!?!??!? Ok, so they ran out of stickers. But how could you plan that poorly to plan your sets ahead of time but not your autograph stickers? I suppose they have their reasons and something we don't know, but to collectors like me, that's very strange, and a little maddening.
5) Paaaaaaarallels - Note to Upper Deck: Any idea why a lot of people said "Good riddance!" when Pacific Trading Cards went bankrupt? Parallels.
I collect Shane Doan cards. He's a hard working player and by all accounts a very generous and gracious person off the ice. But he certainly doesn't have the collector base of a Gretzky, Lemieux, or even Todd Bertuzzi. But in UD Artifacts, between all the different cards and parallels, there were 20 different Shane Doan cards, by my count. So for a completist like me (ok, cards # under 25 are listed in my books as "depends on the price"), this is annoying, especially when they seem to be mostly the same cards over and over again. And if you don't collect Shane Doan, is this of any value to you? Hmm...... value........ now that I say that word.....
The biggest problem, IMO:
6) Value and long term collectability - "We can't control what the cards sell for on the open market, we give an MSRP for the boxes and go from there" says Upper Deck. On this note, I actually give UD a bit of a pass. From speaking to several dealers, they would order a case or two from their wholesaler, then try to buy a second one, and would have to pay 50% more. That's not UD's fault. Unless, of course, they are printing on demand. Which in some cases this year, they are. They can't control price levels on items that are simply in too much demand to keep at the same price. But when they limit quantities, especially on pedestrian sets like the regular Series 1, they do.
Take a look at prices on eBay these days. Other than the massive prices being paid for highly limited and rare rookies, nothing is as it seems anymore. I picked up a Doan SPx dual jersey rainbow parallel #/10 for $10, and a Majestic Materials from UD Series 2 #/50 for $3. A few years back, picking up cards like that for those prices would only be possible if a seller was highly intoxicated, or if assault weapons were pressed up against a seller's nose. This year, it's more the norm than odd. But try and buy a decently high level Crosby. You will pay. Big. But..... over time, less and less big. (By the way, Ovechkins are high priced too, but might have a ceiling in the end due to one factor. See Bure, Pavel or Federov, Sergei).
So what's the verdict? Good or bad? For collectors, UD is still putting out a lot of different, although a little short on imagination like Pacific, types of sets. Expensive as ever, but when not damaged, decent looking. For investors? Well, time will tell. UD has taken the opportunity to put as many rookies as possible in their sets, and some are already lagging. Right now, it's a single buyers market. People are flipping cards for nothing to get the next big thing. So there are bargains. Just try not to buy too many packs. If UD ups their quality a little, and stops apparently feeding us the"We're the only game in town, so you'll take what we give you and LIKE IT!" attitude, this isn't necessarily a bad thing in the end.
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