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Old 04-23-2023, 03:48 PM   #1
Poe969
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I used to collect hockey cards when I was younger and then did again sporadically but nothing serious. My son is starting to get interested in hockey cards more, he just turned 10 the other day, and was really excited about Connor Bedard and wants to collect because of him.

What would be the best set(s) to collect to get the best Connor Bedard rookie card?

Thanks from both of us!
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Old 04-23-2023, 08:15 PM   #2
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There isn't one yet
.
Upper Deck Canada Juniors and Upper Deck CHL both have Bedard cards in their sets. Thats all that has been released so far. I suspect he will have a true RC in Upper Deck Series 1 or 2 but those will not be out for months. Those will be your best bets and most affordable options
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Old 04-23-2023, 08:17 PM   #3
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As long as they dont got none of them damn girls on them!!!!!
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Old 04-23-2023, 08:37 PM   #4
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There isn't one yet
.
Upper Deck Canada Juniors and Upper Deck CHL both have Bedard cards in their sets. Thats all that has been released so far. I suspect he will have a true RC in Upper Deck Series 1 or 2 but those will not be out for months. Those will be your best bets and most affordable options
This is correct -- for most people starting out (or getting back in), the Upper Deck flagship series (aka Series 1 and Series 2; they recently started make a third series called "extended") is where you will be able to chase his rookie card (which will be a Young Guns "insert" that is shortprinted compared to the rest of the cards in the base set). That will probably be his most popular yet accessible rookie card; the checklist for 2023/24 will be released later this year, if he's not in series 1 he'll be in series 2.

There are also various other sets made by Upper Deck (SP Authentic, OPC Platinum, OPC, Artifacts, Allure, The Cup, Premier, Ultimate, etc etc etc -- Upper Deck has the exclusive licence to make hockey cards). The prices of those cards can vary wildly from $5 a pack to $1,500; I'll just say a lot has changed in the world of hockey card collecting from the 80's and early 90's...
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Old 04-23-2023, 10:13 PM   #5
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Found this article,

https://www.beckett.com/news/2023-24...-hockey-cards/

Looks like November is when they'll come out. Now what's a hobby box compared to a normal box, and how will I be able to get them?
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Old 04-24-2023, 01:31 PM   #6
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Found this article,

https://www.beckett.com/news/2023-24...-hockey-cards/

Looks like November is when they'll come out. Now what's a hobby box compared to a normal box, and how will I be able to get them?
Interesting. Take a look at this nonsense:



As for your question, they make hobby boxes/packs (sold at sports card shops -- there are a few different ones in Calgary) and retail boxes/packs (sold at retail stores like Walmart). In the past, both hobby and retail had the same odds for Young Guns (1 in every 4 packs on average), but hobby boxes were more expensive because you could also pull other types of insert cards (numbered exclusive/high gloss, clear cut, etc).

I see next year they are reducing the amount of packs in a hobby box from 24 to 12, with a corresponding change in odds for Young Guns (instead of 1 in 4 packs, it's 1 in 2 packs). I'd be curious if they do the same in retail; if it was this year's set, the odds of pulling a certain Young Guns card (like Bedard) is technically the same in both hobby and retail but that may not be the case next year.

Here are a couple of links with more info:

https://www.upperdeckblog.com/2020/1...to-collecting/
https://cloutsnchara.com/collecting-guide-3/

There are also a lot of good (and bad) videos on Youtube, I can link to some if you're interested.

EDIT: I see you're in Ontario; just do a google search and you should be able to find something reasonably close by.
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Old 04-26-2023, 08:46 AM   #7
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I would be interested in these videos tvp, I also recently got back into collecting with my son. The statement you made about how different the landscape is now compared to the 80s and 90s is bang on, I was blown away how much more 'serious' it seems these days.

I mean, I was a kid just opening packs from a box when I did my chores, so understandably things would seem different now. But there are legit so many different options and it can be really confusing. Your brief explanation here has been more helpful than 90% of the links I've followed on YouTube lol.

For my boy we started with some retail store boxes this year. He is only 6 so he can't even fully read all the names yet. But he knows lots of the logos. He just likes the shiny cards or the 'dazzlers' and likes to organize them in his binder. I was also thinking of chasing Bedard as I am sure the whole population is, to give him a pillar to build his collection around.

Similar to how I had Lanny when he got traded to Calgary, and then back tracked to buy a lot of his older cards.

My question would be about the grading systems. So it seems like grading is all the rage. Cards, unless they are a 1/1 of course, seem to drop drastically in value from a 10 to a 9, 8 etc..

I also see you can buy a 10 for 1200 on a card on ebay, then a non graded card for 1.95. Are these non graded ones mostly knock offs? Is there a legit concern/problem with knock off or counterfeit cards these days?

My boy also bought some packs from the Dollar Store for kicks and giggles, and there were like 90's Score cards in there. I compared the look and feel to my actual 90's Score hockey cards and it was an obvious difference/reprint, not an original. I am assuming this style of card has over saturated the market which is why grading is necessary?
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Old 04-26-2023, 08:39 PM   #8
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I just read that bedard won't be In UDS1
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Old 04-27-2023, 03:04 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern View Post
I would be interested in these videos tvp, I also recently got back into collecting with my son. The statement you made about how different the landscape is now compared to the 80s and 90s is bang on, I was blown away how much more 'serious' it seems these days.

I mean, I was a kid just opening packs from a box when I did my chores, so understandably things would seem different now. But there are legit so many different options and it can be really confusing. Your brief explanation here has been more helpful than 90% of the links I've followed on YouTube lol.

For my boy we started with some retail store boxes this year. He is only 6 so he can't even fully read all the names yet. But he knows lots of the logos. He just likes the shiny cards or the 'dazzlers' and likes to organize them in his binder. I was also thinking of chasing Bedard as I am sure the whole population is, to give him a pillar to build his collection around.

Similar to how I had Lanny when he got traded to Calgary, and then back tracked to buy a lot of his older cards.

My question would be about the grading systems. So it seems like grading is all the rage. Cards, unless they are a 1/1 of course, seem to drop drastically in value from a 10 to a 9, 8 etc..

I also see you can buy a 10 for 1200 on a card on ebay, then a non graded card for 1.95. Are these non graded ones mostly knock offs? Is there a legit concern/problem with knock off or counterfeit cards these days?

My boy also bought some packs from the Dollar Store for kicks and giggles, and there were like 90's Score cards in there. I compared the look and feel to my actual 90's Score hockey cards and it was an obvious difference/reprint, not an original. I am assuming this style of card has over saturated the market which is why grading is necessary?
Ha ha, yeah those variety packs at Dollarama are weird.

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Old 04-27-2023, 10:19 PM   #10
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I just read that bedard won't be In UDS1
Correct. He’ll be in upper deck series 2.
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Old 04-27-2023, 10:26 PM   #11
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My boy also bought some packs from the Dollar Store for kicks and giggles, and there were like 90's Score cards in there. I compared the look and feel to my actual 90's Score hockey cards and it was an obvious difference/reprint, not an original. I am assuming this style of card has over saturated the market which is why grading is necessary?
If you want more fun like that, go to Crossroads Market and head to the flea market section. There's a couple booths than have early 90s boxes of unopened cards for $10-15 for the whole box. Doubt you'll find anything valuable but it'll be fun and you can take turns eating the 30 year old gum.
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Old 04-27-2023, 11:42 PM   #12
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My question would be about the grading systems. So it seems like grading is all the rage. Cards, unless they are a 1/1 of course, seem to drop drastically in value from a 10 to a 9, 8 etc..

I also see you can buy a 10 for 1200 on a card on ebay, then a non graded card for 1.95. Are these non graded ones mostly knock offs? Is there a legit concern/problem with knock off or counterfeit cards these days?

My boy also bought some packs from the Dollar Store for kicks and giggles, and there were like 90's Score cards in there. I compared the look and feel to my actual 90's Score hockey cards and it was an obvious difference/reprint, not an original. I am assuming this style of card has over saturated the market which is why grading is necessary?
I’ll try to find some more informative videos and post them, in the meantime search up zeeree as he posts a lot of hockey card videos that are reasonably entertaining for kids and adults, and he actually knows and follows hockey. The worst are the videos of “breakers” in the US who can’t even pronounce half of the players’ names.

I’ll also try not to be too much of a Debbie Downer as I have some pretty strong views on this but collecting cards is a lot different nowadays and in many ways it’s no more than gambling. But as long as you don’t go crazy with it, it’s something that will hopefully be fun for you and your kid to enjoy. My daughter is 8 and she doesn’t really know anything about hockey but there is a hockey card trading club at her school so I gave her a binder full of cards so she can trade with her friends.

As for graded cards, I’m personally not a fan but it is a big thing nowadays, especially for the higher end stuff (there was a time during the pandemic that people were sending in so many cards — even just modern base cards — that companies like PSA and BGS couldn’t keep up). But yes, having a card graded a PSA 10 or BGS 9.5 means that it is now “worth” more since it is theoretically more rare than ungraded cards and cards in lesser graded condition. For modern cards, a PSA 8 or 9 or BGS 8.5 or 9 will be closer to what an ungraded (aka raw) card goes for. If there is one benefit to buying a graded card it is that it will not be counterfeit; it is less of an issue these days with the way modern cards are made but is still something to consider with older cards from the 80’s and prior. There are also a lot of other grading card companies around nowadays but if you are wanting to maximize resale value, PSA and BGS are probably the two to look for. But I personally think raw cards are perfectly fine, unless you’re buying higher value stuff and are interested in resale (or just prefer having your cards encased in a plastic holder).

As for the Score cards in the dollarama repacks, yes they were all massively overproduced from approx 1989 to 1995 such that anyone and everyone who ever wanted a particular card could get one or ten — simple supply and demand (and explains why a Jaromir Jagr rookie card is only worth like $5). They call it the “junk wax era” because 99% of those cards are now all but worthless. Once they scaled back production to more reasonable numbers, added shiny insert cards, autographs and memorabilia cards, and individually numbered cards (including the infamous “1 of 1”) you could create more demand by decreasing supply. By doing so, however, the regular base cards that we all collected as kids don’t even seem to matter anymore.

I would say grading adds another layer to combat overproduction and the supply and demand problem — what I call “manufactured scarcity” because now instead of chasing “x” card people are now chasing “x” card in PSA 10 and paying a premium for it (because there are only 500 in existence, which you can verify since the grading companies publish that data). It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years as companies have started to increase production runs again (especially post-pandemic in response to increased demand), and that will absolutely be the case when everyone is chasing Bedard rookie cards next year...
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Old 04-28-2023, 09:30 AM   #13
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Okay, here are a couple of videos that I think might be helpful:



Some good info here; just happened to stumble across it but I agree with every point.



This is from the same channel; I was going to post a different one but I realized some of the info was outdated. Gives a pretty good overview of all the products out there these days, with the caveat that The Cup (ranked number one) is the highest end product ($1,500 for a box with one pack of six cards). If you’re even considering blowing that kind of money on little pieces of cardboard definitely do some research and due diligence first.
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Old 04-28-2023, 10:20 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern View Post
I would be interested in these videos tvp, I also recently got back into collecting with my son. The statement you made about how different the landscape is now compared to the 80s and 90s is bang on, I was blown away how much more 'serious' it seems these days.

I mean, I was a kid just opening packs from a box when I did my chores, so understandably things would seem different now. But there are legit so many different options and it can be really confusing. Your brief explanation here has been more helpful than 90% of the links I've followed on YouTube lol.

For my boy we started with some retail store boxes this year. He is only 6 so he can't even fully read all the names yet. But he knows lots of the logos. He just likes the shiny cards or the 'dazzlers' and likes to organize them in his binder. I was also thinking of chasing Bedard as I am sure the whole population is, to give him a pillar to build his collection around.

Similar to how I had Lanny when he got traded to Calgary, and then back tracked to buy a lot of his older cards.

My question would be about the grading systems. So it seems like grading is all the rage. Cards, unless they are a 1/1 of course, seem to drop drastically in value from a 10 to a 9, 8 etc..

I also see you can buy a 10 for 1200 on a card on ebay, then a non graded card for 1.95. Are these non graded ones mostly knock offs? Is there a legit concern/problem with knock off or counterfeit cards these days?

My boy also bought some packs from the Dollar Store for kicks and giggles, and there were like 90's Score cards in there. I compared the look and feel to my actual 90's Score hockey cards and it was an obvious difference/reprint, not an original. I am assuming this style of card has over saturated the market which is why grading is necessary?
Anyone can ask whatever they want for a card. So you can, for example, have a 1990 Upper Deck Jagr rookie graded PSA 10, that someone asks $1,200.00. In reality, that card sells for about $125.00 as a PSA 10.

Ungraded that card goes for $1-2, because finding a PSA 10 from that year is extremely difficult to get, but the card itself is very easy to find.

BGS is a much higher grading standard for a 10. A PSA 10 is equivalent to either a BGS 9.5 or a BGS 10. There are only 9 BGS 10 UD Jagr rookies out there:

https://www.beckett.com/grading/pop-report

So those might be going for $1,200.00.

For newer cards they, generally, grade much easier than cards that are 30+ years old. So the markup for good grading is not as high for newer cards, as it is for older cards.

So it basically has to do with the rarity of each card. As cards get older, it's rarer and rarer to get a high grade, and the price goes up drastically between grades.
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Old 04-28-2023, 12:01 PM   #15
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For buying cards, I would strongly recommend against buying boxes from retailers like Walmart, unless they are heavily discounted. It's absolutely absurd what they are charging, and Upper Deck has stared decreasing the value of their retail products, by decreasing the amount of Young Guns and cards in their packs.

The best value is to buy from a larger US card dealer.

For example, you can buy a case of these that brings the price down to $8 USD/box:

https://www.dacardworld.com/sports-c...er-20-box-case

Walmart/Toys R Us are selling their blasters for $35-42/each.

There are cheaper places to buy in Canada too:

https://zephyrepic.com/
https://hobbiesville.com/
https://www.mirajtrading.com/

Or, if you want to support local, go to a local store:

https://www.ersportscards.ca/
https://www.cellysports.com/pages/contact-us
https://mapleleafsports.ca/

If you are looking for 1 specific card, you are always better off just buying that card. Hunting for it via breaking boxes, is always going to be expensive.
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Old 04-28-2023, 01:11 PM   #16
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So if you don't care about grading and it's just for personal collection, you shouldn't be worried about those 1-2 dollar cards on ebay being counterfeit. Generally they are that cheap more so for market saturation.

And I mean, honestly could I even tell the difference?

This makes sense because the majority of the cards I was searching were in that 89-95 era because that was my peak for collecting cards..

Great tips. I do agree that it feels a lot like gambling, and I was cringing watching these guys 'rip' packs on social media. It felt a lot like a gambler, only reporting the wins.. never hear about how much money it took to get there..
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Old 04-28-2023, 01:52 PM   #17
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So if you don't care about grading and it's just for personal collection, you shouldn't be worried about those 1-2 dollar cards on ebay being counterfeit. Generally they are that cheap more so for market saturation.

And I mean, honestly could I even tell the difference?

This makes sense because the majority of the cards I was searching were in that 89-95 era because that was my peak for collecting cards..

Great tips. I do agree that it feels a lot like gambling, and I was cringing watching these guys 'rip' packs on social media. It felt a lot like a gambler, only reporting the wins.. never hear about how much money it took to get there..
Nobody is spending the time and energy to sell counterfeit $1 and $2 cards, let alone make them. So don’t worry about that — fraud is a really interesting topic but I’ll save that for another day.

There’s also little point in spending $10-30 dollars to grade a $1 or $5 card. Just stick it in a top loader and enjoy them for what they are (that applies to your kid as well). More expensive cards can get a fancy magnetic one-touch holder, nobody uses screw downs anymore (lol).

One last thought: there is and will always be a component of sports card collecting that involves speculating on players (especially rookies). That is part of the fun for a lot of people and will probably never go away, but just be careful as the folks who spent $250-$300 on Alexis Lafreniere young guns rookie cards when they came out are now seeing them sell for like $50. Although the opposite is true — if you hoarded Tage Thompson rookies when they were $2 each you could make a tidy profit now that he’s a budding star.
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