Upper Deck Wows North American Retailers at the Las Vegas Industry Summit

[13stepper]

It does not directly mention that UD lost the license, but I think it is the case judging from this sentence in the article: "On Thursday, Upper Deck re-released a statement it made in the fall after Panini began gobbling up licenses. The company says it will continue to utilize its college license “through March with several compelling licensed collegiate products releasing in the coming months”.

Yes I read that as well and the statement stood out to me as leaning towards that after the "coming months" we won't see further releases. I guess it will be all clear after the "coming months" lol.

[sedinfan]

Wonder if UD would consider doing something similar in hockey and scaling back on the Gretzky and Orr autos? Although I'm not sure there's much if anything they could do to actually stabilize the secondary market, even if they scaled back to 2-3 releases a year there is still such a glut of supply on the secondary market, I can't see there being enough demand to absorb what's already out there... It would make a difference for new players though - if they only made say OPC, UD1/UD2, and The Cup each year we might not see RC's of new players drop so dramatically within a couple months of release.

[RGM81]

Wonder if UD would consider doing something similar in hockey and scaling back on the Gretzky and Orr autos? Although I'm not sure there's much if anything they could do to actually stabilize the secondary market, even if they scaled back to 2-3 releases a year there is still such a glut of supply on the secondary market, I can't see there being enough demand to absorb what's already out there... It would make a difference for new players though - if they only made say OPC, UD1/UD2, and The Cup each year we might not see RC's of new players drop so dramatically within a couple months of release.

My thinking when it comes to elite players is that their autographs should be limited and only included in hard-signed sets. If that means we don't get a Black Diamond Gemography Bobby Orr auto, so be it. If they want to do special unannounced autos, cool. But A+ players should get the A+ player treatment rather than have their autos inserted into every product under the sun through the magic of the sticker.

[habscards]

I would love it if Gretzky and Orr just had autos in Cup, SP Authentic and Ultimate. Maybe ha can be added in one two more releases but make it super short printed to ten copies or simething like that.

I remember in the early 2000's when any Orr auto sold for a minimum of $150. Now you can pick up an auto of his for half of the price. They need to be more expensive.

[g-force]

I would love it if Gretzky and Orr just had autos in Cup, SP Authentic and Ultimate. Maybe ha can be added in one two more releases but make it super short printed to ten copies or simething like that.

I remember in the early 2000's when any Orr auto sold for a minimum of $150. Now you can pick up an auto of his for half of the price. They need to be more expensive.

Why do they need to be more expensive? This is a hobby and I would think the more people who could add such a great card to their collection would not be a bad thing.

[habscards]

Why do they need to be more expensive? This is a hobby and I would think the more people who could add such a great card to their collection would not be a bad thing.

Because right now their are very few players who have autos that cover the price of the box that the card was pulled from. That is not right. To me if you buy a box of Black Diamond and pull an Orr auto it should sell for more than $75. He is one of the best two players to ever play the game and his autos sell for little. I guess that for me I wish that something pulled that is considered a big hit would sell for a good price.

I do understand what you are saying though. It is nice to be able to get an auto of such a great player for a good price. What happens if this trend continues though? What happens if Orr autos hit $60 in a year or two and then $50 in a few more. This is the trend right now.

[eliteco3]

Because right now their are very few players who have autos that cover the price of the box that the card was pulled from. That is not right. To me if you buy a box of Black Diamond and pull an Orr auto it should sell for more than $75. He is one of the best two players to ever play the game and his autos sell for little. I guess that for me I wish that something pulled that is considered a big hit would sell for a good price.

I do understand what you are saying though. It is nice to be able to get an auto of such a great player for a good price. What happens if this trend continues though? What happens if Orr autos hit $60 in a year or two and then $50 in a few more. This is the trend right now.

People gripe too often on the secondary market of what cards sell for in boxes. The market is random at times. Upper Deck has truly done an incredible job with hockey products over the years and made some of the most iconic cards we could ask for. Examples are Sidney Crosby 05-06 rookies. Carey Price the Cup patch auto. These cards and sets become more historic each year with Upper Deck's clean designs and innovation.

[japhi]

Because right now their are very few players who have autos that cover the price of the box that the card was pulled from. That is not right. To me if you buy a box of Black Diamond and pull an Orr auto it should sell for more than $75. He is one of the best two players to ever play the game and his autos sell for little. I guess that for me I wish that something pulled that is considered a big hit would sell for a good price.

I do understand what you are saying though. It is nice to be able to get an auto of such a great player for a good price. What happens if this trend continues though? What happens if Orr autos hit $60 in a year or two and then $50 in a few more. This is the trend right now.

The market will eventually correct and the cost of wax will go down. If you hit an Orr in this box you made money:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-12-UD-S...item19fd7389be

[30ranfordfan]

The market is not random at all. As people have rightly pointed out in this thread.... Upper Deck's mass production of top-tier autographs (Bobby Orr & Wayne Gretzky in Hockey specifically) has driven the prices of those signatures down big time. 5 years ago you could not get an Orr auto for under $120. Now, they are easy to find for $75. Gretzky isn't quite that cheap, but he's been dropping too.

The market is all about supply and demand, and there is not enough demand for those autographs, to keep the prices as high when hundreds more flood the market each year.

I'm also not sure Upper Deck has ever made a single hockey card I would call "Iconic". They've made a lot of nice stuff over the years to be sure, but I think that's overstating things. Wayne Gretzky's 1979-80 RC would count as "Iconic" in my mind..... and that's about is from 1979 to present.

People gripe too often on the secondary market of what cards sell for in boxes. The market is random at times. Upper Deck has truly done an incredible job with hockey products over the years and made some of the most iconic cards we could ask for. Examples are Sidney Crosby 05-06 rookies. Carey Price the Cup patch auto. These cards and sets become more historic each year with Upper Deck's clean designs and innovation.

[eliteco3]

The market is not random at all. As people have rightly pointed out in this thread.... Upper Deck's mass production of top-tier autographs (Bobby Orr & Wayne Gretzky in Hockey specifically) has driven the prices of those signatures down big time. 5 years ago you could not get an Orr auto for under $120. Now, they are easy to find for $75. Gretzky isn't quite that cheap, but he's been dropping too.

The market is all about supply and demand, and there is not enough demand for those autographs, to keep the prices as high when hundreds more flood the market each year.

I'm also not sure Upper Deck has ever made a single hockey card I would call "Iconic". They've made a lot of nice stuff over the years to be sure, but I think that's overstating things. Wayne Gretzky's 1979-80 RC would count as "Iconic" in my mind..... and that's about is from 1979 to present.

Maybe so but one positive from more Orr and Gretzky autos in products is giving more people the chance at owning autos of these NHL legends. It may not please people trying to make a buck from opening a box but we all know busting wax is a losing probability.