Are RCs played out?

[Maggot]

I've been thinking, the magic of the RC is starting to become lost on me.
At one time RCs were a tough pull. They always made up 10% or less of a product and the cards were often hard to come by. At that time I would only trade one of my RCs if I was getting a nice RC in return, otherwise forget about it. These days some products are 75% rookies and the market is just flooded with content. At this point I'd often rather trade anything rookie related for a good vet's card.

Are they losing their appeal to anyone else?

[Taxi]

The key rookies seem to be holding more value than ever. I'd agree though that a large proportion of inserts are rookies these days. It may seem like there are more rookies, because people basically throw away base cards now and more products are coming out without base cards.

[RGM81]

Broadly speaking I think you’re in a minority opinion here...BUT! I do think that people are increasingly gravitating to a small number of RC that are on the market. YG’s are the central staple of the hobby and always will be for as long as UD is around. Those, SP Authentic, and Cup are the big three. Most others are decidedly secondary. I just grabbed a Drouin UD Masterpieces RC for under a buck-fifty on COMC. Many other releases tend to focus on vets and the rookies are just there seemingly as an obligatory inclusion. There is generally too much of everything and as people look to
focus their collecting or budget they’ll move to the stuff that matters over the fluff.


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[creasecollector]

In my opinion, I think there's two sides you need to take into consideration when looking into the "rookie card": Pricing and general Collectibility. They both answer you question while taking different perspectives.

1) Pricing

Speaking on price, 90% of the staple rookie cars these days are definitely played out. With the amount of "true" rookies out there, only a select few will command any sort of premium value, and an even smaller percentage of rookie cards will be able to cover a box of cards. So yes, value-wise, the rookie card is played out most of the time I think.

2) Collectibility

When looking into the general collectibility of the "rookie card", I feel like rookie cards are still doing fine and collectors would like to add it to their collections. For example, when collectors are looking to start a PC of a particular player, their rookie card year (and the cards that come with it) are only produced during that year only, so they still share a certain level of collectibility that other year cards will not have.

And due to the points mentioned above, collectors will usually be able to pickup rookie cards of their favourite players for dirt cheap. So from a collectibility standpoint, I don't think they are played out and collectors still want them.

I like rookie cards, and I think there will always be a place for them in the hobby. And I think the demand for rookie cards will always have that appeal. Maybe not as much appeal to make the cost back on a box, but appeal is still appeal.

[Goose97]

From what I have witnessed just by the only three Facebook groups I am a part of (including the SCF Facebook page) is that many people are scooping up multiple copies of the top players RCs and submitting them for grading. To me it seems like most RC collectors are doing speculative collecting and hoping to cash in down the road with their graded cards.

I have noticed that RC values have increased because of the expressed disire to acquire multiple copies.

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[pwaldo]

Yeah I'm seeing the opposite of this. Everywhere rookies seem to be gaining more steam and popularity while autographs and especially game use dip.

[dudical]

The hobby has evolved from what was before even though I wish it were 'that simple' again.

[Maggot]

Interesting that I'm in the sole minority on this, love the different POV's. Maybe it's just b/c the Blues haven't had a major RC since 13-14. Keep the opinions coming, please.

[hockeynick1721]

It’s supply and demand with the hockey communities focus on RC. There is high demand for rookies with very little supply when a new seasons product is launched. The card manufacturers have noticed this and focused on rookie heavy sets while overproducing thus flooding the markets throughout the year. This is why you see every tier 2 rookies value fall so low. Also the rookies offer something new to player mix. Think of vets, you see the same player year over year just a different image. It can get boring getting the same players year over year. This is why even vet players don’t hold value time.

[theboxbreaker96]

I agree with what everyone else is saying in that rookies are what everyone wants.

Look at the price for GU and AUtos of top pleyers. I can pick up GU cards of Malkin for $1 or $2. I can pick up Malkin Autos for $20. I can pick up Stamkos and Tavares Autos for $20 and less. However I cant pick up their rookies for that.

When a player gets hot a few years after their rookie year what jumps the most? YG, FWA, and Cup RPA.