Who has 11/12 The Cup incoming?

[Ramjak Sports]

I've got 8 cases coming... lol... I'm going crazy!

8 cases? wow. Who you buying from as they have to be the biggest LCS in Canada to be able to let you have that many cases. I know that we are cut back in our allocation, and we had to cut back our releases to our customers. Some are not very happy, but nothing we can do about it

[sjw241]

I paid today $365 plus tax = $412.45 per tin. 6 tins per case = $2474.70.

I have no reason to lie :)

[sjw241]

8 cases? wow. Who you buying from as they have to be the biggest LCS in Canada to be able to let you have that many cases. I know that we are cut back in our allocation, and we had to cut back our releases to our customers. Some are not very happy, but nothing we can do about it

My friend has 20 cases coming, so it is possible. 10 from one place and 10 from another.

[bdiam]

The prices that people have been quoting is accurate - at least the amounts are similar to what I have paid. The majority are actually quite a bit cheaper then $365/tin with no taxes and the highest, were around $385/tin.

In total, I have (45) cases coming in Wednesday morning, which is roughly the same amount the I purchased last year. Since my one friend just dropped over $150k on a new ride for his Mrs., he decided to "treat" himself to another (40) cases of The Cup this year. The remaining cases, I will either bust or re-sell.

As far as Upper Deck goes, nobody (and I even mean the top wholesalers and buyers) know "exactly" how much the production run has been cut. From the two people that I spoke with (and whom I trust), they both figure that production was cut between 15-20%, compared to last year's run. This also coincides with the increase in wholesale cost, which depending on which side of the border you live on, is up anywhere from 8-12%. The rumours of a 30-40% reduction, don't seem realistic - or how would people still be able to acquire large amounts?

Since that "Hope & Change" thing doesn't seem to be working in the US (ie) economy still brutal, UD has also changed it's allocution and increased the number of 3-box cases from previous years - thus reducing the 6-box cases. Sound logic in that even the wholesalers who normally don't touch high-end hockey, will still buy the 50% cheaper 3-box cases.

As to why "many" dealers are listing tins at $450-$500/tin right off the bat, it's likely because they need to make whatever money they can from the product right away, because they know replacement stock isn't going to happen. (ie) The Cup always comes out, sells for a certain price and within two weeks, is gone. Then, if you wish to buy more, the replacement product is usually $50/tin more. This year (similar to 08-09), most dealers don't even expect to be able to get replacement stock and thus, the high prices right out of the gate.

One of the big problems with the Players union (who needs money) forcing UD to move-up the release of this product to next week, is that "apparently" there will be "scarce" amounts of replacements available (ie) if you pull the big card, hope it's in good shape because there likely isn't a replacement.

[MatsSundin13Rocks]

I know CnC is at $420 + tax and shipping but they are sold out of their pre-order on their online store and are likely saving many cases for group breaks which they know will fill quickly.

[netsinah]

To respond to bdiam's comments, I've heard for the last several years that the new Cup release was going to be severely limited and "chock full of great inserts" but that's never happened: each year you get the same number of base cards and a similar number of autographed inserts in each pack and the same limited rookies #/99 (not for example #/49) and the same case hit. Don't mistake those comments for a lack of admiration for the cards themselves; I think the designs are great and like the product over-all. My point is that it's unlikely that production of the wax will be cut down: UD wants to make its profit and achieves that by selling the same number of cases; UD doesn't want to alienate its customer base by hiking its prices astronomically. On the other hand, the "middle-man" distributors want to get rid of their poor selling wax (so they marry sales of the Cup with other wax) and make out like bandits with profit for the biggest product of the Season. The distributors have no direct customer contact or loyalty to the end users...so they're not as concerned about customer alienation. So expect the first wave of the new Cup to come out at the lowest price...and be "limited"...followed by the inevitable price hike in successive waves of "newly located" cases that magically appear. It happens every year. Expect dealers who are forced to buy bad selling wax to get the Cup, to ask for higher prices on the Cup and hope to eventually sell the less popular wax (and make great profit if they do, but it takes time to sell less popular wax). The question is whether the economy and (likely moreso if it happens) the hockey strike will cool collector enthusiasm to shell out big bucks and put a damper on sales of the new Cup and all other high-end wax. If that happens, later Cup cases might show reduced prices down the road.

So maybe bdiam has an accurate pipeline into the true state of affairs and there will be less of the new Cup produced. Although if so, it's odd he's getting about the same number of cases this year. I'll believe the production run has decreased when the base card set and other insert sets show reduced production numbers and most packs contain an unusually great selection of fabulous "hits". I doubt it but we'll all see soon. Either way, if you like cracking Cup...get ready to pay for that privilege.
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[cammy118]

Can anyone link me up to a preorder?

[Esposito08]

Secured my case today, 2500$ even delivered. Hope i get something good!

[rydlar99]

I'm getting from 2 sources... I do a lot of breaks online, so I push a lot of volume & get rewarded accordingly by my suppliers. :)

[Smashy77]

Hi ! I'm getting 7 cases (all 6 -tins) tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait for the big break. Hope to pull something nice. I'll be keeping only Malkin and maybe PENS stuff. So, if you are looking for something, just let me know. I'll be posting as soon as I could in the Box Break section. Good luck to everyone busting. Annie