30th Birthday, I get to spend 200-250CAD in Hockey Hobby Box(s)

[conjer88]

Hey Everyone,
My wife said I can buy myself a hobby box for my 30th, since I love opening packs and not so much buying individual cards..
What would be my best bang for my buck? I've been looking at cardboardcollection for hobby box ratings but all ratings are all over the place.

Any suggestions $200-$250 CAD?

Thanks!

[sparty07]

Can you narrow down what you enjoy most? If you're looking at # of packs, you could get a couple boxes of SPA. SP Game Used just coming out today in the $100 range, could get one of those and some MVP, Black and Ultimate are in the $200 range for single pack. Lots of 13/14 Panini is under $60-70

If it was me I would look at getting a SPA, Rookie Anthology, and a couple other cheaper boxes like MVP or Contours.

[conjer88]

Can you narrow down what you enjoy most? If you're looking at # of packs, you could get a couple boxes of SPA. SP Game Used just coming out today in the $100 range, could get one of those and some MVP, Black and Ultimate are in the $200 range for single pack. Lots of 13/14 Panini is under $60-70

If it was me I would look at getting a SPA, Rookie Anthology, and a couple other cheaper boxes like MVP or Contours.

I do like packs but I also like the chance to get a big hit(Never got one before).

I really do like Black Diamond sets but don't know which year to buy.

I guess the selection is quite large, :/

[clvc0017]

If you are chasing a big hit, I have to start by saying be prepared to be disappointed more times than not buying any boxes/packs lol. Nothing is guaranteed and be prepared to hit a dud box. But I will do my best to answer your question below.

I have never spent more than $200 on a single product until this year, and that product was 16-17 Upper Deck Black. It came to $240 CAN all in.

I know it is not the most popular set, but I really like it this year and I landed a Barzal Lustrous Auto Gold /35 out of my box. I would recommend this as a great buy if you want to stay in that price point for 1 box. If you want to split into say 2 boxes, look into 16-17 Series 1 or 2. If you do one hobby box and a couple tins/blasters, you should be in the $250 range. To me, a YG of Matthews or Laine would be considered a big hit. And with Series 2, acetate young guns and rookie breakouts are possible hits.

I do two things before I spend considerable amount of money on any box (anything over $100 is considerable for me lol!)

1. Watch case breaks online of the product you want to buy. I find this helps to you what you are likely to get from the "average" box. If you're looking to spend up to $250, you want to make sure you know what the cards look like, and what an average box contains.
2. Look at the checklist and print runs of the cards. Last year, I loved 16-17 Upper Deck Trilogy. The number of rookies including in the Rookie auto checklist were low. I bought 2 boxes. My friend who I collect with bought 3. Every box had a great card (from the 5 boxes, we walked away with a Matthews auto, Barzal auto, Nylander auto, Orr auto, plus many nice rookie jersey/base cards as well). Watch breaks online and you see how many boxes end up having at least 1 nice hit. I would recommend this set as well. I think it goes for around $180 CAN now.

Most importantly, take your time. Do your research. Watch breaks and reviews online. I never buy anything on release day. I always watch at least a few case breaks to see what I can expect from the best, to worst, to the average box.

[jackpot]

buy 2 hobby boxes of 16-17 UD series 2, it's the best for what you're looking for, opening packs and chance to hit big.