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05-30-2019, 02:21 PM #21
If UD does this, I won't be looking for the signed version. It is nothing more than an insert or parallel at that point and I collect true rookies. No interest.
I have over 350 Future Watch Autos, from Ilya Kovalchuk's 2001-02 FWA to Pierre-Luc Dubois' 2017-18 FWA. However, I'll be honest, I don't see the big deal about autographs. I'm as happy with my Ilya Kovalchuk FWA as I am with my Nolan Patrick FW.
I'm kinda happy that players like Nolan Patrick, Jack Eichel, and Nico Hischier decided to sign with another company. There are just too many signatures out there these days that autographs do nothing for me except cost me more money.
Maybe it will cause Upper Deck to think twice about their practices. Maybe it's time for them to lay off the FWAs, or at least lower the number of players that they ask to sign. Have them sign the 999 Future Watch cards but do away with the FWA Patches, Sign of the Times and other autograph sets.
Maybe they can look at the number of top-five draft picks that make the NHL every year and get them to sign. If they do not wish to sign, go to the next highest draft pick to make the NHL.
Think about the players over the years who have an FWA: Did a player like Denis Gurianov deserve an FWA? Chris Bigras? Akim Aliu? I don't think either of them deserved one. Lay off the foolishness, UD!
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05-30-2019, 02:42 PM #22Hockey Advisor
Can I ask a dumb question? If you don't care about autographs.... why do you chase SPA Rookie Cards?
For myself, and my own collection, I'm not collecting sets at all anymore... nor worried about any "star" RCs, just doing Oiler RCs. The lesser names... like Cooper Marody... glad to see that he's on there (though I'll likely just hold out until the fall, and pick up a Cup RC of him instead) I'm hoping some of the other guys not in SPA make their way in other sets before the end of the season.
To each his own there, I guess.
The other point you made though, I think is very valid. I have a strong suspicion that it's the volume of autographs that turn away a player like Dahlin... why we havn't seen Matthews or Barzal sign since their rookie seasons.
If they limited Rookie Autos to JUST the Rookie Cards (and maybe a few parallels in various sets) player may not be burnt out so quickly, and refuse to participate. Cap the autographs at 1500 for the season, or something like that.
The problem is that most of UD's releases are "hit based". SP Authentic, while popular with set builders, still depends on deliver X number of hits per box. The only way to do that on the cheap is to get rookies, since those guys sign for peanuts.
Us collectors have kinda done this to ourselves though. So much of "what's hot" is the latest and greatest rookie. People are rookie crazy, but it goes so far beyond making sense to me.
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05-30-2019, 04:32 PM #23
To answer your question "If you don't care about autographs.... why do you chase SPA Rookie Cards?": It's not a dumb question at all, but my answer might swing away from the original intent of the original post. Maybe by posting this answer, more people will understand this and my situation as well.
Remember, SP Authentic has been around as a stand-alone set since 1997-98. SPA didn't have signed rookie cards until years later in 2001-02. I loved the design of the early sets. That's what drew me to collecting cards from that set. I resolved from the outset of my collecting career in the late 1980s that I would only collect rookie cards of players I liked around the league because I didn't have room for binders full of sets.
Even in 2001-02, the rookies were numbered to 900, not 999, and autographed rookies were limited to six players: Ilya Kovalchuk, Vaclav Nedorost, Kristian Huselius, Dan Blackburn, Krys Kolanos, and Raffi Torres. It wasn't too bad. I had hoped the number of signed cards would remain at a handful or so, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Despite this, the rookies in 2002-03 and 2003-04 were in a decent range for me. Back then, I lived in an outport community and had limited knowledge of ebay. Ahh, the ignorance was truly bliss!
You're right - other collectors have done this. However, I blame my issues with signed cards (and the continuing rise in the popularity of ebay and using their sale values instead of BV) on Sidney Crosby. That's when I noticed that people were asking MUCH more than BV for cards. It changed collecting from "can I finish my set?" to "how much can I get for this?".
When greed took over the hobby and it became more of an investment mentality than something to do for fun, it did discourage me but I had been collecting SP Authentic for so long that I felt cheap collecting something like Parkhurst.
I live on a fixed income and constantly have health issues, so if I want to buy a card (or cards) from someone that is $100 or more - Canadian or US funds - it takes me a while. The higher the asking price, the longer you have to wait. My traders are apparently stale, and that's because I live three hours away from my "local" hobby shop so buying new products is not feasible. The only way I can freshen my traders with newer cards is through trade which is difficult when my traders are from four years ago or older LOL.
When I see star players like Rasmus Dahlin, Jack Eichel, Nico Hishier, Sami Vatanen, and Nolan Patrick refuse to sign a Future Watch, I smile. Maybe more players should refuse to sign. Makes things more affordable for me!
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Originally Posted by 30ranfordfan 
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