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Eichel rookie help?

Yanksfan39Yanksfan39 Posts: 33 ✭✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
Hi,

This is my first post here, so please be gentle.

I am a long time vintage card collector, but haven't bought a pack of cards in well over 20 years. My nine year old son loves hockey, and the Sabres and Jack Eichel in particular. I'd love to get him an Eichel rookie, but with the number of cards and sets out there, I'm frankly overwhelmed. I'd buy him a box of the Upper Deck series 2 cards, but I have no idea what the chances are of getting any Eichel card would be. He's not interested in Leaf, since those cards don't have the Sabres logo on them.

So my questions are this: Am I better off just buying him a card of Eichel, and if so, which one would have the best investment potential? What price should I expect to pay, and should I buy it with a third party grade? Or do I have a reasonable shot at him getting any Eichel card if I but him a box of series 2 upper deck. dacardworld.com is having a special on them today for $64.95 for a hobby box.

Sorry for being so long winded. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Comments

  • charrigancharrigan Posts: 2,293
    Best bet is to buy a card directly from eBay. The Eichel YG is in UD Series 2. The Eichel is about the top end of what you could expect from the box and the card only runs about $60 on eBay. Of course, most boxes won't have an Eichel--so it is a gamble and a waste to hunt for it. I would recommend the Young Gun rookie as it is the card that will best stand the test of time in terms of collector demand/desirability.
  • Yanksfan39Yanksfan39 Posts: 33 ✭✭
    Thanks! Am I better off buying it graded? I presume Beckett is the way to go for modern cards.
  • charrigancharrigan Posts: 2,293
    It depends on what you're looking to get out of it, but I would say "no" - grading really isn't that important and adds a lot to cost. Both PSA or BGS are fine.
  • ugaskidawgugaskidawg Posts: 882 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: charrigan

    Best bet is to buy a card directly from eBay. The Eichel YG is in UD Series 2. The Eichel is about the top end of what you could expect from the box and the card only runs about $60 on eBay. Of course, most boxes won't have an Eichel--so it is a gamble and a waste to hunt for it. I would recommend the Young Gun rookie as it is the card that will best stand the test of time in terms of collector demand/desirability.




    I would agree with this sentiment. If you are going after one card, buy it individually. If you want the thrill of opening packs and possibly pulling one, then buy the box. The latter is more for the experience. The first more for the collector.



    As far as grading, you can always buy a raw version that you like and then self-sub it if you want one graded. Or you splurge for the extra cost and buy one already graded. I have a very hard time with BGS. I don't like their slabs. I vote for PSA in this. If it is something vintage, my vote goes to SGC over PSA, but that is just me. I much prefer their black inserts for vintage because of the way it makes the cards pop.



    Good luck and let us know what you end up doing!
  • miwlvrnmiwlvrn Posts: 4,266 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I know you said you'd like it to include the Sabres, but don't overlook adding a 2014 Boston University card to your son's collection too, along with the 2015 young guns one.

  • Yanksfan39Yanksfan39 Posts: 33 ✭✭
    Thanks everyone for the advice. I stopped in to Walmart today and they had the series 2 UD - sort of looked like what I would call a rack pack from when I was a kid...no idea what they call them now. $4.98 - wow! I bought one pack. I think I'll buy the Eichel as well. May buy a box too, but not sure the difference between the retail and hobby box.
  • ugaskidawgugaskidawg Posts: 882 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Yanksfan39

    Thanks everyone for the advice. I stopped in to Walmart today and they had the series 2 UD - sort of looked like what I would call a rack pack from when I was a kid...no idea what they call them now. $4.98 - wow! I bought one pack. I think I'll buy the Eichel as well. May buy a box too, but not sure the difference between the retail and hobby box.




    Those packs are sometime considered factory hangers.



    Blaster boxes are boxes that have 1/4 - 1/2 of packs compared to a hobby box.



    Usually you'll find nothing but hangers and blasters at Walmart. I have been in some walmarts that somehow have hobby boxes, but that is not common - at least down where I live.
  • charrigancharrigan Posts: 2,293
    Retail boxes have YGs, but none of the "big hit" parallels (YG Exclusives, YG High Gloss, Acetates, etc.). Generally, hobby boxes are more expensive (3x as much) but return much much more than retail.
  • aro13aro13 Posts: 1,961 ✭✭✭
    I agree buying an Upper Deck Rc is the best way to go. I have a lot more fun buying wax but if your goal is only an Eichel you are better off buying one already.

    If you want to go really high end for an Eichel you could get a The Cup RC which will be his most valuable.

  • sportscardtheorysportscardtheory Posts: 1,786 ✭✭✭
    Buy the Upper Deck RC on ebay. Been trending around $60, which is less than the UD box. He will have no licensed autos in 2015-16, so his licensed RC stuff may have better future potential because the market won't be saturated with autos like most players. He's a great buy right now.
    tradingcardcommunity on reddit - CLICK HERE, JOIN AND POST!]
  • Yanksfan39Yanksfan39 Posts: 33 ✭✭
    Are the hobby boxes really 3x cost of retail boxes? On the UD website the retail boxes are $72.95 and you can find the hobby boxes for around the same price.
  • ugaskidawgugaskidawg Posts: 882 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Yanksfan39

    Are the hobby boxes really 3x cost of retail boxes? On the UD website the retail boxes are $72.95 and you can find the hobby boxes for around the same price.




    The retail boxes on the UD website are pretty much hobby boxes. Just different packaging and inserts. In my experiences the hobby boxes are more for collectors and the retail boxes are more for stores.



    As far as the 3x the cost. I don't want to speak for charrigan, but he may have been referring to the blaster boxes that you would find at walmart for like $18-25 a box. They usually have 6-10 packs of cards, versus the 20-30 you find in hobby/retail boxes.
  • charrigancharrigan Posts: 2,293
    Yes, I was referring to the retail product that you'll find at Target/Walmart---typically around $20 a box.
  • Yanksfan39Yanksfan39 Posts: 33 ✭✭
    To complete my journey, I bought my son the $5 pack at Walmart. He had so much fun opening the pack (his first pack opening of any kind, ever), that we decided to buy a hobby box from Dave and Adam's card world. It was $65 for some kind of sale, which seemed to be a good price. If we don't get the Eichel (which is likely), we can always go the eBay route. I gave him some of my old pages to store his cards in - that is once I took out my 1988 Topps baseball cards!

    Thank you everyone for your advice.
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