One thing I have always flirted with was the idea of buying a box of The Cup. The thought sounds very exciting and expensive. Sadly I have never had enough free and available hockey card money to just go out and try that idea and really if I did have the needed 500 bucks to buy a box I think I would likely spend it on a Gretzky Rookie (Topps) or buy a couple 51 Parkhursts and forget I had the money in the first place.
Spending 500 bucks on a Tin/Box of The Cup is really like buying into one of those high-end lotteries. True you are guaranteed some hits and in some cases they can be worth thousands. But at the same time, they could be worth less than an extra value meal at McDonalds. For example, if you bought a tin of 06-07 The Cup which has Malkin, Kessel and Kopitar rookies as big draws, would you be happy with Mr Alex Brooks?
06-07 The Cup Alex Brooks Auto Rooki
So, you spend 500 bucks which is rent money for some or a very nice car payment for others. You end up with this as one of your sure hits. Are you disappointed? Do you have buyers remorse? See I am a Devils fan and I am happy to own this card. I would have been sick to my stomach if I dropped 5 c-notes on a tin and this was one of my 4-5 sure hits. But, when I paid 2 dollars for it, I felt it was a very fair price and makes my enjoyment of owning the card much greater.
In the end, I do own quite a few The Cup cards and I have never come near to paying a combined price of a single box in spite of the number I own. But at the same time, I don't own a Crosby, Malkin or Toews The Cup rookie either so nothing ventured really is nothing gained as far as the jackpots go.
If you won an office lottery or something and got yourself 500 bucks you didn't plan on getting, would you buy a tin? Would you buy cards at all? What would you do with it?
If someone handed me $500 to spend on cards I wouldn't spend it on a box of The Cup, that's for sure. I'm with you, high end wax just isn't for me, if I'd blew that on a box and pulled the card you posted here I'd be furious, and at that point if it's not fun and you're angry why stay in the hobby?
ReplyDeleteLike you, I'd go after a big-name card off my white whale list, maybe an original 1887 Allen & Ginter baseball card, a low-end 1930s Howie Morenz, something along those lines.
Great pick-up for $2 though!
I have picked up one tin of The Cup, from the 2012-13 release. I think I ended up dropping $420 on it, but financial circumstances at the time had me with some extra spending money, and I knew if I didn't pull the trigger then, that I probably never would. I got lucky, in that I pulled a Pavel Bure autographed dual patch card /15 and a James Neal quad patch card /10, but I've seen plenty of online breaks that brought less of a return than that, and some that were quite dreadful. If you have the extra scratch, it's a fun investment, but you can likely get the cards you'd really want from it for less than the price of a tin.
ReplyDeleteI was definitely curious when you broke your box...I first want to applaud you for doing it because I do want to try and do one some day. Secondly, I think the Bure was definitely the card that made your box a very good one from my perspective.
DeleteIf I had your box, I would have been pleased especially considering the Bure! But if I had one with Alex Brook-Like player...probabily less so....and that is a huge fear for me because the rookies are the big draw for me.
Gabriel Dumont I think has a better shot at sticking around than Brooks did...