[spiritbreaker22]

It has occurred to me that there are a large number of people that don't like Ultimate hockey. From what I have red, it mainly is that you only get 4 cards so it isn't worth it. That got me thinking about why I do like it.

I would like to hear peoples thoughts as well but here is my justification of why I like it and dislike SPA and SPX so much. Does any one else share my opinion?

Here is a general run down of products I have purchased in the past and why I like /dislike buying boxes of them. (note that doesn't me I wouldn't trade or buy singles)

UD Series 1 and 2: Love it, great for set builders, price is acceptable for most, YGs always have trade or sell value.

Black Diamond: Don't like. Set building is hard by restriction of 4 diamond cards, it is a total crap shoot if you hit a good RC or not. If not, you are left with little value.

SPX: Don't like it. Personal experience, my last box didn't have a JSY signed RC and all I got was a JSY of Hollweg, a couple JSY and lost of the standard commons for a 90 pc set.

SPA: Almost as bad as SPX but the cards are heavier and the cost isn't too high. But you are left with a 90 card base set of no value, SPs that are hard to get and 4 potential value cards. Basically if you bust a box, you get the base set so the additional boxes you are looking only for the 4 or so other packs that have the hits.

Ultimate: I like it. My justification came from the revelation that SPA for example is about $100 a box and you get 4 possible hits, but more likely 1 good hit and 3 JSY or something. Ultimate is $100 for 4 cards. The base is tradeable because of player collectors and it is numbered. The others are on card autos, JSY, or patch. The way I see it, I am paying the same money for the same potential of hits and the value could be greater. Also I am not stuck with a ton of base that I don't know what to do with.

Cup: Love it. Can't afford a box. Enough said.

What do you think? Am I the only one that thinks Ultimate is good value?

[kvroman]

I understand your point of view on Ultimate, just not sure that I share it. It is a high risk high reward purchase and depending on your collecting style could be an incredibly bad product. I personally am still trying to work out my intentions with starting collecting again, but I'm almost certain Ultimate isn't for me. As much as I love the hits, I love the box break itself even more. I currently see myself as a bang for the buck kind of buyer who wants a sizable pack count with a decent amount of hits, parallels, and inserts, and a base set that is well designed. This usually ends up being product with limited BV, but offers a great chance of turning up multiple items that could find their way into a personal collection. 4 or 5 cards for $100 would make me look at buying 4 or 5 $20 cards on the singles market that are certain to make it into my personal collection. Just my $.02.

[chrysleraspen08]

In my opinion, Ultimate isn't worth the $150-$200 a pack/box. I only bought it last year and I was a little disappointed. Upper Deck series 1 is always good. The sets that I really liked this year was Certified and Artifacts. A little bit expensive, but worth it for me.

[p8030103]

I personally really like SPA......you can pull some really awesome stuff
like this -

[androsfl]

2010/11 Certified - OK, this is the product that really bothered me this year. Not for the cost per say, but for the sheer volume of cards! As a player collector, seeing over 75 different cards of the same player (in the same set) is maddening! This product changed my PC in 2010/11. I gave up on collecting every card of Henrik Lundqvist, and moved to strictly autographed cards.

Sorry for the rant.....

[bonnev659]

it all depends on your viewpoint

remeber UD black... that price point wasn't right... U.D. Ultimate can be hit or miss. for that price, I prefer to wait.

for example ITG Decades, I know what kind of cards I be getting per pack. so that be the high end card I be buying for sure.

that is my 2 cents and happy collecting
J.J.

[teemucollector8]

2010/11 Certified - OK, this is the product that really bothered me this year. Not for the cost per say, but for the sheer volume of cards! As a player collector, seeing over 75 different cards of the same player (in the same set) is maddening! This product changed my PC in 2010/11. I gave up on collecting every card of Henrik Lundqvist, and moved to strictly autographed cards.

Sorry for the rant.....

I completely agree with you. Having another set with parallels upon parallels upon parallels is maddening to PC collector's. Enough is enough! Not to mention, most of them hold little value....

[bonnev659]

I completely agree with you. Having another set with parallels upon parallels upon parallels is maddening to PC collector's. Enough is enough! Not to mention, most of them hold little value....

so you have 2 big parallels sets... certfied and artifacts

[spiritbreaker22]

I personally really like SPA......you can pull some really awesome stuff
like this -

I see what you mean. Did you pull the Hejduk from a pack? That is great.

---

In my opinion, Ultimate isn't worth the $150-$200 a pack/box. I only bought it last year and I was a little disappointed. Upper Deck series 1 is always good. The sets that I really liked this year was Certified and Artifacts. A little bit expensive, but worth it for me.

I wouldn't buy it for 150 a box. I usually only buy if I can get on Ebay for 100 plus shipping. Recently there were some auctions I saw ending for 93 with free shipping. I just missed out though. Darn.

[Canucklehead]

I bought a few boxes of UD Ultimate 11 on ebay, it was hard finding one that shipped to canada... Still waiting for it to arrive.
Anyway i've seen some good hits from that set, and with base cards limited to /399 its hard to completely miss if you buy multiple packs. Even if you get a player you don't collect, chances are someone else will want it and since its such high end you can use it as a good trade bait.