[dlcarst]

So anyone who collects baseball is familiar with Topps' monopoly. They have 2 low end products, 3 mid-end vintage products, 5 or so high-end products, and a whole crap ton of rookie and prospect products. Long story short, there's only 2 products I actually want to buy, others I just buy a bit here and there to buy some cards. But I've had enough. Hockey is my favorite sport, so I think I'm going to start collecting a little hockey. I have 2 LCS in the area that both sell hockey, and (to me) surprisingly a decent variety of products. I know very little about hockey products, so I'm wondering what you all recommend. Don't bother recommending The Cup. I'm quite familiar with it, the cards look amazing, but I want to buy cards more than twice a year. I'm looking for low to mid-end products (say under 100 bucks per box) that I have a decent shot to pull some autos. I'm a big fan of nice card design, etc, not necessarily just the big hits. So what should I start with?

[thundercats12]

You could get a good start with the new 2011-2012 Artifacts due out right away. And the price point per box should be right up your alley!

[bonnev659]

ITG decades this year it is the 80's

and next year will be the 90's

have plenty of blues to go after

[dlcarst]

Thanks, some cool looking stuff in those. It amazes me that there seems to be more hockey products than baseball, and certainly more variety.

[ricebondsmntna2young]

Thanks, some cool looking stuff in those. It amazes me that there seems to be more hockey products than baseball, and certainly more variety.

I think companies probably barely break even on most of the other sports these days, just going on how baseball cards seem to be doing in the States. Hockey has a robust and loyal Canadian and international following from what I can tell (if not an American one), and it didn't suffer to the extent that baseball did from the forgettable late 80s-90s.

Anyway, we're really glad to have you. I personally only collect hockey now and I haven't looked back. I think if you pick the right place, you can always get a box of SP Authentic for just under $100 if you're lucky. You're guaranteed 3 autos and 3 RCs with some crossover, and since they're all on-card autos, they're pretty highly sought after. It's usually my favorite product each year...

[dark crawler88]

Upper Deck series 1 and 2 are always very collectable. Every year there is the case for all the Young Guns and these cards seem to hold a decent value year after year. Boxes usually run around the 80 range. 6 YG's, 2 jersey cards and a hand full of inserts. You also usually complete the base part of the set in a box. Other products that are in the 100 dollar range are Ari facts (10 packs per box - 3 jersey / patch cards, 1 Auto, 1 Rookie Red., 1 parallel and 4 S/N cards), SP Authentic (mentioned above) SPx, O-Pee-Chee has a nice retro feel but 600 base cards to a set and will need 10+ boxes to complete. Then there is the Pannini products which I do not have a clue as to what will be coming out this year. Last year, Certified and Crown Royale we my personal favs.

[bonnev659]

Thanks, some cool looking stuff in those. It amazes me that there seems to be more hockey products than baseball, and certainly more variety.

well there is 3 companies that do hockey

well 2 nhl license (UD and Panini) and one not but produces great cards (ITG)