[fgarvis]

I'm back in the game after a long layoff and am looking to pre-order some boxes. I'm looking to spend about $400 and can order any combination of 2011-12 Gold Standard or Limited boxes. I've heard mixed on Gold Standard from 2010-11. Should I just buy 4 boxes of Limited (@$100 a pop) or get one Gold (@$200) and two limited? Or two gold? I want to get bang for my buck and both seem to be the best thing going. Is something better coming down the pike? Wish UD was still making their gorgeous line of cards. Looks like I missed a great decade of UD cards. Thanks all!

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Or is Panini Preferred the way to go? Anyone care to rank these 3? I know the box breaks for the Gold Standard and Limited are posted but what is the quality of the hits from the 2010-11 versions of those sets?

[jpleazme805]

I like Limited over the other two.. I am looking forward to their new Limited 2011-12 release. I bought a case of 2009-10 Limited. Loved opening it. Been chasing the set.. still missing two legends subset cards /99.. completed base & auto/rc set..

I'm not a big fan of Gold Standard, mainly because last years was over priced.. when you compare print run on autos.. I loved Elite Black Box 2010-11 a lot better than Gold 10-11...

Preferred, I think it's overpriced. I bought a case of it, thinking I was going to pull some awesome cards, while my case hit was a Bill Russell die-cut auto /5. also, pulled a Kukoc prime auto/patch/25 & a Drexler auto/patch/99.. nothing else worth mentioning.. the regular Preferred sticker autos sale for cheap, unless you got an A-list star... even the die cuts on most players sell on the cheap.. compared to boxes... you only get 3 cards + booklet.. also, no RC's in Preferred... biggest downer... it's Panini released Preferred 2011-12 as a "throw-away product"... something to put together on the quick, so they can make their few million dollars off of it...

[fgarvis]

Thanks for the feedback. So preferred has the more bang for the buck. I'm also looking at a few older boxes on eBay like the 07-08 UD artifacts, 01-02 UD sPX and 07-08 UD SP rookie edition. Any feelings on these? As far as what I'm looking for, I'm don't much care for complete sets. I want quality cards across the board because I'm focused on certain players and if I get cards I'm not going to keep I want good resale/trade value. Any word on if UD will get their licenses back in the near future? Why were they revoked in the first place?

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Are they going to have Elite 11-12?

[alstott9adams]

Stay away from the vintage ebay boxes unless it a trusted seller and the picture of the box looks sealed alot of packs snatchers and then they reseal the older boxes without the high dollar inserts

[fgarvis]

Thanks Alstott. I was thinking the same thing, just wanted to confirm. If I can buy them from an authorized dealer that should be better, right? What about the box breaks? How would you rate them? I can get boxes of 10-11 Elite for $170, would that be a good route to go instead of the 11-12 series?

[bundy888]

I like Black Box. Bought 1 box last week and pulled a Durant Auto /10. There are so many HOFers and stars you can pull. Not to mention sick quad autos and patches. I like the look of the new Gold Standard but I know those are very hit or miss, as with any product. Preferred is sick if you pull a patch booklet or a silhouette patch auto. If not, you're pretty much screwed.

[fgarvis]

Ok, so now I'm leaning towards two boxes of Elite Black Box. Does anyone know a good website to find some? I have a site I use but I want to shop around to see if I can get a better price. Thanks again for all your help guys, I'm getting pumped!