The Connor Bedard effect is pricing out long-time hockey collectors. Should Upper Deck release a 2023-24 product without Connor Bedard on the checklist?
Much has been made about the Connor Bedard effect. Bedard has inflated Upper Deck 2023-24 Hockey products by double what they cost year-over-year.
That is not a shot at Upper Deck by any means. Pricing is all about supply and demand. The public continues to buy Upper Deck 2023-24 Hockey products and breakers are pushing six figures daily across various selling platforms.
As long as the people continue to buy, prices will stay where they are.
Hockey cards are mainstream now. There are arguments for and against if that is a good thing. Many long-time collectors have been priced out of the hobby. On the flipside, there is interest in hockey from people who have no idea why there is a trapezoid on the ice.
Here is a story about a fella named Joe Louie, better known as "The Octopus" in the hockey card collecting community. Why they call him "The Octopus" is not important.
What is important is that Joe loves buying the latest Upper Deck hockey boxes and opening them with his kid. Joe does not dust off thousands of dollars on a weekly basis on hockey cards. But Joe is the exact type of buyer his local card shop needs. A semi-regular who is pleasant to have at the shop.
Joe is a native of Detroit and does not have the fondest of feelings towards the Chicago Blackhawks. The local card shop owner knows what is coming every time Joe walks into the shop.
"I could care less about that Bedard. He has been in the NHL for five minutes and his cards are selling for as much as Connor McDavid's." Joe says every time he walks into the shop.
The card shop owner has noticed that Joe is coming into the shop once or twice a month now instead of weekly. Joe still continues to buy Upper Deck 2023-24 products, but not at the pace he used to.
There are many people like Joe out there who have a burning desire to open boxes of Upper Deck Hockey cards. They want to chase rookie cards of Matthew Knies, Luke Hughes, and Adam Fantilli. But the Bedard tax is crushing the average Joes out there who are becoming priced out of the hobby.
Admittedly, it does sound like a strange concept for Upper Deck to offer a 2023-24 product without Connor Bedard hits.
Or does it?
Imagine being able to open Upper Deck 2023-24 SPx Hockey for under $100 USD again. Imaging being able to enjoy Upper Deck 2023-24 Black Diamond for $200. How about flagship for under $100 per box?
Joe would love an Upper Deck 2023-24 product without Bedard. And many other average Joes would too.
Happy hunting and collecting!