Get Lafreniere Rookies At Retail With Upper Deck e-Packs
You want to get your Upper Deck Alexis Lafreniere and other hockey cards at retail price, without the hassle? Here is how you can get Lafreniere rookies at retail prices.
Upper Deck gives collectors the option to purchase cards via e-Packs. What are those, I hear you asking hypothetically? Glad you asked.
You can buy packs of Upper Deck hockey cards virtually and have them displayed in your account. The prices are the same as the physical retail price. You can get a pack for $4.99, a box (which includes 24 packs) for $114.99, and a case (consisting of 12 boxes) for $1,374.99.
What is an Upper Deck Hockey Card e-Pack?
Once you buy a card, you have three options: you can ship, hold or sell.
Yes, you can have the physical equivalent of your virtual card shipped to you immediately. Or any time you want. So unlike the NFT’s you don’t stop hearing about, the cards in your e-pack represent actual physical pieces of cardboard
You can have the company place your cards in penny sleeves at no charge or toploaders for 25 Cents. When you have them shipped, Upper Deck will remove the relevant cards from your virtual account.
However, you also have the option of placing the cards purchased in your e-Pack on the market. To do so, you will need to create an account on COMC.
If you are curious about how this works, check out this primer
Advantages of the Upper Deck Hockey Card e-Pack
One of the nice things about the e-Pack system is that it allows you to trade with other users without having to ship any cards yourself. You can list the cards you are willing to trade and see all the cards any other user has made available to make trade offers.
Your potential trading partner has 24 hours to accept, deny or offer a countertrade. If you have mutually agreed on the swap, Upper Deck will ship the physical items for you.
Are Upper Deck e-Packs another NFT Product?
No. You may assume that this is Upper Deck jumping on the NFT bandwagon. But it isn’t. They have been running this unrelated program since 2016. And we have to admit, it is kind of nifty and was ahead of its time.
However, Upper Deck has long been running a lower-tech version of NBA Top Shot. Their Game Dated Moments cards series has a dated picture of highlights from every week of NHL play on the front and a description of the event on the back.
The series is only available on the week of release through the e-Pack website. It would be reasonably easy to turn this format into an NFT.
Of course, it won’t be long before the NHL begins its own actual NFT release. The head of Dapper Labs has said that every major sports league has been in touch with him. Also, Dapper Labs is Canadian…
All I am saying is, if I were Upper Deck, I would act fast and get a Blockchain partner.
The Excitement Around Alexis Lafreniere
Hockey retail boxes do not usually sell at a particularly significant premium upon release. However, there is considerable interest in this year’s hockey releases, as everyone wants to get their hands on an Alexis Lafrenière rookie card.
Lafrenière is regarded as the hottest rookie to come into the NHL since Connor McDavid’s drafting in 2015. It doesn’t hurt that the no. 1 draft pick will go to the New York Rangers and be part of Big Apple sports’ media frenzy.
While hockey cards are prevalent in Canada, they tend to lag behind the NBA, NFL, and MLB cards in the United States. However, some analysts predict that Lafrenière could significantly raise the sport’s profile and hockey cards’ popularity in the US.
The market for Upper Deck cards is strong. His first graded BGS 10 Upper Deck Young Guns card went for $1,359 back in December. The Lafrenière “Young Guns Exclusive” is 1/100, and the “High Gloss” variant is 1/10. The latter sold for $13,000 days after the initial release.
The market around his cards is so strong that people have been arrested for forging his rookie cards. Ok, it happened in Canada. But still!
Therefore, we can expect them to be extremely valuable. If the promising rookie actually turns into a superstar, the market will most likely explode. Since Alexis has already scored on his debut, that is a distinct possibility.
Upper Deck has signed him to an exclusive memorabilia contract. It is clear that they plan on milking Alexis Lafrenière fever for all it is worth.
More Than Lafreniere Rookies – Upper Deck’s Young Guns Checklist
The Upper Deck hockey sets are not loaded with premium hits. Their main attraction is the Young Guns series. Upper Deck Young Guns rookie cards of future stars have traditionally held their value. In particular, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby continue to be quite valuable.
So while you want to be on the lookout for the Lafrenière Young Guns card, some others may be a good hold as well. Here is the Cardlines-approved list of Young Guns cards to look for:
- Nick Robertson – Toronto Maple Leafs
- Philip Broberg – Edmonton Oilers
- Gabe Vilardi – Los Angeles Kings
- Bowen Byram – Colorado Avalanche)
- Connor McMichael – Washington Capitals
- Michael DiPietro – Vancouver Canucks
- Peyton Krebs – Vegas Golden Knights
- Liam Foudy – Columbus Blue Jackets
- Thomas Harley – Dallas Stars
- Ty Dellandrea- Dallas Stars
- Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars
- Josh Norris – Ottawa Senators
Bottomline On How To Get Lafreniere Rookies At Retail
Does paying retail for cards that may contain a high-value rookie without waiting for over-worked Target employees to restock the shelves sound good to you? It does to me. (I will admit, I just bought a few packs).
Also, if you want to get your hands on the Lafrenière “Young Guns” card, make sure to nab the first series. The series 2 cards, released on March 10, do not include his cards. However, they will involve promising Russian rookie Kirill Kaprizov, who I consider the no. 2 prospects in the sport.