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A Breakdown Of The Top 17 Hockey Sports Card Products To Invest In

hockey releases

Most of us collect cards for fun, even in the current money-filled hobby environment. And there is no way to put a monetary value on your preferences.

But even our purists think of value when we buy a product. It’s only natural; consider how much money boxes cost these days. So, the return we get on our investment is increasingly a factor in our card purchasing decisions.

The cost-benefit in hockey is a bit different than in other sports. The amount you need to spend to get a sound card is usually lower, but the ceiling isn’t relatively as high either. Considering these factors, we will analyze and rank the top hockey products to invest in.

Top releases from other sports:

How to approach the best Hockey products to invest in

Every sport has its characteristics. But at the end of the day, the fundamentals for investment are the same. Therefore, you only have two significant ways to invest in a product.

One method is to buy singles that you believe will increase in value. Traditionally, hockey fans invest in rookies, most notably in the Young Guns series. However, there is no shortage of non-first-year cards with significant value.

Meanwhile, others prefer to invest in unopened wax products. So, while there are certainly hockey collectors with a bunch of wax stashed in the garage, it is generally less popular for this sport than basketball. That is because the boxes don’t reach the same heights that they can with other sports that are bigger in the United States. Nonetheless, we will evaluate both when determining which are the top hockey products to invest in.

Keep in mind that wax is more of a pure investment in the product, while singles skew more towards betting on a specific player. But, of course, the rookie class influences wax value.

Meanwhile, the brand has an important influence on singles’ value. So, the two intersect in a meaningful sense.

Investing in Hockey wax boxes

In general, wax is a far safer investment than singles. This is because a player may face an injury that seriously undermines their value. But since a class of rookies includes multiple players, and there is value to be had in second-year and veteran cards as well, wax boxes are less volatile.

And wax boxes in hockey are less volatile than in other sports. There is always demand for a box of flagship Upper Deck. But the value isn’t much higher even when a solid rookie class exists.

The lowest price for a recent (from the last five years) Upper Deck Series 1 hobby box is $115, while the highest is $264. Like in other sports, the fact that more people are saving their boxes than ever is not contributing to value.

Of course, the rookie class is the most crucial variable in determining the value of a specific box, along with the popularity of the product of course.

But there is usually enough demand for hockey products from pure collectors (and there are plenty of them in this sport) to ensure that even the boxes with mediocre rookie classes will cover your initial outlay. Just don’t expect any profit.

Investing in hockey rookies and singles

It can be challenging to invest in the right rookie in some sports. Yeah, the most prominent brand is your best bet. But sometimes, another card can take off instead.

But the good news is that hockey doesn’t have as many options. Generally speaking, your best bet is investing in the Young Guns series in the flagship boxes.

And there are a couple of other robust options as well. So, the truth is, you only have to worry about whether the player in question will pan out or not. You don’t have to spend too much effort on which singles to look into.

Nonetheless, there are more options in hockey nowadays than there used to be. Therefore, you will want to keep the following rules of thumb in mind:

  • The bigger and better-known brands tend to produce the more valuable rookie cards. So, for basketball, Prizm is usually your best bet. It will usually be a Bowman 1st or a flagship parallel for baseball.
  • Visuals matter. When there are several rookie cards on the market, if there is one with a particularly striking photograph and design, you can bet it will become iconic.
  • Population matters: The matter of value is sometimes separate from iconic recognizability. Especially today, the best-known and beloved rookies don’t always get the most recognition on the open market. Often, the very low-pop RPAs and parallels have the highest value. So, if you want to invest in a rookie, pick up some of their low-population items. Those will skyrocket if they pan out.

How to rank the top Hockey products

I took a few factors into account when choosing the best products. Remember, we are looking at these hockey products as investments.

Therefore, your tastes may differ consequentially from my rankings, and that’s ok. My preferences also differ from this list. But I am looking primarily at the value here. And here is what I based my decisions on.

Reputation

We have firm ideas in our heads over which products are worth our while. Collectors don’t reevaluate their preconceptions every year. Therefore, it doesn’t matter that much on some level if one season’s release is a bit weaker than the previous.

It takes a long dip in form before the value of wax and singles goes down. However, the reputation a brand earned over the years matters and is something you need to take into account.

Hockey print run numbers and hit odds

Today there are so many resources for hobby news and many brilliant sleuths out there figuring out the print runs on every product. Therefore, we all know what is being vastly overproduced.

We can also determine our odds of hitting something worthwhile in a given product. When a product is overprinted, we will want to avoid investing in wax because people will eventually figure it out.

Meanwhile, the odds of getting a big hit can be cut both ways. If you plan to buy a bunch of wax, low-hit odds may drive the price down over time. But when you are buying singles, those long odds can drive up the price.

After all, if no one can pull your card, it will have a low population count. So we want scarce cards but a wax that is potentially bountiful. That is why the long odds are good for singles but bad for the wax we invest in.

Return On Investment (ROI)

The two criteria above significantly influence the ROI you can expect from a specific brand. After all, the brands with better reputations and lower odds will yield the best hockey rookies.

However, the ROI factor considers any element that might bring up or lower the value associated with the brand. So when I look at the overall ROI, it is a combination of what you can expect to earn on singles combined with wax.

We will consider these factors to calculate the top hockey products to invest in.

1 – SP Authentic Hockey

SP Authentic is the kind of release that would cost over $1,000 if it was a Panini basketball release. The cards are gorgeous and sell very well on the secondary market. But because this is hockey, collectors can pick up this genuinely fantastic product at relatively reasonable prices.

The big cards here are, as always, the Future Watch Autographs. But the pièce de resistance is always the Future Watch Auto Patch, lovingly known as the FWAP.

A recent box of SP Authentic Hockey costs about $180. Far less than you would expect for a product of this quality. The market understands that, and therefore after about two years, the prices for wax start to double.

It is one of the most popular boxes in all of hockey collecting. Consequently, you can’t go wrong if you stuff a few of these in your closet. But wait awhile before unloading.

As far as bang for your buck, nothing matches SP Authentic Hockey on the singles front. The Future Watch cards are immensely popular rookie cards, second only to the iconic Young Guns series in popularity and value

And, of course, the FWAPS is on another level from most hockey cards. For example, a Connor McDavid /25 went for almost $15,000. If you think a rookie is a sure thing, investing in their FWAPs is the way to go.

Bottomline, SP Authentic Hockey isn’t just the best investment in hockey cards. But, it is one of the best boxes to put your money into in the entire hobby.

Shop for boxes of SP Authentic Hockey on eBay

SP Authentic Hockey

2- Upper Deck The Cup Hockey

Generally considered to be the best hockey card product in the canon, Upper Deck The Cup is always worth considering for investment purposes. Of course, the price is insanely high by hockey standards. But if you compare it to its Panini equivalent, National Treasures, it is freaking cheap. 

The release comes with three autographs, which is pretty good. But even better, two of these are patch autos. One is guaranteed to be an RPA, but I have seen a few breaks with two RPAs.

Say what you want about Upper Deck The Cup Hockey. This product is loaded to the max. The set has two more premium cards and a base card. Of course, like most super high-end sets, all the base cards are numbered.

But of course, this product had better have a bunch of hits. Otherwise, how would you justify the price? A box of 2020-21 goes for $1,200, and a box of 2019-20 sells for $1,600.

The good news is that these boxes do very well on the unopened wax front, especially if there is a loaded rookie class. The most extreme example is a box of 2005-06, which sells for a cool $15,000. But, of course, that is to be expected when you have Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin in the same rookie class.

What about singles? You won’t see many cards over $20,000 or even $10,000. The highest I could find on eBay in recent sales was a 2007-08 Patrick Kane Rookie Patch Auto /99, graded as a BGS 8.5, that went for $12,300.

While that is an outlier, there is a depth of solid cards selling in the $5,000-$7,000 range. And breaks for Upper Deck The Cup Hockey almost always seem to produce at least one VERY good card.

Shop for boxes of Upper Deck The Cup Hockey on eBay.

3 – Upper Deck Ice Hockey

The Upper Deck Ice Hockey release is one of those specific card products. So, either you are into that, or you aren’t. I think it works nicely. Upper Deck has some wonderful designs.

One of the significant advantages of Upper Deck Ice over its rivals is that the print run is far smaller. That tends to add to the long-term value of the singles and the boxes. The product is also far better since the return of the Ice Premieres rookies, which are guaranteed at least two per box.

Shop for Upper Deck Ice Hockey boxes on eBay

The upcoming 2021/22 Upper Deck Ice Hockey hobby boxes are preselling for $130. So, these boxes are pretty affordable initially. But what happens to their value over time?

Last year the release was, unfortunately, canceled because of the supply chain issues of the time. But the older boxes do not do much better. You must return to 2018-19 to see these hobby boxes cost over $200. Therefore, this is not a particularly good wax investment.

What about the singles scene? Surprisingly good! The biggest cards are the 2015-16 Ovechkin and Connor McDavid rookies. But they compete nicely with more prestigious releases, which was nice to see. But these cards have shockingly reasonable prices, even for the more recent rookies.

The Auston Matthews /99 sells for over $3,000, a sign of a continually robust market for the product. And it is not alone; strong cards from this release go for over $2,000 quite regularly.

And considering that these boxes are very inexpensive and pretty loaded, that means outstanding value. Therefore, we rate this as an excellent value, inexpensive rip for the whole family.

Upper Deck Ice Hockey

4- Upper Deck Allure Hockey

Upper Deck Allure Hockey primarily offers a variety of numbered cards and inserts. Unfortunately, the stickered auto that is guaranteed in each hobby box is a sticker and can often be pretty weak.

Shop for boxes of Upper Deck Allure Hockey on eBay

But you can’t argue with the numbered items, as they tend to fetch friendly prices on eBay.

Is Upper Deck Allure Hockey a good wax investment? You can get the 2021/22 Upper Deck Allure Hockey Hobby Box for as little as $100. And here is the good news, a 2018/19 Upper Deck Premier Hockey Hobby Box now sells for $700.

That is about as dramatic an exponential increase as I have seen from any of these products. Therefore, this product is a killer to stash away in the closet. Get five hundred of them right now. I’ll wait.

Hard to imagine the Upper Deck Allure Hockey boxes are worth ripping when they are such a good investment closed, right? But let’s check it out anyway.

The truth is, the Allure cards do so badly on the secondary market that I am not too sure why the boxes are so valuable. I couldn’t find any recent sales for over $1,000 a pop.

I am sure they have taken place, especially with older substantial rookies. But they are not that common. Upper Deck Allure Hockey is most definitely a sit-on-your-box kind of product.

5 – Upper Deck Series 1 And Series 2

Notice that I did not write Upper Deck flagship in general. That is because Upper Deck has occasionally produced a Series 3 product that has bombed. So, it has a far lower ROI and reputation than its more storied equivalents.

However, the set needs no introduction for hockey fans. No matter how casual a collector you may be, this set is on your shopping list. It is the OG of hockey cards and the home of the Young Guns rookie cards.

But while there is no question the flagship cards are beloved, how do they fare in terms of ROI? The prices for recent hobby boxes are extremely low. You can get a 2022/23 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box for a measly $89.

They do appreciate over time. If, for example, you wanted to get your hands on a 2017/18 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Hobby Box, you would shell out $250 for the privilege. But more people are keeping wax nowadays. So, expect growth at a somewhat lower rate.

Does Series 2 fare similarly? Yes, it’s pretty much the same story. A 2018-19 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey Hobby Box costs $240. Nothing wrong with that kind of appreciation.

We know that there are some great singles in Upper Deck Series 1 And Series 2. The Young Guns cards and UD Canvas ones are particularly beloved. But the truth is, because these cards are very well known, we overrate their value.

Sure, great past rookies go for a ton of money. But the younger stars like Auston Matthews only reach around $1,500, and that is if they have a BGS 10 pristine grade. Don’t get me wrong; you can get some good cards here for a small investment. But there are better investments in the hockey space than this old reliable release.

Shop for Upper Deck Series 1 and 2 boxes on eBay

Upper Deck Series 1 and Series 2

6 – Upper Deck Clearcut Hockey

Perhaps the riskiest box in all of hockey collecting is Upper Deck Clearcut. Of course, betting your money on one card isn’t everyone’s taste. But the market for it is strong. A lot of people like betting against the odds, right? You get an on-card auto in a clear acetate case for your money.

But while the Upper Deck Clearcut product is a risky rip, we love these boxes for wax investment. Usually, the ceiling with hockey boxes is not all that high. But a solid Clearcut hobby box can often increase in value exponentially.

And right now, you can nab a 2020-21 Upper Deck Clearcut Hockey hobby box for almost nothing at $109. Since 2018-19 is currently selling for more than three times that price, the potential is clear.

What about that one card in the box? You know, the cardboard lurking in that acetate case? Nothing is life-changing in the Upper Deck Clearcut Hockey boxes. But then again, you aren’t paying life-changing prices.

But the clear Young Guns that often come in these boxes are strong cards worth several times the price of a package. Therefore, this product is a surprisingly good rip for a one-card product.

Shop for boses of Upper Deck Clearcut Hockey on eBay

7 – Upper Deck Buyback

Hitting a massive card is never an easy feat, even among the top hockey products to invest in. But Upper Deck Buyback probably gives you the best odds to do so. This brand’s advantage over others is that it includes massive rookies from previous years.

So, you can get a Connor McDavid rookie card in your 2022-23 hobby box. Isn’t it about time every sport had a product like this? While the focus is fantastic cards from the good old days, this product also has new cards. Some of them are pretty cool too.

So when you break a box, you will get one buyback and one spanking new card. The original Upper Deck Buyback cards are all numbered (as you would expect). The highest number you will find is 199. Then you also have Gold (/50), Emerald (/25), and Purple (1/1) parallels.

Many buyback cards come from top-tier releases like The Cup and Ultimate Collection. But the most remarkable thing they offer is Young Guns of stars with added autos.

This high-risk and high-reward product has only two cards in each box. So, we can’t put it at the top of our investment recommendation. It is the definition of hit-and-miss.

Nonetheless, the boxes aren’t that expensive. You can get a 2019-20 Upper Deck Buyback Hockey for $700. These boxes also age pretty well and are tough to get. I think they are a sneaky good hold.

However, despite having a lot of good cards in this release, the secondary market for singles just isn’t all that strong. There are few recent sales for over $1,000. You can get better ripping material for this price, especially when discussing a product with two cards. However, that means it isn’t a particularly satisfying rip, either.

Shop for boxes of Upper Deck Buyback Hockey on eBay

8 – Upper Deck Black Diamond Hockey

The Upper Deck, Black Diamond Hockey brand, started as a relatively innocuous release. But over time, it has become one of the highest-end hockey releases out there. There are few products in the sport with an initial price point this high.

The Diamond Relics and patch autos are highlights in these boxes with strong resale prices. And yes, some of the cards have actual diamonds.

The recent boxes in this series tend to go for around $500. That is a pretty good deal for a product of this quality.

But of course, if you want a box from the banner 2015-16 season, you will need to shell out a considerably more significant sum. Nevertheless, there is some potential to stash these boxes, especially if you believe in the rookie class.

One thing we love about ripping these guys is that boxes tend to be relatively even. So naturally, therefore, it is one of the less risky rips, even if you can hit the occasional dud.

But the way the Upper Deck Black Diamond Hockey brand works, you won’t get any massive hits. So instead, there will be a smattering of solid cards.

Shop for boxers of Upper Deck Black Diamond Hockey on eBay

Upper Deck Black Diamond Hockey

9 – Upper Deck Stature Hockey

The concept behind Upper Deck Stature Hockey is an elegant design. Does it do a particularly great job of it? In my opinion, no. But we are not here to discuss my random thoughts. The question to be asked: is this a good investment?

Stature does promise a nice variety of hits. It comes with a guaranteed auto; quite often, there are two. There are also two parallels, though again, sometimes you hit three.

The upcoming 2021-22 boxes are preselling for $142. The great thing about that is if you go back to 2019-20, those boxes sell for about three times that. So, therefore, when it comes to wax, we are in business. So stash a couple of these if you have a two-year time frame.

I do not like to mince words, so I will be clear. The market for Upper Deck Stature Hockey single cards is sad. The hits in this series generally don’t go much higher than $200. So, stick to the boxes, and you will be golden.

Shop for boxes of Upper Deck Stature Hockey on eBay

10 – Upper Deck Engrained Hockey

The designs for Upper Deck Engrained are very old-timey. The concept here is simple. Everything is wood-themed and colored in a tribute to old-school hockey sticks. I guess having carbon fiber-themed cards just isn’t as inspiring.

But don’t let that fool you. These boxes are packed with value. And boxes are pretty even, unlike most higher-end Upper Deck releases. Therefore, it’s among the least dangerous rips among the more expensive releases.

The Engrained series has six cards in each box. Three are the big hits, one is a parallel, and finally, you have the two lowly base cards. If you want to get a box, it will set you back about $500. Meanwhile, older boxes are worth a bit less.

But I have noticed that there aren’t too many available. That could indicate a significant future rise in price.

There are no massively valuable cards in Upper Deck Engrained Hockey. But many of the patch autos will more than cover the box’s value.

We also need to take into consideration that this release is relatively new but is starting to get excellent recognition in the hobby. So there is a good chance wax and singles will be worth more in a couple of years.

Shop for boxes of Upper Deck Engrained Hockey on eBay

Upper Deck Engrained Hockey

11 – Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey

It seems like Upper Deck has too many memorabilia and artifact releases in their roster. Is there a need for more than two? But Upper Deck Artifacts insists on existing, so here we are.

This product has three hits per box, including autographs, relics, and tech inserts. However, many collectors believe the tech inserts should not be considered hits. While I do not always bend to the cries of the unwashed masses, in this case, they are correct.

A 2022-23 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey hobby box costs $130. Not a bad price, but considering that many hockey boxes go for around that, does it stand out from the crowd as a wax investment?

The prices do go up, but not by all that much. A 2018-19 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey hobby box costs $275. Not what you want to see going that far back. So, this is not a stash box.

How do singles fare on the open market? Better than a lot of the competition among the cheaper hockey boxes. The highest recent seller is a 2022-23 Upper Deck Alex Ovechkin Artifacts Esteemed Endorsements Auto /28, which sold for $1,284.

That is a bit of an outlier, but there are other strong cards in this release. So, it’s a reasonably strong rip. Considering this is also a fun rip, there is much to recommend Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey.

Latest release:

2023 Artifacts Hockey

Buy boxes:

Shop for 2021-22 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey on eBay

12 – Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Hockey

People open this product looking for one thing and one thing only. The beautiful NHL shields are the marquee attraction of the Upper Deck Ultimate Collection. There are also some excellent jumbo patches in this product.

You only get four cards in your Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Hockey box, so you better hope to hit one in that quartet. All the autos are on the card and particularly beautiful, even by the standards of the top hockey products to invest in.

The most recent hobby boxes are priced at $219. However, the value of these babies increases significantly over the years. For example, the 2020-21 hobby box costs close to $500. But don’t expect a massive return on it. They don’t get a lot more valuable than that.

One thing is for sure, Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Hockey is not a particularly strong rip. People buy these boxes to get those shield patches. But the truth is, they don’t have an exceptionally high resale value and tend to go for under $1,000. So this is more of a stash kind of product.

Shop for Upper Deck Ultimate Collection Hockey boxes on eBay

13 – Upper Deck SP Game Used Hockey

If you are into hockey collecting memorabilia, you will want to look into Upper Deck SP Game Used. The box is one pack “boom or bust” product.

But the good news for high-end memorabilia fans is that the boxes are not particularly expensive. So you can scratch your itch for a relatively reasonable price. And there are great cards here. For example, the Supreme Patches are one of the best-loved cards in all hockey.

Meanwhile, the Authentic Rookies line offers some strong rookie cards. But we are talking about one card here.

Is it worth the entry price? Let us look at unopened wax first. The Upper Deck, SP Game Used Hockey boxes are competitively priced. So now that you don’t feel too bad about gambling on one card. You can pick up a 2021-22 box for as little as $130. But if you go back to 2019-20, these babies are reselling for $325.

Meanwhile, the 2016-17 boxes are worth about $500. By hockey standards, these are pretty good returns. And the value seems to be reliably strong regardless of the rookie class. Therefore, this is a strong item to stash.

On the singles front, it must be said that Upper Deck SP Game Used Hockey cards perform surprisingly poorly. Even though people speak very highly of the Supreme Patches and Authentic Rookies cards, they don’t seem willing to pay all that much for them.

If even a Sidney Crosby Supreme Sticks /12 rookie card couldn’t sell for over $500, what does the card you are going to pull now have? At the end of the day, this is a classic hold but don’t rip item.

Shop for Upper Game SP Game Used Hockey boxes on eBay

Upper Deck SP Game Used

14 – Skybox Metal Universe Hockey

Upper Deck tends to dominate hockey release since they are licensed. But that doesn’t mean that all of their ideas are original ones.

Leaf has been the leader in these types of Metal releases. But the Upper Deck Skybox Metal release does a great job. Indeed, some of this series’ best cards are among the most valuable ever sold.

The release has succeeded due to its elite inserts and parallels. But Skybox Metal Universe Hockey boxes also contain a guaranteed autograph as a bonus.

Skybox Metal Universe Hockey is only in its second year, so we don’t have as much data on its ROI potential as we would like. However, the most recent box can be obtained for as low as $90, which is not an excellent sign for the brand’s wax resale value.

That is particularly concerning when a box of the upcoming 2022-23 release is preselling for almost double that price.

But how about singles? The Neon Icon inserts tend to have the best resale value. But none of the cards are all that big. Still, you aren’t investing all that much in a box of Skybox Metal Universe Hockey, so it is just a mediocre investment by the standards of the top hockey products to invest in.

Shop for Skybox Metal Universe Hockey boxes on eBay

15 – Upper Deck Trilogy Hockey

The Upper Deck Trilogy product focuses on rookie autos, which sounds great in theory. Unfortunately, however, they almost exclusively use sticker autos. And while that is not unusual in card products today, hockey fans generally enjoy better quality cards than their equivalents in other sports.

Therefore, they have many more on-card options for lower price points, meaning that Upper Deck Trilogy singles and boxes do not fare particularly well on the secondary market. But let’s crunch the numbers and see.

Like many other Upper Deck boxes, you can get a 2022-23 Upper Deck Trilogy Hockey Hobby Box for $130. The 2019-20 version sells for $280. Not a bad gain, but nothing to write home about either. And it doesn’t go all that high. A 2016-17 Upper Deck Trilogy Hockey hobby box, the Auston Matthews rookie class, goes for $600.

The singles are significantly weaker than the boxes. Even a 2005/06 Trilogy Hockey Sidney Crosby rookie card is only worth $450 raw.

Shop for Upper Deck Trilogy Hockey boxes on eBay

16 – Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey

Don’t be fooled by the O-Pee-Chee name on this box. Casual hockey fans associate that brand with cheap cards for kids.

But hardcore collectors know that the Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey is full of top-notch numbered cards and some gorgeous on-card autos.

The set isn’t as highly printed as some of the equivalents. Therefore, Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey hobby box prices do increase after a few years. For example, the 2020-21 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey hobby box sells for $200 nowadays.

Meanwhile, if you wanted to nab a 2017-18 O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey hobby box, you would pay $373 for the privilege. That is a nice increase. But as we have seen, there are much bigger ones to be had.

As far as singles are concerned, you may find the occasional banger in Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey. But generally speaking, the big cards are valued at well under $500. So, while this is a fun series, and we love it as much as you do, there isn’t much money to be made.

Shop for boxes of Hockey O-Pee-Chee on eBay

Upper Deck O-Pee Chee Platinum Hockey

17 – Upper Deck SPX

The SPX release is unique among the top hockey products to invest in. It includes only four packs per box, with one card in each. Therefore, Upper Deck SPX is one of those high-risk and high-reward items. But the reward is certainly worth it.

You can hit one of their gorgeous black patch on-card autos, and they are an absolute favorite amongst hockey collectors. Therefore, according to Upper Deck, “SPx is a premium product at a bargain price.” Indeed, the cards are beautiful, and the autos are on the card. But that doesn’t always guarantee market value.

You can pick up a 2021-22 Upper Deck SPX Hockey Hobby Box right now for $120. How do these babies age? Honestly, more like beer than fine wine. You can still get a 2018-19 SPX Upper Deck Hockey box for $235. That is certainly not worth the closet space.

What about the four cards inside those cheap boxes? How do they fare? Kind of sad, to be honest. Let’s say you hit a 2021-22 SPX Auston Matthews Radiance FX auto /15.

One hell of a hit, right? As a raw card, you won’t get more than $255 for it. That means most of the cards are close to worthless. Upper Deck SPX isn’t a good investment, no matter how you look at it.

Shop for hobby boxes of Upper Deck SPX on eBay.

The final word on the top Hockey products to invest in

After going over all of the top hockey products to invest in, the bottom line is clear. Upper Deck offers many products that are very worthwhile investments.

Some are better as wax, and others are singles-oriented. There are even a select few that rock both. But hockey is almost certainly the sport offering the best ROI on boxes.

Despite the reputation of Upper Deck The Cup, SP Authentic Hockey offers by far the best investment deal. It is just loaded with excellent cards, and the boxes appreciate exponentially on the secondary market.

Meanwhile, Upper Deck Ice Hockey and Upper Deck Allure Hockey offer far better investment opportunities than expected. Meanwhile, as you would expect, the flagship products offer good returns based on their Young Guns cards.

However, the weakness in hockey cards is the value of singles. Not every card that seems to be worth a good amount of money is. Upper Deck SP Game Used Hockey, Trilogy Hockey, and Ultimate Collection Hockey are all surprisingly weak on the singles market.

While Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey will probably increase in value, I am not impressed with the singles prices right now. So, if you want to invest in hockey cards, there is plenty of upside.

Just do your research, hold on to that Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Platinum Hockey box, and you will soon retire to a private island somewhere.

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim is the emeritus editor of Cardlines. He continues to write for several hobby outlets, including this one and Cardbase. He collects primarily vintage baseball and soccer and has a weird obsession with 1971 Topps.

In his spare time, Shaiel is sobbing into his bourbon when the Mets lose and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a past life, Dr. Ben-Ephraim was a political science professor, journalist, and diplomat. But cards are more fun.
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