Instead of doing a regular "vanilla" type of review, Cardboard Junction has decided to add a different twist and flavor to wax reviews. Whenever a new product comes out, we're going to have two collectors offer their different views on the product based on certain categories in what we call the Point/Counterpoint Review.
The 2009 Upper Deck Exquisite Football review will be done by two collectors: Steve and Nick. Both have been collectors for years, and both also break multiple cases of this product every year....They will be reviewing the product based on the following categories: Card Design, Content Value, Product Collation and will be providing their overall review of their product.
Card Design:
Steve:The design of the cards is visually pleasing. There is a lot of contrast on the cards, especially with the Rookie Patch Auto’s, making the patch stand out. Adding the team colors into the insert cards was another thing I like about this, just something to make the card more unique. Patch quality out of the 3 cases that I broke were good to excellent, all were multicolored. I think Upper Deck did a good job of trying to get quality patches into these cards to increase collectability. The sizes of the patches are very large, unlike some products that have a tiny swatch, not giving it the chance to be more than one color. The Gold pack contains a very nice auto’d card with a gold signature on a black background. Only downside to this is that smearing of the auto is more prevalent.
Nick: Agree with Steve that the design is visually pleasing. I do like the border around the GU on the rookie auto patches. One thing I was not pleased with is the design of the Rookie Auto Patches. Depending how high or low a player signed the actual signature gets lost in the picture. While on the subject of the Rookie Auto Patch cards the three that were in the case I busted were all multicolored. There are still a good amount of one color patches in the product. I am really a fan of the Gold Pack in each box because some of the cards are signed with a gold sharpie. Only downfall is that there is some smudging on some of the gold pack autos.
Content Value:
Steve: Much like most high end products, this is extremely hit or miss. Box wise it would be a pretty big gamble to make your money back or even turn a profit. I could see someone easily losing $400 on a box or less likely profiting $1000+. One or two rookies will help pay for the entire case (Flacco, Ryan). Beckett has priced this early and I am shocked to see some of the RCPA’s going to so little. For example, the HI book value of a Steve Slaton RCPA is $200.00. I would expect something a little higher than that for some one who rushed for close to 1,300 yards and put up 9 rushing TD’s. Another thing that drives me nuts about this product is the quad jersey cards that are often all one color. You spend $500+ for 7 cards and you get one that will struggle to make $20 on Ebay. That just makes me sick.
Nick: This is a high end product and not for the weak of heart. Without a Flacco or Ryan rookie auto patch breaking even will be tough on a single box break or case. Sales of the rookie auto patch card were strong out of the gate but have dropped like in past years releases. Beckett pricing is on the lower side which may have impacted the drop in prices. UD claims that this product is hand packed for value. I strongly disagree especially with a $400 plus price tag. Granted card manufacturers do not take into consideration the flipper in mind but market the ‘value’ to collectors, whom they believe a majority of their customers are. The gold pack was a welcome addition to sell unsealed but with so many redemptions these are ‘searched’ pretty easily. This product is best for collectors who are after the BIG hit. It’s a gamble, it’s a rush, it’s usually a let down, but just the idea of possibly pulling a 1/1 dual shield auto is exciting. Should you expect to hit anything close to that, absolutely not, but it gets my blood flowing. There are some potentially good hits for one’s PC and some really good trade bait if you want to move the cards. The good thing is that most of the cards, including base, will bring you some sort of cash on Ebay, too
Product Collation:
Steve: I will never understand why Upper Deck made the base cards more limited than the RCPA’s. It just boggles my mind, even the Level 2 RCPA’s are numbered higher than the base. We also have the “missing” Tiger Wood’s RCPA that has yet to be pulled by anyone out of a box of Exquisite. Some people feel that this is a bait and switch, and if it is, shame on you Upper Deck, what a low class method of trying to increase sales. However, my gut feeling is that Upper Deck back loaded the product to spark box and case sales later in the release, which is still a pretty crappy thing to do. Expect the product to skyrocket in price the second that Woods is pulled. Other than that, I think that card distribution was pretty good throughout my three cases, there were no doubles pulled and there were no boxes that had two card of the same player. There was no set card position other than the base card being first in the box, which made it more of a crap shoot where the RCPA was, making for a more exciting group break, of which my three cases were for.
Nick: Each box was pretty consistent in the break with a base card, rookie auto patch, super swatch (horrible card design and player selection in my opinion…Brodie Croyle!!!), rookie auto and then a nice mix. UD each year puts a huge emphasis on hand packed for ‘value’. The case I busted each box was not nearly as bad as some that I have seen. Each box had at least one big hit: Jerry Rice GU/Auto, Joe Flacco GU/Auto, and a three color Chris Johnson Rookie Auto Patch. The base cards this year are numbered to 75 which def makes some of the most expensive base cards on the market. Thought the collation the case I busted was good but others have not been as lucky.
Overall Review:
Steve: If I were to grade this, I would probably give it a B- to C+, and most of that grade goes to the rookie class. My initial feelings were to give this a B+, but after seeing book values and the resale values of these cards, I personally do not think this is a worthwhile investment. I know the chance for the big hit is there, but I could not justify it to myself after buying a box after seeing those values. I’m more inclined to just sit back and pick up singles all day on the cheap. I would advise though to maybe buy these RCPA’s now and sitting on them for a while, because of the solid rookie class.
Nick: I would have to grade this year’s Exquisite Football product a B. Upper Deck make a decent attempt to add value by adding the gold pack to each box. Thinking there are too many lower end players rookies and veterans that were inserted into the product. Also did not like the fact that there are more Rookie Auto Patch variations than in previous years (#’d to 75 was added). The rush you get when opening this product is like none other when it comes to football products on the market…..especially since not one Tiger Woods auto have surfaced yet. But with singles selling abnormal lows on Ebay you may be better off picking up singles of the players to speculate on or that you collect.
