Here’s a story about a Connor Bedard trading card I tried – unsuccessfully – to purchase recently.
On Friday, December 29, Upper Deck released its latest Game Dated Moments cards on its E-Pack platform. One of the cards pictured Blackhawks’ rookie Connor Bedard scoring a “Michigan” style goal against the Blues. That card, along with a card of Nathan MacKinnon and another card of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, went on sale at 11 AM CT.
At 11 AM sharp, I refreshed the browser on my phone (I wasn’t home) and immediately got a 404 error message. I kept refreshing my browser, and though I could see the Game Dated Moments pack, I could not click to add any of the cards to my shopping cart.
Finally, at 11:07 AM, I was able to add a Bedard card to my shopping cart, but when I went to check out, I was informed that I could not order the quantity requested.
Then, at 11:08 AM, the Bedard card was no longer listed as one of the GDM cards available to purchase.
There were 1,199 Game Dated Moments Connor Bedard cards available, and they sold out in 8 minutes. That’s a rate of 150 Bedard cards per minute, or 2.5 Bedard cards per second.
Ridiculous!
This makes me wonder, who is ordering these Bedard cards, anyway? Customers can purchase two of the same card at a time. So, 599 people can order two Bedard cards at once, while one can buy just one (since the card is limited to 1,199 copies.)
But Game Dated Moments falls out of the purview of the typical “Bro Case” types. Heck, these guys usually eschew any hockey card that IS NOT a Young Gun, a Future Watch Auto, or a Cup RPA. While I understand that Bedard is a very popular player, I still can’t believe how many people are trying to order some of these online-exclusive cards that most “investor” types would turn up their nose at.
Also, how come I am not one of the lucky ones who can “get through” when EVERYONE is ordering something at the same time? This happened when I tried to order the first Bedard Game Dated Moments card a few months ago – and again when I tried to order another Bedard Game Dated Moments card that was available on Friday, January 5. That one also sold out in eight minutes.
Are people really using “bots” to buy these cards like they would for concert tickets? Or is there something else at play here that I am not seeing? Either way, I’d love to know your thoughts about this.
Note: This article is an updated version of an editorial that originally appeared in Volume 2 – Issue 1 of the Puck Junk Newsletter. For stories like these, plus news and updates about hockey cards and collectibles, subscribe to the newsletter here.
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