One thing about ETBs is that since booster boxes are the “best” product, the ETBs usually don’t increase as much (or even stay flat), while the booster boxes rise in value. So while initially you might have this 110/40 = 2.75 ratio, sometimes the price difference goes all up to let’s say 4-4.5 ETBs per booster box cost. Then it gets pretty close to the price per pack and one could use this as a last resort to get “lower prices” on some set that is about to rotate out, where the booster box already went up.
This ofcourse differs from set to set + sometimes you get BB reprint and BB prices tank, sometimes you don’t get BB reprint but ETBs get printed to the ground etc.
Experiences are a big aspect of product longevity and success. If opening a product is a great experience then chances of it performing well in the future are increased.
The good thing about Hidden Fates just now is that it’s still relatively affordable to buy an ETB and open it with a reasonably good chance at desirable pulls. There were ideas floating around following subsequent print runs that pull rates had taken a dive in later HF releases, however having opened up my share of 3rd print ETBs, this definitely wasn’t my experience. It’s always been a solid, fun product to open that will no doubt see a resurgence in time.
Another conjecture I’d throw out there is that I believe nostalgia and craving for nostalgic experiences will occur more frequently and in shorter timeframes when compared with nostalgia for many releases between vintage and 2018. This is simply because of how good modern TCG releases have become and how much more widely-shared the experiences are on numerous new platforms. Hidden Fates represented a pivotal point in English Modern that generated a lot of organic excitement while delivering a great set. Even now I feel pangs of nostalgia for those Autumn 2019 trips to Smyths Toys (UK) with my girlfriend, hunting down Hidden Fates ETBs to take home and dive into.
Yeah, I’ve been thinking this for a while. I could see there being a unique/weird type of nostalgia down the road when people look back on all the craziness that went on with Covid & Logan Paul and whatever else. It was almost a “Pokemania” in its own way , so these cards/sets could be something people will look back upon for sure.
, so these cards/sets could be something people will look back upon for sure.