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Beckett Hockey | 
| Publisher: Beckett Publications
Buy New: $29.99
Format: Magazine Subscription
Type: Trade magazine
Subscription Issues: 6
Subscription Length: 12 Months
Issues Per Year: 6
First Issue Lead Time: 12-16 Weeks
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Features the first pricing on new set releases. Contains the hobby's best price guides for raw and graded hockey cards and player autographs. PLUS: Readers Write, Hot Lists, Jersey Guy, Signing Session and much more!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Not A Fan November 17, 2008
I find myself becoming less and less of a fan of Beckett as time passes.
There are several reasons for this but perhaps the biggest one is that, by and large, their price guide simply does not reflect the reality of card prices.
Case in point: I am masochist enough to try to assemble entire sets of jersey cards from various sets. One of the sets I assembled was the 2002-2003 Pacific Private Stock Reserve jersey set. At 90 cards, the set is not huge. It is serial-numbered but, with the shortest of short-prints being about 150, it certainly isn't the challenge- or the expense- that a set numbered out of 25 or less would be. Beckett lists the common jerseys at $8. I bought most of the cards I needed on eBay and I can tell you for certain that I did not pay $8 for any commons. In fact, I bought several for as little as forty-nine cents. I dutifully reported these prices to Beckett....and they ignored them. Are they not aware of eBay?
I also admit to being less than thrilled that a company that professionally grades cards also has a hand in 'setting' prices. Somehow, BCG-graded cards of a particular grade always sell for more than those of the competition of the same grade. Could it be an issue of bias? Or perhaps they just decide not to report PSA sales if they happen to be higher than those of BCG? I have a real problem with what I see as a major conflict of interest and I certainly see it- or at most charitable, the possibility of it- here.
But I also acknowledge that they are the 800-pound gorilla in the room. There really is no alternative to their price guide. And, frankly, I like that no more than I do the fact that, currently, only one company produces hockey cards. Lack of competition breeds complacency and retards innovation. And that goes for trading cards and price guides equally.
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