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I've had better luck with retail than hobby, mainly because my budget doesn't allow me to pop for hobby boxes at these inflated prices. BUT that being said, I try to avoid the volume based products, such as Topps / Bowman flagship, Prestige, etc. I also look for outdated product at 50% discounts. I've pulled some huge cards from retail, but my main objective is building the sets. Topps: Seiya Suzuki red RC 87 insert parallel #/10 Gallery: Ernie Banks Orange Foil #/25 Gallery SAME BOX: Cal Ripken Orange Foil AUTO #/25 Gallery: Ranger RC pitcher printing plate Gallery: Merrifield Blue auto #/50 Bowman Platinum: Wander Franco / Vidal Brujan Platinum Pairings 1/1 dual patch auto (1:720000 odds) Prizm Draft Picks - full set, plenty of solid Black & Gold #'d parallels (Mahomes, Barkley, Plummer, +more) You're not going to get your value back in any of these cases unless you are very lucky, but I do have to admit it's been a while since I've gotten HUGE hits from retail. I do agree that the industry is catering to the breakers more and more; specifically the bigger conglomerates. You have hot boxes in each case sometimes, you have FOTL product, you have "Breaker's Delight", and so on. Another thing is consider which stores are letting people feel through the boxes, weigh them, massage packs, etc to find the oddities. Barnes & Noble is good in the sense that they hold their product back behind the counter.

For someone like me who is more of a collector than reseller and someone who has been in the hobby since 2009, retail has most definitely changed. I'm on the same boat you are. I don't like it but it's the best thing for our wallet. Like everything else in life, experience is the best teacher and unfortunately, some of the new collectors will have to learn the hard way. That's the advantage I have. I've seen both sides. Two of the bets years of collecting were 2017 and 2018 and if we compare the retail climate to today, it's night and day. Before you were able to pull way better hits in retail and overall. With today's print runs, it's virtually impossible. For perspective, looking at topps flagship, in 2018 you can pull 4-6 golds /2018 per hobby box. Today, you get lucky if you pull one. Singles are not as fun but like you said, it's definitely the way to go and just buy a blaster or two here and there. Anyway, great video!

Hobby is also a waste of $. It's why I mainly buy singles now. Hobby boxes are also overpriced. I used to get Bowman Chrome at $199 for 2 autos. Those days are long over. Have you seen all those Ohtani 50/50 boxes? Garbage. Many boxes have no hits and yet others have 3 or more. No consistency. I got a great deal on a Kobe Bryant 97 Competitive Advantage card. Raw in mint condition. I have no interest in the grading scam anymore. Grading is just a cash grab. Opening ANY wax is a gamble. I kept a lot of wax sealed for growth. Still have 2018 baseball wax sealed. Breaking also is just gambling. Very few make their money back from it. No different than a casino. Thanks for sharing.

Mosaic Megabox at Target is pretty much $70 for football. Silly me, i bought 3 of them and maybe got 1 $10 card out of all three. It's a disgrace.

For retail I enjoy rookie and stars football blasters but other than that I prefer opening hobby products once in a while

Miss the days when the even the mems in retail were actually game used

Just buy singles or if you really just want one team get into an affordable break with a reputable breaker.

Modern cards are complete trash…so the retail boxes are full of TRASH. Simple😉

If I had a wish for this month it’d be that I had a buyer for my cards so I can exit this trash hobby

I bought several 2024 Topps Hobby Boxes, series 1, 2 and Update. I spent similar money on Blasters and Hangers of the same versions. I got way more numbered cards, almost as many autographs and a lot more cards from the Retail Blasters and Hangers. The autographs in Hobby boxes are the same as in Retail Boxes. There are breakdown videos and lists available as to odds and money per card by others, like Stryker. The increased prices of Hobby Boxes are just as ridiculous as Retail Boxes, unless you can find them on the shelf at retail pricing, like at Lids or on Topps and Fanatics websites. They offer Hobby and Retail. There are fewer chances to get something numbered in Hobby than there used to be. Breaker's Boxes are being given shorter print run and exclusive cards, but the price is astronomical and you have no guarantees. I pulled my best cards for 2024 from Retail Boxes. I only bought one 2024 Bowman Chrome Mega Box: $50. Paul Skenes Gold Mojo RC #/50 and Dylan Crews Green Mojo RC Autograph #/99. I have bought lots and singles on eBay and WhatNot to complete the Veteran/Rookie and Prospect sets. 2024 Topps Chrome Mega Box pulls include Skenes, Holliday and Caminero Negative Refractors, multiple autographs and Colored Refractors of all the hot rookies. 2024 Topps best cards include Skenes All Class Gold RC #/75 and Willie Mays Gold BlackGold #/75. I follow another TH-cam Creator, Peds and watched him pull the Skenes Platinum Rookie 1/1 from a Retail Blaster Box. For 2024 Topps and Topps Chrome, my results are the complete opposite of what you said you had. Many people I follow on TH-cam are doing exactly as I am. Retail only, for 2024 Topps and Topps Chrome, if you want the best return on investment. I do not gamble with Breaker's. I collect just for me. I don't use credit cards. If I have my bills paid and have some extra cash, I will buy some retail boxes at original retail price, if I can find them. Otherwise, I buy bulk lots and singles at auctions for a lot less than I could through opening packs. The majority of bulk lots come from people who bought into breaks and don't want the cards they got and others who ripped a bunch of boxes/packs, used credit cards to buy them and need to sell the cards they don't want in order to pay the credit card bill.

Yeah I agree. I didn’t know Ace had boxes need to go look 😂 no I really think I will get back out of the hobby since it’s not the same as the old days. Just need to sale all I have. Just over 5k cards. I’ve never bought hobby.

My girlfriend and I have decided to not buy retail boxes anymore and with the prices of hobby getting so out of control I will probably just stick to singles. I’ve purchased 14 retail boxes ranging from 2024 update chrome to 2023 Bowman to 2024 series 1 to 2024 topps hanger boxes, etc. etc. and did not get one auto. When we bought the chrome update for $60 at Dick’s Sporting Goods. The best card I got was a no-name /99 and an Evan Carter base refractor it’s absolute trash what they’re doing to us and we’re spending our hard money

Yeah that's the move I'm making now.. saving up for a Hobby.. come out better that way most likely

I really have gotten lucky in auctions ending on those early morning hours. One tool I have found useful at grabbing them so I don’t have to stay up and bid is ezsniper. I can put I the item id and the price I’m willing to pay and it bids for me while I’m sound asleep. Doesn’t always work, but I’ve got some good cards in my collection this way.

INSIDER

Before covid though it was crazier than it is now that whole year before covid people used to line up out here they would limit boxes people would sleep in the parking lots overnight it was really bad right before covid that whole year leading up.. yeah flippers suck get ready for them to come out for optic and Donruss Mega boxes..

I tend to agree with you on this video! I only got one decent relic card and it was damaged! Not pulled on auto out of any topps retail products.

You know at this point because cards cost so much even retail it might be smarter to just buy one hobby box every month or two... But I've had some extremely good luck with Mosaic football this year and the last few years so I can never pass up on Mosaic football retail! But yeah prices are out of control and you're right the products are watered down compared to 5 years ago especially

I just bought a 24 pack retail box of A&G . Wish me luck 😬. I've had incredible luck with 4 hobby boxes. Based on what i get from this retail box will determine if i buy another

Insider

Under a minute 👇

As a cubs fan, 90%of my collection is PSA graded TOPPS RC base cards . It feels special to have the same base Topps series rookies of the players who have played in Wrigley for 70+ years. My collection feels like a Chicago history book. 1952 Ernie banks to 1961 Ron Santo, 1983 Ryne Sandberg, 1999 Kerry Wood, 2015 Kris Bryant, 2024 Imanaga & PCA. I collect what I love, not chasing for bunch of bs paul skenes green wave refractor autos 😂😂

It’s like all those rookie qp aka Kenny picket or paying for those breaks garbage

Different people collect sports cards for different reasons. Perhaps your reasons are not relevant for other people? For example, I'm a set collector who tries to collect master set (base plus all parallels) to the best of my ability, and I don't really care about condition as much when it took me 10+ years to find the #'d to 50 parallel of James Loney that I desperately need to finish off my set. Also, few people will ever want to buy my completed sets when I'm ready to sell. They're just going to want the HOFers. But it's no fun for me to just buy the HOFers. Some would say I'm wasting my time. But I don't see it that way. Perhaps your advice is more for people who want to invest, not just collect?

I PC a HoF finalist but yet to be inducted. I enjoy opening boxes as I am also a set builder, but in all honesty the ONLY graded cards I look at are KEY / under-appreciated rookies of notable players. The good thing about where I am buying is that I am selling the hot players in order to buy my next boxes. I also avoid flagship products like the plague. Bowman, Donruss, Topps, no thanks. I may grab some if I find them on discount, but I prefer to buy the complete sets at the end of the year, and maybe grab a couple of the updated series. I'll take a box of Chrome though, or Bowman Platinum, or Zenith. These products tend to have decent inserts and haven't been horrible on quality coming out of the boxes. I've still pulled some huge cards, just not as frequently. Biggest one was a Wander Franco (yikes) 1 of 1 RC Platinum Pairings out of a $14 retail box; odds were 1:700000+ for packs.

Staring at my display case, I should put my idiot brain in there next to jordan

I have just been collecting Hall of famers and border line hall of famers and players today who I think might make the Hall of Fame like otani,judge ect. You pay 35-40 for a box and you get $5 worth of cards back

What boggles my mind is how an Ohtani or Judge etc base RC PSA 10 Chromes can be worth a few hundred bucks with like pops of 5000+ but like a much lower pop rookie of the same player in the same 10 grade are only a fraction, such as an Ohtani 2018 Topps Throwback Thursday #107. This card, which I think some people consider it to be a 'base' perhaps not, has a pop of only 138 but most would put its value much less than the 'popular' base chrome or even Topps paper rookie cards. I think over time the less known rookies cards rise in value but the pop differences are insane and obviously the print run differences as well. Enjoyed the video!

Michael Jordan. 🐐

Why not just buy vintage? Everything else is just gambling and speculation

Right...that's why I don't understand why you guys grade auto's and 1 of 1s 😮

Seems like hardly anyone wants to collect players like it was back in my childhood. It’s all about flipping the hot player. All about money instead of preference. Topps and panini are printing like it’s 1992! So hard to hit now days unless you’re a breaker. Retail products used to be a collectors friend, but the card manufacture’s want the good cards pulled by breakers on camera.

I agree with graded base in general, but admit I picked up a grade 10 Ohtani RC and O'Neil Cruz RC. No regrets. Paid about $50 each and even if it never turns into anything I'll be happy holding onto them.

Card prices are ridiculous now breaks are overrated.

If the player is a stud and it’s mint plus , you can grade base

Outsiders

You can never go wrong buying Harold Baines rookies... never..

graded base cards of players in any sports it trash.. I hope people stop grading base cards.. please STOP !!!!

Completely agree about the graded base. Like what? Just grade the stuff that’s worth 1 of 2 things. A) Worth something to you (base isn’t worth anything to anyone) and/or B) Cards valued over $50 in raw condition. Those are my typical rules of thumb. Also, with your point of buying the blaster or the single, you can’t put a value on the thrill of the chase. Some people value you that just as high, and think buying singles is the easy way out. PLUS, if you’re singles off eBay, what are the chances that person put a card that will grade well up for sale? I always wonder that. Love this video!!! Great discussion.

Completely agree about the graded base. Like what? Just grade the stuff that’s worth 1 of 2 things. A) Worth something to you (base isn’t worth anything to anyone) and/or B) Cards valued over $50 in raw condition. Those are my typical rules of thumb. Love this video!!!

When it comes to grading as well, go to the PSA pop report and look at how that set has been graded by them so far. I answer two questions through the numbers: * What’s the odds of a PSA 10 ? (Ceiling) * What’s the odds of a PSA 9 or better ? (Floor)

New subscriber here. Completely agree on your comment on base card grading! That should be reserved for premium only. Thanks for sharing!

Okay, Thanks for the information!

Well I've spent around 200 bucks in the last month and I've gotten a bo jackson score sp two different psa 8 barry bonds rookies one psa 8 kobe rookie caitlyn clark rookie anthony Bourdain a&g base brock bowers base mark mcgwire psa 8 rickey henderson rookie raw. All for the price of a stadium club hobby box. All I'm trying to say is singles are way better than buying wax at this point. My collection looks better by doing so

What is the best way to sell Raw Baseball Cards from the late 1980's and early 1990's? I was thinking selling by Player, for example Don Mattingly, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, etc. Thanks for the advice!

I agree on what cards to grade. I only suggest grading a card for 2 reasons: 1) Is it a long term/forever card for your own collection that you want to preserve? 2) Is it a card that you have examined very hard and is in Mint Condition front, back and edges that you want to sell? Otherwise, just keep it in a sleeve and toploader and then store in a box, special book for toploaded cards or in a closed display case. You should have goals for your collection and a game plan to acheieve that goal. Set a reasonable budget and stick to it. Don't use a Credit Card, unless you are paying off that card to $0 owed each month. For storage, I have switched to the BCW 3,200 count plastic storage bins. They have locking tops, 4 rows of storage capacity, stack extremely well on top of each other and have a place for cards to be displayed on the front, so you know what you put in there. I am replacing the cardboard boxes I have used for years with these bins. I can stack more bins and store a lot of cards. They can also become a display box if I rent a table at a card show. As to what I have planned to collect, within my budget and have a chance of reaching my goals, I buy lots on eBay. Since buying boxes is getting more and more difficult, odds are getting worse to getting what I want/need and prices of ones you can find are astronomical, I buy bulk lots. I am a set builder, so I need common cards and star cards. I buy singles to fill in the blanks from my bulk buys. As of late, Box Breaks give the "gamblers" who buy in a stack of cards that they usually don't want and are happy to unload them to recoup some of their money. I buy those for cheap. They also don't usually sell cards on eBay, so they don't always list them properly and at the best times to get maximum bids. I take advantage of misspelled listings that get missed by others and the ones that end on a night/morning when most people aren't looking at auctions. When it comes to what I think will hold value in the future, it comes down to brand/set, team, player, rookie vs vet, and print runs. A Dodger player and a Yankee player have a better chance to hold value. A quality veteran player is better than a nobody rookie. Insert sets aren't a priority to collect, unless it us a numbered parallel. Topps is licensed and Panini isn't, so I don't collect Panini. I will work to build a parallel variation set, over the base set and I know what the approximate print runs are for all non-numbered cards in the sets I am building.

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Blasters are garbage. You can get really good base cards in the .25 boxes at card shows. I like buying rookies who are more than half way through their career and on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

I understand the whole "Breakers are ruining the hobby" crowd. Unfortunately, I can't afford a case of the new 24 Prizm football, let alone a single box. But I can find a 4 boxer for my team that is in my budget. Cause I only really care about my teams or guys. So it honestly allows me my shot at ripping wax. Could i buy the singles? Oh I do, except it's nicer hitting that player ur chasing for cheaper than what that single is going for.

Gambling to me is if your betting on the horses and you lose for the day! You can look at it as entertainment or you lost! Problem when you lose you have nothing to show for it ynless you had a good time and you were responsible!