Thank you for the vid. This is a big issue in the pokemon tcg as well and you covered it with more insight and nuance than anyone I've seen on the pokemon side.
I get this point as well. But at the same time getting a card from a different area could up your odds of getting a banger. At least that's what I tell myself 😂
First time I met a breaker he talked about his regular customers with utter contempt, referring to them multiple times as "degenerate gamblers." His arrogance was off the charts. Then he gave me a link to his facebook group where I could buy into breaks. Um no thank you. They just turned the hobby into slot machines.
The REAL Problem with Breaking is the true monitoring of age consent for entering breaks (which to me is 150% gambling). We have 12-15 yr old children entering breaks (I hear and see it all the time at card shows) and it's a spiral that can lead to addiction, depression and violence. Fanatics and everybody else needs to do a better job on age restrictions.
That’s worthy of its own video. Worst part is dudes like Justin scamble scamble who has a young fan base making it look like getting drunk flying around the world making millions off flipping current day b team stars speculating to the scars is a real job and he’s not just living off his parents atm getting drunk all day. It’s not good you see the kids in his comments just in awe.
The "hobby" went to crap about 25 years ago. But the ENTIRE industry is to blame. From manufacturers, to wholesalers, to stores, to breakers, to the flippers. The industry is quite literally a house of cards and the endless supply of money isn't going to last. A recessionary reset is LONG overdue.
I've gotten almost completely out of sports cards for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned, I used to love collecting parallel sets and ripping boxes, but I've just been priced out of being able to do it that way, and it just wasn't fun anymore. I've transitioned to only doing Pokémon because the prices at least around the release window usually stay grounded for people that actually like collecting and opening packs themselves, and there seems to be a lot more people that care about the collecting side of Pokémon VS only caring about the high value stuff. However, breakers and investors are starting to take over on the Pokémon side of things as well, and it has me concerned for the long term health of the hobby.
Breaking has got to the point where it's perpetuating the problem it originally set out to solve. Now it just enables the manufacturers to make more, expensive high-end products.
I hope whatever is wrong with the hobby can get fixed.im getting too old to do my old hobbies 😅cards are almost all i got left 😂 save this great hobby of ours.i am willing to help if there is a way to make things better
I’m not saying the hobby is all bad. It’s like 85% positive I believe. I just wanted to hit at some points that were on my mind that was bothering most of us! Thanks for checking in!
this is a self inflicted wound. All the MEN who flipped watches, houses, cars, booze, ...name it. we live in a culture where $$$ is all that matters. It a burn and churn world. Short term gain. Forget about the future.
It's not sustainable though. It'll be interesting to see when things take a turn. You're starting to price a lot of people out of those things and companies need people to sell to. That includes the people who are spending all the money right now. They need buyers of these items or they aren't actually worth anything.
It drives hobby box prices up, it is gambling to a point , and most of the time regular collectors dont get a chance to hit the big cards breakers mostly get cause they are buying everything up or getting loaded boxes
I collect strictly for the enjoyment I get from ripping packs. But some of the prices nowadays make it hard to afford. Thank you for explaining what a breaker is.
What I try to do is find breaks that allow me to buy into certain players or teams without having to throw big money on individual hobby boxes and opening them only to have most of it of players I don’t collect. For example, I recently bought into a 2024 case break of the Topps chrome formula 1 release and spent $400 for 3 drivers that I want to collect. A typically hobby box costs $275ish. And sure, I may not get to open it myself but if you find a breaker you like, you can enjoy the opening as entertainment like a show and still have a lot of fun. And then when the stuff comes in the mail it’s like a double bonus. That’s what I’ve been doing.
See I love this comment, because this guy who's making this content is only looking at it from one perspective and as much as I agree with some of what he's saying... he's looking at it only in a negative way.... because what about the real collectors who ain't chasing the big hits and just wants his team... and hobby box might have 3% of his team even in it, so it makes no sense to even buy one, it's much smarter to spend your resources on 10 different hobby boxes on the team you want then 1 box of 97% of cards you don't want or care about... so even know I have never bought into a break nor bought a hobby box ever... I think breaking is better then buying a single hobby box.... me personally just let others spend on those things and buy the individual cards I want.... so I'm grateful in a way....
I come from the Magic The Gathering world and the common advice there is to buy singles you need/want. It's commonly accepted that cracking packs (aka breaking) is degenerate gambling, but people still enjoy it when new sets come out. It IS deflating to open a $120 box, opening 36 packs and getting maybe $60 worth of value.
You haven’t lived till you degenerate gambled on a case of retail boxes lol 😂 I tend to pack search feeling up the packs at target with little to no shame. So I’m pretty much a low life collector, but when cards are so expensive…”You’re one card away from funding your Collection.” I’ve never sold a sport card.
I spent $500 on five breaks. $100 per break plus the $12 per month to even be a member to enter the breaks. Got crap teams and crap players. Sold one card for $75 that I got in the breaks. Huge loss! In the breaks I saw, maybe 2-3 people out of 30 made their $100 back. Saw a couple people get a card worth a couple hundred bucks. Definitely a gamble. I’m not a gambling man so it’s back to taking my old cards (10-30 years old), grade some better ones, sell some on eBay. Keep some for grandchildren.
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.
It is definitely a sea change, although I do like throwing a few dollars at breaks for players I like as just entertainment, and I still show up at my local card store to see what’s up. One thing that’s kind of annoying about the inflated prices is that it’s pushed out the opportunity to just buy a loose pack here or there at the dollar store or the grocery store sometimes when I go to checkout. Watching it behind a screen just doesn’t give you the excitement of opening something cool yourself
I fear breaking is accelerating the “growth for growth’s/profits sake” the hobby seems to be going down. That can cause massive issues with the core audience and drive away the new audience eventually (even some of the core) then nuke the hobby again. Best part of it is community and losing LCS’s will accelerate losing the community. Though youtube and reddit/other forums will still help keep it alive, in person connection is way better.
I would never pay someone to open my box for me. Its already hard enough to get good pulls...now you pay to take a team...or a slot...or whatever they do...and let's say you have a box that had a hit but didn't have that spot....you lower your odds even more. Let's not even get into the amount of slide of hand....stealing....hiding....whatever shady stuff thats going on and nothing can be done about it. The influencers also seems to be getting big hits while the retail guys seem to get garbage. They aren't that lucky to get hit after hit that a common collector might get a few times in their life..... Certain breakers are getting waaaay too many loaded boxes...when it defies the odds...there is some shady practices going on...dont believe otherwise.....
If you break with a local card shop that is a good way for people can share costs to open cards that they couldn't afford otherwise. That way someone in your group is guaranteed a case hit. Breaking with random breaker online and bidding for a spot is a coin flip. It really feels like gambling. The high prices make it seem like the only way to get rare cards is entering breaks since most people are not going to spend hundreds or thousands for hobby box or case. I have done breaks and got nothing but base cards and it really sucks. Learned my lesson and its probably a lesson that a lot of people dont learn until it happens to them. There is a lot of appeal of breaking but it is gambling. I think the hobby will decline at some point but its not necessarily due to breaks. Its a boom period and I don't think it can stay this way. With a lot of licenses going to topps/fanatics that is more of a concern for me than the breaks. Also with all the content creators I see online I cant stand the majority of them because they dont really care about collecting as a hobby. Its all about money for them. A lot of people see hobbies as a hustle. Everything I get is potentially for my pc. That is another appeal for breaks if I just want cards for a certain team as long as your team doesn't have a huge rookie it could seem like a good value.
Breakers kinda depend on gamblers. I like watching card breaks and time after time I see about $20 worth of cards total from $10-$35 dollar spots. The same people join over and over again.
Yea and it is good that if you will never be able to afford these astronomical prices for a hobby box, you can get into a break for way less money. It also is promoting excitement in the industry but the only problem with that is, what kind of excitement? Only hits? Is collecting for just love of collecting going to be gone in 10 years? Things are changing rapidly and it will be very interesting nonetheless.
@Sportscardhustlers Yeah things have definitely changed from when I used to collect as a kid. I discovered breakers this year and was amazed at what cards look like nowadays and the whole idea of joining a group. I bought into about 5 breaks and when I saw the value I got for my money I stopped but love watching it on Whatnot. I am buying singles now and get a little $13 hanger every now and then just to experience what I used to experience as a kid. I will never forget when I got a Fleer "Hot Pack" cause they put them out there. That won't ever happen again in today's hobby.
I never buy breaks, I just buy the card i want. Costs only about 10% of breaker costs. I can spend $250 on a Jackson Holiday/199. Or I can spend 3k in breaks and never get one. Breaks are a waste of money. But they are making it impossibly expensive and can't afford to collect. I'm a set collector, and bowman Chrome will cost me 1500$ to try to get the set. It's crazy.
Thankfully I only collect older cards. Breakers don't affect me. Still sucks that the hobby has just gone to a profit hungry market. All for cards that at the end of the day are not worth anything if you don't have buyers willing to pay for them. They are pricing a lot of people out of it and eventually you won't have any buyers anymore.
@@Member00101 agreed! I just feel bad for the kids that want to collect their favorite players. Things/prices are just getting out of control. I think in the next few years, it has to even itself out.
The card companies feed into the breakers because it benefits the profit line and that's frustrating. I am trying to get back into collecting again but its hard to find something affordable. I did try some breaks but I don't think its for me.
I am less than a month into the hobby after being dormant for 30 years. I have a family, normal adult payments, kids activities, and whole bunch of other stuff to pay for. My budget for this is going to be about $200/month. Spending $500 or more on a hobby box is something that will probably never happen for me unless I hit the Mega Millions. And that's okay. There are a lot of products in retail and hobby that are under $150 a box. Retail can be as low as $5-$7 for a hanger pack. It's really about being comfortable with your budget and what is responsible for you to do with your money, and not getting FOMO on the latest hot product. On the breaking side, I don't have an opinion on how they affect the hobby one way or the other. For someone like me on a budget, I will say, that the ability to pick the Brewers or Packers in a break is interesting. My kids and I opened five 30-card Score packs in a row and whiffed on Packers. Getting guaranteed cards of the teams I want in an opening is somewhat appealing if the price/product is right.
Also I’m a tigers fan.. I can get some cool ass singles for the price of a modern hobby box do why would I buy one? Even cheaper stuff like Allen&ginter.. hobby box is $140 I got the black border Allen Trammel auto /25 for less than that. Kinda makes it hard to justify buying one.. I would rather go to the casino and bet $140 on black. Much much much better chance of doubling my money.
Yea but his point is why are you complaining why buying any hobby box is just awful... so be happy others are opening them so we can get to buy the cards we want.... is how I see it
Bring the cost of hobby boxes down and breakers will be less popular.. I have joined a few team breaks lately because it costs me $10 instead of $150.. I can’t justify spending 150-300+ on a hobby box. It was fun entertainment but definitely a massive gamble that will nearly never pay off, just like buying a hobby box.. but at least it’s in the fun budget.
Look no further than NBA prizm deca fotl this year. They went up at dutch auction, and were oversold, due to some breakers buying most of the inventory, and reselling at ridiculous prices. 4k a box in some places. I do buy breaks by some awesome breakers, but for sure, there are some bad eggs, that are causing inflation on the industry. and to be fair, panini and Topps aren't helping the cause with how ridiculously overpriced their hobby boxes are. The consumers at the end of the day can make a change by voting with their wallet. That's the only way to drive change, and hopefully lower the cost of these products.
Awesome video, and you are correct!! After collecting as a kid and returning in my late 40's now it's totally different. I'm lucky to find some retail, as the "flippers" look to make a dollar on the secondary. I miss the time's before the internet & enjoying the hobby as thing's were meant to be. I CAN say that the current generation is missing out on the hobby, and it's not always about the money...
Half these people are gonna be selling their stuff for Pennies on the dollar when they go bankrupt for being over leveraged with no buyers when the correction comes along
You forget the big breakers are considered small companies so they get to write off 80 percent of their purchases on tax write offs so free cards for them from the tax payers
Breakers IMHO are just satisfying a need of the gamblers who have sabotaged the Hobby and with it the cost of wax. Collectors just need to buy smart, don't buy into the hype, buy what the scalpers/speculators no longer pump and that you actually want to buy and hold because you like the player. Its crazy when I see people bust a wax box for 1k plus and the best case scenario it has only one card that might pay for the box. Then on top of it you have folks then have to rely on the breaker being honest and sending the card to you. IMHO just say no to wax ripping till the gamblers leave and don't buy these newer cards for big $$$. Just be patient and it will all come down as the newest shiny card will soon be release and with it the speculators will turn their focus to that.
People tell me i gambled! I have 20,000 plus cards with cards getting graded! I have inventory! As long as you have inventory you are really not gambling!
I have bought for 600$ worth of boxes 2 days ago, and yeah that was my last time the products are way too overpriced and the return is terrible, i cant see my self doing that ever again knowing im not too strong on gambling at all, its sad because its so much fun but having a single 100$ card out of 600 is crazy to me... breakers make the big compagnies droping more products at higher price and terrible odds for a great box. Yeah... Im out...
Very, very few of these cards are "investments", the reat are hype cycle cards that should be dumped for $$ while there is hype. I have 1 card i consider something that would appreciate. Dual auto soccer card of Messi and Maranado.
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!
@@Sportscardhustlers Collectors literally invented breaking, so they can blame themselves. New products have always been heavily driven by gambling, now it's just out in the open and people want to act like it's some new thing.
It’s nothing “new” no one is claiming that. The issue is that everyone is trying to get their hands on every single thing that comes out from every major card market from Pokémon, magic to sports cards basketball, football and soccer now. Every day joe shmos who don’t know their left nut from their right nut buy as much as they can and list it on Facebook and eBay for a profit. Then you add on the dumbasses charging $400 a break for a $100 box or worse. Everyone who isn’t a major vendor is looking for ridiculous top dollar prices which then cause the manufacturer to do Dutch auctions starting at $1750? That’s insane, they aren’t gonna leave insane profits on the table for the second hand market to grab, they see dumb asses overpaying and they want a larger piece of the pie. In 1-2 years this whole market across the board is going to come down, these “breakers” and “investors” are going to be upside down and over leveraged on their gamble and are gonna be BEGGING for people to buy their cards at 65% of what they bought it for let alone 85%. Same goes for sealed and singles. Get your money now and ride it out for the next 6-12 months and get out for a while
Nothing against the breakers, I mean you gotta make a living and I get that. But like you said, it was for the kids and it’s a shame they are regulated to wax due to the inflating prices. Thanks for checking in!
@@Sportscardhustlers Well I got back into rhis for my own reason, but the stuff kids buy at the store is being messed up competing with adults with a good living IMO. buying high dollar on the net!
@@TrueTexan-gv2cb No doubt! Retail is wax and not many good cards and way overpriced. I’m not really in it to grab that big hit but to collect with my kids but it is getting out of hand with these prices.
The breakers aren't destroying the hobby of sportscards. It's a growing thousands of people like me and you are destroying the hobby. I'm not worried because I'll soon stop buying singles of cards. Soon all the physical LCS will no longer exist thanks to Fanatics. Kids today are more in Pokemon or other hobbies not into sports. #theendisnear
Interesting take...how are people like you destroying the hobby? IMO, none of this was avoidable. You just have to educate yourself on the pitfalls, and then decide for yourself how you want to collect. I get the same feeling buying a hobby box as I do walking into a casino. I already know I'm going to lose before I even sit down to play. But it's super easy for me to not buy wax or not go into casinos.
Breaking isn't bad. It's an important part of the ecosystem - helping to get singles, especially high end, out into the secondary market. What's more broken is the bad behavior and overall economics of the hobby.
Yeah, I am not saying that breakers are bad or that you shouldn’t do it, just talking about how it is affecting the hobby. Like you said, the economics is what we need to focus on but to peel the layers from that, we need to understand why they are some bad in the first place. Thanks for checking in!
@@chrisrunyon2372 I was speaking more on high-end cards that already have a high price tag set by the manufacturer, and not inflated by other factors. Most people can't afford a box of Flawless or Topps Transcendent. But I hear you on allowing regular folks to be able to buy product at the list price. Though even in that case, maybe breakers are doing people a favor - minimizing the amount of sealed product that people buy, which we all know is not an efficient way to get the cards you want.😂
This “take” on Breakers is total Garbage. How else do you think product gets opened and cards come out to the Secondary Market for “Collectors” to purchase? Why would you spend $$$ on opening a Hobby Box at your LCS if you’re looking for a certain player or team? You’re telling me dropping $$$ on a Hobby Box isn’t the same as buying a Team or Player in a Break? The “Hobby” is supposed to be fun and talking about the “Hobby” with other people.
How does the product get opened and cards reach secondary market? The same way it did before breakers, actual collector's opening boxes that aren't inflated because of breakers and trading/selling the cards they don't want to then buy the singles that they do...
What a rant! You either change with the times or you become a dinosaur! There is more of a community now than there was in the 80s or 90s just look at you now communicating with your community that never existed 10 or 20 years ago
Thank you for the vid. This is a big issue in the pokemon tcg as well and you covered it with more insight and nuance than anyone I've seen on the pokemon side.
I have a channel where I open up packs/boxes but I’m not a breaker. I would never want someone else to open up packs for me.
@@RichardPoundstone Good luck and thanks for commenting!
Yeah that’s weird.
Ya thats the fun part. Who pays someone to go on the rollercoaster for them? I dont understand it...
I get this point as well. But at the same time getting a card from a different area could up your odds of getting a banger.
At least that's what I tell myself 😂
@@seanobrien9311 haha. I live in Miami, whenever I visit my buddy in Orlando I hit all the stores.
Why is it every time i start getting into a hobby i find out it is just reaching a point where the hobby has left its golden age and is being ruined
for real...
Gotta go back to reading books. That will never be ruined..
💯
...because we live in a FIAT culture
Metal detecting is a great hobby!! Great finds and decent equipment is cheap!!
First time I met a breaker he talked about his regular customers with utter contempt, referring to them multiple times as "degenerate gamblers." His arrogance was off the charts. Then he gave me a link to his facebook group where I could buy into breaks. Um no thank you. They just turned the hobby into slot machines.
@@mookie7688 Thanks for the insight! I’ve watched but never bought in.
The REAL Problem with Breaking is the true monitoring of age consent for entering breaks (which to me is 150% gambling). We have 12-15 yr old children entering breaks (I hear and see it all the time at card shows) and it's a spiral that can lead to addiction, depression and violence. Fanatics and everybody else needs to do a better job on age restrictions.
Most definitely and I should have put that in my video! Thanks!!
That’s worthy of its own video. Worst part is dudes like Justin scamble scamble who has a young fan base making it look like getting drunk flying around the world making millions off flipping current day b team stars speculating to the scars is a real job and he’s not just living off his parents atm getting drunk all day. It’s not good you see the kids in his comments just in awe.
Big breakers are definitely having a negative impact. I enjoy opening my own packs no matter what I hit. It's taking the fun and nostalgia out of it.
Yup i agree
The "hobby" went to crap about 25 years ago. But the ENTIRE industry is to blame. From manufacturers, to wholesalers, to stores, to breakers, to the flippers. The industry is quite literally a house of cards and the endless supply of money isn't going to last. A recessionary reset is LONG overdue.
Forgot to mention... GRADERS are another big part of the problem.
Yah I dont know what direction the hobby will go in the next 5-10 years
I've gotten almost completely out of sports cards for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned, I used to love collecting parallel sets and ripping boxes, but I've just been priced out of being able to do it that way, and it just wasn't fun anymore. I've transitioned to only doing Pokémon because the prices at least around the release window usually stay grounded for people that actually like collecting and opening packs themselves, and there seems to be a lot more people that care about the collecting side of Pokémon VS only caring about the high value stuff. However, breakers and investors are starting to take over on the Pokémon side of things as well, and it has me concerned for the long term health of the hobby.
Thanks for reaching out! Good luck in the Pokémon hobby!
Breaking has got to the point where it's perpetuating the problem it originally set out to solve. Now it just enables the manufacturers to make more, expensive high-end products.
totally agree
I hope whatever is wrong with the hobby can get fixed.im getting too old to do my old hobbies 😅cards are almost all i got left 😂 save this great hobby of ours.i am willing to help if there is a way to make things better
I’m not saying the hobby is all bad. It’s like 85% positive I believe. I just wanted to hit at some points that were on my mind that was bothering most of us! Thanks for checking in!
this is a self inflicted wound.
All the MEN who flipped watches, houses, cars, booze, ...name it.
we live in a culture where $$$ is all that matters.
It a burn and churn world. Short term gain. Forget about the future.
You totally right! I just feel bad for the kids! Thanks for commenting! Cheers!
It's not sustainable though. It'll be interesting to see when things take a turn. You're starting to price a lot of people out of those things and companies need people to sell to. That includes the people who are spending all the money right now. They need buyers of these items or they aren't actually worth anything.
TLDW; gambling is not collecting.
Preach
It drives hobby box prices up, it is gambling to a point , and most of the time regular collectors dont get a chance to hit the big cards breakers mostly get cause they are buying everything up or getting loaded boxes
It definitely is gambling.
This is also a problem in the trading card game space. Great points.
Totally agree, it sure is a problem everywhere. Thanks for commenting!
Breakers break things like hurt people hurt people
@@JunkCardDawg indeed
I was compiling "These Are A Few of My LEAST Favorite Things" in the hobby. Interesting how most of them have a connection to breaking.
That's what we've been noticing from a lot of collectors
I collect strictly for the enjoyment I get from ripping packs. But some of the prices nowadays make it hard to afford. Thank you for explaining what a breaker is.
What I try to do is find breaks that allow me to buy into certain players or teams without having to throw big money on individual hobby boxes and opening them only to have most of it of players I don’t collect.
For example, I recently bought into a 2024 case break of the Topps chrome formula 1 release and spent $400 for 3 drivers that I want to collect. A typically hobby box costs $275ish. And sure, I may not get to open it myself but if you find a breaker you like, you can enjoy the opening as entertainment like a show and still have a lot of fun.
And then when the stuff comes in the mail it’s like a double bonus.
That’s what I’ve been doing.
Good stuff, thanks for sharing!
See I love this comment, because this guy who's making this content is only looking at it from one perspective and as much as I agree with some of what he's saying... he's looking at it only in a negative way.... because what about the real collectors who ain't chasing the big hits and just wants his team... and hobby box might have 3% of his team even in it, so it makes no sense to even buy one, it's much smarter to spend your resources on 10 different hobby boxes on the team you want then 1 box of 97% of cards you don't want or care about... so even know I have never bought into a break nor bought a hobby box ever... I think breaking is better then buying a single hobby box.... me personally just let others spend on those things and buy the individual cards I want.... so I'm grateful in a way....
Breakers have killed it ,
yup
I come from the Magic The Gathering world and the common advice there is to buy singles you need/want. It's commonly accepted that cracking packs (aka breaking) is degenerate gambling, but people still enjoy it when new sets come out. It IS deflating to open a $120 box, opening 36 packs and getting maybe $60 worth of value.
thats what im saying
You haven’t lived till you degenerate gambled on a case of retail boxes lol 😂 I tend to pack search feeling up the packs at target with little to no shame. So I’m pretty much a low life collector, but when cards are so expensive…”You’re one card away from funding your Collection.” I’ve never sold a sport card.
I spent $500 on five breaks. $100 per break plus the $12 per month to even be a member to enter the breaks. Got crap teams and crap players. Sold one card for $75 that I got in the breaks. Huge loss! In the breaks I saw, maybe 2-3 people out of 30 made their $100 back. Saw a couple people get a card worth a couple hundred bucks. Definitely a gamble. I’m not a gambling man so it’s back to taking my old cards (10-30 years old), grade some better ones, sell some on eBay. Keep some for grandchildren.
Totally forgot to add the per month fee into my video. Def. is a gamble and it’s a shame because it should be about the kids. Thanks for checking in!
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.
It is definitely a sea change, although I do like throwing a few dollars at breaks for players I like as just entertainment, and I still show up at my local card store to see what’s up. One thing that’s kind of annoying about the inflated prices is that it’s pushed out the opportunity to just buy a loose pack here or there at the dollar store or the grocery store sometimes when I go to checkout. Watching it behind a screen just doesn’t give you the excitement of opening something cool yourself
True that! Thanks for commenting!
It also make it harder to find boxes to buy to finish sets
I fear breaking is accelerating the “growth for growth’s/profits sake” the hobby seems to be going down. That can cause massive issues with the core audience and drive away the new audience eventually (even some of the core) then nuke the hobby again. Best part of it is community and losing LCS’s will accelerate losing the community. Though youtube and reddit/other forums will still help keep it alive, in person connection is way better.
@@rschreck97 Agreed! Thanks for checking in!
I would never pay someone to open my box for me. Its already hard enough to get good pulls...now you pay to take a team...or a slot...or whatever they do...and let's say you have a box that had a hit but didn't have that spot....you lower your odds even more.
Let's not even get into the amount of slide of hand....stealing....hiding....whatever shady stuff thats going on and nothing can be done about it. The influencers also seems to be getting big hits while the retail guys seem to get garbage. They aren't that lucky to get hit after hit that a common collector might get a few times in their life.....
Certain breakers are getting waaaay too many loaded boxes...when it defies the odds...there is some shady practices going on...dont believe otherwise.....
That's exactly how we feel
If you break with a local card shop that is a good way for people can share costs to open cards that they couldn't afford otherwise. That way someone in your group is guaranteed a case hit. Breaking with random breaker online and bidding for a spot is a coin flip. It really feels like gambling. The high prices make it seem like the only way to get rare cards is entering breaks since most people are not going to spend hundreds or thousands for hobby box or case. I have done breaks and got nothing but base cards and it really sucks. Learned my lesson and its probably a lesson that a lot of people dont learn until it happens to them. There is a lot of appeal of breaking but it is gambling.
I think the hobby will decline at some point but its not necessarily due to breaks. Its a boom period and I don't think it can stay this way. With a lot of licenses going to topps/fanatics that is more of a concern for me than the breaks. Also with all the content creators I see online I cant stand the majority of them because they dont really care about collecting as a hobby. Its all about money for them. A lot of people see hobbies as a hustle. Everything I get is potentially for my pc. That is another appeal for breaks if I just want cards for a certain team as long as your team doesn't have a huge rookie it could seem like a good value.
Thanks for your insight, we appreciate it!
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS VID HONESTLY 🤦🏾🤦🏾🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️
Thank you!!
Breakers kinda depend on gamblers. I like watching card breaks and time after time I see about $20 worth of cards total from $10-$35 dollar spots. The same people join over and over again.
Yea and it is good that if you will never be able to afford these astronomical prices for a hobby box, you can get into a break for way less money. It also is promoting excitement in the industry but the only problem with that is, what kind of excitement? Only hits? Is collecting for just love of collecting going to be gone in 10 years? Things are changing rapidly and it will be very interesting nonetheless.
@Sportscardhustlers Yeah things have definitely changed from when I used to collect as a kid. I discovered breakers this year and was amazed at what cards look like nowadays and the whole idea of joining a group. I bought into about 5 breaks and when I saw the value I got for my money I stopped but love watching it on Whatnot. I am buying singles now and get a little $13 hanger every now and then just to experience what I used to experience as a kid. I will never forget when I got a Fleer "Hot Pack" cause they put them out there. That won't ever happen again in today's hobby.
The true winner in all this is the card manufacturer because they sell out and make more and more expensive boxes.
Yup this is so true
I never buy breaks, I just buy the card i want. Costs only about 10% of breaker costs. I can spend $250 on a Jackson Holiday/199. Or I can spend 3k in breaks and never get one. Breaks are a waste of money. But they are making it impossibly expensive and can't afford to collect. I'm a set collector, and bowman Chrome will cost me 1500$ to try to get the set. It's crazy.
Thankfully I only collect older cards. Breakers don't affect me. Still sucks that the hobby has just gone to a profit hungry market. All for cards that at the end of the day are not worth anything if you don't have buyers willing to pay for them. They are pricing a lot of people out of it and eventually you won't have any buyers anymore.
@@Member00101 agreed! I just feel bad for the kids that want to collect their favorite players. Things/prices are just getting out of control. I think in the next few years, it has to even itself out.
The card companies feed into the breakers because it benefits the profit line and that's frustrating. I am trying to get back into collecting again but its hard to find something affordable. I did try some breaks but I don't think its for me.
The card companies are definitely feeding these breakers because of the ROI they are receiving from them
I am less than a month into the hobby after being dormant for 30 years. I have a family, normal adult payments, kids activities, and whole bunch of other stuff to pay for. My budget for this is going to be about $200/month. Spending $500 or more on a hobby box is something that will probably never happen for me unless I hit the Mega Millions. And that's okay. There are a lot of products in retail and hobby that are under $150 a box. Retail can be as low as $5-$7 for a hanger pack. It's really about being comfortable with your budget and what is responsible for you to do with your money, and not getting FOMO on the latest hot product. On the breaking side, I don't have an opinion on how they affect the hobby one way or the other. For someone like me on a budget, I will say, that the ability to pick the Brewers or Packers in a break is interesting. My kids and I opened five 30-card Score packs in a row and whiffed on Packers. Getting guaranteed cards of the teams I want in an opening is somewhat appealing if the price/product is right.
Also I’m a tigers fan.. I can get some cool ass singles for the price of a modern hobby box do why would I buy one? Even cheaper stuff like Allen&ginter.. hobby box is $140 I got the black border Allen Trammel auto /25 for less than that. Kinda makes it hard to justify buying one.. I would rather go to the casino and bet $140 on black. Much much much better chance of doubling my money.
@@SquareLimit Yup! Imagine spending 4k on a hobby box. Outrageous.
Yea but his point is why are you complaining why buying any hobby box is just awful... so be happy others are opening them so we can get to buy the cards we want.... is how I see it
Bring the cost of hobby boxes down and breakers will be less popular.. I have joined a few team breaks lately because it costs me $10 instead of $150.. I can’t justify spending 150-300+ on a hobby box. It was fun entertainment but definitely a massive gamble that will nearly never pay off, just like buying a hobby box.. but at least it’s in the fun budget.
Yup im with you on that
I have always known that breakers tend to break things.
Haha i see what you did there lol
Look no further than NBA prizm deca fotl this year. They went up at dutch auction, and were oversold, due to some breakers buying most of the inventory, and reselling at ridiculous prices. 4k a box in some places. I do buy breaks by some awesome breakers, but for sure, there are some bad eggs, that are causing inflation on the industry. and to be fair, panini and Topps aren't helping the cause with how ridiculously overpriced their hobby boxes are. The consumers at the end of the day can make a change by voting with their wallet. That's the only way to drive change, and hopefully lower the cost of these products.
@@videogames9829 Totally agree! Can’t imagine spending 4k on box. Thanks for checking in!
Awesome video, and you are correct!! After collecting as a kid and returning in my late 40's now it's totally different. I'm lucky to find some retail, as the "flippers" look to make a dollar on the secondary. I miss the time's before the internet & enjoying the hobby as thing's were meant to be. I CAN say that the current generation is missing out on the hobby, and it's not always about the money...
@@ericreno8744 🙌🙌🙌 All about the kids! Shame they are pushed out just for some profit.
Half these people are gonna be selling their stuff for Pennies on the dollar when they go bankrupt for being over leveraged with no buyers when the correction comes along
You forget the big breakers are considered small companies so they get to write off 80 percent of their purchases on tax write offs so free cards for them from the tax payers
@@coryandrews7306 Really?? Wow!!
@Sportscardhustlers yep just like any small business... tax write offffsssss
Why are people stupid enough to pay breaker
They want that big hit without having to pay full price of a hobby box - just gambling to see if they can get lucky.
if by breakers you meant manufacturers I'd tend to agree.
Breakers IMHO are just satisfying a need of the gamblers who have sabotaged the Hobby and with it the cost of wax. Collectors just need to buy smart, don't buy into the hype, buy what the scalpers/speculators no longer pump and that you actually want to buy and hold because you like the player. Its crazy when I see people bust a wax box for 1k plus and the best case scenario it has only one card that might pay for the box. Then on top of it you have folks then have to rely on the breaker being honest and sending the card to you. IMHO just say no to wax ripping till the gamblers leave and don't buy these newer cards for big $$$. Just be patient and it will all come down as the newest shiny card will soon be release and with it the speculators will turn their focus to that.
People tell me i gambled! I have 20,000 plus cards with cards getting graded! I have inventory! As long as you have inventory you are really not gambling!
Agreed. I have a nice collection that I can pass down to my kids and then their kids etc. Hopefully they save it after I am gone! 🤣
I have bought for 600$ worth of boxes 2 days ago, and yeah that was my last time the products are way too overpriced and the return is terrible, i cant see my self doing that ever again knowing im not too strong on gambling at all, its sad because its so much fun but having a single 100$ card out of 600 is crazy to me... breakers make the big compagnies droping more products at higher price and terrible odds for a great box. Yeah... Im out...
Very, very few of these cards are "investments", the reat are hype cycle cards that should be dumped for $$ while there is hype. I have 1 card i consider something that would appreciate. Dual auto soccer card of Messi and Maranado.
Yeah the market is changing for sure and I like your card, what a cool card!
@Sportscardhustlers Thanks man, I was stoked to pull it. Pulled it just last week
That’s a grail card for sure 🎉
When you skip the base cards and go straight to the inserts to see how much money you’re getting. Your trash. In it for the money not the passion.
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!
No one is destroying the hobby, get a grip
Idk its a common thread being talked about by collectors
@@Sportscardhustlers Collectors literally invented breaking, so they can blame themselves. New products have always been heavily driven by gambling, now it's just out in the open and people want to act like it's some new thing.
It’s nothing “new” no one is claiming that. The issue is that everyone is trying to get their hands on every single thing that comes out from every major card market from Pokémon, magic to sports cards basketball, football and soccer now. Every day joe shmos who don’t know their left nut from their right nut buy as much as they can and list it on Facebook and eBay for a profit. Then you add on the dumbasses charging $400 a break for a $100 box or worse. Everyone who isn’t a major vendor is looking for ridiculous top dollar prices which then cause the manufacturer to do Dutch auctions starting at $1750? That’s insane, they aren’t gonna leave insane profits on the table for the second hand market to grab, they see dumb asses overpaying and they want a larger piece of the pie. In 1-2 years this whole market across the board is going to come down, these “breakers” and “investors” are going to be upside down and over leveraged on their gamble and are gonna be BEGGING for people to buy their cards at 65% of what they bought it for let alone 85%. Same goes for sealed and singles. Get your money now and ride it out for the next 6-12 months and get out for a while
IMO your correct and I am about done with it all! This all started out for kidos, not adult man baby dudes making a living off it!!!!!
Nothing against the breakers, I mean you gotta make a living and I get that. But like you said, it was for the kids and it’s a shame they are regulated to wax due to the inflating prices. Thanks for checking in!
@@Sportscardhustlers Well I got back into rhis for my own reason, but the stuff kids buy at the store is being messed up competing with adults with a good living IMO. buying high dollar on the net!
@@TrueTexan-gv2cb No doubt! Retail is wax and not many good cards and way overpriced. I’m not really in it to grab that big hit but to collect with my kids but it is getting out of hand with these prices.
@ Yea I have heard through many people that retail stuff is getting worse and worse.
Grading ruined it.
The breakers aren't destroying the hobby of sportscards. It's a growing thousands of people like me and you are destroying the hobby. I'm not worried because I'll soon stop buying singles of cards. Soon all the physical LCS will no longer exist thanks to Fanatics. Kids today are more in Pokemon or other hobbies not into sports. #theendisnear
I think its debatable.
Interesting take...how are people like you destroying the hobby? IMO, none of this was avoidable. You just have to educate yourself on the pitfalls, and then decide for yourself how you want to collect. I get the same feeling buying a hobby box as I do walking into a casino. I already know I'm going to lose before I even sit down to play. But it's super easy for me to not buy wax or not go into casinos.
Breaking isn't bad. It's an important part of the ecosystem - helping to get singles, especially high end, out into the secondary market. What's more broken is the bad behavior and overall economics of the hobby.
Yeah, I am not saying that breakers are bad or that you shouldn’t do it, just talking about how it is affecting the hobby. Like you said, the economics is what we need to focus on but to peel the layers from that, we need to understand why they are some bad in the first place. Thanks for checking in!
Those singles get to the secondary market without breakers to if they were not buying up everything before you get a chance to buy a box or two.
@@chrisrunyon2372 I was speaking more on high-end cards that already have a high price tag set by the manufacturer, and not inflated by other factors. Most people can't afford a box of Flawless or Topps Transcendent. But I hear you on allowing regular folks to be able to buy product at the list price. Though even in that case, maybe breakers are doing people a favor - minimizing the amount of sealed product that people buy, which we all know is not an efficient way to get the cards you want.😂
This “take” on Breakers is total Garbage. How else do you think product gets opened and cards come out to the Secondary Market for “Collectors” to purchase? Why would you spend $$$ on opening a Hobby Box at your LCS if you’re looking for a certain player or team? You’re telling me dropping $$$ on a Hobby Box isn’t the same as buying a Team or Player in a Break? The “Hobby” is supposed to be fun and talking about the “Hobby” with other people.
How does the product get opened and cards reach secondary market? The same way it did before breakers, actual collector's opening boxes that aren't inflated because of breakers and trading/selling the cards they don't want to then buy the singles that they do...
Good point
appreciate your feedback, not sure I agree but thanks for sharing
@@swampykips3381 LCS sell there inventory to Breakers all the time.
What a rant! You either change with the times or you become a dinosaur! There is more of a community now than there was in the 80s or 90s just look at you now communicating with your community that never existed 10 or 20 years ago
the covid handouts destroyed the hobby. elevated prices and brought in the scum
which should be the last thing we complain about when it comes to fake pandemics, abuse of authority and reckless govt spending.
@@BestBallCabal 💯💯