May as well chime in too. I hardly ever bought a pack of cards since the first couple of years I started collecting. I found buying packs without knowing if I was going to get anything I really wanted was usually disappointing. I turned my money towards buying cards that I wanted or sets themselves. I also began focussing on the older cards when one could realistically think of getting all of the cards of that year. In the last few years, I have also bought bulk lots of anything from 100 to 100,000 cards as long as I could confirm that there where enough cards that I needed in the lot to make it worth the expense. Yes that is how I accumulated over 400,000 cards to trade. But it also how I go many of the sets and individual HoF cards that I have.
Early in my collecting, I always wished to have a card collecting club with people who colected for the love of the hobby and not the individual value of the cards. I had even thought of trying to create one in the local area. Then last December, I found this database. A dream come true. All I have really seen on here are collectors who work together to make this site even better than it was four months ago. I have made two trades that has given me 170 cards that I did not have before all for about the same number of cards that were sitting in that pile of boxes containing 400,000 plus ball cards.This is great adn I hope it continues.
As for the price of card packs, yes it is ridiculous. But for as long as people keep buying them, the companies will keep on pricing them at those ridiculous prices. i believe eventually they will price themselves out of business. Either one company (most likely Topps) will survive (and only if they bring the production of cards back to supplying a hobby) or, in the absence of all others, a new company will emerge, hopefully having learned the lessons of those gone under.
But for now, I will continue to hunt the deals in lots and those who wish to trade to increase their own collections.
Love the hobby for what it is - a hobby!
Bruno
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Check my Profile page to see my 2023 Goals and my Lists of sets near completion (5 cards or less) or sets getting close (less than 100 cards missing and 75% complete).
https://www.tcdb.com/Forum.cfm/Page/B/ID/0/?MODE=VIEW&ThreadID=25745&C=0
