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beansballcardblog
Posts: 142
Joined: May 2011
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Saturday, July 7, 2018 9:35 PM | |
I bought a couple of Stadium Club blasters the last couple days. There's a video in my blog post below.
It got me thinking about the cost of building a set via packs. I did some cost analysis and now I wonder about if it's worth it. Would love to hear any comments.
Also, does anyone know an admin that can help me with my blog posts here? It's not been working for months now. If people click it says there are no posts. Boo!
BLASTER BUSTING: 2018 STADIUM CLUB BASEBALL & COST ANALYSIS
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ntlwhlr
Posts: 257
Joined: Feb 2017
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Saturday, July 7, 2018 10:07 PM | |
Since getting back into the card hobby I haven't focused on building any sets, but rather players or team I like. That said I feel like trying to build an entire set via blasters would be tough and as you explain not super cost efficient. However, the fun/joy/excitement of opening packs from any box is always fun for many of us on here I think, and not sure how to place a monetary value on that. I will buy blasters or an occasional hobby box, have the fun of opening, pilfer the cards I want out of it and list the rest for trade with the great folks here to get the other cards I am interested in. Been enjoying that approach so far!
I think I saw on your blog post someone mention - NO, don't put the numbers to it. Funny as just yesterday I was behind a person at the gas station and they purchased 3 packs of cigarettes. I don't smoke and clueless as to current value of them, but when the total was just over $25 I was taken back a bit. I started tabulating that in my head... little over $8/day if a pack a day x 365 = almost $3,000 per year. At first I was thinking, WOW, glad I never started that habit... then I started thinking, wait do I spend that on this cardboard habit?.... I am not sure on the answer to that and haven't kept track of it, but.... could be.... could be.... .
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Sportzcommish
Posts: 5,977
Joined: Oct 2016
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Sunday, July 8, 2018 7:04 AM | |
My life philosophy is: balance. That sometimes involves budgetary concerns. Cost analysis comes down to whether or not discretionary income is biting into necessities. In this hobby I've made these recent expenditures: $25 for about a 5,000 card lot (70s-90s mostly baseball), $25 for about 4,000 cards (80s-90s mainly football and basketball), $25 for 60 cards from my Want List (50s-90s), $5 for 100 repackaged cards from Walgreens, $3 for 90 repackaged cards from the Dollar Tree, and average about $10 in postage for about 300 cards monthly in trades. Bills are paid on time, my wife and I eat, we visit family, I don't smoke, drink, or dance (strong Southern Baptist upbringing LOL), and I don't purchase current card packs because I mostly get what I want via trades, but it's all balanced. That balance levels life for me.
So, you could probably convince yourself one way or the other about this hobby, but you'd do it for any other indulgence, too.
Balance.
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Follow my blog - I Identify as a Card Collector. “Aslan didn't tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he's up, I shouldn't wonder. But that doesn't let us off following the signs.” - Puddleglum in The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis
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vrooomed
Posts: 14,826
Joined: Dec 2012
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Sunday, July 8, 2018 7:31 AM | |
Actually, don't put the numbers to anything you do, or you'll be sad to see how much you pay, whether it be groceries, going out to eat, drinks, or cards. :)
Seriously though, I think unless you are strict on your budget, you probably overspend on something.
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-- Dan -- Note: Please see my profile for more info regarding trading (section updated 3/4/2024). I have added a large portion of my inventory to the site, and currently have trading turned on (details are in my profile).
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bevans
Posts: 436
Joined: Oct 2016
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Sunday, July 8, 2018 8:09 AM | |
I rarely open anything anymore. As you said the cost of trying to build a set - even a base set with no short prints - is usually way out of line with the cost of just buying the set.
This year's Prestige Basketball was about $75 for a hobby box (144 cards) or $17 for a blaster (40 cards). On ebay I was able to buy the 200-card complete set + 5 complete insert sets (100 insert cards in total) for $50. That's paying 50 cents per insert and getting the base set for free.
When it comes to hockey hand-collated are even cheaper. I can often find 100-card base sets (no short prints) of brands like Artifacts, SP Authentic, Upper Deck Ice, or Fleer Showcase for 10 bucks (Canadian) or less. Sometime for as little as 5 bucks - less than the price of a single 5-card hobby pack.
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sholtz21
Posts: 106
Joined: Jun 2018
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Sunday, July 8, 2018 9:42 AM | |
Wanted to add my two cents as well, as I’ve jumped back into the hobby after a long long break and practically starting over. It has to be a balance. I don’t look at the cost of it, it’s like any other hobby, it takes time and money. When I look at the the fishing stuff I have, rods, tackle, electronics, and the boat, my card expense is minimal. As a Husband and father of two, this hobby is something I can easily share and get excited about with my son Without breaking the bank. It’s difficult to find hobbies bat will keep the interest of 10yo with special needs, but this is something he gets very excited about. We started with 2018 Topps baseball box from target and have since expanded to anything baseball. My 7yo daughter is getting excited about hockey season, so I’m assuming that will be adding to the collection. We’ve slowly been building out collection through several means, I’ve been able to complete several trades with great members here, the target boxes and those Walgreens repacks. For me, I get joy out of watching my son and sometimes my daughter get excited out unwrapping packs. Watching the face of my son as he pulls out a foil card or something that “looks” different from the others is priceless. For me and us, it doesn’t matter if it’s a common or a rare card.
Sorry if this went a little off topic, just wanted to share my thoughts on collecting and the value, that goes way beyond the price of the packs and the value of what a single card might be worth.
~SH
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Billy Kingsley
Posts: 7,510
Joined: Aug 2011
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Sunday, July 8, 2018 11:22 AM | |
I specifically DON'T track how much I spend on the hobby. It would take all the fun out of it for me, I suspect. I know I average about $40 a month on the hobby, usually in the form of a couple blasters. This month it went to COMC instead, but I will not spend more than $20 on a single card. Most of my single card purchases are about a dollar.
I have been thinking about changing the way I collect, and I have been for a few years. I spend all my hobby money on a high quantity of cheap stuff, which is what I like. But my one and only lifelong dream is to own a classic car and enter car shows. I don't know how much longer I will be able to do car shows...due to my health problems I feel like my time for that may be running out...if I wait much longer I may never have the chance. I've already had to miss more than 10 shows this year due to my health...I'm missing one right now as I type this because I'm in too much pain to do the walking required.
But on the other hand, if I stop buying cards or my other hobbies to save up for a car, what happens then if it doesn't happen? Things have a way of not working out well for my family. Then, I don't get my car AND I miss out on the cards. Then what? Then I've given up the one thing that makes me happy for trying to chase the thing I think would make me happy, but I could very easily lose out on both.
I've been trying to figure out what to do for years and I can't figure out what the right choice is. Either way I'll be giving up something I love, and maybe both. The real dagger? Our family Jeep would be old enough to enter in car shows next year, and my family has chosen not to bother trying to fix it anymore, even though all it needed was a new radiator and starter, now it's sat unmoving since 2015 and probably more has gone bad. My health is not good enough to fix it myself, or I would have a long time ago. I already know this is something that's going to bother me forever but I have literally no say in the matter.
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VERY slow trading due to health problems. Not transferrable so safe to trade with, just moving is painful and can't always access the cards. Cardboard History My COMC New Collection Website: Cardboard History Gallery (Still under construction) Tips on how to make your scans look like the card does in hand (No more washed out, fuzzy scans!):
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Kaline6
Posts: 745
Joined: Nov 2014
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Sunday, July 8, 2018 12:37 PM | |
I don't tally costs either. I like to open a few boxes, maybe purchase a few packs, then work from trading to finish the set. There are usually enough doubles from that to trade. I am sure my way is more expensive than buying a set, but this still gives me the chance to build one, as I did in the early days of collecting.
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"He stood there like the house by the side of the road, and watched that one go by." - Ernie Harwell
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Billy Kingsley
Posts: 7,510
Joined: Aug 2011
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beansballcardblog
Posts: 142
Joined: May 2011
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Sunday, July 8, 2018 4:34 PM | |
Thanks for replying, everyone.
I truly enjoy reading and learning how and why others collect. Y'all make a ton of great points.
Just to cover my a**, I don't put the cost thought into most things. I've done it with sets, that's about it. I've completed the Parkhurst hockey sets the last couple of years and it's cost me $100 each time. OPC is really expensive as well.
Again, thanks for reading and commenting!
kin
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