General Forum

I guess one of the downsides to the increased box prices is it makes it harder to get kids in to the hobby.

My brother wanted to get something for his son to open for his birthday. Even a blaster box of Hoops here was hundreds of dollars.

Jack just loves getting lots of cards with stats on the back. Does not care about the players but if there are some GSW guys that is better.

I ended up sending him all the base from a box of Hoops I bought months ago.

He loved that, as 100+ new cards to look over. Still not quiet the same as opening the packs himself though.

Really interesting conversation.

In a way I'm fortunate enough to have focussed my collecting down to a team (the mighty Blues) that plays in a sport with a relatively small global following (Australian Rules Football). There are more than enough reasonably priced cards - taking into account inflation and relative rarity (yeh, I'm nerdy enough to have run the numbers) - to keep me going for many years to come before I even get close to completing my goal.

There are two factors that will contribute to this longevity. One, it is a lofty goal in any case, so completion is really a pipe dream even if not one more set of cards was ever released. Two, I have a strict budget for this that I must stick to, otherwise my naturally addictive tendancies will cause me and my family financial ruination.

The budget is the reason I put a lot of effort into making sure I do not overpay for anything. And to me, that is part of the game. To search not for the unfindable card (I haven't been in this long enough for that to be an issue yet), but rather to search for the card I don't have that someone is willing to sell to me for the price I am willing to pay. For a numbers geek like me, trying to define what that price will be is half the fun.

And even still, I will buy a box of the latest Select Australia AFL release as and when they come up. And why? Well, I NEVER bought a box as a kid. We were limited to the single packs we could afford maybe once a week or fortnight when the pocket money trickled in. I treat the box purchase as something of a gamble and treat for this adult version of the collector. Yes, I go back and sell a lot of what I don't want to keep on the bay, but never for unreasonable prices and really only as a sort of substitute for actual trading. I rarely make all my money back, but occassionally there is the thrill of pulling something that gets back the price of the box. This is only secondary to the thrill of pulling something I can keep in my collection that would have otherwise been difficult to obtain/justify. Select Australia actually do a pretty good job of making sure there's something worthwhile in every box. By definition it is unlikely that the resale value of the lot will make up the box price, and my experience is that I end up holding on to a fair few cards I'd rather be rid of, but that's the gamble and the price of the occassional thrill. This is totally unrelated to how I search for and price cards for my collection otherwise.

Note; I have also put rules in place for this. Only one box per release, no more. Again... addictive tendancies.

Then again, maybe it's just that box prices downunder haven't really significantly changed, and nor have the number of releases, for close to twenty years (with one or two really high end special release exceptions). There were more different AFL sets of tobacco cards in 1933 than there are mainstream card sets in 2020. Clearly the smaller market and limited following is working to my advantage.

I think more then " getting pushed out the hobby", we as collectors need to do like we do with everything else in life, " adapt to the times".

The past couple years I have bought bulk baseball lots cheap; at aution, a store closeing, and large lot of boxes containing random cards. I am now in the process of pulling the cards I want for my pc and putting those cards in binders.Along with putting the rest of my collection in binders.

The next step is to list as many cards as I can for trade here. BTW, did I mention I found some sps' and ssps' in those boxes ? The thrill of the hunt :). ALL of the cards except autos I hope to get here eventually and trade them for cards I REALLY do want.This is VERY time consuming, yet almost as fun as opening packs, looking for what others " missed".

I really like this thread, it is fun to see what others are doing. I totally agree, PRICES ARE OFF THE CHARTS, I also believe they will come back down at some point.

I'm not getting pushed out, I'm just adapting to the new prices by not buying them now.. As previously mentioned I have more than enough cards to keep me busy for a very long time. Maybe 2007 was the last time I bought boxes or sets of  any thing current. I'm not interested in 2020 stuff. Eventually when the "thrill" for that year is over, I might pickup boxes or sets just to fill that year's void. @ the mid-'90s my collecting style changed and I just add 1 set/per year/per my collecting genre. I fill in past years "on the cheap" , and pay more for vintage adds.

Reading through this thread, there is a good amount of the same sentiment I have.....I collected when I was younger and when I went off to college, the money went to beer instead of cards....so my collection dwindled....I'm working on cleaning up and out my old stuff.  I have TONS (like everyone else in that era) of Junk Era....I find a few gems in there (Jeter, Ryan, etc.) but most are 2 cent cards...I'm trying to fill the holes in my collection.....but DOUBT I will ever get the Trout update unless I buy it at a garage sale or auction.....My wife says I have a problem....I don't think so ;)  I will usually buy a pack or blaster from walmart when we go....$20 tops usually.....I RARELY go over that number unless something new comes out.....and with this shut down, it's hurting since the Walmarts around me haven't been getting cards.....the shelves are almost BARE....I bought a blaster of Parkhurt Hockey yesterday.....

New sets, I have been trying to get the base stuff, but the only way I go towards the high end stuff is if I jump in on a box break....I have 2 breakers that I follow and the one has hooked me up well with a few things outside of breaks, so I stick with him.  I love the thrill of looking at the percentage on the side and seeing 100%...

It used to be a big deal to get an auto card, memorbilia or something game used from a card......but I've seen those going to $1 or $2......I see it's a new way for the fans, but I think it's just over done.....go back to simple and make it more appealing to the younger generation.....Topps has the digital app....do like comics does and start including digital version of the card and trade those online....

Well what I hope happens is most other people will just stop buying and Panini will be forced to drop them down to resonable prices to get them to move.  If people stop buying into breaks that will go along way to correct the issue.  I am curious how it works between the retailers and Panini.  Does Panini set a retail price that they think they can sell the card at?  Does the Hobby shop purchase it at a discount from that price?  If its not selling who decides the price should go down?  Does Panini have to return some of the money if the product isn't selling at the price they thought it would.  Can the Hobby shop return unsold product for a return?  I'm going to refocus on collecting Die-cut and acetate sets until things return to normal.  

I've talked with three people with knowledge about the hobby. All three (eventhough they have bias) have said the companies are pushing for breakers instead of grass roots sales. The money is better and less headaches for them. Think of it as bulk vs one offs. Less headaches and I would image great incentives for the breakers. I have a buddy who owns a HVAC business and he gets so many paid for trip bonuses from companies to buy in bulk he actually passes them along to his employees, he says he would never be able to work if they took them all themsleves. Why do manufacturers do it, it kills off the wholesaler aka middleman. He gets better price and free trips to Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican. I can see some kind of program like that happening here too, makes brick and mortar have to remodel thier business plans as well.

I too have quit buying hobby, I try but end up deleting my cart as I am too nervous to continue. At $200 per box it just makes no sense. My priorities have changed since the "plan" was started and my PCs have taken a step back in the grand scheme, but the money spent on inventory is this, I can buy say 20 to 50 cards for that same amount and know that if anything I will break even on some but will kill it on others. Base is almost a hassle right now. Once I can afford to buy my stuff at a case level I wont be concentrating on base at all. This brings me back to breakers (the new way) as I can bid on what I want and see if I get, I only bid on inner case breaks and up as then you know you will get something. These small one box or six box mixer breaks come at too high of a risk. 

So in the end I agree that my habits have changed as well, when a breaker in Detroit tells me to buy any and all basketball and baseball I can at my local wal-mart and he will pay me in triple, yes triple (in Cdn of course) you soon understand why you can no longer find stuff at your local stores anymore. Just do what you can to enjoy the hobby. And I tell you guys what if I ever get a brick n mortar running I'll be sure to come up with a TCDB discount of some sort. =)

I miss the candy store feel of walking in to a card store and having 10 - 20 options for packs.  I also find the box breaks unsavory, but understand them on a certain level.  I mostly scrounge ebay for deals on old/obsucre pack lots.  I did have good experience buying a "team gift box" from Paper Chase Sports Cards.  For $20 plus tax I got to pick my team (Brew Crew!) for a 50 card box with one guaranteed relic/auto/numbered (I got a Yelich ASG jersey relic).  Most of the rest of the box was 2019 or 2020 base (Topps, Heritage, Donruss), but I did get a cool 2004 Ben Sheets card and Braun/Aguilar/Villar Diamond Kings.  Came a 300 ct card box and a 100 ct pack of penny sleeves.  All in all I felt I got fair value and it brought me a lot of personal joy along with adding significant fill to my Brewers collection.

This has me re-thinking trying for sets prior to '76... might have to try to just get one Topps card of everyone to have appeared on one in MLB and NFL. What do you use for getting the lists of players?