When the average price of a box climbs above 200 dollars - count me out of this hobby. Right now, the average price is around 100 bucks and steadily climbing. Upper Deck, Topps, and DLP all are releasing more and more higher end products with hopes of attracting the collectors who have a lot of money to burn and not a good head on their shoulders. Why I say that is because when you bust any box, you actually have something like a 1/5 chance of actually making back 75% of the box cost. When you open a high end box like Exquisite - it is even worse odds, unless you work for Beckett.
Let me break this down for you: $550 for the single box of 6 cards - 7 counting the base. Of those six cards, you have to average 110 dollars a card to make back your money. Because you are already GUARANTEED a maximum jersey card that will go for 5-20 bucks, you have to make up the money on the rest of things. Unless you hit one of the big names in the hobby, you are most likely just throwing your money in to a pile and dropping a match. Its fucking ludicrious that people would buy cases, let alone multiple cases of this stuff when you have about as good of a chance of coming out on top as Prince Fielder has to hit an inside the park home run!
***Wait, hold on...
He already hit one last year?
You have to be fucking kidding me.
Who was it against?
Oh right.... figures. ***
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I'm a newly returned collector and after I saw the prices for even low end boxes of stuff like 2007 Topps base set I vowed to never buy any new boxes. The hobby seems to be staying just above water because of the gambler mentality of many of today's collectors. People that will spend $200 for a box hoping to get a $500 card when the odds of that happening are slim to none. Never mind that the value of that $500 card will be under $200 in a year. I'm not one of those crusty old guys that swears off post 1969 cards and I like getting cards of current players but there are just too many other options for me other than buying new wax boxes. Scavenging off the people that buy those boxes is much cheaper and almost as much fun. Buying lots on ebay of boxes minus just the most expensive insert cards is my favorite way to save money. My last purchase was 2 boxes of 2007 Allen and Ginters minus only the mini's for $27.00. Every card was there including all the short prints.
ReplyDeleteScott
Ebay is a collector's paradise. Singles are usually dirt cheap and there is no point in buying the hundred dollar boxes when you can buy the big pull for 80.
ReplyDeleteI spent 300+ on Leaf Limited this year and 270 on my Adrian Peterson from the set - all because I had money to burn and was bored as hell. Whats the point here? My boxes were worthless and the big pull was 30 bucks less than I spent on wax.
Don't be knocking the retail. In some instances (i.e. last year's Ultra baseball and UD Masterpieces baseball) retail is a better rip than Hobby.
ReplyDeleteThe question is, why were you buying Ultra Baseball anyways?
ReplyDeleteRetail should be avoided at all costs.
Why weren't you?
ReplyDeleteHe was buying Ultra because there's more to the hobby than going for quadruple platinum jersey auto prime big hits of pre rookie prospects....
ReplyDeleteAccording to a very small portion of collectors - this is true. That is why they buy sets like Allen and Ginter or Topps Heritage at the very most. Ultra Baseball, Football, or Basketball should be wiped from the collecting universe because it hold ZERO value in any fashion.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that there is more to life than 1/1 logo cards, but you gotta at least provide me with SOME stupid reason to buy your box.
Buying singles is boring, you miss half the pleasure, the thrill of the hunt...
ReplyDelete