Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ The elimination of premium brands?

[juddy]

http://www.sportscardfile.com/?p=167

[northicehero99]

Interesting read. I really dislike the high-end packs as usually the better swatches, player autos, etc end up in them and most of those products are well over my budget for buying, not to mention the risk/reward theory. I would be nice to see some of these incorporated into the lower-end products to increase interest.

Unfortunately, I think the card companies make most of their money on these high-end deals and could care less about the lower end of the market. I see people going in debt in this hobby, because they love opening either tons of product or high-end products, similar to gamblers addiction. This is not really what the hobby is about and the hobby has really taken a turn for the worse because of this.

[aceecards]

Honestly??

Can you pass me that peace pipe?

[sschind]

I'm sure I'll have a lot of you disagree with me on this but he has his pet peeves and I have mine. He lost my interest in the second paragraph when he mentioned profit/loss standpoint and turned me off completely in his third paragraph when he said One of my biggest pet peeves about the hobby is the mind set of people who think that a $100 box with $18 worth of cards is not an issue and nothing to be concerned about. I guess I am one of those people because that is exactly how I feel.

For those of you old enough to remember buying packs back in the 60's and 70's think back for a minute. Did you buy those packs to turn around and sell the cards and make your money back and then some, or did you buy those packs to get cool cards to keep and trade with your friends. I'm sure for the vast majority of the people it is the latter.

What has changed? I'll tell you what has changed. Some of those cards became worth a lot of money and so people started to get the idea that all cards should be worth a lot of money. From there is snowballed. A certain segment of the hobby demanded cards that would be worth more money so the manufacturers complied (Game used, Autographs, countless parallels, ridiculously low print runs etc. etc.) As they made more and more expensive products more and more people bought more and more of it because they could make more and more money off of it.

Where has it gotten us? I'll tell you where it has gotten us. Its gotten us to the point where people are shelling out hundreds of dollars to buy a pack of a few cards with the hopes of hitting that one big payday card that will set them right with the world. As if that wasn't enough, too many of those people have come to not only hope they hit it big but they have come to expect it. As if making a profit on the cards is some sort of entitlement, as if the card companies owed it to them. It's like going Vegas with the idea that the casinos owe you that big jackpot.

Back when I was buying $100.00 boxes of cards and getting nothing to show for it I finally figured out what was happening and I quit buying them. I realized that the card manufacturers were not putting a gun to my head and forcing me to buy there worthless crap and I quit. I realized that the thrill of the hunt wasn't worth the payoff so I quit. If you are tired of buying $100.00 boxes and only getting $18.00 worth of cards the answer is simple STOP BUYING THE $100.00 BOXES That's not going to happen though because those who have come to expect that big hit can't resist the chance that they might just hit it big.

Noticehero99, you say you see people going into debt over this hobby. In my real job I too have seen people lose everything because they have mortgaged their future hoping to hit it big only to lose it all when the bottom drops out. For these people and the people who get $18.00 worth of cards out of a $100.00 box I have very little sympathy. If you buy a $100.00 box of cards its your own fault. Its not a lottery ticket and this is not the stock market. You wanted those cards, now you are stuck with them and now you are complaining about that too.

All of this is not to say that I think these people are in the wrong for participating in the hobby the way they do. There are many way to collect and prospecting is one of them. I certainly have no problems with the guy who pulls a 1/1 and sells it for $5,000.00 on ebay. If that happens more power to them. On the other hand I also don't have a problem with someone spending $100.00 on a box and only getting $18.00 worth of cards. In fact that usually just makes me smile.

[aceecards]

For those of you old enough to remember buying packs back in the 60's and 70's think back for a minute.  Did you buy those packs to turn around and sell the cards and make your money back and then some, or did you buy those packs to get cool cards to keep and trade with your friends.  I'm sure for the vast majority of the people it is the latter. 

Amen! if you are a flipper then you are already well aware of the boom/bust strategy.

if you are a collector then prepare to have them gather dust!

[edgerrin32]

I read the post in the link and said to my self "what?"


But I get the point. And to be really honest most times I see people losing when they open anything! Highend lowend middle what ever. It just feels worse at $500 a pack when you only get $50 in cards back. But it is exactly the same as $100 box and getting $10 worth of cards out of it! Or a $20 blaster and getting $2 worth of base! And thats if your luck and find someone to buy them as a lot for $2, other wise they are just a pile of $.10 cards that sit.

Now if you are trying to collect a set and get a ton of base thats ok, because you want them anyway.

I personally just buy specific cards that I want and miss out on the other 10-100 cards I would get in a box. So I could by a box ($100) and get say 10 cards (worth $50) and only want 1. Or I can buy that one card I want $5 bucks! And I never really end up with tons and tons of cards I cant give away! But I understand that I would not get those $5 cards if people didn't open stuff.


Plus when you bust boxes you will get a bunch of stuff that is hot now but in a year you can give it away.


But if you are a RC collector and you collect what hot right now, then boxes are the way to go.


But I hate when people open a $1, $2, $500 box of cards and complain about the hits. Because I honest say 80-90% of the time I don't see any box that people will make there money back on! You might come close. But there are very few box where I see people will come out a head. And you can pull a Brady auto or a 1/1 patch, but you busted a $200 box of cards, that Brady auto is not going to bring $200. So it was a nice hit, but you are still in the hole. So don't complain when you get a bunch of no names and junk. Now if you get shorted a hit or a pack or something, I understand being mad about that. But not whats inside the packs! It doesn't say anywhere on the box or pack "1 Tom Brady auto and a 1/1 Manning GU and 2 HOF on card autos per pack"!


And keep in mind this is a hobby! Not to many people make money off there hobbies. Most people lose in a hobby. There is money to be made but you cant expect to always make money. Then it becomes a business. And in business you have to put you emotions a side. You go into busting a box or case that you might lose on it. But you also know that there will come that big hit that pays for 5-6 more boxes or 2-3 cases or whatever.

But these are my thoughts. Kinda off topic about the series idea, but good points.

[joe31]

I'm fine with the prices and everything. I like the risk/reward factor(even though like someone stated earlier, you only come out ahead 5% of the time). The only thing I wish would change is the number of products out there and the crazy amount of numbered cards. Pulling a 1/1 used to mean a lot. Now its, "I wonder which of the 5 variations this is."

[Tarasadie17]

I think sschind's post is fantastic and nails how I feel with the exception of the last sentence...

[chopinalex]

I stopped buying and quit the hobby for 2 years because of mostly Upper Deck products..but I got tired of getting burned. So I stick to set building my fav is bowman. and now I am strictly sticking to building my team parallel sets and finish my other sets.

This hobby for most people is like scratching lottery tickets and who has the biggest jackpot prize at the moment.

PS: I always get a 'hit' when I bust a pack of marshmallow peeps!

[sschind]

I think sschind's post is fantastic and nails how I feel with the exception of the last sentence...

OK, so it was a bit harsh. I may not actually smile but I will tell you this, I don't have any sympathy for them. Especially if they are buying boxes on a regular basis with the hopes of pulling cards to resell. If a collector treats himself once or twice a year to a box just for the fun of it then yeah, I might feel a bit sorry for him.