Is case breaking the new state of the hobby??

[Redemption King]

Is case/box breaks just legalized gambling. Get in a case break and watch a middle aged man fiddle with cards on your computer. I see people that don't even know anything about cards but get into group breaks just to get their gambling fix then flip on Ebay.

Box prices are also all jacked, and single prices barely hold up. Manufacturers don't care because they are laughing all the way to the bank.

How long do you think this trend will last? Sorry for the rant.

[speedmasterp]

I think it's definitely here to stay. For the price of a box/case people can often just get what they want, or a shot at what they want. All things considered, even buying a box instead of a break is gambling, this is just a different form.

Some slots are obviously a larger gamble than others. As long as I can keep getting Orioles chrome cards for about 25 cents each in group breaks, with a chance at color, I'll keep buying into them. Even if no color is it, the odds of at least breaking even are high.

[xbignick]

Is case/box breaks just legalized gambling. Get in a case break and watch a middle aged man fiddle with cards on your computer. I see people that don't even know anything about cards but get into group breaks just to get their gambling fix then flip on Ebay.

Box prices are also all jacked, and single prices barely hold up. Manufacturers don't care because they are laughing all the way to the bank.

How long do you think this trend will last? Sorry for the rant.

Who cares if someone wants to join a break to gamble? Who's to decide which person's reasons are right and genuine? There's no right and wrong.

More people being involved in the hobby is only a good thing.

As for case breaks, they are there because obviously there's a market for such things. Aside from hitting a cool card, it's fun to hope/chill with friends online from the comfort of your house. In other breaks, there's people who want specific teams/players for PC or investment, what's wrong with that?

There's obviously some problems with the secondary market but that's always been true, if you're worried about that, are you in to collect or invest? Are your reasons genuine by your own standards?

Anyway, I chill on different rooms on breakers daily, since I can't bust much myself it's cool to watch others take the risk and occasionally throw my own hat in as well.

It's not going anywhere.

[del033]

Is case/box breaks just legalized gambling. Get in a case break and watch a middle aged man fiddle with cards on your computer. I see people that don't even know anything about cards but get into group breaks just to get their gambling fix then flip on Ebay.

Box prices are also all jacked, and single prices barely hold up. Manufacturers don't care because they are laughing all the way to the bank.

How long do you think this trend will last? Sorry for the rant.

No matter how you break - whether it's a pack/box/case by yourself or with a group - it's a gamble. Anytime you are buying something with no idea what's in it, it's a gamble. The case break gives more chances to everyone at a decent cost and enough buying power to get the benefits that normally come with opening a case (i.e. case hits). I'm all for it.

[nordy22]

As a breaker I think its here to stay. While I don't think all the breakers are here for good, I guess it depends on what they are breaking. Ask all the breakers out there to do 10/20/30 cases of a bowman product that will deter them away because its a lot of work. I enjoy opening all the cards (ok the sorting sucks) and sending them off. Its honestly pretty cool to pull someone a big hit. While I do agree lots of the people are in it for the gamble, you still see a ton of people buying slots/players etc after the fact. Its a good thing I think, look at Flawless for example, how many people can really afford a case ($4000) not many, but for $200 (which in hindsight isn't that cheap either) you have a chance at one of those chase cards or hell even a cool jumbo patch. I think there are a lot more pros than cons on the whole idea. But in the end I think it gets more collectors involved which is a good thing..........

[VinnyH]

I don't drink or smoke, I don't have a girlfriend on the side, gambling on cards is fun for me. I got disenchanted with buying boxes of baseball cards and being stuck with all the base and inserts looking for the big auto hit.

Group breaks with someone I trust lets me target certain areas of a card release. With my small budget I can gamble on some things and if I balance it out I can, at least, get back some of my money if there's no big hit for me.

I've met xbignick, and others, in some of the breaks. I don't know if they are religious, political, what nationality they are, if they are married, single, or celebrity stalkers. I just know it's fun to talk about cards with them while we dream of the big hits or wonder what we'll add to our collections.

Best to All,
VinnyH

[tke1600]

For me, it makes sense to case break rather than buy boxes, but it has to be at the right price. I can get a team or two I want that has a potential for awesome autos and color from an entire fresh case for the price of one random box.

[bdrr]

It's the new state of wealth distribution. People with money really have money nowadays. People who had some money now really don't have any.

So, the former, who would previously buy 2 boxes or w/e now buy cases. And the latter, who would previously buy 1 box, are now buying packs or singles.

The sports card market is one of pure luxury goods. The big money cards, and thus the price of wax, all the way to the types of products produced, are completely driven by that 1% worldwide.

[mike barnes]

i tend to wait till i can buy a case or more of a product inish out my sets and go for a few big hits better odds all around i did a break with a buddy of mine( 2 cases chrome ) i got the al he got the nl pretty cool idea for us we are looking at that format for fb later this year with nfc afc as well with 5 cases most likely (each get a full set of base )

[Redemption King]

All valid points.Thanks for putting it into perspective.

For example, this year's Bowman Draft is suppose to be over produced and contain less quality prospects as previous years yet I see an increase in price from last year on average.

Understanding price of wax has gone up due to supply and demand driven case breakers but where old fashion breaker like me fit into this? No way am I going to pay higher prices for wax that I feel should sell for much less or that will provide less value. I would just slowly stop buying and either quit or join group breaks. Which is why i'm assuming would make this hobby solely driven by case breaking.

Guess if you can't beat them you might as well join them. :)

[XL5]

It's the new state of wealth distribution. People with money really have money nowadays. People who had some money now really don't have any.

So, the former, who would previously buy 2 boxes or w/e now buy cases. And the latter, who would previously buy 1 box, are now buying packs or singles.

The sports card market is one of pure luxury goods. The big money cards, and thus the price of wax, all the way to the types of products produced, are completely driven by that 1% worldwide.

If that's the case, what does it have to do with group breaks? Group breakers aren't buying the cases and the "little guys" aren't buying singles, they're buying slots.



Also, I'll add, the reason singles prices are so low is because a lot of self-proclaimed case breakers buy in for the sure thing but end up having to liquidate to pay off credit cards. They'll sell a $50 card for $35 just to get the cash. Then that sets the market.

For me, I buy boxes and cases for entertainment. I'm rapidly finding that not all products are fun for me.

If I'm chasing after a particular player or insert set from a product I don't want to break, I just buy a slot in a group break. I have little interest in breaking Draft this year but I want a crack at color of a few players. So I'm buying slots.

[TarjetasBéisbol]

I think the case breakers will be thinned by the over-production of cards that is beginning to hit the market. Me personally, I can't see how case breakers even make money from the amount some break especially if they are just listing on eBay. At least some of the case breakers that sell slots before they rip have some guaranteed money. I have ripped cases and the time it take to rip and sort is way too much. I didn't even try to list anything on eBay and that adds more time. I guess if you are doing this for a living you have the time and the motivation to do it.

[douglasfir]

It's still a big deal for me to buy ONE hobby box.

[WillBBC]

It's still a big deal for me to buy ONE hobby box.

Me too man, and I'm a decently successful about to be 30 in a few months guy.

It's a gamble, but that's part of the fun. I'll be at a casino tomorrow night playing 1/2 no limit.

That being said--I buy a couple of boxes per year, period and stick to vintage/90s singles of the guys I like! I leave the gambling to the other cards.