[jrod7290]

I stopped at a Wally World today in Charlotte,NC and on the bottom shelves all the Pete Rose Boxes were opened

I saw the same thing, the blaster was opened and the pack containing the auto was gone. I haven't run into a pack searcher, but I have seen packs at retail that had clearly all been sorted through. Thats why I stick to blasters or full boxes.

[nyyankeesfan28]

Regular buyers should not feel embarrassed. For every person that you feel is judging you for buying 'kids toys' as an adult, there are just as many, or let's say half, who think you're buying them for a kid, or just plain don't notice at all what you have and only want to pay for their stuff and go home.

There probably are people that look at every item and snicker to others or themselves, but I'm the type that doesn't care what they think or say. There are plenty of people who buy cards for their kids, or use them as a reward to students or take them to hospitals. If you happen to hear someone and if it makes you feel any better, turn to them and say "yeah... it's for a kid in the hospital. I thought about buying beer like you, but he's only 6 so..." I bet that will shut them up. Even though my purchases are mainly for myself I do send out extras and cards I don't want to other people (some with kids). I'm lucky that my g/f likes the randomness and surprise of opening packs. Sometimes she nudges me to get some but I have more important stuff to buy and decline. I work at a school and give them to a teacher to pass on to students. Even if you don't. If you just collect for you, so what. It's about as absurd as someone saying "look at this guy and his apples, who eats apples anymore, grow up and buy steak."

Agree with you completely. A great point well stated.

[spazmatastic]

'the pack(age) containing the auto was gone. I haven't run into a pack searcher, but I have seen packs at retail that had clearly all been sorted through. Thats why I stick to blasters or full boxes.'

I agree here completely. I am 34 and have no thoughts about anyone I encounter on the card aisle of my local Target or Super K. I am not there to search packs and have never caught anyone doing that. I have bought a package that was supposed to contain an AU card in it. When I got to the car and opened it, the AU card was missing and the 'blister' had been sliced down one side. I returned it for a new package that I thoroughly inspected for slits/opening. I do know that it happens and the aftermath is quite obvious to those who know what they are seeing.
I am generally searching for blasters of certain products when I am in that aisle. I slide the boxes around to see what they have and pick the product I want. I NEVER buy retail packs! UNLESS... they are the packs that have been discounted to 99 cents or $1.59. I will thumb through those b/c most are cards for kids or some band or cartoon. Sometimes you can find some good sports packs in those boxes though. That is why it is worth checking. Pack searchers in my area should feel lucky they have never been around when I was. I have no problem with pointing that out to security and they have video to prove that is was happening. I don't know about WalMart, but KMart and Target around here have cams pointing at their card sections/aisles.

[Blury1]

I've seen it twice last one was at target and it was a older man showing his wife how to do Ito simple told him he was a sorry individual an he kept doing it anyways I quit buying packs at a Walmart I used to live by once I noticed they had cut a little corner of ever pack and then I bought a blaster box that they had open resealed and then there were filled with crappy cards from the 80s

[ZSDOne]

The way to get rid of pack searchers is to get rid of memorabilia cards. Or switch to only redemption cards. Or put dummy cards in every pack. All of those options are likely to be unpopular.

The irony of pack searching is that the only worthwhile hits in my opinion are autograph cards and pack searching will not show an autograph (except for maybe those A&G framed autos). So i'm perfectly okay with getting rid of memorabilia cards and going to autos and numbered parallels only as the hits.

The way to get rid of the crooks who open boxes and steal cards is to arrest them and ban them from the premises of any of those stores in the entire United States for life (routine in shoplifting cases)

The only individual retail packs i ever buy are the discounted ones - have made some decent hits (including an A&G framed autograph) from them. Knowing that you got one which escaped the pack searchers from those discounted packs is especially sweet.

[bonds20001]

Pack searcher are always there...Until the companies make it very hard to do, it will continue..everyone wants an edge..
Opening blasters is stealing, like opening a bag of chips in aisle #5 and eating a few..
LCS owners, who pack search or cherry pick cases, do not last long..they win in the short run and lose in the long run..
We will carry on...
Great thread!!!

[alfredoleal2001]

so I stopped by Target after work and went to the card section to pick up a few packs. I noticed this older guy standing there just staring at the cards.
Steven

I wonder why is it always older guys searching..... I mean every story here always mentions an old guy pack searching..... just wondering

[rjcj2017]

The way to get rid of pack searchers is to get rid of memorabilia cards. Or switch to only redemption cards. Or put dummy cards in every pack. All of those options are likely to be unpopular.

The irony of pack searching is that the only worthwhile hits in my opinion are autograph cards and pack searching will not show an autograph (except for maybe those A&G framed autos). So i'm perfectly okay with getting rid of memorabilia cards and going to autos and numbered parallels only as the hits.

The way to get rid of the crooks who open boxes and steal cards is to arrest them and ban them from the premises of any of those stores in the entire United States for life (routine in shoplifting cases)

The only individual retail packs i ever buy are the discounted ones - have made some decent hits (including an A&G framed autograph) from them. Knowing that you got one which escaped the pack searchers from those discounted packs is especially sweet.

LOL, yes, that's the funny part to me ... these losers are molesting the packs to find these jersey cards, 99 percent of which are plain white swatches of a scrub that are lucky to sell for $1 on the bay ... yet they pay $3 for the pack ... then again, no one ever accused them of being the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree, either.

I was in Target last month and saw a half box of loose packs of Prestige basketball, obviously searched ... they were upside down, sideways, all scrambled in the box.

Still, I bought the 13 that were left because I needed some base cards for my set ... and I pulled this:





Eat it, searchers! Guess you didn't find that one, did you?

[aprirr]

Regular buyers should not feel embarrassed. For every person that you feel is judging you for buying 'kids toys' as an adult, there are just as many, or let's say half, who think you're buying them for a kid, or just plain don't notice at all what you have and only want to pay for their stuff and go home.

There probably are people that look at every item and snicker to others or themselves, but I'm the type that doesn't care what they think or say. There are plenty of people who buy cards for their kids, or use them as a reward to students or take them to hospitals. If you happen to hear someone and if it makes you feel any better, turn to them and say "yeah... it's for a kid in the hospital. I thought about buying beer like you, but he's only 6 so..." I bet that will shut them up. Even though my purchases are mainly for myself I do send out extras and cards I don't want to other people (some with kids). I'm lucky that my g/f likes the randomness and surprise of opening packs. Sometimes she nudges me to get some but I have more important stuff to buy and decline. I work at a school and give them to a teacher to pass on to students. Even if you don't. If you just collect for you, so what. It's about as absurd as someone saying "look at this guy and his apples, who eats apples anymore, grow up and buy steak."

Well said!

[nyyankeesfan28]

Nice pull and good point, rjcj2017. I wonder that too about old guys pack searching, alfredoleal2001.