[jplarson]

I know I try to do what I can. Start by being helpful, right. Pay it forward when you can.

But I don't judge, I don't discriminate, I don't bully. Like I said, there are bad people in the hobby. Watch out for the ones who are cheating and stealing for sure. A guy who picks up a $20 blaster because people are paying $125 (or more) on ebay is just not necessarily a bad person by my definition.

I'm with you on that. I'm all about paying it forward when I can, that's what helps the hobby flourish.

As for buying up a $20 to sell for more online, it is a matter of supply and demand. Panini could be raking in those profits themselves, or Target/Walmart/etc by raising them price themselves.

I ran into the same problem a couple years back looking for a NES and SNES Classic. Multiple times calling stores, driving around, coming up empty. Then I was able to secure a spot in line at Best Buy to pick one up and I heard the family in front of me talking about how they (3 of them) were all buying one to sell on eBay because they already got one. In the strict sense of supply and demand, they are correcting for a market where the good is underpriced and the demand is sky high. Does it make them bad? Ehhh, maybe not a bad person but I would question their ethics. Cards aren't a critical necessity like cleaning solution, paper products, masks, etc. Those who price gouge on those are not good people.

Going back to the blaster box example, the other thing to consider is the buyer. They clearly think they are getting a good value otherwise they wouldn't spend the money. If everyone wasn't willing to pay so much for a $20 blaster, then the retail sharks would head out to feed on some other chum.

To go back to RJ's specific point about people following distributors to buy up everything to flip, that crosses the line in my book. If a person walks in and the product is there, hey, fair game. Stalking a distributor to buy everything up is a big ol' nope burger.

Do you support pack searchers?

Do you support people who open boxes and then reseal them and return them to the store?

I mean, free market, man ... they "can" do all these things and not get caught.

Pack searchers and box resealers are just collecting their way, right?

We should all just be cool with it, right?

I think that's rhetorical, the previous poster did say "there are bad people in the hobby. Watch out for the ones who are cheating and stealing for sure." Pack searchers, resealers, etc are thieves and cheaters and no one is cool with that.

To answer another of the scenarios above about finding a $100 card in the $1 bin ... this has actually happened to me before.

There used to be a local billiard and dart supply shop in my area that was owned by an older fellow. He carried a few packs and boxes, nothing spectacular, and a few bargain boxes that he marked everything for 15 cents.

15 cents! As in, one dime plus one nickel.

Shortly after Pat Tillman (the former NFL player turned Army Ranger) died overseas, I was looking through said bargain bins and found his Upper Deck MVP RC.

I wasn't looking for it specifically but came across it, and it was a hot card at the time, going in the $20 range online.

I could have kept my mouth shut and walked away with it for 15 cents.

But you know what?

I pointed it out to the owner and asked him if he knew it was a $20 card.

Guess what he said?

"Lucky for you then, young man ... that will be 15 cents."

That is a noble thing you did to bring it up to the seller. That's the type of ethics we need to see more of in the world, even outside of the sports hobby like Kerry mentioned.