[cody_allen]

Believe me I want to share it with her and I want her to get great pulls but only if she is going to be serious and take care of them. All I'm saying is they shouldn't put 1k dollar pulls in packs mixed in with magic cards. Let me ask you this if some 8 year old pulled a 1of1 of your favorite player and you wanted it so bad but it was destroyed by a bike spoke would you think it was in the right hands? I want kids to be in it and enjoy it but if they take it seriously y can't they take there 5 bucks and go buy a hobby pack? They can put gu cards and low end autos in retail but I think huge stuff should be hobby only just to make sure they don't "accidentally" end up in the wrong hands.

Perfect example
I had a gu I worked with that walked over to walmart with me one day cause I wanted a few packs. I got a few and he decided to buy 2 for fun. He pulled a a.j green legends auto /50. I offered to trade and he declined. He thought it was cool. He then put it in his pocket and went back t work. Later I saw him showing people where he dropped in in the dirt more than once. It was worthless by the end of the day. Should these cards go to people like this? Cause these non collectors buy cards for giggles all the time.

I'm not just saying kids

[datshoppa]

I personally agree that retail cards are in a large part nonsense. It pisses me off to think of how many killer cards are wasted on kids or (as I've been told my retail employees) thrown away as boxes get "damaged" or sit there for too long. I've spent probably over $15K opening packs/boxes b/c it's just so much more fun that buying singles, and the 6 best cards I've probably ever pulled were out of single retail packs, not even blasters.

I got a Reggie Bush/Earl Campbell DUAL AU /10 in '06 I still have, a Ken Griffey Jr WBC Patch /8 in '06 that sold for $1600 & a Sid Luckman cut AU /3 that sold for over $2000. These were all out of single packs at a local Pamida (red-neck run down version of Wal-Mart in a town w/ a population under 800.)

At a Wal-mart 45 miles away in a town with a similar population, I got a 2007 Topps David Wright 1/1 AU, a Jack Morris buyback 1/1 AU, & a Golden Ticket signed football of the top 20 rookies of 2007 including Adrian Peterson.

With all of this, you can say that it would be ridiculous for me to hate on retail after pulling all of these, but with 1) the TONS of money spent at retail w/o even getting a Jersey card & 2) even the THOUGHT of some 5 yr old kid pulling one of these and what would end up happening to the card, I am TOTALLY against retail! Anyone agree?

sorry
but lmao i have not heard or seen pamida in at least 20 years .we had a pamida but i'm pretty sure here in muscatine, iowa they've been gone for 25 years

[swjrp10]

my $.02 ..... there are a lot of kids that blow their allowances on cards (whether it be $10-$20) on trading cards of all types.

while as adults this may be a paltry sum, to them it's everything they have ..... why shouldn't their purchases share the same reward as ours ???

Topps, Panini, and other companies have really made a push at the retail level ..... why ??? because this is their grassroots level, the kids

If only adults collect who will carry on our passion ???

I'm glad your trying to carry on your collecting with your daughter we have a few "father/daughter" collectors here

do you not want her to be able to pull that "Cam Newton" auto when she gets old enough to understand and appreciate its value ???

it saddens me how little some want to pass this hobby on sometimes, I feel "greed" has really taken over this hobby

Amen brother, I started collecting cards when I was about 10 years old. Prior to that, I collected autographs (ya I was a weird kid) and I busted HUNDREDS of packs trying to get an autograph or memorabilia card (it initially took me 3 yrs to hit one in a pack, hows that for weird? lol). You have no idea how excited I was. At that age, Istill took care of my cards and enjoyed the hobby. Hell, I took better care of my cards then than I do now, because I don't care about base anymore lol

[nthnoak]

I see what your saying in thinking that a kid might not recognize a good card and might not take care of it properly. But, if those kids are buying cards in the first place then they probably have some idea what to do with them. I'm only 23 right now but I started collecting when I was 8 spending my $5 a week allowance on cards. I still have all my cards and took care of them. Kids are in the hobby for the right reasons and I still collect now for the same reasons I did when I was a kid. I personally can't stand the people that buy cards just to try and make a profit but to each their own. We as adults need kids to collect cards in order for us to even have a hobby. Why do you think so many card shops close down?

[pbean]

Believe me I want to share it with her and I want her to get great pulls but only if she is going to be serious and take care of them. All I'm saying is they shouldn't put 1k dollar pulls in packs mixed in with magic cards. Let me ask you this if some 8 year old pulled a 1of1 of your favorite player and you wanted it so bad but it was destroyed by a bike spoke would you think it was in the right hands? I want kids to be in it and enjoy it but if they take it seriously y can't they take there 5 bucks and go buy a hobby pack?

I appreciate that your bringing your daughter into the hobby as far as a kid (or dumbarsed adult) getting a big hit well my answers simple ..... if they paid for a product they deserve the same odds as I do to get something saweet

Many kids don't get a chance to go to a LCS, they are far and few nowadays so Target and WallysWorld are one of the few places we can introduce them into the hobby

I look at my youth, I put thousands of dollars into my bike spokes and traded mint Bobby Orr RC's for California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons cards ..... do I wish I had them now yes, but those experiences were (and still are) priceless to me it part of maturing in the hobby.

We all emphasize "gem mint" and "condition" too much lately ..... if we keep kids away from just enjoying and loving what the have they'll turn to something else in a hurry

[swjrp10]

I appreciate that your bringing your daughter into the hobby as far as a kid (or dumbarsed adult) getting a big hit well my answers simple ..... if they paid for a product they deserve the same odds as I do to get something saweet

Many kids don't get a chance to go to a LCS, they are far and few nowadays so Target and WallysWorld are one of the few places we can introduce them into the hobby

I look at my youth, I put thousands of dollars into my bike spokes and traded mint Bobby Orr RC's for California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons cards ..... do I wish I had them now yes, but those experiences were (and still are) priceless to me it part of maturing in the hobby.

We all emphasize "gem mint" and "condition" too much lately ..... if we keep kids away from just enjoying and loving what the have they'll turn to something else in a hurry

However (and I'm kidding here of course)...IF I wouldn't have collected cards...I wouldn't be 5,000 short on the tuition I need to take the class I need to get the job I want lol But my life wouldn't have been anywhere near as fun

That being said, anyone who wants to donate to the Send Justin to School Fund can do so at.... lol

[ricky williams 34]

So I'm going to put my 2 cents in here...and play devils advocate.


I hate when the good hits go to half the people on this site because:

A) They think they've scored a secret gold bar and prize it more than their own kids/significant other/most prized possession. When you ask to trade for it, they want your entire PC, your car, and depending on who you are, a night in the 5 star hotel with a bottle of Dom Perignon. Heaven forbid the card actually be of someone you collect, the price goes up even further.

B) They don't know how to protect it any better than an 8-year-old kid with no supervision.

C) Those people tend to be the ones who don't understand that cards a HOBBY and a GAMBLE. You take a risk every time you buy a box. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. But hobby and retail should both pay out.


How's that for not thinking before posting?

A little awareness goes a long way...

[rjcj2017]

One thing I just wanted to add ...

The closest LCS to me is about 40 minutes away.

I watch my daughter during the day and I work nights, so Target, Walmart, etc., on my 'lunch hour' — when most people are sleeping — are my only option for cards most of the time.

I pulled a Bryce Harper auto refractor out of a Bowman Chrome blaster a couple of months ago and was overjoyed beyond belief.

I'm 36 ... but I sure as hell felt like a kid when I pulled it!

I, for one, am very happy that these companies have started to pump up retail hits in the last few years.

Remember circa 2004-2005-2006, when a product like Fleer Sweet Sigs basketball blasters advertised all the great auto-jersey cards you could pull, like Dwyane Wade?

Yeah, right ... not a chance!

You'd open blaster after blaster and get nothing but base cards, knowing that that profit went straight back to the card companies so they could afford more big hits for their hobby stuff.

I, for one, prefer the new era of retail.

[chrisjoy]

I don't think anyone misunderstood. i think one of the problems with the hobby is the greediness of a lot of adult collectors, so what if a kid ends up throwing a card away. whats it to anyone else. I enjoy getting a good autograph but its only cardboard. I don't disagree that Retail is mostly a waste of money just the comment about children. but If I got the cards he got I wouldn't complain too much.

[alstott9adams]

My 5 year old told me to tell u to come pursches his collection valued at over $500 k he will take 100k and he will leave the hobby IDIOT!

When u go to retire and sell ur stuff some KID is going to be buying it so I guess ur cards will be in ur grave ? ? ? ? ? ? ?