[elfeo013]

I started off by buying only boxes with hopes that I would end up getting "the big hit." That never happened and I was very mad after every box. I would then sell all the cards from the box and I still would not make more than what I paid for the box.

I then began buying only singles off eBay. I am now happy with every card I have because it's something that I want and know I wont regret buying.

[aprirr]

I have a different perspective. My kid LOVES opening packs and I enjoy putting the regular Topps sets together from 2008 to present, with 2008 being the year we saw our first Brewer game at Miller Park. It's not much, a box every other month or so, but she gets to rip. While there are a few dud boxes, the expense is minimal and enjoyment factor is worth the expense. I must say, though, that she is pretty lucky and the hits in the packs she opens far outweigh the hits (or lack of) in mine. These are most of her recent ones:

Nothing extraordinary but enough to keep her interested in the hobby, which works for me. So, what it really boils down to is, what are you collecting for? For us, she opens and I build and trade for the PC. Win-win, in my opinion.

[krn001]

(12-05-2012 02:01 PM)jlandry287 Wrote:  Every time i buy a box/pack, it's always a bust. I'll maybe get one or two refractor-base cards with BV of ~$5 each (if I'm lucky) whenever i spend close to $60 on the box. I'm starting to think it'd be smarter (and cheaper) just to buy cards I'm looking for instead of hoping to have a nice pull. Anybody else feel this way?

Are they retail or hobby boxes which can vary in hits.
In 2010 i bought a few boxes of Bowman Jumbos HTA, yea it was costly but things were better then. A few notable cards that i pulled: J. Heyward chrome ref, 2 Harper chrome and a chromr refractor, Strasburg cards & a Jeter 1/1 print plate. I doubt i could even come close to cost but it was something i had never done. Maybe at the height of release i'd break even or maybe make a few bucks. That wasn't my reason for buying, just needed something different & had fun doing it. About 10% was traded/sold, 10% pc cards & 80% unorganized lol.

[jlandry287]

(12-05-2012 02:50 PM)aprirr Wrote:  I have a different perspective. My kid LOVES opening packs and I enjoy putting the regular Topps sets together from 2008 to present, with 2008 being the year we saw our first Brewer game at Miller Park. It's not much, a box every other month or so, but she gets to rip. While there are a few dud boxes, the expense is minimal and enjoyment factor is worth the expense. I must say, though, that she is pretty lucky and the hits in the packs she opens far outweigh the hits (or lack of) in mine. These are most of her recent ones:

Nothing extraordinary but enough to keep her interested in the hobby, which works for me. So, what it really boils down to is, what are you collecting for? For us, she opens and I build and trade for the PC. Win-win, in my opinion.

i REALLY like that hanley ramirez, great pull and a great story behind it. Thanks for sharing

[dpatera]

I think if you go in to the hobby expecting to make money by opening boxes, you're in for a bad time. I figure a certain amount of the price I'm paying is for the experience of opening the box. I grew up making sets from packs and boxes, and that's what the hobby is for me. If I tried to go the buy singles and sets route, I don't think I'd last much longer.

[jlandry287]

(12-05-2012 03:39 PM)dpatera Wrote:  I think if you go in to the hobby expecting to make money by opening boxes, you're in for a bad time. I figure a certain amount of the price I'm paying is for the experience of opening the box. I grew up making sets from packs and boxes, and that's what the hobby is for me. If I tried to go the buy singles and sets route, I don't think I'd last much longer.

good point, I'm just a college student and would like to be able to sell cards that aren't for my pc. I don't have space to store a lot of potentially worthless commons. I mostly collect vintage rookies or prospect autos

[Haze28]

If you are just buying retail you won't see many hits. Instead of spending 60 on retail, shop around and buy hobby boxes for a few bucks more. You will have much more luck with hits and its a little more fun. This year has been a record for me in busting boxes, I spent way too much money but had a lot of fun and pulled some very interesting cards. From now on I am sticking to only 3 products and the. The rest of the time I will just be buying singles. It will save me a ton of money.

[fulltritty]

I stopped buying boxes this year after I figured out I could buy the complete set (including inserts usually) for cheaper than I was spending on one hobby box (where I wasn't getting a complete set). It does not matter to me to get that big hit because I would keep it for my collection and not sell it anyway; even if it isn't a Yankee. With the money difference, I go ahead and pick up the Yankee parallels and memorabilia cards.

[Ziveus101]

This year I bought way too many boxes and in retrospect, I regret buying almost all of them.
So much so that I've decided to limit myself to buying just one hobby box of the products that satisfy me the most from now on (Topps Pro Debut, Topps Heritage Minors & Bowman Draft).
It took me (literally) hundreds of dollars wasted on Topps Heritage, Topps flagship and Allen & Ginter to realise that I was going nowhere fast. In a sense I was originally using the excuse that "Dellin Betances RCs are out this year!" but looking back I'm sure that it wasn't even worth that since I failed to get more than 3 PC cards out of the total number of boxes I bought and the fact that I managed to find the cards I needed at very cheap prices later on made it even worse.

So to answer the original question, no it's not worth it. At least not if you're looking for anything specific.
Only if you're just looking to open packs for the thrill of it, is it worth it.

[Krangry]

I think realizing that i could buy some of the nicest hits out of the product with the money i spent on 2 boxes made me stop busting boxes. Even if you get an AMAZING hit your not going to clear the cost of what you put in, that is unless you hit that 1/1 product hit.