[JasonMarcase]

Hello everyone,

I apologize for asking a question on my first post but I have a few questions regarding box breaks. I'm extremely intrigued by the box break community but do not know anything about them and wouldn't want to spend money buying crap product (my wife would kill me). So are there any guides that explain the different terminology e.g. Boxes, Cases, Hits, Checklists, and etc? I've tried to read forum posts and websites but it's pretty difficult to catch on at first take.

Now that I asked my question I'll give you guys a little background on myself. My name is Jason Marcase...I was born in Boston, MA but moved to Seattle, Washington 10 years ago with my wife and our two little girls. I've always been a huge fan of collectibles and have a nice collection in my man cave...or as my wife calls it "our basement". I signed up today because I'm going to start pursuing box breaking seriously because it looks fun and exciting.

Thanks a lot for any help you guys can provide. I've been reading these forums for months and you guys seem like a great group of guys!

[mkufta]

My email is kufta4@gmail.com. You can email me with any questions and I will answer them when I can. Most of the next 3 days I'll be parked in front of the TV watching football.

Boxes - is one box of cards with packs inside. Could be 24 packs, 12 packs, 1 pack (high end) etc

High End - Expensive products with quality cards (usually) that go for big money

Cases - is a case of boxes. Could be 10 boxes to a case, 5 , 15 etc.

Hits - Usually boxes will state the number of hits inside. A hit is usually considered an autograph or jersey card. I was heavy into Press Pass before they lost the collegiate license so for them you were guaranteed 5 autographs per box. One could say there were 5 hits in it. Sometimes there are more and sometimes, when your luck is down, there are less. The box usually has an asterisk that says *On Average.

Checklist - that can be found on this website. Type in the product up top and a checklist will pop up. You can then refine the results.

Box breaks can be considered gambling so aren't allowed everywhere. You also have to get in with a very trusted person who hosts the breaks, otherwise you are setting yourself up to get ripped off.

Email me with other questions, Id like to help you out.

[JasonMarcase]

My email is kufta4@gmail.com. You can email me with any questions and I will answer them when I can. Most of the next 3 days I'll be parked in front of the TV watching football.

Boxes - is one box of cards with packs inside. Could be 24 packs, 12 packs, 1 pack (high end) etc

High End - Expensive products with quality cards (usually) that go for big money

Cases - is a case of boxes. Could be 10 boxes to a case, 5 , 15 etc.

Hits - Usually boxes will state the number of hits inside. A hit is usually considered an autograph or jersey card. I was heavy into Press Pass before they lost the collegiate license so for them you were guaranteed 5 autographs per box. One could say there were 5 hits in it. Sometimes there are more and sometimes, when your luck is down, there are less. The box usually has an asterisk that says *On Average.

Checklist - that can be found on this website. Type in the product up top and a checklist will pop up. You can then refine the results.

Box breaks can be considered gambling so aren't allowed everywhere. You also have to get in with a very trusted person who hosts the breaks, otherwise you are setting yourself up to get ripped off.

Email me with other questions, Id like to help you out.

Thank you very much for the response, it's truly helpful! Would you mind if I post any subsequent questions here as opposed to e-mailing you? I figure if they are answered here it can serve as further help for anyone else that may be in my position.

Thanks again!

[jacobystealshome]

email him and post here. there are a lot of knowledgeable members here

[Fantom]

another good thing to know is the different between retail and hobby packs/boxes

retail is found at pretty much all walmarts/targets etc. it is much cheaper, has a lot less "hits" and/or has alternate retail exclusive stuff that sells for a LOT less than the hobby version. a prime example of this is absolute memorabilia products. hobby is usually 40$ a pack and has a guaranteed "hit" along with premium foil base cards that are printed on a thicker card stock. retail is about 8 packs for 20$ and everything is no foil/thin card stock, including the hits meaning that you get "hits" that are worth less out of the boxes. some brands have the same cards in both retail and hobby and just have higher odds to get the good stuff out of retail. I personal prefer these.

hobby is pretty basic: cards are in packs which are in boxes which are in cases. boxes come with a certain amount of "guaranteed" hits which as somebody above me point out usually has a * after the guarantee. mostly though they are what you get in a box.
cases are *usually* only bought by dealers unless you have $$$ or are a card addict. these are bought from a hobby store, online, or direct from the manufacturer.

retail is more complicated and is usually sold in these types: retail pack, blaster, hanger pack and rack pack.

retail pack: the "packs" of retail. avoid these because people come into the store and feel the packs (very unethical, don't think about it) then take the thicker stuff and the rest is damaged. happens much more than you think.

blaster: a box that typically sells for 20$. usually contains around 8 packs and a guaranteed hit of some sort.

hanger: these look like two packs glued together and sell for around 5$. they have some decent cards but the 'pack' is usually transparent and allows people to look at the front/back and take the ones that have a decent card in them.

rack pack: basically retail packs that are more expensive but have better odds than the normal pack and have some protection from "feelers"

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also some things to be mindful of:

1. leaf, press pass, sage, (and recently) upper deck don't have the license to do NFL cards and thus do college products. their cards are cheaper than topps and panimi (who have the rights to do NFL cards)
they also have more autos (press pass is like 5-7 autos vs the *usual* of 4)

2. box breaks are pretty much for fun or to help ease that *itch* you WILL develop if you get into card collecting. they *usually* do not provide very much return on investment, and it gets worse the higher $$$ you go. it is MUCH more economical to buy singles of the cards you want.

3. beware rebranded retail boxes. these are *usually* boxes of random retail packs and a guaranteed auto/jsy card. they are bought on the secondary market and usually have bad *hits*. I bought one when I was new and my card was scratched.

3. also beware "hot packs" on ebay that guarantee a "hit card" these are pretty much scans.

4. have fun.