[rjcj2017]

Friends,

I was in my local Target the other day and there were eight blasters, a ton of single packs and a bunch of hanger and jumbo packs of 2020 Topps Series 1.

I bought one jumbo pack (nada).

I go back in not even five days later and they were completely cleaned out.

I have noticed that this has happened several times in the last few months ... and I'm guessing one doosh has moved into my area and is buying them all.

He (or she, to be fair) just completely cleans out an entire product.

What are they hoping to accomplish?

Especially, no offense, with Topps flagship baseball?

I mean, I wasn't surprised when Prizm basketball got cleared out over the holidays, but ... base Topps?

I guess unless I decide to collect racing, soccer or hockey - no offense to those who do - I am just out of luck these days.

Even in my heyday as the Retail King I honestly can't recall ever completely clearing out an entire product.

(And no, buying hobby online is not an option for me.)

[savagenate]

This has become super common. I've been reading tons of posts in facebook groups of individuals going in and completely cleaning out the entire store in the hopes of getting a couple cards to flip and make it worth the money. It's obviously become very lucrative in the basketball world, and I guess the Football world, for as many people do this. There was a huge discussion/argument in my packers group over this...what constitutes a collector/hobbiest/longterm investor from a cutthroat jerk looking to only make a buck in what is supposed to be a hobby.

[jplarson]

How much should a person be able to buy of a given product? In a free market if you've got the money and opportunity, first come first serve.

Story time: I remember waiting in line years ago at a Best Buy to get a shot at an NES Classic and I was hearing three people ahead of me talking about how they'd keep one and sell the other two on eBay. Annoyed me to no end since I missed out several times previously on nabbing one. I got it but I felt bad for two people who would be missing out because people up front got $$$ in their eyes.

I'm in the camp of "just because you can do a thing does it mean you should do the thing"? I'm not interested in regulating but I also wish there was more common decency.

[rjcj2017]

This has become super common. I've been reading tons of posts in facebook groups of individuals going in and completely cleaning out the entire store in the hopes of getting a couple cards to flip and make it worth the money. It's obviously become very lucrative in the basketball world, and I guess the Football world, for as many people do this. There was a huge discussion/argument in my packers group over this...what constitutes a collector/hobbiest/longterm investor from a cutthroat jerk looking to only make a buck in what is supposed to be a hobby.

Exactly.

I mean, I'm assuming this is just one of those things I'll have to wait out, either they move or they get tired of getting their ***** kicked on retail.

I mean, by and large - and I hate to say this, because I've always stuck up for it - retail sucks overall.

People will (hopefully) realize that there's no money in it at a certain point, just like other fads like Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Kids, etc.

A company like Topps, once they realize this is going on - because they're always about a year behind modern trends - will start saturating the market, and soon a normal 12-blaster allotment of Bowman will become a 48-blaster allotment, and then even all the dips---s who are buying everything in sight will hit their credit limits and/or get tired of sitting on unsold product.

Supply and demand, it's been around since the history of time.

---

How much should a person be able to buy of a given product? In a free market if you've got the money and opportunity, first come first serve.

Story time: I remember waiting in line years ago at a Best Buy to get a shot at an NES Classic and I was hearing three people ahead of me talking about how they'd keep one and sell the other two on eBay. Annoyed me to no end since I missed out several times previously on nabbing one. I got it but I felt bad for two people who would be missing out because people up front got $$$ in their eyes.

I'm in the camp of "just because you can do a thing does it mean you should do the thing"? I'm not interested in regulating but I also wish there was more common decency.

Agreed 1000 percent.

Technically you could make the argument that these people are worse than pack searchers.

At least pack searchers will leave most of the product behind (like my Anthony Davis auto a few years back out of 13 loose packs of Prestige that had clearly been searched).

I mean, I will sweep my own porch first and admit that I have cleared out say, all eight blasters of a product before, but I have never also cleared out all the hangers, loose and rack packs of the same product.

I hear you about free market capitalism, but to me there's something shady about clearing everything out and then trying to re-sell it.

I actually have a harder time understanding why anybody would buy secondary retail, but that's just me.

[ZSDOne]

I don't understand buying up a bunch of retail products - if you are going to spend $200 on blasters, you are better off buying hobby where you get guaranteed hits and the odds of getting something really good are much higher.

There are very few retail products that routinely return decent value for the money - and the ones that do tend to be "retail exclusives" such as 2019 Prestige or 2018 Rookies and Stars

Although really, I'd say if you really wanted good value for $200, spend that $200 on individual cards or a card that you want - it is likely to make you happier than opening boxes and while you will pass up the chance on getting the big hit, you also pass up the chance of getting a bunch of Riley Ridley autographs (unless you actually want to get Riley Ridley autographs - then you can probably get some really nice ones for $200)

[savagenate]

How much should a person be able to buy of a given product? In a free market if you've got the money and opportunity, first come first serve.

Story time: I remember waiting in line years ago at a Best Buy to get a shot at an NES Classic and I was hearing three people ahead of me talking about how they'd keep one and sell the other two on eBay. Annoyed me to no end since I missed out several times previously on nabbing one. I got it but I felt bad for two people who would be missing out because people up front got $$$ in their eyes.

I'm in the camp of "just because you can do a thing does it mean you should do the thing"? I'm not interested in regulating but I also wish there was more common decency.

This is very true, and I wouldn't want it regulated either. Like you said, common decency. It's a common theme today that people think "freedom" means doing whatever you want. freedom is actually the ability to do what we ought to do.

[Jquinn83]

Just wait til you find the pack searcher sitting cross-legged in the aisle pressing and feeling every pack. I started raising my voice and making a scene but he just sat there searching. Then I went to pick a pack from the pile he had set aside and he kirked out yelling at me they were his and getting abnormally angry so I kept digging at him. When the manager came over I explained what was going on and he didn't want to do anything. I said I can't shop here after this tool has searched through all the packs and taken out anything that might be decent. He is hurting YOUR business then walked away. I seriously considered waiting for this guy in the parking lot and mugging him when he got to his car.

[rjcj2017]

Just wait til you find the pack searcher sitting cross-legged in the aisle pressing and feeling every pack. I started raising my voice and making a scene but he just sat there searching. Then I went to pick a pack from the pile he had set aside and he kirked out yelling at me they were his and getting abnormally angry so I kept digging at him. When the manager came over I explained what was going on and he didn't want to do anything. I said I can't shop here after this tool has searched through all the packs and taken out anything that might be decent. He is hurting YOUR business then walked away. I seriously considered waiting for this guy in the parking lot and mugging him when he got to his car.

Exactly. Karma will take care of these doosh bags, don't worry.

When I see them at Target and WalMart I openly confront and insult them to their face.

Not one has ever stood up to me (I'm kind of a big dude and tend to get kind of loud and direct at them), and I usually ask them which packs they've set aside and then I just take them.

(Lunch money bully style, I kind of look at it like a Robin Hood move)

The look on their face is priceless ... they've been standing there for an hour damaging/searching/evaluating every single pack of cards and then I just take their goods.

I always mention at least some of the following in the process:

- "Have you ever kissed a girl?"
- "Do you open these when you get back to your mom's basement?"
- "Could you at least get the Cheeto dust from under your fingernails before you molest the cards?"
- "Exactly how massive of a loser are you?"

Then I make my way to customer service and point them out. If the CS rep says they will let security know, I let it go, thank them and move on.

Occasionally they will reply with, "well, they're not opening the packs so there's nothing we can do."

To which I reply, "OK, I'll be right back."

I go get a loaf of bread and bring it back to the CS counter.

"Let me demonstrate," I say as I squish the bread into a small round hard ball, and then point out that I never opened the bag that it came in.

"Do you get it now?" I ask.

The reply is usually yes.

[ZSDOne]

How come I suspect that the people who bought up all of the retail card products to sell for a profit are the same people who went around to all of the retail stores buying up all of the toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and hand sanitizer to sell it at a profit? (although at least at the store I saw they hilariously failed to buy up all of the hand soap - apparently they aren't planning on washing their hands)

[rjcj2017]

How come I suspect that the people who bought up all of the retail card products to sell for a profit are the same people who went around to all of the retail stores buying up all of the toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and hand sanitizer to sell it at a profit? (although at least at the store I saw they hilariously failed to buy up all of the hand soap - apparently they aren't planning on washing their hands)

I know. There was a story on Yahoo about some dips--t in Tennessee who bought like 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer and was selling them for up to $70 on Amazon.

Like, talk about a first class karma ticket straight to hell.

It's not just cards, it's anything remotely of value even in the toy aisle.

Every great once in awhile I will pick up a wrestling figure if it's one of the stars from when I was a kid.

Case in point, a couple of weeks ago at WalMart I saw a new Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart figure, among others.

I was a huge fan of the Hart Foundation when I was a kid. Their tag matches against the British Bulldogs were the stuff of legend.

I didn't have my wallet on me at the time, so when I went back the next day not only was that figure gone, someone had come in and cleaned out the dozen or so new figures that had been put out the previous day.

I mean, give me a break. Sure, the Neidhart would have been fun to have, but sorry, I'm not going to go online and pay some markup because some unemployed a--hole is acting like he has some special skill by driving around when the rest of us are at work, buying up all this crap and re-selling it.

I flat out refuse.