[yankeeman5002]

Thanks for the feedback, everybody. A lot of this made me feel better.

Let me clarify a few more things. Stera8- I'm a journalism major. Close enough! Sorta...

Anyways, in response to the Morton's example earlier (yum...steak), it's a completely different situation, and I'm trying not to over exaggerate. But to me, I think Topps is trying to empty the pockets of its collectors and leave them with the least amount of value. There's really no other explanation I can think of, and with Morton's, they provide some pretty quality steak for that price.

I really appreciate the suggestions. I know all too well the "thrill" of buying low end boxes and sharing them with my brother. All I buy anymore is Score football. Let me repeat...Score football.

Lowest of the low. But to me, that's fun. So there's my calling.

But there's literally NO value in low end products anymore, which in the past, at least there was a little to be had. Of course, there's a difference in actual value and value to me, because value is self-assessed. Still, I'd like to show my kids a Derek Jeter '93 SP and have them feel the same thing I felt when I bought it.

They won't, though. The way things are heading, Topps is going to cut down on products like they have recently. Someone said they release a bunch of products, so I shouldn't be too concerned. But I remember a few years ago when there was actually CHOICE. There isn't anymore. Go to Walmart. Seriously. Topps Series 1 or Score. Take your pick.

Yes, I'm on a college kid's budget. And I know you all had to go through it and I applaud you all for not going crazy.

[Krangry]

My walmart has a pretty big selection when it comes to baseball. They have all the topps series, some leaf stuff, those chase boxes, all of the bowman stuff as well. It even has full hobby boxes as well, usually some older Chrome, and Signature stars.

You don't HAVE to buy high end for there to be value in your boxes, its just more likely to get a big pull that way. Series one, AnG and others are more of a low risk high reward if you hit a nice card.

It all depends on what you are looking to do. If you are just looking to collect, then pick up singles on e-bay or comc, or other venues.

If you are looking to "invest" and pick up boxes hoping to hit the big card, you should probably wait until you have a good job to cover the inevitable losses .

[ceocards]

I really appreciate the suggestions. I know all too well the "thrill" of buying low end boxes and sharing them with my brother. All I buy anymore is Score football. Let me repeat...Score football.

Lowest of the low. But to me, that's fun. So there's my calling.

But there's literally NO value in low end products anymore, which in the past, at least there was a little to be had.

Two more general comments, and one more "dad" comment in response to this:

1. I collect Score football every year and I LOVE it.
2. I disagree that there are no 'hits' in low end stuff. Yes, they're harder to come by, but to follow up with the Score example - I bought 4 $9.98 blasters of Score at Wal Mart the other day and pulled a Justin Blackmon #/20 parallel and a Polamalu #/6 parallel. Now, neither of those is going to finance my girls' college, but I could probably recoup the cost of the 4 blasters just on those two cards alone if I wanted to sell them (I don't )

Now the "dad" comment:

I think what we're all trying to tell you (in our own way) is you're focusing too much on value from a dollars and cents perspective. If your argument is that you aren't going to get rich buying boxes (regardless of cost) and trying to resell the cards, I doubt you'll find anyone who disagrees. Yeah, 9 times out of 10 you're going to settle for a minor/semi-star G/U swatch or manufactured patch as your "pull". But think about it from the other side - if the majority of pulls were going to be Mike Trout autos, there wouldn't be ANY low end products as prices would skyrocket even more (or if prices did manage to stay low there would be no availiblity, because people with funds would just buy them all up).

To get maximum enjoyment out of the hobby, refocus from a dollars and cents value to a "how much enjoyment do I get for my dollar" value. From that perspective, I don't know that there is a better hobby value than Score football. For a buck a pack, you're guaranteed a rookie, some sort of insert, a few base cards, and a chance (albeit slim) of a pull. THAT is worth a buck to me.

[yankeeman5002]

To get maximum enjoyment out of the hobby, refocus from a dollars and cents value to a "how much enjoyment do I get for my dollar" value. From that perspective, I don't know that there is a better hobby value than Score football. For a buck a pack, you're guaranteed a rookie, some sort of insert, a few base cards, and a chance (albeit slim) of a pull. THAT is worth a buck to me.

I really do understand what you are saying. Congrats on the Blackmon and Polamalu, by the way. I'm from Pittsburgh. Go Stillers!

It's worth a buck to me too. Absolutely. But maybe the point I am trying to get at is that as products like Score start to depreciate in value as products like Five Star get ever more popular, there will be the question..."Why do we even need Score?"...from card companies.

It seems like Topps is getting more and more high end (obviously), which will lead to them depending on high end collectors and investors more and more. And I am not a card shop owner.

I'm afraid, that's all. This isn't as much a personal post as it is an inquiry into where the hobby is heading.

[phillies816]

I really do understand what you are saying. Congrats on the Blackmon and Polamalu, by the way. I'm from Pittsburgh. Go Stillers!

It's worth a buck to me too. Absolutely. But maybe the point I am trying to get at is that as products like Score start to depreciate in value as products like Five Star get ever more popular, there will be the question..."Why do we even need Score?"...from card companies.

It seems like Topps is getting more and more high end (obviously), which will lead to them depending on high end collectors and investors more and more. And I am not a card shop owner.

I'm afraid, that's all. This isn't as much a personal post as it is an inquiry into where the hobby is heading.

I actually think it will go the other way with the higher end stuff completely disappearing in the future. Maybe I am wrong but that is how I see it.

[jaredhuizenga]

[quote='yankeeman5002' pid='2157447' dateline='1352988707']
Let me clarify a few more things. Stera8- I'm a journalism major. Close enough! Sorta...


Journalist right here ... if you ever want to be able to afford anything but base Topps or Score run - don't walk - to the registrar's office and change your major. I kid (sort of).

I, too, just got back into the hobby after a long college and post-college break. I quickly realized that with my very limited journalist's budget I can't compete with a lot of the dedicated guys and gals in here and the ones who constantly bid me up on the bay.

But at the same time I've managed to land a few things that I've really wanted and have built my collection up a bit - quality, not quantity.

The thing I've most enjoyed about being back is the community on the boards here. With the rare exceptions that happen in every community, everyone has been helpful in helping educate me about the "new" hobby I walked back into, there's been some fun conversations and I've talked to a lot of great people.

Just have fun with it, collect what you want to collect and find something you can do for a second job or marry up financially if you're going to stick with journalism. Again, I kid ... sort of.

[yankeeman5002]

I enjoy all this feedback. I absolutely agree that the community here is a shining light in the hobby. My dad wished me happy 16th birthday by posting it on the boards

Journalist right here ... if you ever want to be able to afford anything but base Topps or Score run - don't walk - to the registrar's office and change your major. I kid (sort of).

I'm hoping I'll land a job pairing print with broadcast like all the guys nowadays do. But seriously, I'll be getting used to Topps and Score.

[aprirr]

I must make one more comment, then I am done. I recently got back into the hobby because of the interest shown by my daughter. We can't afford to get the high end stuff and there are no card shops within 50 miles of us but our Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy collection is growing. How? Mostly due to the excellent people on this site in the form of trades. The ability to trade my older MJ inserts and other random cards we recently pulled from packs for cards of players my daughter and I see play every summer has increased the enjoyment factor tremendously for both her and myself. So, while the high end stuff might be a negative for the majority of collectors working on a shoestring budget, the ability to get our favorite players cards by giving someone cards of their favorite player has been a huge positive and also something that would have been nearly impossible to do in the days before Triple Threads and 5 Star.

[jacobystealshome]

Other ways to find the "random fun" are reputable dutch style auctions on the bay. Not to sound like a commercial for someone else but if you contact jacobystealshome I'm sure he can put you in contact with one of these dealers

*tips cap*

i might know a guy :p

[jonathani]

I think Topps is trying to empty the pockets of its collectors and leave them with the least amount of value. There's really no other explanation I can think of...

What about the notion that no one else is allowed to make baseball cards and Topps can do whatever it wants? If they were competing with other companies, do you still think there would be $500 boxes out there?

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2. I disagree that there are no 'hits' in low end stuff...

That depends on how you define "hit".