[ja1091]

I would love to know about hot packs. I see them go anywhere from $5 to $20+ and now I just saw one go for $45. This was a 2010 Bowman Chrome hot pack that was guaranteed to have an orange refractor or an autographed orange refractor in it. I'm guessing people either use a special scale to weigh the packs or use some sort of light to see through them. Anyways, why do people buy these for that price when you can buy a whole 2010 Bowman Chrome hobby box for $40 and you're most likely going to get a couple refractors(maybe not orange) but still.... And the person selling a hot pack, do they the exact card that is the "hot one"? I'm just wondering about all this and if anyone has some information on them I would like you to share it. I don't want to know methods for figuring out a hot pack as that takes the fun out of the hobbybut I would just like to know if anybody has ever bought a hot pack and get anything good in it.

[dkotart]

Interesting, now they even can tell the color of the refractors by weight. Sorry to break this to you but most likely the crook has opened and resealed the pack after taking the good cards out and replacing them with cards that you would not normally spend money on. You are guaranteed an orange refractor and it will probably be of a nobody.

[brouse6759]

most of them use a digital scale. works only for jersey cards or jersey/auto cards. they'll weigh all the packs from the box and odds are they've already pulled the good stuff from the rest of the packs they opened, saving whatevers left and making some $$ back on their box

[ja1091]

Interesting, now they even can tell the color of the refractors by weight. Sorry to break this to you but most likely the crook has opened and resealed the pack after taking the good cards out and replacing them with cards that you would not normally spend money on. You are guaranteed an orange refractor and it will probably be of a nobody.

Not sure if it's by weight, that was just a guess but you're probably right. They probably open the pack and then reseal it. I didn't buy that pack as I would never buy a hot pack for that price...or any hot pack for that matter. Just wondering why someone would spend the money on one of these packs.

[bustin 5 knots]

There's a lot of crooks in this world...

[jacobystealshome]

I don't want to know methods for figuring out a hot pack as that takes the fun out of the hobby but I would just like to know if anybody has ever bought a hot pack and get anything good in it.

i had a thread discussing the economics of hot packs:

http://www.beckett.com/forums/thread-1446911.html

i will tell you straight up: i target hot pack seller's customers for my business. the way i look at it, if folks are silly enough to buy hot packs for prices that dont make sense, their gonna love me.

yes, depending on the seller, every once in a while, there will be a good hit. or, supposedly there will be (cant discount they have a friend bid and say they got a huge hit)

[keyser soze]

Interesting, now they even can tell the color of the refractors by weight. Sorry to break this to you but most likely the crook has opened and resealed the pack after taking the good cards out and replacing them with cards that you would not normally spend money on. You are guaranteed an orange refractor and it will probably be of a nobody.

This is absolutely correct. If they somehow honestly knew they had a pack with an Orange Refractor, why wouldn't they open it unless they KNEW it was of a common player?

[ja1091]

i had a thread discussing the economics of hot packs:

http://www.beckett.com/forums/thread-1446911.html

i will tell you straight up: i target hot pack seller's customers for my business. the way i look at it, if folks are silly enough to buy hot packs for prices that dont make sense, their gonna love me.

yes, depending on the seller, every once in a while, there will be a good hit. or, supposedly there will be (cant discount they have a friend bid and say they got a huge hit)

Just read that post. Very true about the money aspect. Here's another hotpack that went for $235. There's a guaranteed hair relic in the pack. I'm just really curious, why wouldn't you just open the pack and sell the relic. Wouldn't you get more money that way. Many people probably wouldn't buy it in the pack that way because they're not sure what's really in there so I would just open it and sell it, unless its a hair relic of someone that nobody probably wants.

[jacobystealshome]

ha...20 bucks says it wasnt a DNA relic, but rather this:

http://www.beckett.com/search/#term=2009...ter%20hair

which has a bv less than a quarter of the end price

notice that seller never said anything about DNA relic card. that...that is some slick defrauding. technically, he isnt lying, but rather, relying on ignorance

[baseballcollector18]

Well, I tested this theory a while ago by putting a numbered refractor in with a bunch of other chromes in an already opened pack. Without re-sealing it mind you, I found where the serial numbering was on the card and managed to "trace" out the "25" for an orange refractor with my fingernail. Which can explain knowing it without opening and re-sealing it.

Though I'm more inclined to believe the re-sealing it part. Occam's razor and all. The hair relic is obviously re-sealed.

And hot packs are just cheating anyway. Cheating customers at stores, cheating people who buy them, cheating everyone. Better off buying sealed wax from reputable dealers.