[sonnyday]

$1,000 lesson that card companies don't want you making money on box breaks. I could of told you that for free. Trying to make money case breaking and box breaking is a losing battle. You'll wind up in credit card debt and with a bunch of worthless base cards.

[JMarchand1981]

$1,000 lesson that card companies don't want you making money on box breaks. I could of told you that for free. Trying to make money case breaking and box breaking is a losing battle. You'll wind up in credit card debt and with a bunch of worthless base cards.

He said he wasn't busting to make money. There are a few things that I would like to speak on here.

The OP stated he is a collector. The inherent conclusion that you can draw out of this is that if he had hit something sick for his PC than he may have been happy.

Next, I agree that busting one case is a tough idea, especially when you are paying full SRP for the product. Gold Standard is NOT a $180 box. It is priced at $180, but I could take a crap in a box and throw a price tag on it...it doesn't mean that taking a crap in a box is worth $180. GS is one of the more overpriced releases of the season. Ever since the novelty of having less than a gram of gold in a card has worn off, GS has been overpriced. Were this product in the $120 range, the sting of getting $800 +/- in return for the contents of the case would have been lessened.

This case was a dud. It happens and the law of averages would provide hope for another case(the OP stated that his case break after this one was a good one).

Lastly and this is really about the OP and his case breaks. Your website is fantastic. Your writing style and content is extremely insightful. I will periodically check that website. I give you and your website a 10. Good Job.

[home plate 1989]

$1,000 lesson that card companies don't want you making money on box breaks. I could of told you that for free. Trying to make money case breaking and box breaking is a losing battle. You'll wind up in credit card debt and with a bunch of worthless base cards.

As I reference in my blog I am not trying to make money on case/box breaks. I opened my first card store in 1989 and we closed the brick and mortar side in 1999. I still have my fingers in our card shows, autographed memorabilia and supplies business...but recently started the blog for my own personal enjoyment.

I LOVE to open product and collect for my PC....but I thought it could be interesting/useful for other collectors to see what is coming out of products so they can make informed decisions on what they buy.

I never expect to even break-even...a loss is expected on each break...BUT I do call attention when the gap is so wide for consumers. Also when there aren't any cards I deem worthy to keep in a personal collection. This particular break was bad on all fronts in my personal opinion.

[sonnyday]

I LOVE Ferraris but I choose not to drive one because I would go into debt. You LOVE breaking product, but choose to...so you will likely go into debt.....see my point

Should of just bought the cards you want off ebay and saved your hard working dollars.

It's valiant that you want other collectors to see what is coming out of a new product. But that's a hefty loss to incur at the expense of letting collectors know about a product. Leave that job up to the suckers.

[home plate 1989]

I LOVE Ferraris but I choose not to drive one because I would go into debt. You LOVE breaking product, but choose to...so you will likely go into debt.....see my point

Should of just bought the cards you want off ebay and saved your hard working dollars.

It's valiant that you want other collectors to see what is coming out of a new product. But that's a hefty loss to incur at the expense of letting collectors know about a product. Leave that job up to the suckers.

Like I said before the part of collecting I enjoy most is opening packs...and keeping some choice cards from my breaks for my personal collection. Perhaps not the most economical way to collect, but I know I am not alone in that enjoyment of the hobby. Fortunately selling baseball cards is not my source of income anymore so I can make that decision.

I am going to open product regardless (again for my personal collection) the video and blog is just my contribution back to my collecting peers to share that knowledge. Doesn't cost me anything to share with the group.

Sometimes people may even see a card they want and then we can trade - so Win-Win in that aspect.

Best of Luck in Building your Collection - Cheers!

[dodgydave]

Tough break in terms of dollar value and certainly not any of the great hits you see in many other case breaks.

The Pippen auto is nice and I'm sure the Magic would be too if it wasn't a redemption.

I certainly understand you feelings about breaking product for fun. I love opening boxes (my wife would kill me if I even mentioned a case!) and I always think any great cards you pull feel so much more memorable than those you buy as singles.

I still remember fondly the first auto I pulled from a pack (Chris Carr Autographics) though I have no idea what the first auto was I purchased as a single even though it was no doubt a card I wanted a lot more.

You obviously get better value and the specific cards you want buying singles. However, I just don't get that same feeling I do when making a great pull.

Great blog too.

Best of luck with your future breaks.

Its funny, my reaction after a box or pack break is based more on how well the player might be in the NBA. For example, if I pulled a Thaddeus Young auto I'd be ecstatic because I love the way he plays but his auto cards may not be worth a lot. That doesn't matter to me. I love basketball and collecting NBA cards.

I wish I had the same attitude more often, unfortunately I too often get focused on the BVs of the cards!

[home plate 1989]

Tough break in terms of dollar value and certainly not any of the great hits you see in many other case breaks.

You obviously get better value and the specific cards you want buying singles. However, I just don't get that same feeling I do when making a great pull.

Thanks for the feedback Dodgydave - After seeing all these "random" breaks from companies that provide boxes to certain entities who shall remain nameless....they ALWAYS seemed to hit cards I would LOVE to have. As a chronic box/case breaker I rarely if ever pull some of those same cards!

Thus part of my inspiration to share my breaks (*good and bad*) with our collecting community is to give some unfiltered feedback. I know I learn a lot from reading about other breaks on this forum so just trying to give some back.

Cheers!

[djohn]

Thank you for sharing your break. I always find it funny when people say that breaking boxes is a losing proposition and that no one should do it. However if no one opened cases/boxes/packs in order to resell the cards then where would people be able to buy the singles they want?
I love opening wax, however I have gotten to the point that now I buy a product at least 6 months or so after its release (and typically a year or so later) with a few exceptions. This allows me to buy at a decent discount, as the prices drop once newer product comes out. The downside to this is that I have hit expired redemptions, however Panini usually honors the expired redemptions and Upper Deck has been doing the expired redemption raffles, so even those aren't as bad as they used to be.
Anyhow, good luck on your future breaks, hopefully they are better than this one.

[home plate 1989]

I love opening wax, however I have gotten to the point that now I buy a product at least 6 months or so after its release (and typically a year or so later) with a few exceptions. This allows me to buy at a decent discount, as the prices drop once newer product comes out.

Thanks for the support djohn!

100% agree with your assessment....I actually love to buy sealed boxes that are 1-3 years old as often the hype has died down and you can find some great deals. I have a shelf where I keep my sealed boxes and they always call with me with their "potential" - of course given my luck they are all probably Duds!

Hope you get some GREAT PULLS in your next break!

Ed
www.ForLoveofHomePlate.com
Twitter @HomePlateCards

[TBarn291]

Ouch! Sorry to see your break was so rough. You win some you lose some. I am happy I was able to contribute with the meager Bill Walton purchase lol. I was going to bid $100 on the Waiters JSY, that was a very nice patch. I don't understand why so many people blame Panini. I have had tons of horrible breaks from products coming from Topps and UpperDeck. I remember paying over $100 for boxes like Chrome and EX in the late 90s, and never coming close to reaching that value in product. I think most people know they are not going to make money off breaks, and that is kind of the thrill of opening. You never know when you might hit that huge card. I buy singles for the most part and usually avoid wax just because I can't afford to maintain my PC and open products. Personally I like a lot of the designs Panini has been using, my biggest complaint is the pricing, I wish the products were a little more affordable. Were products from other companies more affordable 2000-2010?