[jeremy7269]

I understand the frustration but however this is what we signed up for.

I know a few gun collectors....

I know stamp collectors....

I know antique collectors......

There is one glaring difference between other hobbies and our's.....these other collectors know what is in their package before they pay for it.

We choose the reward that can come with busting wax and at the same time we choose the risk.

I have been in this hobby for over 25 years. About 7 years ago, I stopped buying wax because the thrill of a big hit was no longer outweighing the aggravation of a worthless box.

Like others have mentioned, buying singles allows you to feel more control of your money and your slice of the hobby.


In my opinion, if you have to bust wax and have to get a return on investment, Bowman Chrome with some patience is the best option.

[Nintari]

I love high end vintage and if your looking to invest long term, that's your safest bet. You'll never lose your money. Graded high end vintage doesn't do anything but go up in value but it doesn't fluctuate like modern cards.

This is why I am no longer really interested in buying high end. As someone who's a collector first and foremost (don't really sell my cards), I am perfectly happy with base Topps and maybe something like Archives, Heritage or Chrome. I do chase RC of players that I think may pay off like Bryant and Trout, but other than that, I won't spend much on modern cards. The only big spending I do now is on graded vintage. I bought a Bob Feller 1952 Topps PSA graded card not long ago and feel great about it because I know that value will do nothing but increase.

Plus, imo, vintage is just so nice to own. Nothing like it.

[KPRROK]

I buy just a few boxes a year, and that's normally low- to mid-range cards. I bought a box of Cooperstown last week and while I probably "lost" money, it's irrelevant because I like the cards and they're unique to me. I'm actually thinking about buying a couple more boxes of it online now that they're a little cheaper.

Buying a single box of a product and being annoyed that it didn't pay off is pointless. You know you're gambling on the one box you get to be THE BOX that will payoff. How realistic is that? The odds are way against you. If you want to do better, buy multiple boxes from a case or the entire case.

The other thing is, what is your goal in collecting? My goal is to get cards from my favorite players (Finnegan, Gore, Skaggs) plus base Topps Royals and some other cool Royals cards. Buying boxes does not help me hit that goal (there are so few Royals in most sets), so I mostly buy the team sets, plus singles via ebay. I just bought three Finnegan Supreme autos from ebay for $12. That's three autos of my PC player for 1/5 the cost of a box. That's smart buying!

As someone said earlier, card collecting is supposed to be fun. If you're in it to make money, you need to buy more than a single box.

Cheers,

[Hofcollector]

This is why I am no longer really interested in buying high end. As someone who's a collector first and foremost (don't really sell my cards), I am perfectly happy with base Topps and maybe something like Archives, Heritage or Chrome. I do chase RC of players that I think may pay off like Bryant and Trout, but other than that, I won't spend much on modern cards. The only big spending I do now is on graded vintage. I bought a Bob Feller 1952 Topps PSA graded card not long ago and feel great about it because I know that value will do nothing but increase.

Plus, imo, vintage is just so nice to own. Nothing like it.

Smart buy. Those PSA 52's are cash in hand. The demand for the '52 set is probably greater than any other set. Yes, I know the T-206 do extremely well but completing the entire set is virtually an unattainable goal.

[Nintari]

Smart buy. Those PSA 52's are cash in hand. The demand for the '52 set is probably greater than any other set. Yes, I know the T-206 do extremely well but completing the entire set is virtually an unattainable goal.

Yeah, the '52 Topps set has been a dream of mine since I was a boy. I plan on buying PSA 5's of every player (with the ex exception of Mantle and Mays haha) and building a set that way.

I could get a lot of those cards cheaper if they were raw, but, I just don't trust that they're going to be authentic.

[Hofcollector]

Yeah, the '52 Topps set has been a dream of mine since I was a boy. I plan on buying PSA 5's of every player (with the ex exception of Mantle and Mays haha) and building a set that way.

I could get a lot of those cards cheaper if they were raw, but, I just don't trust that they're going to be authentic.

The Mays is pretty affordable... compared to the Mantle anyway. The Mays actually went up a good chunk last year in a 5. I bought an SGC 60 at the GBSCC 2 years ago and sold it at last years.