[rjcj2017]

Football Friends,

There actually is no break, because I can't find any retail product.

This is a direct result of:

A) The big box stores simply mailing it in and not even trying to re-stock cards right now - and no, I don't count Pokemon, soccer, racing or wrestling (no offense)
B) The idiot retail sharks jumping on the distributors the moment they walk into the store - which I don't have time to do because, wait for it ... I have both a job and a life, and have kissed a girl
C) Probably a combination of both

So what I did instead is bought the one card on Amazon that I wanted out of this set ... Joe Burrow's RC in his Ohio State uniform.

$14.99, free shipping - yes, I realize I could have gotten it cheaper on eBay but this is what they had available on Amazon, which I had a gift card for.

Even with tax, the card still cost less than a blaster, and what were the odds I was going to pull that specific card if I only purchased one blaster in the first place?

So, guess what - neither the Target or Walmart where I would've bought said 2020 Score blasters, nor the distributors, nor Panini itself, will get any of my money this time around.

(Not exactly sure how the model works, but the good news is, I don't care)

Last year I'd guess I bought maybe 10 blasters of this stuff - eight alone in one binge trying to pull David Blough's RC for my Lions PC.

So that's $200 + tax that won't be going to them this year.

Small drop in the bucket, for sure, but maybe if enough people take a similar stand against this BS they will realize something needs to change.

[ZSDOne]

I have been saving so much money thanks to the retail sharks - and eventually I will be able to get autos of the Eagles picks and players from the colleges I follow for fractions of buying boxes

Although I have to say that if they are the products for the European leagues (EUFA Champions League,Premiere League) - obviously the MLS products have very limited appeal - it really shows just how clueless the retail sharks are - they might be a niche market in the U.S. but those products have huge international appeal with teams and players that rank as among the most popular in the world

But then, the retail sharks have actually heard of Joe Burrows

[rjcj2017]

I have been saving so much money thanks to the retail sharks - and eventually I will be able to get autos of the Eagles picks and players from the colleges I follow for fractions of buying boxes

Although I have to say that if they are the products for the European leagues (EUFA Champions League,Premiere League) - obviously the MLS products have very limited appeal - it really shows just how clueless the retail sharks are - they might be a niche market in the U.S. but those products have huge international appeal with teams and players that rank as among  the most popular in the world

But then, the retail sharks have actually heard of Joe Burrows

And to be clear, I'm not picking on anyone that collects those other sports ... I have been known to pick up the occasional wrestling blaster myself.

(Even once bought a hanger of Revolution Soccer and pulled the guy I was looking for, Christian Pulisic, so called it good on the one and done)

But these current products are not moving at all at my local Targets ... nobody is buying them ... collectors, sharks, etc.

The hockey is just sitting there as well ... UD1, UD2, MVP, etc.

I mean, like I said somewhere else, I have been to the same Walmart four times in the last week or so ... yet literally the only trace of any sports cards I've seen are some shelf tag codes saying 2019 Panini Mosaic Basketball ... but certainly no product, not even the vending box.

To be fair, this particular Walmart taps out about once every couple years or so ... they just quit carrying cards for a few weeks or months, most likely due to theft or probably not wanting to deal with the sharks.

I mean, imagine how annoying it must be to be one of these distributors and having a bunch of losers waiting for you when you get there, then trying (or not) to referee their BS when they start arguing over the stuff.

I know I've beaten this topic to death but good Lord it irks me to no end.

Like, they're not "baller" enough to, you know, afford big boy hobby cases, so they just slink around store to store like vermin, taking the hobby completely out of it.

I mean, get a real job for God's sake. And try to get a life while you're at it.

[ZSDOne]

Again, that UD Series 1 and Series 2 is just sitting there shows how unsophicated the retail shark market really is - since Young Guns are some of the few base rookie cards that are actually worth anything (and good odds of getting a real game used jersey card of a star player - and UD doesn't just put in the common cards - I got a 1:12,000 packs or so Sidney Crosby jersey card out of retail a couple of years ago), UD Hockey is one of the better retail products