Question about case busting

levy73

I was wondering if anyone had any experience purchasing cases and selling the contents on ebay. Can this be profitable? Is it generally better to sell the unopened boxes or ripping the packs and selling the cards individually or as lots? I am thinking about picking up a newer case and breaking it up? Is this worthwhile or am I most likely to end up in the red?

Sorry for all the questions.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
David

kuhlmann

it used to be very profitable. now its a gamble that you will most likely end up losing. 3 years ago auto and jersey cards #d to 50 or less would sell high. now you see cards # 3/5 sell for 20$. so be selective. IMO football is the way to go as the rookies bring good value still. baseball rookies arent as known bc the draft in football is huge now.

sum it up if your gonna try make it football. or just research like crazy what is in the cases before you buy.

SDavid

Maybe if you hit the "case card" and then sell the rest of the boxes. But I don't have any experience busting cases, so I'm not sure what works.

brianwintersfan

If you rip just buy smart.Do your homework and buy stuff that still offers good hits but doesn't cost an arm and a leg.There are plenty of choices out there.I mean I would love to buy a case for $1,500 but why do it when I can find something just as good for $600.00

softparade

<< <i>If you rip just buy smart.Do your homework and buy stuff that still offers good hits but doesn't cost an arm and a leg.There are plenty of choices out there.I mean I would love to buy a case for $1,500 but why do it when I can find something just as good for $600.00 >>



My rule of thumb is this ...

1. First and most importantly, pick a VERY reputable source

2. Ya get what you pay for

levy73

Thanks,
The cases I have considered are Heritage and Bowman Chrome. I know it is probably too late this year to try this with Heritage. I assume the one of keys is picking a popular set. If I do this I will look into these and also see what other sets might be worthwhile.

David

brianwintersfan

<< <i>I assume the one of keys is picking a popular set >>



Well if you get in early and can speculate on what might be hot that would work to your advantage.Sage and Press Pass football which is junk in my opinion sells well if you rip it the day it comes out and get it on Ebay the following day.
One that I just ripped was 2002 UD Authentics football.Four memoribilia redemptions per case and we aren't talking junk.Players like Marino,Rice,Manning,Moss,etc...And when I say memoribilia I mean autographed fb's,jersey's,helmets,etc..
The redemptions are good until the end of August so the price has been coming down.





<< <i>My rule of thumb is this ...
1. First and most importantly, pick a VERY reputable source
2. Ya get what you pay for >>



While I agree I also think that is more important when buying older wax.If he wants product from the last few years his choices are 10 fold when picking a dealer.Much easier to tamper with the stuff that came with gum!

BigRedMachine

<< <i>it used to be very profitable. now its a gamble that you will most likely end up losing. 3 years ago auto and jersey cards #d to 50 or less would sell high. now you see cards # 3/5 sell for 20$. so be selective. IMO football is the way to go as the rookies bring good value still. baseball rookies arent as known bc the draft in football is huge now. >>



Your point about the rookies is why I buy more new football than new baseball. The size of the NFL draft isn't the reason football rookies are more hot though. It's because football guys drafted play the next year. With Topps/Bowman contract they sign baseball guys right after the draft as well. But baseball works differently. After the draft, it's the norm for it to be several years before these guys make it to the majors.

You buy a box of 2004 football, you know when you get Julius Jones, Eli Manning, Kevin Jones, etc.
You buy a box of 2004 bowman chrome, it may be three or four years before you know if your box is good.

I remember I could've bought 2 boxes of 2004 sp authentic football for $140 in a presell this year. Now the stuff goes for $175 a box. Patch autos of Jones and Roethlisberger go for $400 plus. I realize every year isn't as productive as 04 football has been, but a case of that at the original price would sure be nice.

ctsoxfan

I had the case busting bug last year - and I can say this: have fun with it, but don't expect to make money. Maybe I chose a bad case, but one that sticks out was 2004 Leaf Certified Baseball. Usually a great product, I paid somewhere around $1300 for a case. I did pull two Nolan Ryan autos (sold one for $100, still have one), but nothing else really significant. I sold some of the cards right away, and will be listing the rest soon, but if I get back half of the $1300, I'll be shocked.

However, I also bought a case of 2003-04 Bowman R&S Basketball. That paid off handsomely, and I still have many sealed boxes (going for $200-$300 a box now, if you can find them). But, this is the exception to the rule.

helionaut

This question is one that gets to the root of what makes a good product. From box to box, it is very hard to balance cost versus return. While there seems to be fewer products out there that just tank and sell for significantly less than cost within a couple months of release like there were in the late 90s, there are also fewer products where if you spend $75 on a box you are most likely going to be satisfied with what you get out of it. Costs of production are so skewed towards buying GU and autographs that the rest of the cards are often practically worthless.

I think the key to profitability in case-busting is to have value in every box, not one awesome box and 15 boxes of junk like so many products are today. There are sets like Legendary Cuts that contain a case hit that will earn you back a good chunk of the cost of the case or more, but the rest of the product is usually dross that won't make up the rest of your bottom line. Then there are rookie sets like Bowman Chrome where there is usually good value to be had, but the problem is it may take years to realize that value fully. But if you're the patient type, then you can come out way ahead. If you busted cases of Bowman Chrome last year and sold the singles right away, you probably did OK, but missed out on the feeding frenzy for Felix Hernandez, Conor Jackson, and Carlos Quentin over the winter, Brad Eldred right now, and who knows what in years to come. Topps Heritage is one where there is value in pretty much every card in a box because set builders want every base card, SP, and insert, and lots of people collect the chrome inserts, and any autos you pull are a bonus. The trick there is to make a set that people value every card, and that's pretty tough.

And yes, it is possible to be a partial case-buster and rip till you find the case-card and dump the rest, but I think that's a little, not exactly unethical, but how often do you see ads for boxes from sets like Legendary Cuts and they tell you they pulled the cut auto already? If you do this, you should be up front about it.

julen23

What are reputable sources for early 80's and 70's wax boxes and cases btw?

Julen

brianwintersfan

70's & 80's Wax