1985 Donruss box break - NADA

larryallen73

Just opened a box of '85 Donruss that I bought on the bay. Description looked good, high feedback seller, etc.... Ended up paying about the same as one from BBC so wish I had just bought from BBC... I hadn't noticed that fact until after I had made the bid. Anyway, opened the whole box and got ZERO Clemens, ZERO Pucketts, one Ryan (but on the back so has wax on it), and one poor condition Rose. Basically, for my $100 I got NADA. I don't intend to leave a neg but was thinking about leaving a "positive" like "'85 Donruss box arrived but NO Clemens or Puckett's." I want to state the facts. Maybe that's mean but I feel it unlikely that a box would have not one of the big rookie cards. I have sent an email to the seller to see if any of the other boxes from this case had similar problems. Is '85 Donruss a year that is easy for people to search without opening? I have heard of that happening with some years. Anybody have experience with '85 Donruss wax to share?

tennesseebanker

That is very unusual Larry, I never buy wax from anyone but BBC exchange when I do buy because of the fact wax is just to easy to reseal.
I am not saying that yours was resealed but the chance of not getting a Clemens, or Puckett in a whole box is very strange.

Brian48

Like of the draw when breaking a box.

My personal opinion, you ARE leaving a neg, only it's an underhanded one. How do you know the next box might not have 10 Clemens? Poor card distribution is not the seller's fault. A lame feedback like that could take away sales from this guy who did nothing wrong.

originalisbest

Who can say? For your one nada box there might be one out there ready to surprise someone with 3 Clemens in it. I remember pulling a gem Puckett out of a pack of '85 D back when he was hot, and was very pleased - but there was no tip I knew of to make me suspect the pack might be a winner before I opened it.

By BBC, who do you mean? (I'm not super familiar with Baseball Card dealer shorthand, embarrasingly.)

larryallen73

Thanks for the replies. Brian- I hope the feedback I considered is not "lame" but rather just a fact. If more people left accurate feedback we would all be better off. Though I realize it is the luck of the draw I have opened A LOT of boxes of different years (but not '85 Don) and to not get ONE single card of the two top cards is surprising. Just wondering if others agreed (as Tennessee did) or disagreed (as you apparently). Thanks for your feedback. To the other respondent, BBC is BBC Exchange who I have bought many things over the last couple years and always been very pleased.

julen23

on the average, there should be (at least) 1 of each of those....

julen

bsfastball

with 15 cards per pack x 36 packs = 480 cards per box. Your odds of pulling neither a puckett or a clemens out of a perfectly random box are (173/653)^2 which is approximately 7%. Your odds of pulling both are (480/653)^2 = 54%.

Those numbers only hold assuming no dups.

I recently had an experience where i cracked 4 '82 donruss boxes and only pulled one Ripken. Unquestionably legit boxes, just terrible collation.

lostdart58

<< <i>on the average, there should be (at least) 1 of each of those....

julen >>




A bold statement indeed.........

If thats true.......?????........then if one had (at least) two.......then another would have to have (at least) zero........to prove the law of averages.......

larryallen73

Seller replied to my email: "I am very sorry to hear that the box did not contain any of the key RCs. I have sold a few of these boxes and the few that opened them said they had very good pulls. I know that Donruss distribution of cards was very poor throughout the 1980s and it sounds like you opened an unfortunate box. I assure you the box was clean from a sealed case as my feedback is littered with many great pulls over the years. Every now and again I hear of a bummer box and it saddens me too. I again apologize for the let down of a box. Best regards,"

Stingray

Agreed, to leave a statement that the box yielded nothing in a feedback kind of gives the indication that it was tampered with or the seller did something to the box. I think it sounds as if he is sincere and if you were happy with what you paid and shipping was good, then feedback should be based on that only.

P.S. Sorry to hear though that you did not get one of the big cards.


Stingray

zef204

I have opened tons of boxes that did not yeild the big card or 2. Its a crapshoot every time. If the seller has good feedback, I would chalk it up and move on. For $100 you could have bought a few raw clemens and pucketts.

It is a big let down when a box doesn't give you the cards you want, but that is part of the risk in buying a box.

jmbkb4

<< <i>on the average, there should be (at least) 1 of each of those....

julen >>


May be true, but you can't leave a negative because of purported/theoretical averages.

Stone193

If the guy has excellent FB and he stated that it came from a sealed case...

I think one has to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and let it go - I agree with those who feel that making a "factual" statement about the pull and no other factors, renders the statement out of context and would lead people to infer that the box was tampered with.

I bought 4 83T vending from BBCE - after opening two I contacted Steve about the poor quality - he took the remaining two back and shipped me two from another case - centering was better.

But the first two are a total bust - and of the remaining two - I did not get one Boggs or Gwynn that were even nicely centered. I don't hold this against BBCE/Steve and am not bitter - heck - it's a gamble.

Just my non-cents!

mike