Why are vending boxes so much less expensive then wax boxes?

jswieton

I know this topic has been discussed a few times but I am still unclear about some specifics about a vending box. Why are vending boxes so much less expensive then a wax box? They are usually close to half the price of a wax box? I just don’t understand, since a typical vending box has 500 cards and a typical 36 pack wax box has 540 or less cards. I have also read that some people think that cards from a vending box can have damaged corners. I would think that a vending box would have better corners considering they were never wrapped in a wax wrapper. I would think that cards from a vending box would be less likely to move around inside the vending box rather then having idividual packs bounceing around inside a wax box.

WinPitcher

John

Less packaging and no gum equals a cheaper wholesale price.

Steve

Barfvader

You can see the corner damage in this scan that can happen.



I've had some really sharp cards come out of vending and also ones that look like the above.

Morgoth

On the aftermarket side of things, vending is very much hit and miss as far as condition (corners are very easy to ding in those boxes) and there is always the possibility of someone searching the box. They are much less tamper proof than wax, cellos or racks. We know how safe those are so vending is considered last as far as safety. Put all that together and people tend to only want vending if they can see it opened from a fresh case or if they are trying to build cheap sets where condition doesn't matter to them.

Dboneesq

I agree with Morgoth. The number one reason, for me, to buy wax as opposed to vending, is that vending is too easy to search. If you know what to look for it's a lot easier to detect that someone played around with a wax box as opposed to the vending. I also agree that the cards coming out of wax have less of a chance of having corner dings. JMO.

jeffcbay

The only way I would consider buying vending, is if I bought a whole case, and even that is a stretch for me.

lsutigers1973

Since I know his habits, I think John is more referring to BBCE inventory. If you are buying a vending box that Steve has a case of the same year available, you can eliminate half the problem with vending. You can at least feel safe that the box isn't search. As far as corner wear, I more or less agree with everyone else. However, I got a 1984 Topps vending box from a forum regular early last year that yielded two PSA 9 Mattingly rookies and a few random 10's. I still think the Mattingly's were 10's.

jeffcbay

I was looking at his 1982 Fleer vending, but I just don't want to get my heart broken when all 18 Ripkens are OC.

jswieton

I am buying a few 85 topps baseball vending boxes from BBCE. I figured they were safe from being searched if they are from Steve. He said they are from a fresh case that was recently opened.

billwaltonsbeard

<< <i>I am buying a few 85 topps baseball vending boxes from BBCE. I figured they were safe from being searched if they are from Steve. He said they are from a fresh case that was recently opened. >>



Be on the look out for GEM MT Willie Wilsons and Dan Quisenberrys

KbKards

If you open a vending box chances are you're getting only one each of 60-70% of the key cards. As far as resale goes it's then real tough to market and sell 490+ commons for any kind of money. Once you open it you're stuck with what you get. A wax box contains 36 individual surprise packages. Each pack can be sold individually at a premium because it could contain the key cards in the set. That's why you pay a premium for wax. You can have fun and open a few packs, and all the remaining unopened packs will still have solid value.

Estil

Not to mention the fact that a wax box is a more colorful, more interesting collectible than a vending box. As for why vending boxes are so suspectible to dinged corners and such, it's the fact that vending boxes (as well as Score factory sets) are made from much thinner boxes than say, Topps factory sets.

yankeeno7

Also, a box can be broken up to be resold as packs. I loved vending for building my own raw sets.

grote15

Biggest risk with vending is that corners will be dinged due to the tight packing and the fact that they so easily searched, too...Unless it's from a sealed case, I wouldn't trust vending, and the quality of the cards is probably the worst after rack and wax and maybe even cello, and the price reflects that..