Is modern pack ripping really only about "The Hit(s)"???

Hallco

I have been following social media websites and watched several modern box and case breaks the last few days and it really is amazing to me that someone would be so overly excited about an autograph #d to 99 of some prospect player that will probably not even be playing or be insignificant to the sport they are in or the card hobby in 3-4 years...yet a base card of a first ballot future hall of famer is not even acknowledged. To each his own I guess!

bigdcards

The owners at 2 different card shops near me say that many people rip boxes in the shop, walk out with the hits and leave the base cards on the counter.

jlzinck

<< <i>The owners at 2 different card shops near me say that many people rip boxes in the shop, walk out with the hits and leave the base cards on the counter. >>



2002 says heloooooooooooooo.

Yup, Modern is all about the Mojo.

From this year's Bowman I got an autograped card of Dante Bichette Jr. It's was numbered to 5.
I had payment and shipped it within 60 minutes of opening the pack. It sold for $475.

I currently have a Jose Fernandez (Marlins) 2011 Chrome Purple auto /10 on the way to me. It's graded a 9 with an auto grade of 10.
Now this kid lit it up in A ball this year. I expect to get $425 for this card when it arrives.

I don't get it but people buy them up

BenG76

I am afraid this is the way it is. When I upload some of my bo breaks on youtube I have had people make comments about showing or naming some of the base cards. I do it anyway though. I like collecting some of the base sets. I made a base set of Tribute this year pretty cheaply and they are great looking cards.

bigdcards

<< <i>2002 says heloooooooooooooo. >>



1996 called and they want this joke back. (actually I thought your line was funny)

Goodsport40

If you want to recoup any of your money on today's boxes you have to"pull" a hit to really do so.

I watched a few breaks of Triple Threads the past several days. I perzonally wouldn't give a dime for most of the cards.

To each his own I guess.

Robert

Hallco

Yeah, that's along the lines of the replies that I kind of expected. Don't get me wrong, I understand that getting a bunch of commons isn't that exciting, but it would seem to me that if you get players you like, or stars, superstars, future hofers, or cool looking cards...that would be better than getting an auto or jersey patch of someone I have never even heard of!!! But of course I don't buy cards to immediately turn around and try to sell so that could be where I am confused!!!

BenG76

<< <i>Yeah, that's along the lines of the replies that I kind of expected. Don't get me wrong, I understand that getting a bunch of commons isn't that exciting, but it would seem to me that if you get players you like, or stars, superstars, future hofers, or cool looking cards...that would be better than getting an auto or jersey patch of someone I have never even heard of!!! But of course I don't buy cards to immediately turn around and try to sell so that could be where I am confused!!! >>



Its all about rip and flip to a lot of these guys. They hardly keep any of the cards they pull from packs. Gotta sell them to fund the next box rip.

Hallco

<< <i>Its all about rip and flip to a lot of these guys. They hardly keep any of the cards they pull from packs. Gotta sell them to fund the next box rip. >>



I think you're right Ben.

mcadams

I'd say that is "partially" correct. But its not as black and white as you describe and there is not simply "hits" and base cards. Take a product like Allen & Ginter for example. There are dozens of sets that people actively seek to complete within Ginter. The "hit" cards are the framed auto, framed relic cards, 1/1 wood cards, 1/1 plate cards etc. But there are complete mini sets available at varying degrees of difficulty beyond just the base set.

The base mini set is the easieast, the "A&G back" minis are slightly rarer, the black border minis are tough, and the bazooka back minis are very tough. Whatever difficulty level you are seeking in your collecting, that level is offered.

Maybe Bowman Chrome and some other sets are just lacking in variety underneath the auto refractor RC's.

mygotta

Definitely the chase cards are not always the star cards anymore like they were before 1991. Now it seems the "hits" are the one card that covers the cost of buying the case. So everything else is either throw away or "profit". But I dont want to give them impression they are thrown away but utilized either for set building or broken down in different ways depending on the set.

Hallco

And just to be clear, I am not a set builder, but any time I buy packs I find cards I like that are probably considered "worthless"!

Juggs

The guys at my local card shop tell me there are a few customers that will come in and drop THOUSANDS on new boxes, pull the "hits" give the shop owners the hits to put on ebay, leave the singles and walk out with nothing. Weird.

I'm not much of a seller of cards. I like to save about everything, so this makes no sense to me.

Mefer

I am not a big purchaser of modern but perhaps the only product that comes to mind that is more than just the hits is Heritage. While I like the Heritage product, I too stopped buying it (save for a pack or two a year) inasmuch with the short prints you have to buy a zillion boxes to make a set.

Outside of the foregoing, it seems most modern product is about the insert cards and it does seem most people buy those products just to sell the hits on eBay. Shoot, I have done that myself; it is fun to do once or twice a year but to me it becomes pretty shallow and so "uncard collecting" pretty quickly. Of course with my luck my $150 box turns into $40 in hits and I am left shaking my head. Seriously, in my opinion, it is now become straight gambling which is sad.

Given all of that, if I am going to drop some decent money on a box of cards, I would much rather purchase something from the late 70s to early 80s. I get more bang for my buck that way-- I will actually sort the cards, make sets, and review the cards for some to send to PSA for grading. I get a lot more "card time" than the ten minutes it would take to open four packs of five cards each in a shiny new foil box to pull out the "hits."

With all of that said, I don't knock anyone who enjoys modern. If you do, keep at it. While I will dabble in it (and that is probably overstating my involvement), I prefer to stick with vintage.

Mick65

You also have to have it on ebay instantly.....because not a lot of it holds it value past three months.

Mick65

And now a days it's all about getting your money back.......as quick as you can.

Bigjohn69

if your buying modern to make money then yes to your original question,, quite frankly i dont have 60 yrs of my life left before the sets are worth anything and then theres no guarentees,, its all about the rip in most cases,, who doesnt love to rip a pack, come on, right?

eagles33

I usually end up buying the topps chrome football set on ebay each year. I'm actually only interested in the rookies. If anyone buys boxes of topps chrome in any sport just for the autos.. I would buy the base rookies. It will save me money from buying the entire set since I'm only really interested in the rookies.

mygotta

As a kid collecting, I had to learn who people were and so eventually, every player was a "star". I can go through an 85 pack and recognize every name. Mostly because either the image was interesting, or looked cool or the name was unique. My brother, who did not collect cards, would actually take players with funny names and made a collection of that. One such person ended up in his collection was Kirby Puckett. What a hilarious name in 1985! Benito Santiago was another name that gave us chuckles. And of course, who could not laugh with a name like Rusty Kuntz!! That one still gets me. Imagine what high school must have been like. Poor guy.

But laughing at names, whether the player was good or bad, gave us something to remember who these people were as players. I dont know if kids learn every player they find in a pack or just looking for a Mike Trout auto or a relic of some sort. Sure, when I was young I wanted the Eric Davis or Dwight Gooden rookie cards, but just as exciting was a Pete Rose or Gary Carter.

At the same time, buying a pack of cards for .45 cents seemed easier than $3 that it is today. A box then might be around $15-$20 while today its anywhere from $80 to $120 or better depending. I dont have kids, but I would be hard pressed to expect a kid to preserve a $500 card because you want to hold it, touch it, show it off. Cards like that dont belong in those 9-card page holders, but slabbed so that nothing can touch it. Keeping it hermetically sealed to prevent any deterioration at its birth seems counter to the collecting mentality. Cards from 1952 now reserve the right to be slabbed as they are have a bigger part in the Americana, like a film being restored or preserved for historical purposes. Collecting today is a double edged sword between having the card and trying to redeem its value.