Hobby vs. Retail?

MrNearMint

What's the difference between the two? Is one better?

Toro

Depends on the checklist, most have to do with inserts. Some are hobby only, some are retail only. Secondly, there are some releases that are strictly hobby only with no retail version available.

miconelegacy

Typically Hobby carries the guarantees of Auto's or Game Used cards. Personally I would never buy retail. And if you can your best odds of getting decent cards are buying by the case. It's hard with just one box, and almost always a losing proposition.

byronscott4ever

Retail is typically cheaper with harder to find inserts. However, there are some retail-only inserts and many times those are guaranteed per pack/box/blaster which is nice. I've bought a few hobby packs of a product and got all base which I could have easily done in retail as well. For some people, it's retail or nothing though because of where they live.

mcadams

Retail is almost always cheaper and contains a higher % of base cards. So if you're a set builder, this is the better option.
Hobby is almost more expensive and contains better odds of pulling "chase" cards. Also, many sets offer certain types of inserts that are ONLY available in hobby and never inserted into Retail. If you like to bust boxes or cases in an attempt to flip the cards for a quick sale, the ROI of Hobby typically exceeds that of Retail.