Hi Jonathan, welcome to card talk. Glad to see you like sketch cards, there are some great ones out there. You just have to learn a bit more about them.

You are in the box breakdown thread, which is pretty much reserved for showing your Iron Man 2 cards. Just start your own thread about sketch cards in the General Card Discussion section and you will probably get more replies.

As for the sketch cards, there are no guarantees what kind you will pull, but the boxes and packs usually state the odds. Ironman 2 has 2 sketches per box, many others will only have one.

Remember that there are retail box and hobby box versions. The hobby version will cost more, but you will get all the premium inserts. Retail versions like you find at Target generally have a lot fewer inserts, sometimes none.

Hope that helps you a little. Have fun.

Hi Jonathan,
Welcome to the board, sorry about your recent experience. I second every thing Raven and Mintoncard had to say to you, but I have a few things to add.

The 48 pack boxes of Iron Man 2 cards like you see at Target usually will have one sketch in them, but not always. I bought 6 of those kinds of boxes in a sealed case. 4 of the boxes did hold 1 sketch, but 1 box had two sketches and the last box had no sketch.
What that means is that there is a chance that the box you bought the packs from had no sketch to begin with.

More likely however (unless you bought all 48 packs from the box, in which this scenario I'm about to spell out would not hold true), the packs in the box you bought from were previously went through by someone who knows how to tell if a pack has a sketch (or autograph or costume card) in it just by running their fingers over the sealed pack. What they do is go through the packs in the various boxes, figure out which ones hold these desirable cards (they are called "hits" in the hobby language), and simply buy only those packs. They are incredibly skilled at doing this, some have made a profession of it. If this was done to the box you purchased your packs from, as I suspect it was, there was virtually ZERO chance you would find a sketch card in the packs you bought. It is a lesson you have learned, (and an expensive one, sorry to say), yet a very valuable one at the same time.

The lesson is, be extremely careful when buying packs from retail sellers like Kmart, Walmart, Target, etc., because the type of people I've described, "pack searchers" if you like, are legion, meaning there are thousands of them out there in total, and they are found in virtually every city in every state, and they also travel to ply their trade.

The result of that is that at any given time, there are thousands of these so-called "Hot Packs" for sale on Ebay and elsewhere. And even if you have no problem with what the seller of the hot pack has done (that is, "cherry picking" boxes for the packs with "hits" in them, leaving the rest of the packs for the unsuspecting public to purchase unaware of the fact they have no chance at finding a sketch, etc.), and therefore purchase one of these Hot Packs, even there, you may not be getting a square deal. The reason for this is that the sellers of Hot Packs, are just as skilled in re-sealing the packs they've purchased as they are at finding them in the first place.

This allows them to:
1. Limit their own costs by purchasing only packs with "Hits" in them
2. Open those packs themselves, keeping only the best of the "Hits" they find (in the case of sketches, the color ones or the black & white ones by more popular artists)
3. Reseal those packs and then sell them as "Hot Packs" promising a "Hit" inside of them, which they absolutely know is in there. And even though the sketch, costume, or autograph card may be less valuable (as will virtually always be the case with resealed packs), the buyer can't complain as the seller as delivered what was promised, a pack with a "hit" inside. So in the end, it is buyer beware on these Hot Packs every bit as much as it is when buying sealed packs from a retail store.

In the end, it is always your best bet to purchase sealed HOBBY BOXES from reputable sellers, many of which can be found on this very forum. Not only are your odds better since more "hits" are usually placed into them by the manufacturer, but more importantly, pack searching is made impossible.

If you are buying Retail store cards, it is always a good idea to only purchase brand new sealed boxes, or to at least count the loose packs that are being displayed in effort to ascertain if all of the packs that were in the box in the first place are still there. If even one pack is gone, I wouldn't risk purchasing those packs if your sole motivation is to find the sketch card. If even one pack is gone from the original number, I'm sorry to tell you the sketch, autograph, etc., is likely long gone in that missing pack.

So I hope this experience hasn't soured you completely on cards, there are also plenty of honest people involved with them, really!
Good luck in the future and I hope you find some great sketches in your future purchases.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chesspieceface,

Hey everyone! Mintoncard, Raven and Chesspieceface -- Thank you so much for the kind words of encouragement.

And, Raven; as to your comment on this thread being about posting 'hits'; point taken. My next post will include scans.

I took all of ur advice. I called UD and got directed to DA Card World; ordered 2 hobby packs. I also did eBay for the past few days to pick up some sketches. Afterall, that's what I'm into

all right friends. Keep posting. And so will I. Thanks again.

j

Good luck, I hope you pull something that you really enjoy!

Cards or.............Taffy ????

quote:

Originally posted by JonathanJ:
I took all of ur advice. I called UD and got directed to DA Card World; ordered 2 hobby packs. I also did eBay for the past few days to pick up some sketches. Afterall, that's what I'm into
j

Well you're off and running now.

One other thing you might consider, if you are really into sketch cards and want to build a collection, is to commission your own items from an artist of your choice. Many of the artists who do sketch cards for licensed products have their own websites and will take commission jobs. Depending on what you want and who you want it from, an ordered sketch card can be very reasonably priced, much less than a premium box of cards in fact.

Several of these artists advertise on Card Talk or are members, so you can start there if it sounds like something you'd like to do.

I went to that web-site and found an Alien Nation unopened box that I have been searching for. Not a bad price (Less than $12.00). And Raven. are we having a race now to see who is ahead in posts ??? I got 1 more than you do.

quote:

Originally posted by Mister E.:
And Raven. are we having a race now to see who is ahead in posts ??? I got 1 more than you do.

Ha Ha, even-steven.

1 more

OK guyz ... I'm still waiting on my two Hobby Boxes to arrive in the mail. But, till then ... I'll share with you all what I've purchased through ebay.

j
















(PS ... does anyone personally know the owner of CoinsNcards? He has over 700 sketch cards on ebay of just Iron Man 2~!)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JonathanJ,

His prices are insane for the most part, but he has some nice stuff as he crack dozens of cases. Good luck in you search for IM2 sketches!

I've noticed that you picked up the Glendenning puzzle piece. What was the motivation behind that? Are you looking for the other piece? Reason I'm asking is that there were 2 other collectors after that and I'm shocked that they didn't get it. Congrats to you though!

Well ... thanks for checking out my pics Hal. I've had to scrap for all of these on ebay.

But, yesterday my package FINALLY arrived from D and A Cards. I was so amped. I felt like a kid waiting for christmas.

I had ordered 2 hobby boxes of the Iron Man 2 trading cards and I was ready.

I tore them open and went through them ... the first sketch.



I was a little bummed ... no color. No detail.

then



Finally ... another Sketch.



again ... a little simple. No color. It's cute ... but, I was kinda hoping for more.

Crack open the next box ... I'm going through it.

then there it is. Sketch 3.



I was like ... come on! Another Black and white sketch ... I really like this artist's work ... but this one piece seems a little rushed.

Then the I'm going through the last box. I'm down to the bottom of the box and I'm thinking Dam ... only 3 sketchs. Then ... I hit one more.



DAMN!!!!! It's SO awesome ... I have no words. I can't believe how damn cool this is! I love the detail. I want to buy a freaking case now! LOL

If your that excited for this product. You should try Marvel 70th.

quote:

Originally posted by JonathanJ:
DAMN!!!!! It's SO awesome ... I have no words. I can't believe how damn cool this is! I love the detail. I want to buy a freaking case now! LOL

Glad you pulled a good one. Some of the Iron Man 2 sketches are great, but from what I've seen many are just B/W of various characters. While I bought 4 boxes myself, I didn't get anything that knocked my socks off. Just the breaks. But when you do pull that perfect sketch it is so much sweeter than an auction buy.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
Nice going Jonathan, that Hamilton Cline is a knockout. You'll see one of his sketches in my picture below.



I bought all of the above cards for about $100. It would've been a little less than that even, but I may have overpaid for the War Machine by Steacy, as it was a "buy-it-now" and I didn't want to miss it. Steacy is one of the best artists in this set, and certainly among the most accomplished. It is simply amazing to me his sketches can be had for $5 to $10.

As my breakdown of my retail case earlier in the thread shows, I only got 6 sketches from that, and no autographs (which is a big part of why I bought them, being an autograph collector). I did make 12 sets of the base cards, 2-3 complete insert sets, and a set of the 11 costume cards (no armor cards). If I can get $200 (wishful thinking, most likely) for the 2 color sketches and the costume set (I don't collect costume cards), that would mean I basically paid about $150 for those base and insert sets plus the 4 decent sketches I'd have left (none as nice as the ones I bought, and I already traded the best of those, the Namor by Mike Miller, for a cool Captain America by Dapper Dan from Marvel Masterpieces Set 2).

So, in the end, I really wish I'd have gotten a case of the hobby version of this product at the very start, but with the slapdash way Masterpieces 3 was so clumsily put together, and Upper Deck's current problems, I didn't want to risk it. Oops!

Anyway, for what I spent on the retail case (which was still a pretty good bargain, all things considered), I could literally have bought about 30 quality sketches for the same money. Oh well, I'm glad to have the sketches I bought. I may even pick up a few more.

I definitely consider this to be the 3rd best superhero sketch set after 1998 Skybox Marvel Silver Age and 2007 Upper Deck Marvel Masterpieces 1. Color is nice (as seen on every Rittenhouse Marvel sketch), but its the art that matter most, and even Mark Pennington (who is talentd but usually just does quickie sketches) raised his game for this set, and was joined by many other artists who did the same.

I respect your opinion, but you seriously think that IM2 has a higher quality than Marvel 70th? I bought 3 cases of IM2 and opened 1. I was lucky enough to pull a Perna, Reynolds, Remy and a few other mid range artists, but the rest were just low range sketches, so I sold my other 2 cases.

Apples for Apples for me 70th was MUCH stronger, but I do agree that Marvel Masterpiece 1 was one of the strongest sets if not the strongest ever.

Hey there Haljordonfan,

So, let me ask you this: You purchased a case that didn't have Bob Layton sketch in it? The case was a dud?

You're kinda freaking me out a bit ... cause, I just purchased a case. I'm a bit nervous about it ... cause it was such a huge investment. I plan on selling auto's and costume/prop cards ... and i'm hoping to move a few of the sketch cards. To hopefully offset this massive investment.

SO, I'd love to know what to expect before I crack it. Perhaps I shouldn't do it afterall?

- Jonathan (Iron Man fan) LOL

quote:

Originally posted by JonathanJ:
SO, I'd love to know what to expect before I crack it. Perhaps I shouldn't do it afterall?

- Jonathan (Iron Man fan) LOL

Did you buy a retail case or hobby case? Makes a big difference, as does what the idea of a big investment means to you.

Honestly you have no way of predicting what kind of sketches you will get. Even the number of autos and costumes in a hobby case are average ratios and are not guaranteed. It is possible to pull something that will offset a good portion of the cost, but that is generally an exception to the rule.

The rule is that card buying is not an investment. Most collectors found that out the hard way. As a collector you will always spend much more than you can make on odd sales, which is why you have to want the cards in the first place.

Trading the doubles or the cards you're not interested in is a good way to expand a collection, but if you're counting on getting quality inserts to make your money back, just know that the odds are against you.

Yes Raven. I'm w you all the way. But, for me, this purchase was to collect as many sketch cards as possible. (buying them each, one by one on eBay was going to kill me)That said, I bought this case of hobby boxes thinking that I was guarenteed 24 sketches, at least one auto card and one bob Layton sketch. (and since it was nearly 670 with shipping I thought to move some if it)

My hope was to perhaps get a few great sketches and sell just enough of the other stuff to roll back SOME of my expense.

Like. If I sold the bob Layton card, the auto's and the costume cards ... Maybe I can shave off close to 300 of the nearly 700 I paid.

But then I just read a post by Haljordonfan that notes a case without a Bob sketch! I am indeed. Having second thoughts.BUT ... I didn't order this case to make profits.

quote:

Originally posted by JonathanJ:
Yes Raven. I'm w you all the way. But, for me, this purchase was to collect as many sketch cards as possible. (buying them each, one by one on eBay was going to kill me)That said, I bought this case of hobby boxes thinking that I was guarenteed 24 sketches, at least one auto card and one bob Layton sketch. (and since it was nearly 670 with shipping I thought to move some if it)

My hope was to perhaps get a few great sketches and sell just enough of the other stuff to roll back SOME of my expense.

Like. If I sold the bob Layton card, the auto's and the costume cards ... Maybe I can shave off close to 300 of the nearly 700 I paid.

But then I just read a post by Haljordonfan that notes a case without a Bob sketch! I am indeed. Having second thoughts.BUT ... I didn't order this case to make profits.

I don't remember any guarentee of a Bob Layton sketch in these cases!!! With a couple of hundred artists on this set you don't know who you're going to get. Best thing to do is look through the case breaks on here and on Scoundrel and that'll give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

I paid $530 for my case inclusive of delivery to the UK (they were a lot cheaper when they first came out) and I had 12 costumes, 3 autos and 23 sketches - I was shorted 1 sketch. I had some fantastic sketches but the prices just plummeted on ebay due to the fact that there were around 1000 listed. Don't expect to make a profit on your case then you won't be disappointed. Any you'd be very, very lucky if you got a Layton sketch, I don't think I've seen any in any recent case breaks posted.

quote:

Originally posted by Raj:
Opened a case.

Nick Fury by Carlo Soriano, Wolverine by Sean 'Cheeks' Galloway, Iron Man by Erik Williams
.

will PM later - but i think i need the CHEEKS piece ...