I would not disagree with collectors who take the practical approach of buying complete sets and individual cards, while never buying a sealed box or pack. On the whole that is probably the most cost effective way of getting exactly what you want.

I do however buy at least one or two boxes of product that I like for the same reason that I spend money on lottery scratch offs. Everyone is always hoping to hit a big jackpot.

Indeed I have pulled a respectable number of autograph cards over the years that I would not have been able to afford otherwise or would simply not have been willing to buy as a single purchase. So while it is true that I have likely wasted a lot by buying boxes, there is something about pulling a card you wanted that is better than just buying it.

Money won is always better than money earned.

The only problem I can see with not buying boxes and waiting to buy sets and individual cards, is someone has to buy and open the boxes otherwise there are no individual cards

My problem is money, I don't have enough of it for this hobby
And I'm guessing that that is alot of other peoples problems too. We all want more Bang for our Buck.

Hey you been reading my mail! Money has always been the differnce of what I collect and I have often fantasized just how my card collecting attitudes would chaqnge if I had 2-3 million $$'s bucks of discretionary spending. Quite frankly, I would still go to buying cards by the box just for the thrill and the buzz of coming across the unexpected. In the real world however there is no such thing as "full boxes" in New Zealand simply because there are no shops to stock them and as I have stated elsewhere, the fact that NZ has 4 million people and no card shop speaks volumes for the state of the hobby.
That leaves me with buying direct from America (the only game in town) Every US dollar costs me $NZ1.20 (at present rates) and most sellers want another $US15-20 to airpost it to NZ so my landed cost for even a medium value box is in the order of $NZ120.00 which is why I'm green with envy at my fellow US collectors who can a) drop into their local shop b) expect to find new boxes available to buy and c)be expected to only pay about $50 a box. Half your luck.

Howdy,

Nothing in this hobby excites me more than cracking packs .

TTFN

btlfannz,

If I had millions I would still buy boxes but they would always be by the case

TTFN

only boxes i look to buy now are older boxes such as wcw and star trek where am sure to get an autograph and are around the £30 mark.recently got a box of voyager profiles for £30 so it can be done.got some ds9 quotable for £35 aswell.

My kids are still a too young (3 & 5) to appreciate opening packs and trying to complete a set. They're still in the phase that if I do randomly buy them a pack all the cards end up at the bottom of the toy box 2 days later. As they get older though I do plan on getting them into packs and even boxes.

Howdy,

My boys are age 7 and 4,the 4 year old enjoys opening packs (especially the Disney sets) and the 7 year old enjoys putting the sets in order and in 9 pockets. Ah family bliss .

TTFN

Well, it's been about 6 years or so since I last posted on this site. But, after checking back just to see what is up, I couldn't help replying to this topic. I quit collecting new non-sport sets many years ago due to, you guessed it, price. To put it simply, I'm a completist. I just can't bring myself to buy cards for a set that I have no chance of really completing with a middle-class income. The early Inkworks sets were terrific: three levels of chase cards and a few promos were relatively easy to collect, but still provided enough variety to make things interesting. Then the autos and costume cards started showing up and that was pretty much the end. I did manage to put together some good master sets, but had to go into debt to do it. Finally, I got control of myself and said that this has to end. I paid off the credit card and sold almost my entire collection on ebay, not getting anywhere near what I paid for the cards. Space was also an issue. I just didn't have the room for all those binders. The Rittenhouse multi-case cards really sealed the deal for me.

Card collecting is now my secondary hobby to building model aircraft. I still enjoy collecting the older bubble gum card sets as well as the old tobacco sets from Wills's Cigarettes. I'm also working on completing a 1957 Topps Planes set.

Good to be back on the site, and I'll make sure to check in every now and then...

Howdy aagranata,

I think what you are doing is sensible, a good approach to the hobby.

Welcome back to the boards.

TTFN

My hobbies have changed. I no longer consider cards my hobby. Taking pictures has become a hobby of mine, as is going to Las Vegas. Neither one of those are cheap. That leaves little disposable income for other things, like cards. I still have some interest in cards, but right now there isn't anything that catches my eye. If I do buy anything it'll more than likely be individual cards. Maybe a box or two of a new James Bond set.

xman25

Another thing that is so discouraging about this hobby is that you buy a box of cards and most likely you will loose 50-90% of what you just spent on the box. >_< (meaning the cards dont have the value like they did beforehand). Case in point with Rittenhouse's Complete STNG release. Even the super rare autos arent barely worth $100. Now i dont know if its the hobby itself or if its the cards or why. Its just a fact (a very frustrating fact). I was fortunate enough to buy two boxes and have most of what i pulled be for my pc (and pull one of the very rare autos too).

Im seriously thinking of stopping buying boxes alltogether because i just cant afford it anymore. Its cheaper to buy autos on ebay.

I don't think you should expect to get $100 in cards in exchange for your $100 box. There's a certain hobby cost that goes along with things. Some people would take their $100 and go out for dinner and a movie, others would rather sit and crack packs. *(Clever people will point out that both tend to have the same result).

The loss in value is discussed in many threads. Personally, I had to resist posting that my Xena Series 2 collection has been downgraded to double A status. Darn post-Topps flooding of every auto except Melinda Clarke! (If your curious, my sports card collection seems to have been downgraded to junk status. D'oh!)

--Chris

oh i know you cant get back all you spent but it was almost like the ENTIRE production run of that series. It would be good to know that you could at least recoup half of what you put into it. oh well.

Eh, at least when you go out to dinner you feel satisfied for awhile (and sports cards were always junk to me *evil smiley grin*).

quote:

Originally posted by Firebird:
oh i know you cant get back all you spent but it was almost like the ENTIRE production run of that series. smiley grin*).

While it is hard to get dollar value back on a lot of boxes, the Complete STNG that you are referring to is probably one of the worst choices you could make if you are looking to recoup your money.

I say that not to dis the product, I think its a solid effort to get autographs of actors that never signed before. But it is made for STNG fans that want that COMPLETE part of it. Most of the hits in this 1st series, despite what might be their rarity, are signatures of people that are not terribly well known. The major stars of the show are hardly signing in this release at all, so its not surprising that even the super limited names are not selling high. No one but die hard fans are looking for them.

Now if you want to have a better chance on only looking for high value, you would be better off trying the last Bond. If you are very lucky, pulling a Brosnan or Craig autograph card will be worth several hundred dollars.

But again I would stress that if you are buying non-sport cards it should be because you have an interest in the particular product and are a collector. In my opinion, unless you are a dealer and in the card business, you can't expect to make money on this hobby anymore. The trick to staying with it is to limit your interests, look for bargains, keep within a budget, and really want what you buy.

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

If you want to talk ROI (return on investment) then stamps are a good parallel. Before I got into cards in 1989 I had a substantial stamp collection. When I'd had enough and decided to sell I had kept fairly accurate records of what I had spent over the years and the figures panned out like this.
Stamps (almost all bought from dealers (no ebay in those days) at about half catalogue price: Spent $7,000
Cat. value $15,000
Best price I could get on selling - $3500
I came away sooooo bitter you wouldn't believe but as time went by I realised that the value of anythying you collect for pleasure lies in the pleasure it brings you. I have probably spent about 10 grand on my collection but truth to tell I would be lucky to make 3-5 grand back if I sold. However, I cannot put a price on the happiness it has brought me over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by btlfannz:
would be lucky to make 3-5 grand back if I sold. However, I cannot put a price on the happiness it has brought me over the years.

You are my new hero
I agree with this sentiment very much. As I struggle as a dealer to recoup my investment and justify my expenses as a collector, I wonder about the sanity of collecting and yet, my collection is MORE then the value of the cards and what I spent, it's the people and adventures had along the way. And there is no price tag on that.

I remember when the gum was 5 cents and the cards were free.

Wow! Ace, I've never met anyone as old as you!!

quote:

Originally posted by btlfannz:
If you want to talk ROI (return on investment) then stamps are a good parallel. Before I got into cards in 1989 I had a substantial stamp collection. When I'd had enough and decided to sell I had kept fairly accurate records of what I had spent over the years and the figures panned out like this.
Stamps (almost all bought from dealers (no ebay in those days) at about half catalogue price: Spent $7,000
Cat. value $15,000
Best price I could get on selling - $3500

Unfortunately the bottom fell out of both the stamp and coin markets a few years after they began to be manufactured as investments. Prior to that stamp and coin collectors were trading in true collectibles of limited numbers, especially in the higher grades. Once they began to be mass produced and sold to the general public as something that was bound to appreciate in value it ruined it for everyone and prices never recovered.

For long time card collectors it sounds a bit familar, doesn't it?