OK. So, my wife and I have ordered a couple of cases over the last few years. We never used to do that for many reasons: financial, interest, availability...

Anyway, the first couple we tore through the whole case in one evening. It was tons of fun. We loved it, but it was a lot of money for one night of fun. (We go back and enjoy the cards later, too; but opening is SOOOO fun. )

How do you open your cases? Do you run through them in one sitting? Or do you savor it over a couple of weeks or months? What are your reasons?

I am interested in the collectors perspective. I know dealers probably bust cases as they have time, but I am a collector. We collect for the pleasure not for potential profit.

It is really hard for me to have an unopened box of cards. I find that 2 to 2.5 hours per case is about the pace that is comfortable for me. I can open a standard 12 box (24 packs/5 cards per pack) case in about 75 minutes, but this is literally only looking for the hits, and not worrying about regular inserts or base.

To answer the question, though, I generally try to bust them all at once. Doesn't always work out that way, but that's what I try. I think the longest I've stretched the time out was when I busted 9 cases of Marvel 70th...I did that over 4 or 5 days.

Chuck, I know exactly what you mean about having an unopened box around. We once ordered some random boxes of stuff (cheap) just to satiate those moments of weakness. We stretched about 15 boxes out over 3 months, but we felt like junkies the whole time...

We just ordered a case of Grimm and a case of Psych. We have been saving for them so we are trying to decide if we should stretch it out at all.

We've done it in about 3 hours per case in the past, but we spend time looking at the cards the other has opened and try to build base sets along the way.

9 cases is nuts. I hope you did very well, maybe some really awesome sketches.

I make a case last. A point for me is to renew my inner urge to open packs, so I do it one box at a time. First box, sort all of the cards, do most of the work for the checklist, and start collating my master set. Second box, sort them all and note down the pulls and statistics, add this data to the first set, and package up extra base sets (if any). Then I finish the other boxes the same way. I usually only do 2-3 boxes in an evening. I refuse to make it feel like "a job" and my case purchases are so rare, I want to enjoy the material as it reveals itself to me instead of all at the end!

My day job is such that I can rarely finish a project in one day, and I'm not compulsive about yard work or to-do's around the house, so maybe all that influences my attitudes. That's what cards are for - to make me forget or delay the annoying parts of life.

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Originally posted by allender:
I make a case last. A point for me is to renew my inner urge to open packs, so I do it one box at a time. First box, sort all of the cards, do most of the work for the checklist, and start collating my master set. Second box, sort them all and note down the pulls and statistics, add this data to the first set, and package up extra base sets (if any). Then I finish the other boxes the same way. I usually only do 2-3 boxes in an evening. I refuse to make it feel like "a job" and my case purchases are so rare, I want to enjoy the material as it reveals itself to me instead of all at the end!

I may have to give that a try. Not sure why I always feel rushed to open a box, but if I sort everything as I go it would make cases last longer plus then I won't have a full case of cards to sort through at the end.

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Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:

quote:

Originally posted by allender:
I make a case last. A point for me is to renew my inner urge to open packs, so I do it one box at a time. First box, sort all of the cards, do most of the work for the checklist, and start collating my master set. Second box, sort them all and note down the pulls and statistics, add this data to the first set, and package up extra base sets (if any). Then I finish the other boxes the same way. I usually only do 2-3 boxes in an evening. I refuse to make it feel like "a job" and my case purchases are so rare, I want to enjoy the material as it reveals itself to me instead of all at the end!

I may have to give that a try. Not sure why I always feel rushed to open a box, but if I sort everything as I go it would make cases last longer plus then I won't have a full case of cards to sort through at the end.

We always open the boxes slowly, at least at first... We don't intentionally rush through them. Just can't help it sometimes.

quote:

Originally posted by allender:
I make a case last. A point for me is to renew my inner urge to open packs, so I do it one box at a time. First box, sort all of the cards, do most of the work for the checklist, and start collating my master set. Second box, sort them all and note down the pulls and statistics, add this data to the first set, and package up extra base sets (if any). Then I finish the other boxes the same way. I usually only do 2-3 boxes in an evening. I refuse to make it feel like "a job" and my case purchases are so rare, I want to enjoy the material as it reveals itself to me instead of all at the end!

That's pretty much what I do too, except I go one step further. I sort all the cards in order every time I open a pack, makes the process last even longer

I sit down on the couch watching tv with a little craft table in front of me so once I have opened a pack I sort them into piles of tens such as 1-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and so on, however big the base set is. Then once I have opened the whole box that way, I then sort each separate pile into order so I end up with a hopefully full base set which I wrap up in acid free plastic, and another pile of spares which I sort out once I have opened the whole case.

Sounds tedious I know, but I like to make it last as long as possible. I so rarely get to open a case, I want to make it last a least a few nights.

I now believe it's best to buy cards individually than buy cases to try and pull the big cards. Recently we purchased a case of Jedi Legacy and the normal 3 Autographs per case resulted in 2 of the same (Dak Ralter) and a Sandtrooper. Would have been better investing the money in buying a Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher autographs for the same money from this release. Will change my buying habits for all Topps releases after this for sure.

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Originally posted by samauto:
I now believe it's best to buy cards individually than buy cases to try and pull the big cards. Recently we purchased a case of Jedi Legacy and the normal 3 Autographs per case resulted in 2 of the same (Dak Ralter) and a Sandtrooper. Would have been better investing the money in buying a Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher autographs for the same money from this release. Will change my buying habits for all Topps releases after this for sure.

If you are interested in getting only one or two of the most expensive hits, it is almost always better to invest in buying the individual cards rather than pick up a case in the hope that it's in there.

There are very few autographs that cost more than a case all by themselves and many products are now limiting those really big hits to only one per case anyway. That's why you hear of people talking about purchasing multiple cases, an even larger sum of money.

I believe the only way to make case purchases economically sound for a card collector is if you are firstly interested in at least a good portion of the cards, and secondly if you are turning around and selling off base sets, hit doubles and inserts to make back at least some part of your investment. Without that, the math and the laws of chance will always come out on the side of buying small lots of the commons and individual cards of the more limited ones.

I agree with both of you.

I NEVER buy Topps non-sports products. Really don't Upper Deck's either. Neither works very hard to give good value to the customer. 3 autos in a case. I think Carrie Fisher and Mark Hammill have a little time on their hands and could be convinced to sign more...

Breygent and Cryptozoic both have been doing a good job. Rittenhouse usually does too, but many of the sets I have been interested in have been premium pack only, and I won't do that again. I think you should at least get two full base sets for $600 plus dollars. Don't think that is too much to ask.

Breygent is my favorite lately. The prop cards are nice. They do a great job with costume selection and aren't afraid of variants. Autographs are sometimes harder hits than I'd wish, but no one is perfect.

I am completely incapable of leaving sealed boxes of anything I collect. I bust the whole case in one sitting - takes about 3 hours. During the break I roughly sort - base cards go into empty boxes, chase cards into a separate plastic box for each type. I will then assemble a single set for my collection, count stuff, scan sketches (if relevant) and post the break in the box breakdown thread. The base card sorting happens while watching tv over the next few days.

I buy cases on occasion and still have unopened boxes laying around. Usually happens when I make that big hit and have all the chase accounted for. I like the idea of having something to open later, maybe on a rainy day.

I busted a case of BBT Seasons 3 and 4 today, and of course I just flew threw it...about 1.5 hours...no sorting at all.

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Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:
I busted a case of BBT Seasons 3 and 4 today, and of course I just flew threw it...about 1.5 hours...no sorting at all.

That is crazy! I think our fastest case was our first. It took about 2 hours, but we were all excited and looking at every card. It was a case of Serenity, which we got our hands on a couple of days before the movie premiered.

After we busted it, we spent a couple of hours watching Firefly episodes and sorting the cards.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Bartowski:
I busted a case of BBT Seasons 3 and 4 today, and of course I just flew threw it...about 1.5 hours...no sorting at all.

That is crazy! The quickest we've done it is about 2 hours. It was our first case, Serenity. We got it about 2 days before the movie premiered.

We spent several hours afterward sorting and watching episodes of Firefly. It was our first master set.

We have a ton of base sets. We got 2 base sets in almost every box.

It's pretty unusual to end up with more value from a case than you ultimately could've got by spending the same amount of money on the cards in the aftermarket, but there's no feeling that compares with finding a great card yourself, especially if it's from just a box (or especially from just a pack or two) as opposed to the extravagance of a full case.

There were a number of sets from the 1990's I might have bought a case's worth of boxes of, but never actually bought a full sealed case until around 2000 when I took the plunge on a case of Inkworks Simpsons 10th Anniversary.

I've bought a lot more since then, here's a list just off the top of my head. The only thing these have in common, really, is that I liked the subjects. They come from multiple companies.

Dexter Season 1
Twilight Zone II season 2 (discounted)
Marvel Masterpieces 2007 x2 (awesome!)
Marvel Masterpieces II 2008 x2 (not as good)
Pretty much ALL Topps Star Wars sets since 2000, often 2 of each, lots of cards, maybe 30 cases total?
Iron Man I Rittenhouse (had the Robert Downey)
Simpsons Mania X4 (lots of autos and sketches)
Lotr Masterpieces II
Indy Crystal Skull (discounted)
Mars Attack Heritage
Disney Treasures II
Disney Treasures III
Batman Archives
DC Legacy
Razor 2010 Ink Vault (not as good as the 2009 version which prompted my purchase of the 2010)
Red Sonja 35th Anniversary x2 (great sketches)
The Spirit Inkworks x4 (clearance, great value)
Scooby Mysteries and Monsters Inkworks x6 (at an incredible bargain price considering how many with cool autos and sketches are in these).

...and a few more I'm likely forgetting. On most of those, I was able sell some of the cards and keep the ones I wanted for what ended up being a very low price.

Sometimes, I'd even make money (as with Star Wars, especially Star Wars Galaxy 4-7, Upper Deck Marvel Masterpieces series 1, and Simpsons Mania which all paid for themselves with plenty left over).

You win some, you lose some, but opening packs for me still beats buying singles, even though it is, logically speaking, the smarter play to skip boxes/cases altogether and buy the exact cards you want.

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

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You win some, you lose some, but opening packs for me still beats buying singles, even though it is, logically speaking, the smarter play to skip boxes/cases altogether and buy the exact cards you want.

Well said. I agree also that there is no feeling like pulling the card you want from a box / pack. I bought one box of Spiderman 2 and pulled the Elizabeth Banks auto, which was actually the only one I wanted. I just wanted to open something that night. What an awesome experience!

Spidey III, despite being the weakest movie in that trilogy by A LOT, had a fine autograph list, whicn is equally true of the X-Men III card set from Rittenhouse given the weak "Last Stand" of a movie that wrapped up that film trilogy (Movie not so good but I really dig the Kelsey Grammer and Vinnie Jones autographs I got from that set and I'm sure those who have the Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, and the Hugh Jackman / Stan Lee incentives from that set like those, too).

Congrats on the Betty Banks, I'd love to get one from her someday. Maybe she'll sign for an upcoming Hunger Games set.

The Walking Dead TV series 2 has been my only case purchase.

I took my time opening it over the course of a day. My son and his girlfriend dropped by, and helped bust a couple boxes.

Made 1 base set out of the first box, and put all the autos, character foils, shadow-box, and costume cards straight into sleeves, and top-loaders as I pulled them. Put all the puzzles to the side. Plus I kept track of what came out of each box.

Would like to get in on a case of Grimm, but waiting to see what exactly is in them first, especially the auto list.

The Cryptozoic cards for Walking Dead and Big Bang Theory were way too expensive right out of the gate, so I haven't bought any of those, not even one pack, and I love Walking Dead.

(Big Bang Theory, I've tried, but the laugh track CBS still insists on using for some reason is so horrific, it ruins what funny jokes there are).