quote:

Originally posted by allender:
If the auction doesn't say "these packs have not been 'searched'" I assume that they probably were.

..................and if it does say that still assume they probably were as they allmost certainly have been.

Cynical or what?

I saw my comic shop had 3 packs of Donruss Americana for $1/pack, so I bought them. Inside was a Dom Deluise #25/25 proof. I'll probably end up trading it, but not bad for $1.00!

quote:

Originally posted by jane:
I saw my comic shop had 3 packs of Donruss Americana for $1/pack, so I bought them. Inside was a Dom Deluise #25/25 proof. I'll probably end up trading it, but not bad for $1.00!

I wish I had a comic shop around me where I could establish a trusting business relationship. I would much rather shop in a real store as opposed to the internet.

I'm located in Temecula, California. Anyone know of a shop that carries cards within short driving distance?

Your best bet is Frank and Sons warehouse in Walnut. It a good hour away from you but both non-sports dealers there are good guys.

quote:

Originally posted by LUZNDAVE:
Your best bet is Frank and Sons warehouse in Walnut. It a good hour away from you but both non-sports dealers there are good guys.

I've heard of them before and actually looked on their web site. I didn't realize they had non-sports dealers there. I know exactly where they are located since I grew up about 5 minutes from there. Guess I'll finally have to make the trip! :-) Thanks for the tip LUZNDAVE!

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by allender:
If the auction doesn't say "these packs have not been 'searched'" I assume that they probably were.

..................and if it does say that still assume they probably were as they allmost certainly have been.

Cynical or what?

Definitely cynical, and I'd surely put you in the "what?" category.

The point was, it might take a bit of work, but it may be possible to find a seller who *doesn't* search beforehand. If you want to do a lot of by-the-pack buying, it could be worth the effort to find that person and give them your custom frequently in the future.

I've had reasonable luck with sellers who put together box-size lots of loose packs that resulted from unsold remnants of boxes that were opened in shops. They don't search the stuff themselves after they pick them up from distributors or closeouts, though they can't possibly guarantee that nobody used a scale or calipers earlier.

I've also found some sellers who sell off odd-lots of searched packs, and they might be a bargain if you hanker to open some packs. I wouldn't pay anywhere near MSRP because I don't expect to find a triple autograph sketch relic card, but it's a fun way to build a mini-master set. Nobody searches packs for the low-end inserts.

I once won an auction for a couple of unopened boxes and one item was missing from the shipment. The seller corrected the problem, and said he'd also make sure that the box he sent came from a fresh unsearched case. Maybe I can applaud the honesty, but I won't buy unopened boxes from that seller again.

Not all of the 'searching' is highly organized. Not everybody carries a precision scale with them to their local WalMart. A random patron might sense a thick costume or relic card, but packs with autographs or sketches would usually be missed. Some sellers even think that they are in the business to provide value and service and *want* their patrons to have the same chances to make a big pull as everybody else.

So I too am cynical when I deal for the first time with a seller I don't know. But if somebody treats me right, I'll come back.

This is a great topic and a lot of excellent points have been made by all. Building trust in this day and age is much tougher than it was in the 60's and if your approach to life when dealing with people is to trust first until actions dictate otherwise, then you will suffer many letdowns. Trust, like respect must be earned.

For me, what it all boils down to is being able to trust your supplier. In my opinion the best way to build that trust is to deal with a person face to face. That approach has served me well throughout my 53 years of existence. The problem with non-sports cards is, for me, a lack of stores to go to and so I'm stuck with the internet and while I have had many good experiences with individual web site owners, that has not been the case with eBay sellers. That's not to say that eBay sellers can not be trusted with regards to selling packs from searched boxes but it is much more difficult a task to do so since all you have to look at is a seller ID and feedback from a less than perfect system. So I guess I'll finally give Frank & Sons a try. Again thanks to all for the great posts.

quote:

Originally posted by SoCal:

............... I guess I'll finally give Frank & Sons a try. Again thanks to all for the great posts.

Hi SoCal,
Have you tried Comics and Stuff located in North County Fair? They carry a decent amount of nonsports cards in addition to comics and other collectibles - I know as they hauled a ton of stuff from their East County stores to the one in Escondido.

Frank and Sons is the best of a good bet, but try Comics and Stuff too.

NL

quote:

Originally posted by NL:

quote:

Originally posted by SoCal:

............... I guess I'll finally give Frank & Sons a try. Again thanks to all for the great posts.

Hi SoCal,
Have you tried Comics and Stuff located in North County Fair? They carry a decent amount of nonsports cards in addition to comics and other collectibles - I know as they hauled a ton of stuff from their East County stores to the one in Escondido.

Frank and Sons is the best of a good bet, but try Comics and Stuff too.

NL

Thanks NL...North County Fair is much closer to me than Frank & Sons. Also I dabble in a little bit of everything including comics so your tip has me very eager to check it out. Thanks again.

quote:

Originally posted by SoCal:

quote:

Originally posted by NL:

quote:

Originally posted by SoCal:

............... I guess I'll finally give Frank & Sons a try. Again thanks to all for the great posts.

Hi SoCal,
Have you tried Comics and Stuff located in North County Fair? They carry a decent amount of nonsports cards in addition to comics and other collectibles - I know as they hauled a ton of stuff from their East County stores to the one in Escondido.

Frank and Sons is the best of a good bet, but try Comics and Stuff too.

NL

Thanks NL...North County Fair is much closer to me than Frank & Sons. Also I dabble in a little bit of everything including comics so your tip has me very eager to check it out. Thanks again.

It's a good store. They don't always have the greatest of collections of new cards, but often if you can't find something, you can ask them to check their other stores, and if they have it they can transfer it up to that store for you. It's a little know secret

Few days ago I bought the last 11 packs in a box of 'Batman Archives' at a comic book store and pulled this out of the first pack:



I believe that is Killer Croc. The artist is Rick Stasi. He did 100 sketches for the set.

xman25

Went to the shop I hit to see if they got their Indy Masterpieces in and they hadnt so I settled for a few packs of FF4 and Twilight



Katie Power by Adam Cleveland

quote:

Originally posted by HIM:
Went to the shop I hit to see if they got their Indy Masterpieces in and they hadnt so I settled for a few packs of FF4 and Twilight



Katie Power by Adam Cleveland

wow, a powerpack sketch? now that is cool

So I go to my local comics shop today and they had gotten in some of the new Trek cards- I know the odds on chases are high for this series, so I decided to buy three packs in the morning. I end up with two packs with C05 (Sulu) and C03 (McCoy).

I went back later in the day and ran into friend and
fellow Card Talker Craig and decide to invest in three more packs. So after I buy the packs, I am just about ready to leave the store, when Craig asks if I was going to open them there, which hadn't even occured to me, but which made sense.

First pack- Thomas Kopache as Enterprise B Communications Officer autograph.

Second pack- C12- (Worf)

Third pack- Kirstie Alley as Lt. Saavik autograph!

One of the auto cards I was after in the set and I got it!

Definitely a good pack buying day. I do think Craig being there was incredibly lucky for me!

Val

Way to go I would love a kristi alley auto....just because!

quote:

Originally posted by Forever Man:
Way to go I would love a kristi alley auto....just because!

Ditto!

Congrats Val!

Thanks bought six more packs from two different stores today- pulled:

Eric Steinberg as Paul Porter
Robert Easton as Klingon Judge
POR3 (McCoy)
C01 (Kirk)
C10 (Troi)
C11 (Riker)

Not too shabby.

Val

I picked up 6 packs of Indiana Jones Masterpieces from my local dealer, and received 1 etched foil card (#2 of6), 2 foil art cards (#'s 1 and 9 of 9), 1 sketch card, and 1 panoramic sketch card. Five chase cards out of 6 packs--not too bad!

I bought the last 18 packs (six were already gone) from a box of 2008 Benchwarmer Limited Series at a comic book store and got:

1 regular auto (1:12), 1 purple parallel auto (# to 25) and 1 School Girl auto (1:48)


4 High Numbers (Boot Camp & All American USA) (1:4)


2 Halloween Foil inserts (1:8):


and of coarse my FAVORITE CARD
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.
.
.
.
.
1 Decision 2008 (1:24)


Yup, when I think sexy, I think Hillary Clinton!!!!!!

I have to say I think I did really well for 18 packs. Can't beat Hillary Clinton!!!! Oh, wait...............

xman25

Great pulls..
That Nikki Ziering I would guess is one of the rarer pulls too.

What year is this series??