Sure there is. Just depends on the price (and your definition of "cheap"). Every company has their cheapee sets. For instance, 2003 Topps Total Football sells for 99 cents a pack. (I believe 2003 Topps FB also does, too, but I could be wrong.) The packs you find at Walmart (and other retailers) are all usually cheap... for good reason. That's still the bread and butter of all trading card sales. I was merely pointing out before that collectors are now going gung-ho over super expensive boxes that sell for $100 a pack, a trend which cannot continue. (I mean, c'mon, how many game-worn Babe Ruth jerseys can you find to cut up into little pieces? At some point, all the expensive hard-to-get relics and cut autographs will eventually dry up.) As for the Billy Ripkin card, we here think it was done intentionally. With all the checks and balances in place, it's hard for something that obvious to make its way into the final product. It should've been caught by several people along the card-making process (unless the printer put it on at the last second). We're not talking about a mislabeled player or wrong stat here. You don't need a sports expert to see what's wrong with that card. But hey, then again, it could be an honest mistake. After all, I'd be lying if I said there weren't mistakes in my cards. (Don't ask, because I ain't telling...)
VesceySux, Are there any good chase cards in the cheapo release (Topps Total). Does it have full stats? Good design?
Leonard Garcia: He was a batboy for the Angels in 1965-67. His face was on Aurelio Rodriguez's 1969 Topps baseball card. It happened in Detroit. "We were playing catch during batting practice," Leonard writes. "A photographer came up and took our picture. We told him that he wrote our names down in the wrong order. He must have forgotten to correct the mistake before sending in the picture to Topps." Garcia now works for Topps. I remember this mistake by Topps, and I think I still have this card.
For what it's worth to ya'll I was a grader at Beckett before deciding to return to school for the 'ol law school. Still many redeeming things about the hobby, just have to look a bit harder.
Depends on the product. For example, in Topps Football, you're likely to get pretty much all base (common) cards, including a rookie or two, in a pack. You also might get an insert card (also called a chase card). If you're lucky, you'll get an autograph or relic card. You just have to look at the odds on the back of the pack, as it's all clearly stated right there. (As an aside, Topps is the only company to print real autograph odds on packs and boxes. Other companies, for the most part, only print "randomly inserted." Check it out; it's true.) FYI: In any hobby box from any company nowadays, you're guaranteed at least one autograph, relic, or both in a box. That's why you should buy boxes and not packs... So, what are you looking for? Autographs? Try Sage HIT and Press Pass, which give the consumer upwards of 8 rookie autos per box. (But be warned: their auto cards don't hold a whole lot of value over time.) Rookie cards? I'd suggest Bowman Football. We raised the ante last year (well, okay, I did) and put 165 rookies in the product (which I don't think anyone else has done). I did it again this year. Lots of stats? I'd go with Topps Football (or the Upper Deck equivalent). Old school cards? Topps All American (out this year) or Topps Heritage (out last year and 2001). BTW: Topps FB: 10 cards per pack Total FB: 10 cards per pack I'm trying not to be TOO biased here in favor of Topps. Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot about competitors' products. I'd suggest picking up a Beckett guide to help choose a good set.
You are so right about the direction of card collecting. I'm not a poor man but I'm not paying card store prices or even ebay prices for some of these boxes. You're right - it's a lotto. And you are also right, the old time relics will dry up and that's what I spend my money on right now. eBay is great for getting exactly what you want at a decent price. I saw Donruss bought one of the last 3 known game-used Babe Ruth jerseys. It's a shame to cut them up but since they are, it is cool owning and touching a piece of history. Why pay $500 for a 4 card pack, 4 pack box when you can buy a Ruth jersey, a Mantle jersey, a Williams jersey, a DiMaggio jersey and a Aaron jersey for less? You'd be lucky to get any 1 of those cards in that $500 box. They only bad thing is you don't have the thrill of busting packs but that thrill is quickly gone - especially when it's only 4 packs. I'll buy cheaper Topps Chrome and Gold Label boxes on ebay and we'll get the pack bustin' thrill there. My family loves to open packs - we have some "golden touch" family members and some "please don't open any more" (to put it nicely) family members. Base set cards are near worthless - except to the set builders. Even swatch cards for the modern players a becoming less valuable - now it's patches and autos. And with the stars today, I wonder how many jerseys they can wear in a year to be cut up? I do wonder how some people know which packs contain the relic cards. Collation? Weight? Thickness? I love collecting but my checklist is filling up quickly. By the way - just another comment as to what a cool job you have.
That's classic. We open a LOT of boxes (competitor stuff, too) at work, and I can definitely be considered one of those "please don't open any more" people. I suck at box break mojo. One guy who used to work here (on baseball cards) had the best luck I've ever seen. He routinely got good pulls. I used to have him "bless" my boxes before opening them. I have astounding luck with Fleer boxes, but crappy luck with EVERYTHING else (espcially Upper Deck). I don't get it. Set building is making a comeback. People are getting tired of relic cards and want a challenge. Hence, building a complete set. It used to be SO freaking easy. Whichever pack was the thickest contained the relic card (duh). We've heard reports/accusations in the past of card dealers feeling packs and removing from sale any packs they thought contained relic cards. Nowadays, we (and every other company, for that matter) have thick decoy cards in every pack to prevent this from happening. Sometimes the decoys are in the form of a parallel card. Sometimes they're eTopps promo cards. Sometimes, other companies just use a thick piece of cardboard (which I'll never understand, since it adds no value of any kind to the pack).
I build a few myself - the 1998 SPx set about broke me. The thing I don't like now is the short prints that make up part of the set. You have to open 20 boxes to complete a set and you end up with about 19 common dups. I stay away from those sets. I noticed the eTopps promo card switch in the last box of 2003 Topps Chrome - but I still see guys out there selling guaranteed relic packs of the 03 Chrome. I'm not sure how they do it. They must have Superman eyes. By the way - I love those uncirculated Atomic Refractors (or xFractors)
Yep. We get you every time. We also have short-print parallels where something in the image is changed, like a different color background, different color arm band, etc. That was really popular in Topps Gallery. (I had a grand ole time deciding what to change in each short-print picture...) I have no idea how they're doing it. Maybe they're opening the pack and resealing it carefully? It should be impossible to tell which pack has the swatch card now. (Then again, the RIAA thinks it's possible to completely stop mp3 file-trading...) BTW, SPx is an immensely popular product, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. What's the deal? The single coolest insert set, IMO, is the Ring of Honor autograph set we did for 2002 Topps FB: an autograph card of EVERY Super Bowl MVP to date (except for Lynn Swann, who was the only holdout). This year, we even continued it with Dexter Jackson. The logistics of that set were an absolute nightmare. That whole set (which is near impossible to collect) must go for thousands. Now, if we could just get Lynn Swann to sign... We also thought about doing a Heisman Ring of Honor set, but we didn't have the resources to pull it off (plus, some of those guys were just not collectible at all). Also, another idea we were kicking around was Terry Tate autographs...
I'm not into the latest SPx sets. I got caught up in the 98 set because I got a real good deal on a partial set that someone gave up on. That turned out to be one expensive partial set as I was spending $5-$10 for cards like Fred McGriff and Wade Boggs. I'd be lucky to get back what I have got in "invested" in that set. Sounds really cool - again - you have the coolest job on this board IMO - and you get paid too - and probably some pretty good change too - not to mention the benefits! I do have one last story on our family of pack busters. The last Chrome box we opened - my middle son gets gold refractor after gold refractor (6 in a box that was only supposed to have 2) - and some are nice rookies and stars. My oldest son (the pdoamp) glows that he pulled a black refractor. I congratulate him but in my mind I'm thinking - you pulled the 1 black refractor in the box and it's Dave Veres.
I just miss knowing players and their stats, and just knowing about the game (mainly baseball, but football too I guess). I don't care at all about autographs or these inserts you guys are talking about - didn't even know packs came with those. Not sure what you mean by 'old school cards'. Rookie cards - sure, but not really more than any other card. I'd just like to be able to go buy a pack of cards for not much money and have a good shot at being able to get any card in the set (again, I don't really care how much they're worth). I used to be able to do that as recently as, I don't know, 14-15 years ago or so. If they ended up being worth something someday, then that was somewhat of a bonus. Of course I'm aware that card collecting has changed a lot since then so some things just may not be possible anymore. I really appreciate your info.
Upper Deck has MVP and Victory sub-brands that may fit your bill. They are the cheaper sub-brands but still have a decent card if you aren't into their value. They are a relatively small set (@200 cards) so you will get mainly known starters. www.upperdeck.com Of course, Topps Series 1 or 2 are pretty economical cards as well. They are a more thorough set (over 700) so you will get very good team coverage but you also stand a better chance of having a "bad" pack (I once pulled 3 managers in 1 pack - that's just wrong). www.topps.com Fleer makes a regular and a Tradition brand that is their economical sub-brands. www.fleer.com You can go to their websites and check out what the cards look like and the checklists for the sets. The 50 cent pack days are gone but the packs above will run you about $2 at the checkout counter and contain about 8-10 cards. If you want to get the set - there are plenty for sale on ebay. If you want to open you're own box which is cheaper than by the pack - again - shop ebay but watch the pack count per box. Pay according to pack and pack type (hobby/retail) - not all boxes are equal - some have few packs (called Blaster or Value boxes). Older cards like 2002 will cost less than 2003 - kind of like moving last years model cars - but you will not have the most recent stats. Also, some (most) ebayers make a nice profit from shipping so pay attention to the bottom line. It's been my experience that most card shops charge way too much for packs or boxes. You should be able to get one of the boxes above for $1 per pack or less (with s/h included).
I used to be able to "count" to Ken Griffey Jr. rookies in 1989 Upper Deck boxes. Maybe it can happen with this product too.
