Hobby vs. Retail Rant

Gonzaleznut · Mar 14, 2012

With one of my favorite days of the Hobby year upon us (Topps Heritage release) I would like to express my discontent with the way card companies distribute product.

I live in an area with no card shops. The closest one is almost an hour away. Naturally I have the itch to bust wax and the idea of buying from an online dealer scares me. I know most people have had good experiences, but spending upwards of $1000 on a case online makes me nervous.

It is very easy to hop down to Wal Mart or Target and grab a few blasters and rack packs. Unfortunately it is not exactly likely to produce a great hit. Most of the really good hits are reserved for the Hobby packs. Why is that? Are the retail buyers undeserving of pulling great cards from products? I understand a little the desire to promote the hobby dealers and if I had one close by I would be happy to buy cards there. Are the card companies and dealers worried that no one would go there anymore if the same cards could be picked up anywhere cards are sold?

The retail Heritage breaks I have seen so far have been brutal. I think there should be equal number of hits in both the retail and hobby versions of products. It is ok to have various exclusive cards based on the place you are buying the cards (i.e., red parallels for Target, blues for Wal Mart, etc.), but make the sought after cards available in both arenas.

I am ready to hear from you...wax busters and dealers alike...what say you?

P.S. I have three blasters of Heritage waiting for me at home when I get off work so I will let you know how I did.

csmtampa · Mar 14, 2012

Not sure if you missed it but there have been some AMAZING hits coming out of retail.

bmc398 · Mar 14, 2012

:benson: ::facepalm:: :lol:

:benson: :? :twisted:

Thats really all there is to say. The whole point of hobby is to reward those actually IN the hobby and give them better hits that the casual buster at Retail.

There are tons of trustworthy online retailers to deal with that even mentioning that you don't trust them is quite silly. There are several who even advertise here on the board. If you are tired of paying top dollar for retail and getting crap, sack up and take a chance with an outfit like Atlanta SportsCards or even call Gilmore at the FCB shop. They can hook you up, are trustworthy and will make sure your breaks are better than whats at retail.

Gonzaleznut said:
With one of my favorite days of the Hobby year upon us (Topps Heritage release) I would like to express my discontent with the way card companies distribute product.

I live in an area with no card shops. The closest one is almost an hour away. Naturally I have the itch to bust wax and the idea of buying from an online dealer scares me. I know most people have had good experiences, but spending upwards of $1000 on a case online makes me nervous.

It is very easy to hop down to Wal Mart or Target and grab a few blasters and rack packs. Unfortunately it is not exactly likely to produce a great hit. Most of the really good hits are reserved for the Hobby packs. Why is that? Are the retail buyers undeserving of pulling great cards from products? I understand a little the desire to promote the hobby dealers and if I had one close by I would be happy to buy cards there. Are the card companies and dealers worried that no one would go there anymore if the same cards could be picked up anywhere cards are sold?

The retail Heritage breaks I have seen so far have been brutal. I think there should be equal number of hits in both the retail and hobby versions of products. It is ok to have various exclusive cards based on the place you are buying the cards (i.e., red parallels for Target, blues for Wal Mart, etc.), but make the sought after cards available in both arenas.

I am ready to hear from you...wax busters and dealers alike...what say you?

P.S. I have three blasters of Heritage waiting for me at home when I get off work so I will let you know how I did.

ChasHawk · Mar 14, 2012

And retail packs are much cheaper than hobby packs.

uniquebaseballcards · Mar 14, 2012

bmc398 said:
:benson: ::facepalm:: :lol: :benson: :? :twisted:

Thats really all there is to say. The whole point of hobby is to reward those actually IN the hobby and give them better hits that the casual buster at Retail.

There are tons of trustworthy online retailers to deal with that even mentioning that you don't trust them is quite silly. There are several who even advertise here on the board. If you are tired of paying top dollar for retail and getting crap, sack up and take a chance with an outfit like Atlanta SportsCards or even call Gilmore at the FCB shop. They can hook you up, are trustworthy and will make sure your breaks are better than whats at retail.

People who only buy retail ...or don't bust at all and only buy singles... are actually IN the hobby ::facepalm::

As mentioned before of course people pay less for retail so its not surprising there are fewer hits in retail.

bozemanbreaker · Mar 14, 2012

dude it's 2012, don't fear the interwebs.

Fandruw25 · Mar 14, 2012

bmc398 said:
:benson: ::facepalm:: :lol: :benson: :? :twisted:

Thats really all there is to say. The whole point of hobby is to reward those actually IN the hobby and give them better hits that the casual buster at Retail.
There are tons of trustworthy online retailers to deal with that even mentioning that you don't trust them is quite silly. There are several who even advertise here on the board. If you are tired of paying top dollar for retail and getting crap, sack up and take a chance with an outfit like Atlanta SportsCards or even call Gilmore at the FCB shop. They can hook you up, are trustworthy and will make sure your breaks are better than whats at retail.

If only I had realized that when I was younger, I never would have saved cans to redeem or asked for cards for a birthday. I would have saved myself a lot of money then and would probably be in a different hobby.

How many boxes do you have to break a year to be considered IN the hobby and not a casual buster?

smapdi · Mar 14, 2012

Don't look at it like you are being penalized for buying at retail. Think how you're rewarded for buying at a hobby store. At this point, without hobby-only product or better versions of mass-market product, hobby stores would be virtually extinct or at least all just Blowout-style dealers. And without hobby stores, card makers would have to come up with other means to sell their wares (sell cases direct to collectors?). If you live in an area without a card shop, you aren't alone. Even in a decent-sized city like Austin there are only 2, and I'm amazed they are still in business. One is surely supported in large part by Magic card sales and both benefit greatly from people who are scared to buy online even if they aware of pricing differences.

goldenegg1 · Mar 14, 2012

Most of the same hits are distributed in both retail and hobby.
The problem is that there are many more retail packs and blasters made, in turn spreading out those hits among more packs.
By the way, you need to look at Blowoutcards because the blasters seem to be loaded this year.

Bob Loblaw · Mar 14, 2012

The owner of this site could sell you a case and is somewhat trustworthy.

:mrgreen:

nborton · Mar 14, 2012

I kind of understand where you're coming from. At this point in the hobby there aren't that many stores left. If it wasn't for the internet I doubt many people here could even buy any hobby packs.

Historically it made sense. Now, I'm not so sure it helps much, other than the last few remaining hobby shops where it definitely matters.

TBTwinsFan · Mar 14, 2012

I must not be "IN" the hobby since all I break is retail.

Good to know.

ThoseBackPages · Mar 14, 2012

Buy from Andrew all day long, and twice on Sundays.

bmc398 · Mar 14, 2012

TBTwinsFan said:
I must not be "IN" the hobby since all I break is retail.

Good to know.

Do you really feel like you are getting the best value for what you spend? If you are happy with not getting the most bang for you buck than thats on you.

Yes, I feel that to be "IN" the hobby you are breaking more than the casual blaster at Target. If you frequent card shows (even if you don't have an LCS) there is most likely an affordable wax dealer that comes to town once or twice a month. Some people can budget well and some people can't resist their impulses and go buy crap at Target. I'd much rather buy with trustworthy online retailers than at retail. If you don't think places like Atlanta Sports Cards and the other top tier online retailers are trustworthy than yes, you are probably not very active in the hobby.

nyc3 · Mar 14, 2012

ummm you do realize there are people breaking hobby cases of this stuff and getting 3 autos per case right? Why would they stuff $15 boxes?

Heres a tip if you dont like retail order online. Problem solved.

bmc398 · Mar 14, 2012

This isn't necessarily about being "IN" the hobby....its about being smart enough to get the most for your money. When you were in the hobby it was most likely a different scene (80s or 90s im guessing) where retail was just as prevalent as card shops. Its common knowledge (with a few exceptions) that retail is cheaper and delivers less value than hobby boxes. If you choose to dump your money into retail and then come on here to express your frustration for not doing well....all while actively acknowleging that an online market exists for boxes with better value in them yet not taking the time out to make an informed decision.....yeah you come off kind of silly. Making it out to sound like im taking a roll of the dice everytime I call ATL Sportscards to put in an order is even more outlandish.

Gilmore will tell you straight up....the casual buster is dead in the hobby except at places like Target and WalMart where people run across cards and don't really know what they are getting and that there is better value out there. People who are in the hobby yet exclusively open retail either A. don't know what the internet or B. love kicks in the ass.

Your experience as a kid is different than the OPs experience. I doubt he is under 18. I doubt he is saving cans or money to get blasters.

Fandruw25 said:
bmc398 said:

:benson: ::facepalm:: :lol: :benson: :? :twisted:

Thats really all there is to say. The whole point of hobby is to reward those actually IN the hobby and give them better hits that the casual buster at Retail.
There are tons of trustworthy online retailers to deal with that even mentioning that you don't trust them is quite silly. There are several who even advertise here on the board. If you are tired of paying top dollar for retail and getting crap, sack up and take a chance with an outfit like Atlanta SportsCards or even call Gilmore at the FCB shop. They can hook you up, are trustworthy and will make sure your breaks are better than whats at retail.

Click to expand...

If only I had realized that when I was younger, I never would have saved cans to redeem or asked for cards for a birthday. I would have saved myself a lot of money then and would probably be in a different hobby.

How many boxes do you have to break a year to be considered IN the hobby and not a casual buster?

Gonzaleznut · Mar 14, 2012

One page of responses nad I am quite surprised. Few people even got my real point.

I love card shops. I go to them whenever I can and I spend money there. However, I also like being able to drive three minutes to Wal Mart and buy boxes too. It is an instant gratification and convenience issue. I want to know that wherever I am choosing to spend my hobby dollars that I am getting the same value. There is no reason at all that Hobby and Retail shouldn't give the same assumed return of value. The card companies tilt the value scale towards the card shops and it penalizes those of us who want to buy a box today and not have to wait for an online retailer to ship it (and pay high shipping costs on top of that) or travel some distance to an LCS.

BTW, I am 38.

Also, I just opened 3 blasters and my best card was a Dan Uggla Chrome. :benson: :benson: :benson: Small sample size, but my point is made. $60 invested into a hobby box would likely have yielded a lot more.

Buynhisellnlow · Mar 14, 2012

Gonzaleznut said:
One page of responses nad I am quite surprised. Few people even got my real point.

I love card shops. I go to them whenever I can and I spend money there. However, I also like being able to drive three minutes to Wal Mart and buy boxes too. It is an instant gratification and convenience issue. I want to know that wherever I am choosing to spend my hobby dollars that I am getting the same value. There is no reason at all that Hobby and Retail shouldn't give the same assumed return of value. The card companies tilt the value scale towards the card shops and it penalizes those of us who want to buy a box today and not have to wait for an online retailer to ship it (and pay high shipping costs on top of that) or travel some distance to an LCS.

BTW, I am 38.

Also, I just opened 3 blasters and my best card was a Dan Uggla Chrome. :benson: :benson: :benson: Small sample size, but my point is made. $60 invested into a hobby box would likely have yielded a lot more.

Why should they add more value? At least why should they from the perspective that we are looking at this issue in this thread?

As long as they are selling their product in a quantity and at a rate they are happy with, why should they? You continue to buy despite this value disparity that you have pointed out. You are trading convenience and immediate gratification for less of a value proposition. Their model seems to be working in this instance.

Gonzaleznut · Mar 14, 2012

Buynhisellnlow said:
Gonzaleznut said:

One page of responses nad I am quite surprised. Few people even got my real point.

I love card shops. I go to them whenever I can and I spend money there. However, I also like being able to drive three minutes to Wal Mart and buy boxes too. It is an instant gratification and convenience issue. I want to know that wherever I am choosing to spend my hobby dollars that I am getting the same value. There is no reason at all that Hobby and Retail shouldn't give the same assumed return of value. The card companies tilt the value scale towards the card shops and it penalizes those of us who want to buy a box today and not have to wait for an online retailer to ship it (and pay high shipping costs on top of that) or travel some distance to an LCS.

BTW, I am 38.

Also, I just opened 3 blasters and my best card was a Dan Uggla Chrome. :benson: :benson: :benson: Small sample size, but my point is made. $60 invested into a hobby box would likely have yielded a lot more.

Click to expand...

Why should they add more value? At least why should they from the perspective that we are looking at this issue in this thread?

As long as they are selling their product in a quantity and at a rate they are happy with, why should they? You continue to buy despite this value disparity that you have pointed out. You are trading convenience and immediate gratification for less of a value proposition. Their model seems to be working in this instance.

I buy a little. I would easily spend 2-3 times more if I thought the value was there.

A great example were the Topps Value Boxes. They were EXTREMELY popular. I spent more (and so did a buch of others) on those than I would have ever dreamed of on normal retail. Why???? Because of the value.

nyc3 · Mar 14, 2012

Gonzaleznut said:
I buy a little. I would easily spend 2-3 times more if I thought the value was there.

Then order online the shipping would be free and your odds would be better.

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