Our hobby,how dishonest can it get.

[black bass]

I also started collecting cards in the late 1960s...I was born in 1961 , as were you. I got my packs of bubble gum cards at " Georges candy store "
on 9th & Linclon ave in Milwaukee , wi. I was hit by a car in 1969 and George came to visit me at the hospital...he brought me a bunch of good candy that I liked , and three boxes of 1969 football cards. I was hooked on cards from then on. I have seen all the problems that you mentioned , and I have become sick of $ 300 auto / patch rc cards of guys that have done nothing.
Recently I decided to collect inserts and base cards of players that I like...
maybe an auto or two. I want to collect cool looking low value cards that I really enjoy !!

thanks for this great thread !

Bill.

[spuds1961]

Pretty cool story yourself Bill,that was a great gesture by George and the world needs more people like that.

[bangsportscards]

Good thread Steve.

I'm 32 and was introduced to baseball cards at the age of 7. My best card which I cherished the most was the Bird/Magic 1980 Topps rookie card that me an my dad found at a flea market.

I started acculating cards over time and in 1989 I saw John Elway playing in a playoff game against the Browns, saw some outstanding talent, and boom was instantly hooked.

I was thrilled when I started collecting Elway and had amassed 20 different ones. After 5 years I had gotten to over 2,000 unique cards and many oddball things.

I went through hard times and sold off all of the collection.

I do remember around 1990-1994 with the inclusion of 1990 Leaf, the Gold Leaf Rookies, then came Select in 1993, the Marshall Faulk craze, and 1994 brought a whole new look as previously mentioned with Flair, and finally in 1995 is when changes started happening rapidly.

Obviously there's many variables to point out why this and why that. I believe as it seems to be adhered to that adjustment is the key.

Here's a player collecting idea: I am focusing more on Elway again and determined that I would set a bar of going after all cards that are serial numbered to #/25 and up. All others that are limited to less I want go after as much but rather consider those as "gravy".

We can still enjoy and have fun despite all the crookedness that finds it's way into the hobby.

Again this is a great discussion.

Brian

[spuds1961]

Thanks for the reply Brian,it's funny how us collectors all got our starts in this hobby,as no one story seems the same.I got my start in the schoolyard when I was about 8 because it seemed all the kids with cards didn't get picked on as much.

[Kutzy]

I remember the 1992 topps packs that had some diamond scratch off game in them. The packs were sealed with light glue and you could open them, search for black gold cards and the scratch off game then reseal them with a glue stick. Good as new. On top of that the game carss were see through under a flashlight and certain backgrounds so people would win everytime..... Thats when i knew this hobby was rigges

[SportsCardCollective]

Dont get me started on the Scales... ! Nice article though!

[brandonbarnett]

Great read......I hate pack searchers, and I hate to be a nark but when I see them I turn them in........I know it seems childish to do that but I think about kids who buy retail packs or the parents that buy them as a suprise. As far as LCS theres not much down my way which makes it alot easier to weed out the hobby rip-offs

[tribute33]

Since going to buying only singles and boxes from what i feel are reputable dealers pack searchers dont bother me a whole lot. If you whant to buy the fat packs you go right ahead. I kind of look at it like buying anything else. you always take the best looking shirt or whatever off the rack. I do think the person who gets hurt the most is the one who cant afford a box like younger kids.

What does bother me are the dealers who search the boxes and take out the hits and sell the rest of the packs.

Here is a true story for you.

I was at my local card shop bs'n with the guys who work there and we started talking about pack searching and the owner said it doesnt pay unless you "know what you are doing" after hearing the "owner" say that and realizing ive never gotten a nice hit out of his packs i did a little research. After reading some posts about scales my son and i did a little test we bought three boxes. 1 2010 donruss basketball 1 2010 spx hockey 1 2010 artifacts hockey. We weighed all the packs with a little kitchen food scale found six packs that weighed like .1 oz difference and guess what. Yep six jerseys. Couldnt find the autos with the scale but found all the jerseys. For that reason i will never buy packs again or anything again from my local dealer.

Sad part is pack searching is for real and for those who are stuck with only being able to buy packs it sucks

[BAZINGA0212]

Well i'm only 18, and graduate high school in about a month, I started collecting when i was about 7. I havent been able to work or anything, so I'm stuck with buying the little blaster boxes from walmart/target/etc..The reason I got hooked onto cards was my best friend (who was my neighbor) I went into his house and downstairs into a room and every single spot you looked in the room was an auto or a jersey/patch card or some really really nice rookies and stuff. When I saw that I thought it was amazing! It made me want to start collecting, so I went to target with them one time and his dad bought me a box of cards, and that pack I bought I pulled a Daunte Culpepper Rc GU..can't remember if it was an auto. That got me hooked. Plenty of times have I gone to walmart or somewhere and seen opened packs just laying there, or people looking to see which pack weighs more for the jersey/auto. It just gets annoying knowing thats going on, and on my budget only being able to afford that. This had made me stick to buying just single cards on card trading forums.

[DamienSin]

I may be a "rookie" according to this site but ive been a collector since my mom bought me a Yankees team set from 84 topps. Since then ive seen the "Good, the Bad, and a whole lotta UGLY" I try not to dwell on the ugly and just re-live the thrill of dissecting each case/box/pack i purchase. Pack searchings never going to stop being a problem unfortunately however you can find a good dealer to get your boxes from. Im fortunate to have a great "local" card shop who doesnt pack-search. Ill never ever forget some of the great cards ive pulled from him over the years. Just this year i pulled a Koufax from heritage and last week a Lou Gehrig triple relic from 1 pack of tribute. (kinda pricey product but fantastic hits!) There are alot of good guys out there that are trustworthy and in time if your fortunate youll find them. I dont want to advertise a site thats great for boxes but there are good ones out there. Most of all dont let it get to you!A hobby should add enjoyment to your life and when it stops doing so its time to find a new hobby. I'll be addicted for life, i cant go a day without opening a pack without suffering from SCBWD'S (severe cardboard withdrawals) I keep a few 90's junk wax boxes around just for this purpose.