How many Great cards are in hiding !!!!!

[spuds1961]

Good Saturday morning fellow collectors,haven't written an article in a little while,and with the house to myself I thought now was as good a time as any.

Okay all you guys and gals that see my breaks on Sportscardforum know that 90% of them are cheap retail breaks,with about 10% being hobby when I get some money that was unexpected.Lately I've been buying the mixed 10 packers in basketball for 7.50 at Fred's and trust me at that price it's pretty hard to whine about any of the breaks.

I've been averaging at least 3 cards that more than make up for the 7.50 spent,but these breaks got me to thinking,how many gems are just sitting in some cheap retail stores card section.I won't bore you guys and gals with listing the good cards I've pulled,just read my breaks on scf,they are all listed,the good along with the bad.With alot of the newer products that are being produced being not to my liking I find buying older stuff at a fraction of the cost alot more fun and somewhat profitable.

Why I figured I'd write something is to maybe enlighten some collectors that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to enjoy this hobby.I can be just as happy getting a pc common card sometimes as I can about pulling a gu or autograph.Let's do some math 10 packs of cards at an average of 8 cards per pack,that's 80 cards even if you were to sell them at a dime apiece that would be 8 dollars and pay for your box.I am not really that much of a seller,but I do like to trade and help other people's pc,so at that price it kills 2 birds with one stone.

I have seen other people's breaks of older items and I've noticed,yes it might be an older product but guess what the hits are still out there.I'm a sucker for 07/08 Topps basketball products,and Fred's seems to always have an abundance of these packs at 1.49 each,here is the 1 card I will brag about,as it is still in my pc,but if I ever needed money it would get me enough to keep me happy.I pulled a Kevin Durant Topps chrome white refractor # 49/99 out of a 1.49 pack,talk about maximizing your profit potential.

I just think card collecting is all a crapshoot anyways,and you never know what will be in any pack at any time.What makes this hobby fun for me is that I don't have to spend a ton of money to enjoy it,other people's garbage just may be my gold,give me an 05/06 chris paul topps rc out of a mixed packer and I'm happy,I'm not saying my method's of collecting are fool proof,but I never feel horrible about spending hundreds of dollars on a hobby box to get skunked,which I've done in the past,and trust me it has me kicking myself for days.

In closing I will say to give some of the cheap stuff a try,you may not get a high end card or an autograph,or you just might pull a Felix Hernandez ud timeline autograph # 06/10 also still in my pc,pulled from a 5.99 mixed clamshell thing.I'm going to New Orleans on Monday for the Giants vs.Saints game,so fellow collectors wish me luck on all my stops at the retail stores along the way.Thanks for the read and remember enjoy the hobby and there is no crime in being thrifty,Take care Steve

[SFGiants]

Good read. I haven't had much luck with retail yet, but like you say, you really never know what will be in that next pack. That is the fun!

Jerad