Question about purchasing hockey card boxes

[Jordanlcohn]

Hello,

I spend about up to $300 a month on cards but on boxes around 100.00

Should i purchase higher end? If so, what do you suggest is a good product? "hockey"

Sorry if i sound super "newbie" but its what i think is a good question to ask? Should i risk it basically?

Respectfully,

Jordan

[thehip66]

Welcome to SCF

It all depends on what your interests are , first if your buying boxes be prepared to lose money on them ,very few boxes turn a profit , busting boxes must be about fun first , with that being said around the 100 range i would wait and buy artifacts or series 1 when they are released , i think that would be the most common choice .

Cory

[RGM81]

Welcome.

There's no "right" or "wrong" way to spend your hobby dollars. Do what makes you happy, look around the marketplace to see what products interest you and make an informed decision from there. I have never been one to tell people on the Internet how they "should" spend their money.

[87sluggo]

It all depends on what you collect there.........do you spend the other $200 on cards for yourself or for re-sale? If you spend your money on PC cards only then buying high-end boxes might not be the way to go. $240-ish will get you a brand new box of Prime which has a grand total of seven cards inside. Chances are you're not going to hit a PC card and chances are you probably won't make your "investment" back through re-sale either. Personally, I buy the singles I want for my PC thorough eBay or card shows or SCF trades/purchases, and I splurge on cheap boxes (OPC, UD1, Artifacts) when I absolutely, positively have no remorse about throwing away a seventy or hundred-ten dollar bill, which still doesn't stop me from complaining about a box of 12/13 Certified garbage, if you're reading this Derek!!! :p

Where was I? Oh yeah........in the end you want to get the maximum out of your $300. Now you could get uber-lucky and hit something amazing from a high-end box, but what if you don't? I had the Canucks spot in a Prime CASE break yesterday, and I got completely skunked. Win some, lose more :D

[Jordanlcohn]

now on to the next question :) box breaks, are they worth it???

[Jordanlcohn]

to me, its not about the money and selling them. its about collecting them now, and putting it away as something to pass down to my kids :)

its all PC for me in the end :) gets more fun and more of a moment if i get one of my enjoyed players to collect :)

[Cunnuc]

I try to stay away from High-End products myself, but that's mainly because I just don't have the money. I had great success buying ITG products when they were first released. Made almost all my money back on the Decades 90s boxes I bought from selling on eBay. I did well with ITG Draft Prospects as well.

I find I can make money back when buying Upper Deck Series 1 or 2 especially when it first comes out. I bought about 9 boxes of Pinnacle when the price dropped to $30-40 a box on eBay. I pulled an Adam Henrique Rookie Private Signings, the SSP version of Landeskog Rookie Private Signings and the RC Auto Ryan-Nugent Hopkins.

I don't really buy much Panini, I bought last year's Rookie Anthology for about $50 on eBay and pulled a Brodeur Auto /25. So all of those products I more or less made my money back.

Bought 2 boxes is History of Hockey and nothing really moved, and I didn't get much PC so that was a bust.

I tend to do pretty well on Black Diamond. There's great stuff in Artifacts but I never pull the good stuff :P I have never bought Dominion or The Cup or Prime or Superlative, or Ultimate Memorabilia. Basically all the the high-end I have never purchased. I like to buy stuff that is $150 or lower, unless I just buy some random packs.

Which-ever direction you lean towards, good-luck.

[RGM81]

now on to the next question :) box breaks, are they worth it???

That is entirely dependent upon how you define "worth." If you are building a set, breaking a box or two is a great way to get yourself started. If you're hoping to hit some cool cards of the guys on your favourite team, it will vary from product to product based on the checklist.

Often, people will be let down by a box break as it won't have a strong hit or any of the players or teams they like. It's the risk everybody runs when they bust wax. The only sure thing in the hobby is buying singles as that's the only way you can ensure that you're getting the card(s) you actually want.

[87sluggo]

now on to the next question :) box breaks, are they worth it???

Heh, I mentioned the case break up there. But I also spent a whopping eight bucks on a Prime box break two days before and got a Cory Schneider Prime Patch /23............I got VERY lucky :)

To me, they're worth it on a whim. Like RGM says tho, we're allllll different...........

[Jordanlcohn]

:) so much fun talking to others who collect! :) thank you all for the great answers and help, we all been there.