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  1. #1




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    I am officially done cracking wax!

    I have played this over in my head many times through this past year and I'm officially taking a indefinite sabbatical from cracking wax. Some of you may know I spend quite a bit of my hard earned money opening product, typically high end like The Cup, National Treasures, Exquisite and Ultimate Collection. There are a few reasons why I'm stopping.

    1. The value on the secondary market is nowhere near what it used to be.
    2. The odds of pulling a card I would actually put in my PC are very very poor.
    3. The money I spend.

    I just cracked two tins of 11/12 The Cup and 1 tin of 12/13 The Cup and left the LCS feeling disgusted with myself. The breaks were slightly below average, I will make back $500 of the $1700 I just spent. The feelings of anger, resentment, disappointment, shame were all prevalent. It actually reminded me of my drinking and using days, the feelings where IDENTICAL.

    So let me add a 4th point to the reasons why I'm stopping,

    4. I clearly have a problem.

    Many of you will not be able to relate with this. "Having a problem with sports cards?!?!" "how does that make any sense?". Unfortunately I was blessed and cursed with an addictive personality, or OCD also alcoholism. I credit my professional success to this trait, it is also the bane of my existence.

    So these are the reason's why I'm done. I will miss it, nothing beats hitting a sick Gretzky, Jordan or short printed rookie card. For some reason the cards don't have as much of an appeal to me if I purchase them off the secondary market. There is something about the experience of actually hitting a sick card that that I find so attractive. And no it's not gambling to me, I don't sell the big hits! I keep them.

    Anyways I will now Mod and stay involved in the hobby, maybe start trading? I don't know. We will see.
    Last edited by 13stepper; 01-06-2014 at 03:21 PM.

  2. #2




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    Good decision, IMO, for the reasons you have stated. I gave it up a long time ago because of the disappointment that comes with realizing you've essentially lost a lot of money.

    Good luck with trading. I've moved away from that to just buying/selling, but even that can be a lot of fun.

  3. #3




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    Been there! The amount of wax that I break is very low compared to what it was a few years ago. The only time I crack anymore is with a buddy when we get together and open a few boxes together, so it's more of a social thing.

    Also you're right that the single prices on the secondary market are very low - and that's kind of depressing. When I look up cards on eBay that I would be PSYCHED to open and realize that they sell for less than the cost of a box... Well, it's sad when the best case scenario is breaking even. I buy almost everything as singles these days, and just crack every once in a while for fun.

  4. #4




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    I agree with every thing you said. I used to open a couple boxes a month something like that. I now save the money until I can purchase a case that way I am guaranteed to hit something nice. I also pre order everything so I get it on release day and I can get the most of what I don't keep. I lost way too much money on random boxes so I thought and decided I have much better odds to hit something nice if I open a full case. 99% of the time I still loose money however I scratch my breaking itch and I get more back this way.

    For example Ill have a case of SPA on release day and possibly SPX and maybe Ultimate. Ill use what I get back from my SPX case out it towards the SPA then SPA towards Ultimate.

    That's how I cope with the problems you are having. However stopping altogether is a good decision as well. Good Luck
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  5. #5




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    I think I'm done with was for a while too minus low end. My last box of Artifcats I think the hit of the box was a white Mueller patch /75. Not a single card in the box covered the price of the pack it was in. Definitely understand whee you are coming from.

  6. #6
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    I buy one or two blasters of UD Series 1 per year. This year I only bought one and I was rewarded with 5 cards, that I received and sold for $5.00 on eBay.

    Yippee, lucky, rich me. Lol

    The second I opened the box and got Jansen, and some other slug Young Gun, I knew I had made a dreadful mistake. I did not make a mistake in wasting another $19.99 on the 2nd box.

  7. #7




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    This year I bought a few blasters for the first time in probably a decade just because I wanted to open something. At that price point I feel like I'm getting a decent deal - the excitement of opening packs, the chances of getting something OK and on hitting a mem or auto card which I still have never pulled. But I will agree when I don't get something I like or know I can trade easily I have a bit of buyers remorse. I hedge that with the low overall investment.

    I can't see buying a high end product (or even most mid-end) and getting squat. I'd cry in my Cheerios.


    I buy one or two blasters of UD Series 1 per year. This year I only bought one and I was rewarded with 5 cards, that I received and sold for $5.00 on eBay.

    Yippee, lucky, rich me. Lol

    The second I opened the box and got Jansen, and some other slug Young Gun, I knew I had made a dreadful mistake. I did not make a mistake in wasting another $19.99 on the 2nd box.


  8. #8







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    Welcome to the club!
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  9. #9
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    I feel your pain, my friend. I have a tendency to lean towards an addictive personality when it comes to certain things. If I really like a thing, I REALLY LIKE A THING!!! This is how a person ends up with 600 cards of the same player, 500+ video Metallica live recordings, etc. I just get really into it and it usually takes me a good long while to step back say, "I think I have enough of this now." By the time you've seen Enter Sandman 450 different times or got that latest shiny Carey Price card in the mail, you sometimes stop and wonder "why does this keep going?"

    I still of course enjoy the hobby and live Metallica and a lot of other stuff, but I am much more aware of just how much money goes into it, how much time is spent on it, and what the return will be in the future should I ever decide, "I don't need this any more."

    Good on you for being acute enough to be aware of the situation, and good luck proceeding with your next chapter.
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  10. #10




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    I do not disagree with anything you say there whatsoever. Busting boxes for self is a losing proposition every 95% of the time.

    That said, what LCS are you going to that will charge you $1700 for those 3 boxes? Those people should be dragged out in the street... if you're a regular of theirs (and you seem to spend big $), they shouldn't be charging you more than $1300+tax for those three... so on the high end here in Ontario $1470...

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