Clearing the Air about BreakAwayCards

[CupDynasty]

I would like to take this time to answer some of the questions I have received through PM’s, emails, threads, and questions for sellers on ebay etc. These questions all seem to be about my Cup Rcs ebay listings and my lack of activity on this message board. I feel it is easier making one post to set the record straight rather than responding to everything individually. I have asked and received permission from a mod to do so.

As my post history shows I have not made a single post on this board in over 4 months. I consider this board to be the best in the Hobby. However, between being a partner in two full-time businesses (not card related) and trying to get my new business Breakaway Cards Inc. off the ground my time to post on boards has been limited. Throw into the mix some unfortunate health issues I have been dealing with over the last year, my time is beyond limited. Any extra time I do have I try to spend with my wife and two sons. So, no, I am not banned on here (I have been asked that at least 5 times). I am permitted to post on here whenever I choose to do so. When my life settles down, I plan on returning to more regular posting.

I guess I should give those of you who don’t know me a little history. I am 40 years old and have been collecting hockey cards since 1978. I have been selling on ebay for 14 Years under the same account. There have been a few name changes along the way because of my changing collection (Gamejerseycards.com to Logopatchcards to BreakawayCards) but the same ONE original account since 1998. I am addicted to breakng Cup cases of all years, not joking. LOL! My main focus in the hobby are my player collections. I specifically collect Stamkos and Tavares.

A lot of the questions and accusations have come up are in regard to the Cup patch sets that I have been selling on ebay. I acquired the majority of these cards when I purchased a collection from the Biggest Cup Rc Set collector (many people on this board know who it is). When I purchased his collection in July, I made a thread about it on here and posted scans of all the cards. The cards that I didn’t purchase as part of the collection, I either pulled from cases on my own or purchased from reputable sellers on ebay. Over the last 6 Years I have broken well over 600 cases (3600 Tins) of all years of the Cup. A few members of these boards have been to my house and helped me break my cases.

As for why so many of the cards in my auctions have never been seen, I always keep certain cards from my breaks for my own personal collection and for my two sons’ collections. I also don’t have time to post and scan everything on the boards. I have maybe only posted 10% of my breaks on various message boards over the years.

While trying to build the complete 10-11 Cup RC set, I realized I had to figure out if I wanted to build sets of all rookies each year or concentrate on just a few players each year. Set building is a lot of work and I found I was spending way too much time on these sets and not enough on my player collections. So over the holidays I decided to focus on my player collections (Breakawaycards.com) instead of building sets (CupRcs.Com). I began to sell my rc cup sets on ebay earlier this month.

As for Shill Bidding, yes, there are a few of the same bidders often winning my auctions. But, no, this is not shill bidding. There is a small group (maybe less than a dozen) of HUGE Cup Rc Set collectors who often create bidding wars for cards. This bidding war sometimes makes a card sell for 5x its value if they all decide they want it. I have sold to some of these people for over 10 years and some of them I now consider my friends. I am fortunate enough to have a great customer base on eBay and I also sell directly to friends and other collectors. So maybe to some of you it looks fishy but look at my feedback from 14 years of selling on eBay and make your own opinion.

I have had questions regarding why I don’t list all the cards from my huge case breaks exclusively on my own eBay account, Breakawaycards. I don’t have the time to list 1000’s of cards each week. I give the majority of the cards to Ebay Listers to sell for me on their accounts. Over the last 4 years I have had 3 Listers from two countries with a total of 5 Ebay accounts sell for me. In the past, I have posted their names and ID’s on here so collectors would be able to buy cards from my breaks. Of course I would prefer to sell all the cards myself but I cannot keep up with my own breaks. I pay others for their services. So hopefully that answers some of those questions.

Finally, I have been accused of being a patch faker. I am not. I have been in this hobby for 34 years and will always be a collector first, dealer second. As a collector, I think it is great for people to have questions about patch authenticity. I question patches all the time when purchasing for my own pc. Let me be clear about how I feel about this - I despise the people who have done this to our hobby because unless you pull it from a pack yourself or a close friend pulls it, you truly never know the authenticity of any patch. It is a sad state of the hobby. Some great collectors have done an amazing job archiving cards to help prevent this from happening. I was always pushing Upper Deck back in the day to have their rookie patch cards scanned or archived somehow so these questions we all have about authenticity can be put to rest. Their response was that it was “Too cost prohibitive.” Then I asked why they can’t you have Interns do it and their response was “Quality Control.” The more the cards are handled the more damage they could acquire. I did not agree but they state there is nothing that can be done on their end. The collectors themselves have to look out for one another by creating and maintaining rookie archives and warning others about who the patch fakers are.

In closing, I have no problem with other collectors questioning patches I sell but I do have an issue with questioning my reputation as a seller and with questioning who my customers really are. I hope this post answers the questions some of you have about me. If not, please feel free to post in this thread and I will do my best to respond. Sorry for the long read but I felt like this was long overdue.

Take Care, Mark
AKA BreakAwayCards

P.S For the many members and even mods who went out of their way to support me in these threads/posts, I can’t thank you enough!

[SkyFire47]

Hey Mark,

You're easily one of the best people in this hobby. It's ridiculous that you have to come on here and make a post like this to just to justify yourself. Anyone who knows you would never question your integrity or the cards you have. I'm glad your sales are doing so well and that you have such a loyal customer base.

If it helps, I know I'm not the only one that feels this way and there are a ton of people who stick up and vouch for you across multiple forums.

[JamesGang1]

I agree with Skyfire.

I've been one of the lucky ones to catch a couple of cards and make a deal with Mark on this site!

Keep the breaks coming Mark!!!

[KangoBass]

Sorry you have to respond to people about your collection and their standards. You're a big name in the hobby and it's no joke that you've broken 3600 tins (more than most people break in packs). Keep up the work because it's your hobby, not others.

[Drewk86a]

Well said, brother!

You should not have to defend yourself but, hopefuly, this will give you some respite from the hassles.

Good luck with your businesses!

[hossa18sens]

Very well said Mark. I have had the pleasure of following a few of you case breaks.

I hope this clears things up so YOU can enjoy the hobby without the need to spend your time justifying your cards.

As for the 3600 tins... I just want to make a pyramid out of them lol

[DeanCrandall]

Have my support even if you are taking all the premium Tavares' away from me :)

Think I have a couple of your Tavares/ Bossy hand-me-downs already.

[Prime B]

Hey Mark,

You're easily one of the best people in this hobby. It's ridiculous that you have to come on here and make a post like this to just to justify yourself. Anyone who knows you would never question your integrity or the cards you have. I'm glad your sales are doing so well and that you have such a loyal customer base.

If it helps, I know I'm not the only one that feels this way and there are a ton of people who stick up and vouch for you across multiple forums.

+1

Mark, we have been friends for quite some time now and when I don't hear from you for awhile by phone, etc, I know things are busy.

I am privy to a lot of stuff about your personnel life so I can vouch for you and say people should just ™™™™ and not worry about you and your cards all the time.

I am not as active in the hobby or on the boards as I used to be and could care less. My family is first, my career is second and somewhere down the list in the double digits is hockey cards. People like you and I have nothing to "prove" by showing what we have or talking shop. People who have been in this hobby long enough know where to find a guy like you if they really need to get ahold of you. And you owe them no explanations.

I guess folks don't realize that people like you do have a life outside of the hobby.

Or maybe they don't realize that because they don't have lives outside of trading cards

[Wickabee]

Well I don't know you at all. I've seen some recent talk of your cards/auctions and I've wondered myself. Seeing both your response and the people who are backing you up I'd have to say your reputation here is pretty intact.

And I, too, would like to see a 3600 Cup tin pyramid.

[Yipper]

While I don't know you personally and perhaps only talked to you a couple times. Over my entire 6 years of collecting, I have known you as a great hobby guy and collector.

You got my full support bud! And keep those nice patches or PC cards coming. It's always a pleasure viewing your collection.

Cheers,
Matt