Retail or hobby?

[packermann]

I have a question on retail and hobby. I have been collecting for about six years now and I still am wondering what the difference is between retail and hobby? I usually buy hobby, is hobby better than retail or vice versa? What should I be buying? You comments will be appreciated. Thanks

[markl]

hobby for pulls is much better that is why retail packs of the same brand are so much cheaper because there are less game used and autos. i hope that helps.

[kr580]

Hobby = Boxes distributed to card (hobby) shops.
Retail = Boxes distributed to retail shops. (Wal-Mart, Target, etc)

Hobby usually has much better odds than Retail. You could have an auto that's 1:36 in Hobby but something like 1:1200 in Retail. Not sure why it's like this but it is.

So... Hobby is good for good cards to collect/trade and Retail is for quick fixes, although some people have major luck with Retail and pull good stuff all the time. Me, I have no luck with either... I'm a singles man. <3 Ebay.

[packermann]

Well, thank you guys much this really helps out a lot I was wondering why I never pull anything from wal mart.

[Xspunge]

When in doubt always always go for hobby. Like the people said, the ratio for auto/jersey/game used is much much lower in hobby than retail. Don't buy retail because the pack feelers/pack searchers get there before you do. They rub their slimy fingers up and down every pack to feel for jerseys and autos, so they end up buying the one good pack from that retail box and the rest are commons, base, or regular cards. It happens all the time, and unless card companies start going to redemption cards, it will continue to happen. So if you see boxes that look like they have been picked through, don't even bother buying unless you like commons.

[Boinks]

How do you feel for autos? Besides most companies have been putting dummy cards in packs for years. Pack feeling died in 2002.

With the price of retail and the value of inserts/game used its not worth it unless you can get a big grab box for cheap. G/U would probably be worth more if the odds for hobby were the same as retail.

[vikingfan101]

Boinks is completely correct. You cant pack feel anymore because of the dummy cards.

[kr580]

There's more ways to feel than to feel the thickness. People still search.

[Xspunge]

Ah. young ignorant grasshoppers. So much to learn. A wise man once said "Thumbnail and forefinger better at catching autograph than $100 bill"

To those of you that claim you can't feel for autos or jerseys you are dead wrong. And you can defeat the decoy cards since they definitely do feel different from regular cards, even through the wrapper. Its all about texture and thickness. You can feel for them. It just takes a sensitive thumb and forefinger and patience.

There are tons of "guides" and "FAQ's" currently on ebay on how to effectively pack search. These guides usually only pertain to retail boxes since any self respecting card shop will absolutely not let you rummage through a $200 box of Upper Deck. The auctions have such detailed information as to what card line and year and how to do it for each. For example, one auction will tell you that for 04 Playoff Absolute it is usually the third card from the top surrounded by two thin stock decoy cards or something similar. 04 Absolute will alternate decoy cards. One pack has a very obvious super thick decoy card and the pack directly underneath will either have no decoy card or thin decoy card. If you come across an 04 box that doesn't have the alternating thick/thin decoy cards then it has already been searched and you should stay away. If it has the alternating thick/thin decoys then the box is not yet searched. The guides will also point out exactly how many cards there will be if there is a jersey or auto since they vary for either one. They also detail the relative thickness of the decoy cards, and how to feel around the security stickers (the ones that make the store alarm system go off) to see if there is something underneath. they will also tell you how the texture of the decoys will feel when compared to regular cards or if you are lucky and find an auto. So you do not have to buy the whole box for 50 bucks or more to get a jersey or auto from retail.


SOme of the guides are priced less than a lot of single packs. They even will email you updates on the current releases as they come available as well. I know because I bought one. I received about 6 pages of stuff pertaining to playoff, presspass, fleer, topps and upperdeck retail packs. Its really interesting stuff, but basically it all boils down to feel. I did try some of their advice and I'll be damned if they weren't right. But I don't pack search, I don't have time to go and fondle each pack in a 24 pack box and besides I buy most of my game used and autos on ebay so it pretty much defeats the purpose of pack feeling since I buy exactly the jersey or auto of the player I want.

[Boinks]

I'd have to see it to believe it. The only 'texture' I can feel on a pack is the foil rapper. Autos dont have anything different about them compared to a regular card. Theres just no way.