EBAY box breaks question

[bcrazyman]

Maybe some members on here have done these BOX BREAKS on EBAY i recently have been watching these and they look interesting so i decided to do one and it was ok i guess.


Do fellow board members do these also , can you really trust them to be honest and not scam you, and is there certain ones that are more trusted by members here going by personal experiences

I would like to do more but would like to get more input on these auctions any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Doug

[reoddai]

Never did one. Looks boring, but I'm not a team style collector and rather open my own box than pay for someone else to open one for me. .

If it helps, eBay box breaks are against eBay's terms of service.

Cheers,
reoddai

[30ranfordfan]

I've never done one on Ebay.... I'm sure like anything else there are some honest breakers and some dishonest ones. I've only ever done group breaks with people I knew well enough to trust or with people that came with very high recommendation from someone else I knew.

As was already mentioned.... Those team breaks are against ebay policy. The fact that they're willing to skirt the rules, IMO, says something about their integrity already.

[ncm7772]

I've done a couple, and it's been ok so far. It's a crapshoot really. Some times you can get a good card, other times you bid a few bucks and come away w/ nothing. I got a Leafs bid for $.99 today and got a $20 BV card. It's fun when that happens, but not fun when you bid $10 on a team and get nothing.

I will usually low bid once every couple days, hoping to get a nice deal. Got 4 teams for a Crown break for $8. I'll take that.

[roaddogg02316]

Just be aware that you only get your hits usually, no base cards. I trade with another guy and he ended up telling me about this box break. Well anyways got involved somehow. It was a kid running it. So I ask what we get as I was completely new. So nobody needs to tell me you don't get your base.
I asked him and he said we got base, then later on it was a different story. I bought into like 6 spots for so much and got nothing. Most of us in it were new to it so we had no idea. I was really annoyed. The kid ended up sending us each something we liked. I got a Cheevers signed OPC. If it is real I have no clue.

But I won't participate in a break unless it is a fair split. Not long after the guy I deal with did a break. Everyone got their base and I ended up with most of the hits. Even have a Taylor Hall auto/jersey coming to me!

But will I ever deal with that kid again, nope. I have watched his stuff after and he constantly begs me into buying in, no thanks. I know something seems odd. He had one break where he showed off all his cards he had. Literally cases of stuff, how does someone under 20, maybe even under 16 get all that?

[CoolHandLuke]

Just be aware that you only get your hits usually, no base cards. I trade with another guy and he ended up telling me about this box break. Well anyways got involved somehow. It was a kid running it. So I ask what we get as I was completely new. So nobody needs to tell me you don't get your base.
I asked him and he said we got base, then later on it was a different story. I bought into like 6 spots for so much and got nothing. Most of us in it were new to it so we had no idea. I was really annoyed. The kid ended up sending us each something we liked. I got a Cheevers signed OPC. If it is real I have no clue.

But I won't participate in a break unless it is a fair split. Not long after the guy I deal with did a break. Everyone got their base and I ended up with most of the hits. Even have a Taylor Hall auto/jersey coming to me!

But will I ever deal with that kid again, nope. I have watched his stuff after and he constantly begs me into buying in, no thanks. I know something seems odd. He had one break where he showed off all his cards he had. Literally cases of stuff, how does someone under 20, maybe even under 16 get all that?

Never did any on eBay. Only here on SCF. This way I know I will get all card and that it will be fair to all.

[30ranfordfan]

This is EXACTLY why I'm not a big fan of team breaks.

Draft breaks take a much longer time to fulfil - and I get why they are not practical for someone doing it on eBay. The group breaks that have been run by people here (Don, Matthew, Kevin, etc) have always been 'draft' style breaks.

Draft style - the cost is usually higher, you end up paying (roughly) the cost of a box + shipping. Depends how many slots are sold. It may take several weeks to go through the drafting process (depending on the nature of the set) so if you want the cards ASAP, maybe not the thing to do.

You are gaurneteed some decent cards though.

Team breaks? You might get all the best hits, or you might get nothing.

As for base - some sets like Artifcats, any ITG 'hits' style box (Captain-C, Enforceres, Decades, etc), Certified.... the list could go on..... it shouldn't be a big deal to include it.

When group breaks for sets like UD Series 2, or Black Diamond, or Between The Pipes (sets with bigger base sets, and lots of base per pack) it's a little impractical though. The reason why most group breaks dont include these cards is becuase the shipping costs would be double (or even more), and the base cards are likely not worth the extra shipping costs.

To give you an example: If I put 3-6 cards in a bubble mailer, and I'm maining it within Canada..... so long as I package them so the envelope will fit through 'slot' at the postoffice - it costs me $1.29 to ship. Same package will cost about $2.25 to the USA (I forget what the exact postage is).

If I'm even a tiny bit over in width, I would then have to send as a light parcel - and the shipping starts around $5, and escalates to $7 or $8 very quickly.

I like base cards too (I do a couple of sets each year) but group breaks are not a good way to aquire them.

Just be aware that you only get your hits usually, no base cards. I trade with another guy and he ended up telling me about this box break. Well anyways got involved somehow. It was a kid running it. So I ask what we get as I was completely new. So nobody needs to tell me you don't get your base.
I asked him and he said we got base, then later on it was a different story. I bought into like 6 spots for so much and got nothing. Most of us in it were new to it so we had no idea. I was really annoyed. The kid ended up sending us each something we liked. I got a Cheevers signed OPC. If it is real I have no clue.

But I won't participate in a break unless it is a fair split. Not long after the guy I deal with did a break. Everyone got their base and I ended up with most of the hits. Even have a Taylor Hall auto/jersey coming to me!

But will I ever deal with that kid again, nope. I have watched his stuff after and he constantly begs me into buying in, no thanks. I know something seems odd. He had one break where he showed off all his cards he had. Literally cases of stuff, how does someone under 20, maybe even under 16 get all that?

[wogman56]

Like someone said, there are honest sellers on eBay and some not-so honest ones. There is one guy on there that I usually buy spots from when his breaks pop up. He always ships cards very quickly and well protected from Canada and has great quality videos so you can make sure there are no magic tricks with switching cards as I've heard some people do. The first break of Limited I did, I got 2 teams for $11 and pulled a 1/1 dual auto of Zack Parise/Scott Niedermayer and received it in a little over a week. They are fun ways to try and get cheap cards of your favorite teams as long as you don't mind the risk of getting shut out as well.

[SkidSTL]

I've participated in a couple of ebay breaks...hit nothing in any, but that was just luck of the draw I suppose as it all seemed on the up and up.

However, you really need to be careful about the details...I saw a Cup tin break with $5 opening bid for the Blues that I considered, but then I noticed $7 shipping. I messaged the seller inquiring if shipping was refunded if we got no hits (no hits = nothing shipped) and he/she said no, that I should think of it as bids start at $12.

Then start the bidding at 12! Don't charge me for services not provided!

[ncm7772]

. They are fun ways to try and get cheap cards of your favorite teams as long as you don't mind the risk of getting shut out as well.

Yes, that's a great way to lookat it. As i mentioned earlier, I bought a 99cent Leafs bid, got a Gustavsson $20 auto (not a star, but worht it for .99), then last night I won bids on 4 teams in a Crown break, and all I came away w/ was a lame-o Robin Lehner Crease Cleaner.