Pack Searching Frustration

[habscards]

This is exactly why I will never buy packs. I will only buy sealed boxes.

[Drewk86a]

Never buy loose packs at Target, Kmart or Walmart. If pack searchers have not gone through them, chances are the employees have.

[Wickabee]

I buy loose packs of series 1/2 at walmart sometimes. Pulled some really good YGs that way.

[Camarotuner]

I buy loose packs of series 1/2 at walmart sometimes. Pulled some really good YGs that way.

No way to determine which packs have YG's in them as they're the same thickness as standard cards. Jerseys, Patches, some inserts, yadda yadda are all varying degrees of thickness and proficient people can pull those packs and leave the rest. Technically speaking if you buy UD for YG's you'd want to buy the packs AFTER the guy searches because he just mathmatically increased the odds of you pulling a YG.

[Zuback]

I would like to know why, someone did not stop him from opening all of these boxes in the first place? If the boxes are like the ones that I see at Walmart, Target, etc. they all have shrink rap around them. Personally, I would have told him that he opened them and he must by them.

[Camarotuner]

I would like to know why, someone did not stop him from opening all of these boxes in the first place? If the boxes are like the ones that I see at Walmart, Target, etc. they all have shrink rap around them. Personally, I would have told him that he opened them and he must by them.

Walmart/Target carry two types of boxes. Boxes for individual sale (pack sale) and boxes for box sale (blasters). If he was opening boxes for individual sale he wasn't technically doing anything wrong other than being a ™™™™™™. Frankly, I worked for target, they don't care as long as they're not stealing them. We had one guy who we watched literally bring in a gun powder scale (which are really tiny and apparently ultra accurate) and weigh every pack. But since he was buying a LOT of packs of cards every week the managers loved him. Honestly I got a good chuckle out of it because a grown man measuring packs of trading cards with a scale is idiotic to see.

[Wickabee]

No way to determine which packs have YG's in them as they're the same thickness as standard cards. Jerseys, Patches, some inserts, yadda yadda are all varying degrees of thickness and proficient people can pull those packs and leave the rest. Technically speaking if you buy UD for YG's you'd want to buy the packs AFTER the guy searches because he just mathmatically increased the odds of you pulling a YG.

Yup. I've actually bought packs after watching someone search packs. I just grab whatever's on top and my odds are great.

ETA: Tavares YG or Tavares Series 1 Rookie Materials...which do you want?

[the_nange]

IMO pack searching is just something that ruins the hobby because it ruins the "fun" for younger collectors. I mean, you ask a bunch of 10 year old collectors if they want a 2 dollar GU card or a YG of Mckinnon, I'm willing to bet 70% of them will choose the GU card.

Another concern I have is that this kid goes home and sells them on ebay as "hot packs". Therefore, he turns a 3 dollar purchase into a 10 dollar profit when they go for 15 dollars or more.

[Camarotuner]

IMO pack searching is just something that ruins the hobby because it ruins the "fun" for younger collectors. I mean, you ask a bunch of 10 year old collectors if they want a 2 dollar GU card or a YG of Mckinnon, I'm willing to bet 70% of them will choose the GU card.

Another concern I have is that this kid goes home and sells them on ebay as "hot packs". Therefore, he turns a 3 dollar purchase into a 10 dollar profit when they go for 15 dollars or more.

I agree with your first point. Pack searching damages the hobby and specifically younger collectors. To your 2nd point, that's no different from any other aspect of "flipping". If people are dumb enough to pay for "hot packs" and you can figure out how to pull them, more power to you.

[Jaso1199]

IMO pack searching is just something that ruins the hobby because it ruins the "fun" for younger collectors. I mean, you ask a bunch of 10 year old collectors if they want a 2 dollar GU card or a YG of Mckinnon, I'm willing to bet 70% of them will choose the GU card.

Nail on the head, exactly where I was going with this. I realize he might not be striking it huge by pack searching, but you are guaranteeing yourself a hit in each pack regardless of the resale value.