Is It Just Me?

[chakhae1]

Whenever I view box breaks here or on other sites it irks me when I see collectors posting breaks of packs, especially if it is a product such as SPX where the shadowbox cards are one per pack and could easily be searched. My LCS does not allow customers touch the packs behind the counter at all, but my assumption is that some do and I have even heard stories that the LCS owners search the packs and cherry pick all the hits. I understand that some people just get really lucky with their breaks, but something just doesn't seem right to me when the same person keeps busting only packs and almost always gets a really good hit over and over again.

I understand if a product such as uds1 or 2 is sold in pack form since their cards are not searchable for the most part unless you are looking for the game used card, but I believe that any mid to high end product with cards that are searchable, should not be sold as packs and if it is, customers should not be able to tamper with them at all.

[adamslogik]

Whenever I view box breaks here or on other sites it irks me when I see collectors posting breaks of packs, especially if it is a product such as SPX where the shadowbox cards are one per pack and could easily be searched. My LCS does not allow customers touch the packs behind the counter at all, but my assumption is that some do and I have even heard stories that the LCS owners search the packs and cherry pick all the hits. I understand that some people just get really lucky with their breaks, but something just doesn't seem right to me when the same person keeps busting only packs and almost always gets a really good hit over and over again.

I understand if a product such as uds1 or 2 is sold in pack form since their cards are not searchable for the most part unless you are looking for the game used card, but I believe that any mid to high end product with cards that are searchable, should not be sold as packs and if it is, customers should not be able to tamper with them at all.

I don't mind single pack sales, but the owner should be randomly picking the packs for the customers. As far as only selling entire boxes, that is very close minded. The entire idea of PACKS is that they can be sold individually for those who might not be able to afford or are not interested in dropping over 100 bucks at a time on cards (kids for example, who might be able to scrape together 30 bucks to dip their toe in the mid-high end pool, but can't put together enough for a whole box). If the intent was not for people to buy individual packs, the 4 cards would be packaged in a tin like premier or the cup, or in a single pack like SPGU.

[RGM81]

Here's the thing about that: if a shop owner is unscrupulous and lets friends pack search or searches the packs themselves, word of mouth can spread pretty quickly. Collectors aren't stupid. If they see a showcase filled with minty hits from new products, or (using the SPx example) a disproportionate amount of Shadowboxes, they're usually able to put two and two together. They'll know to avoid, and they'll tell friends about it that the LCS is ripping the best and selling the rest.

[jameslacarte]

This kinda thing has been going on for years. Even i am guilty of it. I lived in a small town, Parry Sound, & Tim Hortons staff would let me pick my own packs out of a brand new box. You dont have to be a rocket scientist to be able to tell which packs contain the Franchise Force cards. Hey, if they are going to give me the box & let me pick my own packs why wouldnt i pick the packs i thought were the good ones? I never buy random packs in a box if they are accessible to the customer.
Also, i was told years back (in the 1990's) by Darren Turcottes dad who owned a card shop in North Bay that they could tell by the codes on the back of the packs which ones contained the good cards in them. Is this just a Myth or was this the case back then? maybe even still.. I also never buy packs from an open box in a Card Store for this reason as well.

[gohabsgo9]

So do most ask to purchase packs from a new box then instead of purchasing packs from an opened box?

[chakhae1]

I don't mind single pack sales, but the owner should be randomly picking the packs for the customers. As far as only selling entire boxes, that is very close minded. The entire idea of PACKS is that they can be sold individually for those who might not be able to afford or are not interested in dropping over 100 bucks at a time on cards (kids for example, who might be able to scrape together 30 bucks to dip their toe in the mid-high end pool, but can't put together enough for a whole box). If the intent was not for people to buy individual packs, the 4 cards would be packaged in a tin like premier or the cup, or in a single pack like SPGU.

That makes sense to me, but I have never been a fan of 1 pack configurations b/c enjoy opening packs of cards. I have never been a fan of this kid debate either. Our kids even collectors? There are plenty of retail boxes and tins you can buy at various department stores for $30 and less, so that is not part of my arguement here.

[chakhae1]

Here's the thing about that: if a shop owner is unscrupulous and lets friends pack search or searches the packs themselves, word of mouth can spread pretty quickly. Collectors aren't stupid. If they see a showcase filled with minty hits from new products, or (using the SPx example) a disproportionate amount of Shadowboxes, they're usually able to put two and two together. They'll know to avoid, and they'll tell friends about it that the LCS is ripping the best and selling the rest.

This is sadly true! I remember there was a store that used to set up at a card show here and for Ultimate Hockey they had all the shiny cards in their showcase, but the people that busted their wax were left empty handed. They made up for this by offering store credit for every purcahse they made, but eventually at the end of the day, they got banned from the card show.

[chakhae1]

This kinda thing has been going on for years. Even i am guilty of it. I lived in a small town, Parry Sound, & Tim Hortons staff would let me pick my own packs out of a brand new box. You dont have to be a rocket scientist to be able to tell which packs contain the Franchise Force cards. Hey, if they are going to give me the box & let me pick my own packs why wouldnt i pick the packs i thought were the good ones? I never buy random packs in a box if they are accessible to the customer.
Also, i was told years back (in the 1990's) by Darren Turcottes dad who owned a card shop in North Bay that they could tell by the codes on the back of the packs which ones contained the good cards in them. Is this just a Myth or was this the case back then? maybe even still.. I also never buy packs from an open box in a Card Store for this reason as well.

That is a bit of a different scenario since Tim Horton's is not a LCS and those cards attract a wider array of customers I think. I might be wrong there though. There are many myths about with boxes and packs contain the hits on the box and I do not know how true any of them are. Personally, I just spin the boxes in the showcase and randomly pick a box that ends up on top lol.

[chakhae1]

So do most ask to purchase packs from a new box then instead of purchasing packs from an opened box?

My LCS usually has a random box or two of packs on their shelves and that's it. If someone buys all the packs on the shelf, then they can pick a new pack to purchase new packs, but the person working at the store will not open a new box if there are packs left.

[gohabsgo9]

My LCS usually has a random box or two of packs on their shelves and that's it. If someone buys all the packs on the shelf, then they can pick a new pack to purchase new packs, but the person working at the store will not open a new box if there are packs left.

Yes my point exactly so it would be hard to know truly if someone has gone through them or not...very unfortunate