Feedback on Repacks

[Rraincock]

Hello SCF Family,

I am interested in your experiences, pet peeves, glory stories, and any comments you might have on repacks. What would your ideal $2 repack look like? Would it be worthwhile to have a $4 jersey/auto repack?

To be clear, this is not a Walmart repack where you get 4 ancient packs of Upper Deck for $8. This is when you get a pack of cards that have been produced by a company that buys out collections and repackages them. I am considering (very strongly) doing this. I have even created some demo packs and am into beta testing. I am looking for a few dozen collectors to send sample packs/boxes to so that I can get feedback. Your 'payment' would be that you would be able to keep all of the cards in the packs/boxes you open. If you are interested, please send me a PM.


Here is a look at my homebrew demos. The real ones will be on a metallic foil plastic (same as Tim Horton's packs) and the box will be... nicer. Also, the UPC/GS1 number is in the works. I used a placeholder for the demo.

Here is what is in the packs:

- 12 Cards per pack, 30 packs per box. Aiming for about $2 a pack retail (wholesale will be about $1 to $1.50 a pack)
- each pack has a hit, 2 1990-1999 base cards, 3 2000-2009 base cards, 5 2010-current base cards, 2 goalies, 1 premium foil card, 1 1988 or 1989 OPC card.
- odds of inserts are: Insert (1:3), 80s/70s/60s OPC card (1:3), RC/YG (1:6), Serial numbered (1:15), Jersey (1:15), Auto (1:30), Hot Pack (all memorabilia, 1:30)
- I am aiming for corner stores, dollar stores, dollar tree, buck or twos, LCS and that sort of thing.
- I will have regular hockey, goalie, jersey, rookie, and auto packs.


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[Flyers67]

Honestly this isn't a bad idea but if you really want people buying these off of you i would suggest a pack where its all hits, Like for example if you see people sell mystery packs there's usually a couple inserts then 2 numbered couple jersey or auto. Look up hockey mystery packs on YouTube and you'll get a good idea what i mean:)

[30ranfordfan]

I don't buy that kind of stuff, doesn't appeal to me at all. Simply put: The chances of pulling something actually really good are virtually non-existent. I've seen ones advertised with a chance at a Gretzky RC - and while I believe it to be true, I would bet that they've made tens of thousands of packs (with 5 "big" cards included).

Now, I think your price is actually pretty reasonable. Since others out there are making repack stuff, I would think that a market for this stuff would exist.

That being said, I feel like you're looking for honest feedback, so I want to consider the breakdown of the packs:

- 12 Cards per pack, 30 packs per box. Aiming for about $2 a pack retail (wholesale will be about $1 to $1.50 a pack)

The cost / count seems fine

- each pack has a hit, 2 1990-1999 base cards, 3 2000-2009 base cards, 5 2010-current base cards, 2 goalies, 1 premium foil card, 1 1988 or 1989 OPC card.

If the target is "kids" I would suspect they won't find anything other than "last few seasons" base cards appealing in there. The Premium Foil adds some value, but that could mean anything. It it's a Patty Marleau from 2017 - people will like that. If it's a Derian Hatcher from 1997, unless it's super limited (and I realize it won't be) nobody will want it.

- odds of inserts are: Insert (1:3), 80s/70s/60s OPC card (1:3), RC/YG (1:6), Serial numbered (1:15), Jersey (1:15), Auto (1:30), Hot Pack (all memorabilia, 1:30)

The vintage stuff - I'm not sure I get the point. If you're targeting younger collectors (which the price point would indicate) I would expect that a few 2016 OPC base cards would be preferable to a 70s base card anyway. If you're targeting older collectors, who are more inclined to be interested in vintage: They likely don't care about most of the 80s stuff.... and a 1:3 chance to pull a "decent condition" common from 1974 that they may or may not need isn't worth $2 on its own. They'd likely be more inclined to just buy vintage singles.

The RC/YG insert rate (I guess) seems good. What else are you including besides YGs though? If you're talking about a bunch of early 00s YGs, and a mix of Victory / MVP / OPC (and other lower end sets) from the last 15 years: I would think sticking to just YGs, at a worse ratio, would be more appealing.

Serial Numbered? Insert rate is about right, I guess.

Jersey & Auto: The rates seem fair.



So... I'm a box buyer. I plunk down $60 for 30 packs of 12 cards. What am I getting?

2 Serial numbered cards (could be anything)
2 Jersey cards
1 Autograph
5 Rookies of some kind
10 vintage cards
1 Hot pack (I don't exactly know what's in them - I assume not 12 GU cards).
30 "foil" cards.

Forget the base cards. I'm after the hits. Did I get anywhere close to $60 in value? Don't quote the BVs either... because a 10 year old UD Series 1 jersey card, I can buy in a 2-for-$1 bin at a card show, doesn't count as $8 in value, no matter how many times Beckett says it does.

Nobody should expect to "recoup their costs" when buying wax. You won't (most of the time). For $60 though, if you're competing in terms of "value" against "real" packs: I should be able to see something close to half that (say $25) in actual value.... even if it's not in "easy to move" cards.

Is there going to be a chance for me to pull a card worth significantly more than what I paid? A big part of busting packs is knowing that I'll likely get $25 for my $60... I might do really well and get $50, $60, or even $80 for my $60..... but there's a small chance I'll get $300 too.

[Thick McRunfast]

I think it's a great idea, especially for the price. The presentation is better than a lot of the other repack stuff, too.

Packs with your type of content would be great for a person who's just getting into the hobby (and goodness knows we need more of that!). They might not be ready to plunk down $100 or more for a box that contains a total of 12 cards from the same year and brand, but they would definitely enjoy opening a few $2.00 repacks where they could learn about different cards, different eras, and the players of those eras (plus hits!), which is exactly what you're offering.

I think it would be pretty cool to open a pack with such a wide variety of years and manufacturers. You'd really get a sense of how the hobby has changed over the decades -- from the card stock to the designs to the inserts.

As far as value, most collectors know that they're unlikely to score HUGE in any kind of repack, so I'm not sure that's a big issue when it comes to how the product sells. But from a business perspective I'm sure there's a lot to think about. Seems like you're doing a very good job with your research and calculations.

Keep us posted!

[RGM81]

Just as an FYI on the rules, mystery packs are not permitted for sale on SCF. Any deals done through the trade manager must explicitly state what each member is receiving. It's literally in Rule 1 of the site for trading:

(c) Grab Bags – These are the lots that will contain a possible chance of certain cards. The exception to this is team lots (lots that only contain usually commons of a particular team) and they can only be sold to cover the cost of shipping.

[sparty07]

I agree with ranford that this product probably needs to breakout vintage vs. new as those 2 typically have a different audience. I have no big desire to have vintage cards as I didn't grow up in that time frame, where vintage guys really enjoy the stuff. The price point as mentioned is good for kids to be able to buy stuff and if you were to break vintage into its own product, maybe a chance to hit a numbered premier/cup base card could be swapped for the vintage card odds.

[Rraincock]

Anyone else want to sign up for evaluations on my beta design? Please PM me your mailing address.

[Rraincock]

Has anyone started to sell cards on Amazon? I am thinking of taking this product there.

Anyone else want to sign up for evaluations on my beta design? Please PM me your mailing address.

[Thick McRunfast]

Has anyone started to sell cards on Amazon? I am thinking of taking this product there.

I haven't, but your product would certainly have the potential to get a lot of views that way. There must be a cost involved with selling on Amazon, though.