New to the Hobby.... Please Help!

[Filthy]

Well, about a month ago, I got back into collecting, after a 12-15 year break. And things sure are different. So after reading this forum, and making a few trades, I have some questions. Anybody feel free to answer, or add anything you think would be important. Thanks in advance!!!!

1. What is the difference between BV and SV? I figured BV is Beckett value...but what is SV? Is one more accurate than the other? Which one should I expect to use as a gideline here on SCF?


2. Hobby Boxes/Packs vs. Retail boxes/Packs? This one gets me sometimes. Whats the difference? Example...I see packs of 08-09 Topps Co-Signers at Target for $2.99. Yet, at my local card store, he's got them marked at $10.99 a pack. (same amount of cards) What gives?


3. Auto/Patch/GU cards- These things are sweet no doubt. Ive already pulled several, and enjoy the way they look even if its not a player I like. But it makes for an unenjoyable time, when you buy packs looking for these cards, and get nothing at all. Does this make the regular Rookie cards worthless? I never thought Id see the day, when I pull a Derrick Rose Rookie out of Topps Chrome...and not be excited about it, because its not an auto.


4. What in everybodys opinion is the best "bang for the buck" high end product that is available to open? (example) I have been watching the youtube vids of people opening stuff like Topps Sterling, or Bowman Sterling, National Treasures, or Prime Cuts. These cards look amazing, but are pretty high dollar. Any of the 3 sports, I want to open a high end box/pack, that has the best looking odd ball, auto, patch, memoribilia cards, and the best variety, with the most oppurtunity to walk away happy. What would you recommend to me?


5. Group Breaks/Team breaks? Can someone explain this to me please? I see on these videos, that they are doing a "group break." How does this work? What do they mean, when they pull a card, and say that it goes to the (example: Whitesox?) Just curious to how you get hooked into these group breaks, and if it is legit? One would think it would be easy for someone to open a box, and not be honest with what they pulled. (Am I right, or wrong?)


Anyone feel free to add anything you like. Anything I should look out for, or anything I should stay away from in this hobby. I collected only Baseball as a kid, but the strike shortened season of 94' killed it for me. So, now Im back into Collecting, and love basketball since we got an NBA team here in OKC. So, Im always looking for Russell Westbrook!!!

[notoriousek]

1. sv is sell value. sometimes cards sell higher/lower than book...usually refers to ebay prices.

2. hobby packs you have a better chance of getting something good. odds for retail packs are alot higher to pull something nice than out of a hobby pack.

3. yea we have been spoiled with gu-patch-autos so base cards can get pretty boring. tho there will always be wants for rc cards I think.

4. I would go with something from UD, skip topps/bowman.

5. yea you have to be careful on whos doing the break. but if its a team break, people pick teams before the break. then when its all broken, the team you chose is the cards you recieve. so if there was a break on 08-09 topps chrome and you picked bulls, you would recieve all the bulls cards that were pulled.

[molly1984]

welcome back to collecting

for #1- BV = book value, so it came from a magazine or source (such as Beckett or Tuff Stuff and there may be others). SV would be what the item generally sells for, and often it will be based on ebay or other places the card has been seen for sale.

for #2- the price may be lower in retail but the retail box may have less hits or different pack format. for example Bowman in retail I think only has one Bowman Chome card, but in hobby it has 2. basically in retail the inserts are generally inserted at a lower rate.

for #3- I still think rookie cards are sought after, some products may over do it by having one per pack and things like that, but i still enjoy them.

for #5- I have never done one, but usually there is a video or something to show what was pulled so there is no cheating. We actually don't allow group breaks on SCF unless it is a staff member (mainly to prevent people getting scammed).

[whalechaser]

Hi welcome,

1. On SCF both BV and SV can be used but it depends on the person you are trading with. Some hate BV and some hate SV and some hate both. So you just have to figure out who you are dealing with. As long as you know the value of your cards and also the value of the cards you are trading for, you should do fine.

2. The above answered this well already. A lot of people like to get retail boxes as a cheaper means to make their base set. Some like it for the convenience. Hits are few and far in between for retail products, usually.

3. RC's are still desirable among many collectors. I would certainly like a Derrick Rose RC. GU's and Autos are great, but if your sole goal is to obtain those, then more often than not you will be disappointed with your pack opening.

4. Can't really tell you, kind of an objective question. But actually last year's 07-08 Topps Trademark Moves is selling pretty cheap right now and every pack has a relic or auto I think... either that or they have 8 relics or autos to the box... which is pretty good if you're into that kind of thing.

5. It's probably best to do group breaks with trusted friends or through some offiicial means like this website's gb hosted by the staff.

[Italy61587]

i see that you already got yourself a lot of info...that's great :)
i noticed you were interested in possibly buying some high end product, and my advice would be to stay away from it......you can always get lucky but those products are just very high risk and with usually very low results...don't get dragged into that market like many people have...and if you are looking for those high end products i would recommend buying singles in the secondary market instead