Are Group Box Breaks the future of collecting?

I have to be one hundred percent honest while composing this blog.  I was a bit skeptical about sports box breaks when i was first introduced to them.  I was a collector of the 80’s-90’s generation.  There was nothing like completing that 700+ card set, putting each card in a 9-card binder sheet, placing them in a binder, and storing that binder away.  But those days are in the past.

Long gone are the days of wax packs and bubble gum stained cards. It is hard to find set builders these days.  Base cards seem to be as valuable as blanks placed in the pack to deter hit seekers.  Therefore, the purchase of base enriched products has decreased and the “hit” enriched products has increased.  And the increase of a cost of a box is directly related to this increase in hits.  This is one main reason I believe group breaks are the future and here to stay COST $$$$.

But what is the driving force behind this hike increase?  In my opinion it is the internet. Sites like,  EBAY, FACEBOOK, and CRAIG’S LIST have been both a blessing and a curse to the sports card collecting hobby.  On the plus side, these sites allow you to connect with collectors all over the world.  On the negative side: the high demand for rarer and crazy cards has pushed companies like Upper Deck, Panini, and Topps to sign exclusive deals to create more and more unique cards.  Now this seems like a plus, but with exclusive deals like this, the cost trickles down to us, the collectors.  In the mid 90’s, how crazy would it be to go into your local card shop and pick up a box of 10 cards for $500!

So how do group box breaks help us the collectors who do not have $2000 lying around?  Easy!  For a minute fraction of the price of a box/case you have an opportunity and one of these unique cards in High Demand going for 3-4x your investment.  Therefore the box break favors the average collector who can’t afford a case of National Treasure.  It was this very phenomenon that changed my views on box breaks when a $70 investment turned into a $2130 profit but I will explain that in another post :)

Second reason I believe sports box breaks are here to stay.  No more collecting the teams/players you either don’t want or can’t stand.  For instance I am a SD Charger and SF Giants fan.  I used to hate collecting OAK Raiders and LA Dodgers.  Now with box breaks, I get to choose the teams I want to collect and only those teams.  No more undesired base taking up space in the drawer, in the closet, and under the bed.

My final reason is the death of brick and mortar card shops ( and this one hurts me the most).  I am from an area that when growing up there were cards shops within walking distance in any direction.  Now there is one remaining a good 30 minute drive from my house.  Now we can sit here and debate for an hour about why this is true, but I will save that for another post.  But this does directly relate to the increase in sports group break’s popularity “the instant fix.”  I remember when I used to get the “itch” I would head to the local store by a couple packs, which turned into a few boxes, to scratch that itch.  Now with no stores in the area the box break scratches that itch better than anything.  A few clicks and BAM I’m watching my cards being opened right in front of my eyes.  Now I admit, it does lack in the actual joy of physically opening a box, which I can do if I choose, but as for satisfying that  instant craving this is the creme de le creme.

So whether it is Baseball Cards, Basketball Cards, Football Cards, or Hockey Cards, sports group box breaks are here to stay.  So hop on and enjoy the ride.