Well I've officially got the collecting bug. Where to now?

[zorb_rules]

Its been less than 3 weeks and I've already poured my hard earned into busting a number of boxes..

1x 15-16 Hoops 10 pack box (110 cards)
1x 15-16 Hoops 24 pack box (288 cards)
1x 16-17 Complete 11 pack box (55 cards)
1x Aficionado 10 pack box (80 cards)

plus a couple of packs of 16-17 Revolution.

And I've just ordered another box of Hoops and Aficionado plus a heap of supplies (top loaders, sleeves, one-touches etc).

Now I know what I've been collecting so far is at the lower end of the quality scale. And i didn't like the Complete or the Revolution (which seems surprising to most).

So my question is where should I go next (around the $100-150 box mark)?

And what boxes provide the best value for money - in terms of inserts, re-sale value (just to move on doubles and spares) and decent base sets (looking for more well known players and rookies rather than chasing every player to ever play during the season)?

Also are these box breaks I've heard about worth it and whats the best way to try one out?

 

[d2t]

Welcome, it's a great hobby!

Depends on what your goals are. For example, is there a player you'd like to collect? Are you after cards of a certain team? Are you interested in collecting base sets or particular insert sets?

If you're in it for the pure fun, busting boxes is probably the best way to achieve this, although...it's expensive, you'll be left with a ton of doubles of which most won't be of any value to you or most other people and in total the cards will rarely be market value for the price of the box. Group breaks (random team) are an option if you wanna take part a break that includes multiple boxes, but you'll only get the hits or base of the team that you receive randomly.

If you're collecting a certain player, buying singles from ebay, forums and facebook will be the best way to go, the more popular the player = the higher the prices. The most popular players at the moment are Jordan, LeBron, Kobe, Giannis, Kawhi, Curry, Durant, Ben Simmons. Presumably Lonzo Ball and Fultz will be expensive out of the gate as well. Group breaks (pick your team) are an option here, the difference being you pick the team you want vs random draws.

If you're looking for collecting base/insert sets, buying boxes will be economical in the beginning but as you get closer to collecting the set, you'll start to target single cards or groups of cards rather than buying boxes.

Beware that it's not a cheap hobby. The market is fluid, collectors of guys like Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose and Michael Carter Williams would have seen their cards reduce in value quite a bit if they began collecting those players at the peak of their value. If you are in the hobby with the hope of making a profit, you are better of investing your money on something else as the return of investment (ROI) is poor and therefore alot of the value really comes from how much enjoyment you are getting from collecting. It's possible to make money but you need a bit of luck (ie, start collecting a player when their value is relatively low like Kawhi Leonard and Giannis pre-breakout or be lucky enough to pull epic cards from box breaks)

 

[zorb_rules]

Thanks for the help its greatly appreciated. You've given me a lot to think about.

I did do a fair bit of collecting in the early to mid 90s and have thousands of cards from back then although I realise 95% of them aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Back then I was collecting David Robinson cards (have around 300). And Grant Hill rookies.

I think this time I'd like to focus on a team - probably the Spurs since I've followed them for 30+ years. So i think maybe I'll begin to focus on inserts, autos and memorabilia of them.

I did however begin this time just chasing the base sets (Hoops and Aficionado) although i hope with these 2 boxes that are on there way I'll come close to finishing the base sets.

I'm assuming group breaks will be the way to go as you still get the enjoyment of busting boxes but its much cheaper. I just purchased a small spot in one of Cherry's next group breaks just to see if I enjoy it.

Thanks once again.

 

[wasportsfan1]

Good choice with the Spurs!

 

[Paul_Ambrey]

When you say you have thousands of cards from the 90,s,do you have any 94,95 collectors choice silver signatures.i am trying to finish the set.have around 80 to go.i too have thousands of cards from the 90,s.i also have about 700 grant hill cards.if i can help you with any cards,just ask.i might have something you want.paul.

 

[zorb_rules]

When you say you have thousands of cards from the 90,s,do you have any 94,95 collectors choice silver signatures.i am trying to finish the set.have around 80 to go.i too have thousands of cards from the 90,s.i also have about 700 grant hill cards.if i can help you with any cards,just ask.i might have something you want.paul.

Paul i have a number of silver signatures and a few gold ones as well. Will take a look through my collection on the weekend and see if I have any that might help

 

[Paul_Ambrey]

Thankyou

 

[zorb_rules]

Busted the 2 boxes today. I'd say the best hit was from the Hoops box - a Blake Griffin auto.

 

[Jordan_Cards_Fan]

Where to now...? My best advice.. Quit now..! Haha it'll cost you too much if you stay on haha.

 

[Telfs Card Park]

Can't go wrong with the Spurs, I have found super collecting the team allows you to chase cards of a lot of different players in team history, there are lots of different ways to collect and because there are 30,000+ Spurs cards printed its not like a player chase where you are after everything. Some chases I have pursued over the years have included Spurs Rookies, Spurs On Card Autos, Spurs All Time Roster Autos (1 of each player to have played a regular season match for the Spurs), player collections of Kawhi, D Rob, Dejounte Murray, set collections of Exquisite and Immaculate etc.

I have a number of spares I can hook you up with if you are keen. Just be aware that being a Spurs collector is one of the most expensive teams to search for with many great cards locked away in PC's mostly in Asia. When big cards do come up you will find it tough unless you have a lot of coin because there are some crazy Spurs collectors out there. When I started collecting the Spurs there was not as much interest internationally but that has exploded.

I did alright with Kawhi because I picked up a heap of stuff before his Finals MVP back when his rookie autos were $5-8 each and now they are what pushing $150-200. I sold out at $50 each or so but that is the exception and definitely not the rule though because like has been said ROI is poor. Do it for fun, do it for nostalgia sake given your collecting history and most of all focus on something in particular or you will waste money and end up with cards you quickly get sick of!

 

[zorb_rules]

Can't go wrong with the Spurs, I have found super collecting the team allows you to chase cards of a lot of different players in team history, there are lots of different ways to collect and because there are 30,000+ Spurs cards printed its not like a player chase where you are after everything. Some chases I have pursued over the years have included Spurs Rookies, Spurs On Card Autos, Spurs All Time Roster Autos (1 of each player to have played a regular season match for the Spurs), player collections of Kawhi, D Rob, Dejounte Murray, set collections of Exquisite and Immaculate etc.

I have a number of spares I can hook you up with if you are keen. Just be aware that being a Spurs collector is one of the most expensive teams to search for with many great cards locked away in PC's mostly in Asia. When big cards do come up you will find it tough unless you have a lot of coin because there are some crazy Spurs collectors out there. When I started collecting the Spurs there was not as much interest internationally but that has exploded.

I did alright with Kawhi because I picked up a heap of stuff before his Finals MVP back when his rookie autos were $5-8 each and now they are what pushing $150-200. I sold out at $50 each or so but that is the exception and definitely not the rule though because like has been said ROI is poor. Do it for fun, do it for nostalgia sake given your collecting history and most of all focus on something in particular or you will waste money and end up with cards you quickly get sick of!

Thanks for the help. I would definetly be interested in some of your doubles. Feel free to pm me some info prices etc.

Im aware that some of their stuff is pricey (i recently looked up the sale prices of some of my Robinson stuff and the prices are ridiculous even for early/mid 90s stuff). So im going to look at team breaks etc to begin with.

Im thinking I might look for Dejounte Murray cards in particular but will also try get together as much team stuff as possible also.

 

[muzzy66]

• Where to now...? My best advice.. Quit now..! Haha it'll cost you too much if you stay on haha.

Part of me wishes I took that advice about 3 years ago! I shudder to think of the amount of money I've blown breaking boxes filled with little pieces of cardboard.

But back to the OP - I think that right now, one of the best value products is Revolution, and for a few reasons:

• It's extremely affordable - so you can easily buy a box or two here and there (or even a half case) without breaking the bank too much. The fact that the boxes are so cheap also means that you don't get too bummed out if you get a bad box

• The autos are awesome. Most budget products these days will give you at least one auto in every box. They are usually cheap, nasty looking cards with sticker autos that end up being worth practically nothing. Revolution autos are (IMHO) among some of the nicest looking on the market, they have standout designs, the autos are all on card (and usually with a quality pen) and they are just the right amount of rare (roughly one in ever 4 boxes). Rare enough to give you a feeling of excitement when you hit one, but not so rare you need to spend thousands on boxes in order to get on

• There are one or two parallel sets that look really cool, and yet are pretty common - this is nice for those who like to collect cool looking sets without spending a fortune

• The Galactic parallels in Revolution are among some of the more sough after cards in the hobby these days, despite not having any autos or jersey pieces. They are popular based purely on their rarity and the coolness of their design, and I find that pretty cool.

• Even some of the base rookie parallel cards (if in top condition) can fetch some pretty decent coin - so you don't always need to hit autos and Galactics to get something of value

So for all of those reasons, I think Revolution is a really nice product and a really fun break. You get many packs per box which makes the break last a bit longer, and adds to the suspense - because every pack you open has you wondering "Will this be the auto / galactic!?!".