For 2011 Topps, I absolutely loved what the set had to offer. Great cards at a low price, with very little to complain about. Its interesting that this set came out the way it did, because in all honesty, on paper, it looked just like any other year’s Topps set. Not that its a bad thing, but there didnt look to be much difference when glancing at the sell sheet back in the beginning of the year. Now that the set has actually gone live, its easy to see all the awesome pieces of the puzzle in action, as I have been continually impressed by the level of fun and content in this year’s offering.
With that, I wanted to try things a little differently with this product, as it was obvious that there were going to be a lot of cards I wanted out of the set. Obviously, I had to bust SOME of it, as I have not busted a single box of anything that has been released this year other than Leaf Metal prior to the draft. Other than the small amount of boxes I was going to buy, I was going to see if I could complete my want list for under what I would have paid for a case – my original desire when I started to see the initial breaks of the product.
I ended up buying 2 boxes, of which I had mediocre results, a fixation of my wax busting since my entry into the hobby. I pulled 4 autos of second tier rookies and vets, and two patches, which ended up being the best part of the deal in terms of value. The autos were Titus Young, Randall Cobb, Michael Jenkins and Rob Gronkowski. I also pulled a 3 color patch of 2nd pick Marcell Dareus (which was a very well designed card) and a very nice 3 color patch of new Saints RB Mark Ingram. I promptly sold both cards for a nice price. I also bought a two loose packs and pulled a Leonard Hankerson auto and a James Starks auto. Other than those hits, I got 22 code cards for the Super Bowl Legends giveaway, and a Champ Bailey black parallel out of 55. Basically, a bunch of junk that I dont need and dont want. That is the nature of the beast, as sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
As for my idea, I started compiling the list of cards that I wanted and set out to find them. I knew the hardest card would be the Christian Ponder variation auto RC card that is beyond rare, which was also the card I wanted the most. I also needed the Ponder rookie premiere auto, the RC variation card, and the Peterson variation card as well, but knew they would be much easier to find.
The first card I was able to secure was the Ponder Variation RC, which I purchased from Brent Williams for a price I shouldnt have paid. It wasnt much over value, but I knew there was a premium for the set being new. I also paid a bit more because it looked to be in such good shape, and thus, one card was off the list.
Next, I was able to convince a seller on eBay to sell me his Ponder rookie premiere auto off the auction block at a pretty normal price, but knew that it would be tough to find the other cards on the list if the auctions kept popping up the way they had been since the product’s release.
Peterson’s variation was quite possibly the last to show up of all of them, but now they are finally starting to hit. I got a lead on one and bought it for cheap, much to my surprise. Thank the lord it wasnt expensive. Of course, to make up for the money I saved on it, I bought the Game Day auto jersey card that looked beyond awesome for the going rate of a regular AP auto. Nice on that one, didnt even know it existed.
Lastly, and most expensively was the rare Ponder that I thought I would have to wait for. It was supposedly one per every six cases, and I had a feeling it would be either A) too expensive or B) too rare and too expensive for me to find before heading off to Chicago next week. Worse come to worse, I could try to find it there. Luckily for me, someone pulled one on Blowout, and I was able to negotiate a deal for it today. It completed my want list and closed the book on 2011 Topps for me.
The moral of the story is that for much less than the price of a jumbo case, I was able to get every card I wanted out of the product. Couldnt be happier. Im not saying I am swearing off wax for good, but since I committed to buying singles over boxes, my personal stash of awesome cards has ballooned and my budget has shrunk considerably. I understand that one gets the itch, but the end result of buying singles always feels better in the long run, and you never have to worry about getting shafted.
You won’t commit to not breaking wax but I will. It’s not even about money, I know it’s a hobby. It’s just about being a sucker. I always get on my brother for buying scratch off tickets, but for years I was playing the card lottery. My last box was of 08 TOpps Chrome football. I got no good rookies or refractors, and my auto was Marcus Griffin. How could I justify spending 65 bucks for that? Buying singles is fun , and you actually have control, that seems like a hobby to me. Until card companies make some changes Wax = Lottery in my opinion.
2 loose packs….2 autos. out of one, fresh box?
I whole heartily agree that busting wax is like gambling: especially if you’re just chasing the big hit. However, for some of us there is more to this hobby than autographs and relics.
I realize you can just buy singles and the factory set and call it a day; however, for those of us that started collecting in the 80’s and early 90’s a big part of the hobby is completing the set pack at a time. I wouldn’t dream of doing this for 95% of the products out there, but when it comes to base Topps and Topps Chrome, I still like to complete the base set pack at a time like I used to do when I was a kid.
Not everyone is a player collector or team collector. Some of still like to build sets.
I started collecting in the 90s too and I have four binders full of my favorite cards from breaking wax. I just never got into sets, I love great players from every sport. Having a Shawn Bradley card doesn’t do much for me.
I’m just saying the hobby changed. For a vast majority of collectors hits are what we’re looking for. I’m not a gambler, but I know tons of people are. I don’t have a problem with wax, I have a problem with this illusion that 10 jumbo packs with 50 cards gives “value”.
And there are plenty of ways to build sets, I mean on Ebay all the time there are loose packs, retail, and packs from searched out boxes that are dirt cheap. If anybody is spending 90 bucks to build sets they’re either real dumb or they’re lying.
You missed my point and I’d rather not be called “dumb” or any other such term that insults my intelligence because of it.
If you really want to get into the dollars and cents of it, buying jumbo boxes lets me come out ahead of what you suggest. I currently have the hits, extra rookies and parallels that I don’t want to keep listed on eBay. At this point I’m going to get back all but $25 of the $165 I spent on two jumbo boxes. That means that my set cost me about $25 and I’m keeping the Rookie Premiere and Red Zone autographs.
I’ve taken this approach every years since 2006 and in the end the “cost” of my complete set has rarely been more than $50. If I just purchased cards a single at a time or bought retail and searched packs on eBay it would cost me a fair amount more than $50 to put together a 440 card set.
Rarely does buying wax make sense; however, for someone building the set, buying two jumbo boxes is a pretty solid value. You get your complete set and a shot at the big rookie autos without really risking much.
I agree that buying a case is a waste, I don’t need three or four sets: just one. My argument here only applies to low ends sets geared towards set builders. When it comes to high end I don’t mess with wax anymore. I just buy the single I want.
You did that well on two boxes? Send me a link if you’re auctions are still live, I’ll definately bid if I see something I want. Didn’t think that was possible with Jumbo.