This hobby is not fun. Come here to vent or rant! - Page 5

Donkaylove · 05-10-2021, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBases31

The only not fun part of this to me is the monumental amount of scumbags and petty people. I almost never encounter people like this in the rest of my life besides this hobby

they are coming from everywhere, but , but, but....

SupermanBrandon · 05-10-2021, 03:56 PM

Why do anything that's voluntary, that makes you miserable, mad, angry, sad? It's a hobby! It should be fun. I've had hobby's in the past that I was OBSESSED with. Eventually there were some that I realized that I wasn't enjoying as much. So I changed my ways, adapted differently, or left that hobby. I use to fish 3-4x a week for 10 years. Realized I wasn't enjoying it anymore, so I moved on. It wasn't worth the money, the time, the energy any longer. I played golf for 12 years. Probably played 3-4-5x a week for over a decade. Realized I wasn't enjoying it anymore. Found new passions, new exciting things, etc. Was it hard to move on? Sure. But at no point, was I going to get pissed off about a hobby. If you were miserable 6-12 months ago over the direction of the hobby, Im guessing you still are today. But why are you still miserable? If you love it, then why are you not having fun? Adapt, alter, change your approach, depart for a minute (and come back) or find something new. A lot easier said than done, but life is too short to be pissed off and not having fun.

dashcol · 05-10-2021, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AstrosFan17

People always bring this in as a a way to 'have fun' in the current climate. I don't player collect... I set collect. Buying singles is pointless to me, I want to BUILD a complete set of Topps flagship, Bowman, Bowman Draft, Donruss, etc for every single season. Buying the complete set is not fun to me either.

So, how am I supposed to partake in my hobby???

I build certain sets, and I rarely buy boxes. You can easily buy a couple lots off eBay of whatever set you are putting together, or like me, I can go to the flippers at the LCS who have a bunch of base and low end inserts they don’t want because they can’t sell them quick and easy for a fraction of the cost of a box. Now you get everything but the “hits” from the set and a lot of extras. I trade those extras for the base I need for the set I am working on, and usually end up with extras to trade towards future sets.

No, I don’t get to open the packs, but I still get the part of the hobby I enjoy the most which is the trading.

I have also had a couple times when I go to the LCS and have a couple of cards that I spent pennies on but have blown up. I can give those cards to the flippers and they then buy me a box from the LCS, so I get to open packs then. The LCS owner also knows I am a collector and not a flipper, so there is usually a little extra thrown in for me in either lower prices on boxes so I can get two for the price they gave me on my singles, or a pile of cards I want for my collection.

Either way, point is you can still open packs and build sets instead of purchasing them the old fashioned way with a couple twists. Take some time and learn ways to play the flippers.

Ray27Ray52 · 05-10-2021, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VandyCards

But why cards and not something else? This isn’t the easiest, quickest, or most tax-preferable way to make money.

I’m not being critical I’m legit curious. Is there something just more enjoyable about it being cards? Or just something you find you have more experience/knowledge about?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's a good question. I guess for me it's that I know sports and sports cards specifically. I collected as a kid when they were my idols. However sports have changed. They have become platforms for people to push their world view on others. I don't care about what they believe in, I'm a shut up and entertain me type of person. I no longer idolize sports stars because I no longer want to be them. I'm old and that time has passed. So now I get to still watch sports and make money off of those people. And I'm now able to get rid of stuff that has sat in boxes for literal decades. It's a win win for me.

mouschi · 05-10-2021, 04:20 PM

Oh, mannnnn!!!! On the contrary (at least I believe!) there hasn't been a cooler time to collect. We have so much to pick and choose from, and have a massive audience to share our ups and downs with.

AstrosFan17 · 05-10-2021, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dashcol

I build certain sets, and I rarely buy boxes. You can easily buy a couple lots off eBay of whatever set you are putting together, or like me, I can go to the flippers at the LCS who have a bunch of base and low end inserts they don’t want because they can’t sell them quick and easy for a fraction of the cost of a box. Now you get everything but the “hits” from the set and a lot of extras. I trade those extras for the base I need for the set I am working on, and usually end up with extras to trade towards future sets.

No, I don’t get to open the packs, but I still get the part of the hobby I enjoy the most which is the trading.

I have also had a couple times when I go to the LCS and have a couple of cards that I spent pennies on but have blown up. I can give those cards to the flippers and they then buy me a box from the LCS, so I get to open packs then. The LCS owner also knows I am a collector and not a flipper, so there is usually a little extra thrown in for me in either lower prices on boxes so I can get two for the price they gave me on my singles, or a pile of cards I want for my collection.

Either way, point is you can still open packs and build sets instead of purchasing them the old fashioned way with a couple twists. Take some time and learn ways to play the flippers.

Every one of those revolves around have a good LCS, which I do not.

dashcol · 05-10-2021, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AstrosFan17

Every one of those revolves around have a good LCS, which I do not.

There are also people here on BO that will sell you base cheap. Sure they’re going to pull the current biggest RCs out of it, but you still end up with 90-95% of the set for a fraction of the price of a box.

There is plenty of time that people will sell a medium flat rate box filled with base of various sets for $30. That’s 2,000+ cards for $30, half of which is shipping.

There are plenty of ways to do it, just not necessarily the way you are used to. Try the B/S/T forum here to buy some starter sets, you will get a LOT of replies.

salas1991 · 05-10-2021, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dashcol

There are also people here on BO that will sell you base cheap. Sure they’re going to pull the current biggest RCs out of it, but you still end up with 90-95% of the set for a fraction of the price of a box.

There is plenty of time that people will sell a medium flat rate box filled with base of various sets for $30. That’s 2,000+ cards for $30, half of which is shipping.

There are plenty of ways to do it, just not necessarily the way you are used to. Try the B/S/T forum here to buy some starter sets, you will get a LOT of replies.

Can vouch for that - well, maybe not a lot depending on the ask, but definitely some!

Randallk34 · 05-10-2021, 04:51 PM

I feel your pain. I was a huge baseball card collector back in my childhood in the early 90's. Got back into the hobby a few years before the pandemic cause it was fun again. I would grab a blaster box or 2 from target on a random trip there with my wife and it was so much fun opening cards again. I'd also buy some off ebay that I liked, including childhood favs that I couldn't afford as a kid, like the 89 griffey ud.

Obviously now during the pandemic and card boom it's not as fun since I can't even buy a pack of cards that aren't overpriced and ebay prices are ridiculous on most things. But the other side of it is I have cards that I paid no more than 10 dollars for fetching 100's. For example I bought a Luka card in 2018 for 99 cents, I'm waiting for it to come back from psa and will sell it for $200-$1000 depending on the grade.

For me selling isn't fun but at least I can get something out of this card boom and when things calm down I'll have a paypal account filled with cash to buy again

ucLAkers · 05-10-2021, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keenejd

stop calling it a hobby

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nung2019

It is fun if you have been in and are selling cards for a lot of money right now

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyNick

Absolutely.

Most people that hate the hobby right now hate most things in life.

This about sums it up for me....

My only rant is BOTS...which I have also been told to adapt to...but no thanks i’ll stick to singles and if there just so happens to be retail as im walking bye...you can expect me to buy them all and rip them in the parking lot.
Always keep penny sleeves & TLs in my vehicles. You never know what the Walmart in any BFE area im in that might have something any given day.

My last big score-
Big Lots 2 weeks ago....2020 A&G 2 packs, and 2020 S1 2 packs.

codered · 05-10-2021, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobTheGood

being a Canadian shopping on ebay is a nightmare!

exchange rate + large shipping costs + import charges!

/rant

Comc is your friend if you can handle the ridiculous wait times on current shipping. I have a few shipments pending (currently have shipments requested 4-5 months ago) but 99% of it is PC stuff so I can be patient

Quote:

Originally Posted by dashcol

There are also people here on BO that will sell you base cheap. Sure they’re going to pull the current biggest RCs out of it, but you still end up with 90-95% of the set for a fraction of the price of a box.

There is plenty of time that people will sell a medium flat rate box filled with base of various sets for $30. That’s 2,000+ cards for $30, half of which is shipping.

There are plenty of ways to do it, just not necessarily the way you are used to. Try the B/S/T forum here to buy some starter sets, you will get a LOT of replies.

This ^^^^ 100%

Quote:

Originally Posted by AstrosFan17

Every one of those revolves around have a good LCS, which I do not.

I’ve rarely ever traded locally or at my LCS’s. You can definitely find good deals online. When I’ve worked on my refractor sets and other sets 95% comes in cheap bulk lots or off comc (usually under 0.50 per card which is good for a nice looking parallel!). Yeah you might have to pay for the top 2-3 rookies or vets but would have to anyways if you don’t pull them from the boxes you break. I enjoy the hunt personally. I’ll definitely admit there is a certain aspect of breaking that I miss (I won’t pay stupid prices) but it doesn’t take the joy away from making sets.

One thing I’ll also note is most new people in the hobby will have a learning curve. I remember when I got back in 04 I wasted money on breaking product that wasn’t desirable, had crappy designs and poor quality of hits. I wanted to open everything because I didn’t know better. I also over paid for singles and started a rookie player PC because that seemed like the thing to do (it wasn’t for me at all). It took me a good year or two to really learn from my mistakes. Heck I’m still learning 17 years later. I think we will see a correction on box prices sooner than later. New People are only going to “enjoy” losing a good chunk of money for so long. Sooner or later they’ll leave the hobby (less buyers for overpriced product) or adjust and start buying the cards they are chasing instead of throwing money away at breaking. Suppliers and flippers can only afford to hold product for so long. We are already seeing basketball products ease down in price. Prices will become more reasonable in the next 6 months to a year. Prices for wax may not be as cheap as they were in years past because the hobby floor has been raised but things will settle

Robles Fan · 05-10-2021, 05:29 PM

If I were you I would avoid all the more popular sets like Topps flagship/Chrome/Sapphire, Bowman/Chrome, Heritage, etc. and target the lower end products like Donruss, Topps Opening Day, and Topps Big League Baseball. These products are priced the way they are to specifically cater to people like yourself. As such, the MSRP for all of these card products will likely always be low. So there is still some way to find fun in this hobby.

here2havefun · 05-10-2021, 05:36 PM

I wouldn't be here, and in the hobby in general, if it wasn't fun. My username is meant to be taken literally.

TCCardCollector · 05-10-2021, 05:39 PM

I actually think its kind of the opposite. I do feel prices are on the expensive side of things for hobby boxes, but it also legitimizes the hobby. It makes it worth the time to go digging through box after box looking for a card that someone else passed over. Feels pretty good to sell a card for $400 that you found in a box no one has looked at in years.

Flkrsn5 · 05-10-2021, 05:39 PM

I’m having more fun not finding retail and saving money at the same time. I’m still able to flip and add PC Cards at the same time. I’m enjoying it! My LCS’ prices are a little expensive, so if I get the urge, I might buy some, but I rarely get the urge anymore. I’d rather open a package that contains a card I wanted.

Archangel1775 · 05-10-2021, 05:46 PM

The hobby is not fun when:

Won an eBay auction for a tough 2020 Finest Flashback Refractor for a great price, paid immediately, seller printed a label and then refunded my money the next morning. Didn't even bother with an excuse. >)

Then randomly searching the ebay username, I find out the seller is an active long-time member here on Blowout. Still waiting on a reply to my PM

Flkrsn5 · 05-10-2021, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

The hobby is not fun when:

Won an eBay auction for a tough 2020 Finest Flashback Refractor for a great price, paid immediately, seller printed a label and then refunded my money the next morning. Didn't even bother with an excuse. >)

Then randomly searching the ebay username, I find out the seller is an active member here on Blowout.

Name?

Archangel1775 · 05-10-2021, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flkrsn5

Name?

Not quite ready to make a post yet. I want the negative eBay feedback to stick. I heard sellers can request to get it removed and I dont want to give them a reason just yet

ucLAkers · 05-10-2021, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

The hobby is not fun when:

Won an eBay auction for a tough 2020 Finest Flashback Refractor for a great price, paid immediately, seller printed a label and then refunded my money the next morning. Didn't even bother with an excuse. >)

Then randomly searching the ebay username, I find out the seller is an active long-time member here on Blowout. Still waiting on a reply to my PM

Extra tub for me please...

And im guessing it a Yordan?

JeremyNick · 05-10-2021, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucLAkers

This about sums it up for me....

My only rant is BOTS...which I have also been told to adapt to...but no thanks i’ll stick to singles and if there just so happens to be retail as im walking bye...you can expect me to buy them all and rip them in the parking lot.
Always keep penny sleeves & TLs in my vehicles. You never know what the Walmart in any BFE area im in that might have something any given day.

My last big score-
Big Lots 2 weeks ago....2020 A&G 2 packs, and 2020 S1 2 packs.

I’m lucky. Lines aren’t long here at Target. It’s pretty calm minus the occassional upset flipper and I haven’t had a huge issue getting anything since they went to the Friday restocks. I don’t go to Wal Marts anymore as they two close to me don’t stock much, if any, anymore.

But I’m right with you on bots. Bots are the equivalent of paying off the rep to back door product. They will be legislated out of existence in the near future so I don’t expect to have to adapt too much.

BGeezy · 05-10-2021, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucLAkers

Extra tub for me please...

And im guessing it a Yordan?

You know it was.

Get 'em.

Archangel1775 · 05-10-2021, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucLAkers

Extra tub for me please...

And im guessing it a Yordan?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BGeezy

You know it was.

Get 'em.

The hobby is also not fun when fellow BO members outbid you on Yordan Flashback Refractors

ScooterMcRibs · 05-10-2021, 06:51 PM

We all need to face the facts that this is no longer a niche hobby, it's a multi-billion dollar industry. There is enough room here for collectors, investors, and anyone else who wants to join. It's one of the best times to be in the hobby right now, and it's only going to get better.

BGeezy · 05-10-2021, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel1775

The hobby is also not fun when fellow BO members outbid you on Yordan Flashback Refractors

I do apologize for that....

but all three of us lost that one. I'd rather one of us had won to be honest... even if it wasn't me. If that's any consolation.

KSIGN · 05-10-2021, 07:25 PM

I hate just about everyone.

05-10-2021, 04:20 PM	#105
mouschi Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Swimming in a million cards Posts: 9,649 tnhjones	Oh, mannnnn!!!! On the contrary (at least I believe!) there hasn't been a cooler time to collect. We have so much to pick and choose from, and have a massive audience to share our ups and downs with. __________________ Tanner Jones, Author of Confessions of a Baseball Card Addict

05-10-2021, 05:36 PM	#113
here2havefun Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Posts: 1,228 venezuelan_league_stickers	I wouldn't be here, and in the hobby in general, if it wasn't fun. My username is meant to be taken literally. __________________ IG: venezuelan_league_stickers

05-10-2021, 05:39 PM	#115
Flkrsn5 Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Middle Georgia Posts: 4,603 Flkrsn5	I’m having more fun not finding retail and saving money at the same time. I’m still able to flip and add PC Cards at the same time. I’m enjoying it! My LCS’ prices are a little expensive, so if I get the urge, I might buy some, but I rarely get the urge anymore. I’d rather open a package that contains a card I wanted. __________________ PC: Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Trout, Derek Holland & THE Ohio State Buckeyes INTERESTED IN: Prospect Autos Last edited by Flkrsn5; 05-10-2021 at 05:42 PM.

05-10-2021, 05:46 PM	#116
Archangel1775 Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Cali baby! Posts: 21,842	The hobby is not fun when: Won an eBay auction for a tough 2020 Finest Flashback Refractor for a great price, paid immediately, seller printed a label and then refunded my money the next morning. Didn't even bother with an excuse. >) Then randomly searching the ebay username, I find out the seller is an active long-time member here on Blowout. Still waiting on a reply to my PM __________________ *There are the intangibles that set someone apart from the pack.So the blur isn't your inability to see his greatness, it's merely the inability to measure it.*

05-10-2021, 03:56 PM	#102
SupermanBrandon Banned Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: TN Posts: 15,843	Why do anything that's voluntary, that makes you miserable, mad, angry, sad? It's a hobby! It should be fun. I've had hobby's in the past that I was OBSESSED with. Eventually there were some that I realized that I wasn't enjoying as much. So I changed my ways, adapted differently, or left that hobby. I use to fish 3-4x a week for 10 years. Realized I wasn't enjoying it anymore, so I moved on. It wasn't worth the money, the time, the energy any longer. I played golf for 12 years. Probably played 3-4-5x a week for over a decade. Realized I wasn't enjoying it anymore. Found new passions, new exciting things, etc. Was it hard to move on? Sure. But at no point, was I going to get pissed off about a hobby. If you were miserable 6-12 months ago over the direction of the hobby, Im guessing you still are today. But why are you still miserable? If you love it, then why are you not having fun? Adapt, alter, change your approach, depart for a minute (and come back) or find something new. A lot easier said than done, but life is too short to be pissed off and not having fun.

05-10-2021, 04:51 PM	#109
Randallk34 Member Join Date: Feb 2021 Posts: 2,000	I feel your pain. I was a huge baseball card collector back in my childhood in the early 90's. Got back into the hobby a few years before the pandemic cause it was fun again. I would grab a blaster box or 2 from target on a random trip there with my wife and it was so much fun opening cards again. I'd also buy some off ebay that I liked, including childhood favs that I couldn't afford as a kid, like the 89 griffey ud. Obviously now during the pandemic and card boom it's not as fun since I can't even buy a pack of cards that aren't overpriced and ebay prices are ridiculous on most things. But the other side of it is I have cards that I paid no more than 10 dollars for fetching 100's. For example I bought a Luka card in 2018 for 99 cents, I'm waiting for it to come back from psa and will sell it for $200-$1000 depending on the grade. For me selling isn't fun but at least I can get something out of this card boom and when things calm down I'll have a paypal account filled with cash to buy again

05-10-2021, 05:29 PM	#112
Robles Fan Member Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Northern VA Posts: 724	If I were you I would avoid all the more popular sets like Topps flagship/Chrome/Sapphire, Bowman/Chrome, Heritage, etc. and target the lower end products like Donruss, Topps Opening Day, and Topps Big League Baseball. These products are priced the way they are to specifically cater to people like yourself. As such, the MSRP for all of these card products will likely always be low. So there is still some way to find fun in this hobby.

05-10-2021, 05:39 PM	#114
TCCardCollector Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 14	I actually think its kind of the opposite. I do feel prices are on the expensive side of things for hobby boxes, but it also legitimizes the hobby. It makes it worth the time to go digging through box after box looking for a card that someone else passed over. Feels pretty good to sell a card for $400 that you found in a box no one has looked at in years.

05-10-2021, 06:51 PM	#123
ScooterMcRibs Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: BAY AREA, CA, USA Posts: 431 I'm not going to tell you. No.	We all need to face the facts that this is no longer a niche hobby, it's a multi-billion dollar industry. There is enough room here for collectors, investors, and anyone else who wants to join. It's one of the best times to be in the hobby right now, and it's only going to get better.

05-10-2021, 07:25 PM	#125
KSIGN Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 266 ksignore	I hate just about everyone.