For those of you who used to break high end on your own, what do you do now?

[hermanotarjeta]

A. I pony up and still break high end boxes like Flawless, National treasures, and Immaculate on my own, and take it in the shorts but I don't care cause I'm filthy rich.

B. I participate with breakers now.

C. I don't buy high end any more and I refuse to participate in group breaks.

D. I refuse to pay the breaker rate for sealed cases and I'd rather buy a car than a case of basketball cards.

E. I would buy high end boxes locally if I could find them, but I simply can't find them available for sale anywhere except for the breaker prices from national online retailers.

F. I mainly buy singles now and open cheaper wax to scratch the itch, but it’s just not the same.

[fenwaykid]

C, this hobby sucks now.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by fenwaykid

C, this hobby sucks now.

It's frustrating to experience the hobby as I used to know it, it's simply no longer the same, and in a worse way.

When exquisite first came out in 2003-04, dealers didn't want to touch the uber high end stuff, they got rid of it as fast as they could.

$500, even inflation adjusted, was the usual price for the highest end boxes, and the individual collector had much more buying power back in the day.

Gradually watching single NT boxes grow from $800/box, then to $1500/box, now to $7500/box with essentially the same content, it's nauseating.

It was great when you could actually purchase a sealed NT case without taking a personal loan. The basketball break sections in the message boards were teeming with awesome break downs and box by box narrative.

It's sad that nowadays, the only experience you can have is watching the same bearded guy on a hazy video screen open 80 cases and yell boom every now and then.

$3000 for a new sealed box of immaculate is absolutely ridiculous, especially when the top 3 rookies are redemptions and most of the box hits are sticker autos. Where have standards gone?

Sad state the hobby is in.

Every now and then i'll still dabble in a high end single box or two. And when I hit something nice, I think about those breakers that weren't lucky enough to pull that big hit for their clients, and I smile a little on the inside.

[BiggNuttz]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

It's frustrating to experience the hobby as I used to know it, it's simply no longer the same, and in a worse way.

When exquisite first came out in 2003-04, dealers didn't want to touch the uber high end stuff, they got rid of it as fast as they could.

$500, even inflation adjusted, was the usual price for the highest end boxes, and the individual collector had much more buying power back in the day.

Gradually watching single NT boxes grow from $800/box, then to $1500/box, now to $7500/box with essentially the same content, it's nauseating.

It was great when you could actually purchase a sealed NT case without taking a personal loan. The basketball break sections in the message boards were teeming with awesome break downs and box by box narrative.

It's sad that nowadays, the only experience you can have is watching the same bearded guy on a hazy video screen open 80 cases and yell boom every now and then.

$3000 for a new sealed box of immaculate is absolutely ridiculous, especially when the top 3 rookies are redemptions and most of the box hits are sticker autos. Where have standards gone?

Sad state the hobby is in.

Every now and then i'll still dabble in a high end single box or two. And when I hit something nice, I think about those breakers that weren't lucky enough to pull that big hit for their clients, and I smile a little on the inside.

Thank you very much for this perspective, and trip back in time. I was never very interested in these kinds of products, even at the prices from 15 years ago. The changes the hobby has gone through since the early 1970's until today are just mind boggling, and yet without looking back from time to time, we often forget where we came from. For me, the concept of paying someone else to open a box of cards seems stranger than an Alien landing in my backyard, but that is firmly where the hobby is in 2022. It will be interesting to see where we go over the next 2/5/10/25 years, especially with the unprecedented changes that will come as a result of the Fanatics involvement.

Kind regards

[PokeyAndG]

go on ebay and pick out the cards you want.

[cowboyzqna]

Last high end box I broke was 2017 NT football... Looking back I'm just lucky that I got to break a box that now cost like 10 racks.


Now when I want to break any high end product I just go outside and scream at the sky.

[Nomad]

As a high end break watcher, all I can add is: Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant.

"To those who are about to die i salute you."

[kobemagee29]

Originally Posted by fenwaykid

C, this hobby sucks now.

agree 100%

[Brobocop]

Originally Posted by kobemagee29

agree 100%

I'll third this. Used to open all kinds of high end boxes back in 2012-2015, not anymore.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by PokeyAndG

go on ebay and pick out the cards you want.

Hey, I get the buy singles vantage point, but for the high end wax breaker there are numerous reasons why it’s not the same or practical or even possible. We open high end wax so we can pull the monsters ourselves, which is part of the challenge and enjoyment.

1. Many eBay sellers/dealers hold the highest end cards for hostage. You bust high end wax in order to have the chance to pull the best of the best high end cards - I’m talking rpa logomen or really low numbered parallels. When you want a luka flawless emerald rookie, it’s not as simple as going on eBay, hitting a buy it now on the $6.5 million dollar asking price and getting the card safely. The only way you are going to possess a real monster is to pull it. Sure, you could do this by breaking as well, but read below for the other reasons you want to pull it yourself.

2.I only cherish cards I pull myself. Call it strange, but there is something about not getting someone else’s sloppy seconds that makes me value the card more. I was the one who brought the card to life and I’ve been the only one to possess it - something sacred about that. Also, having someone else’s man hands fondle an already condition sensitive card and further damaging it while they are in a hurry to ship it to you and the tens of thousands of other packages they have to mail out hourly puts it at even more risk for damage. That white corner you got wasn’t there when the card came out of the pack, it was caused by the flunkee who packaged your card for shipping or when the hairy man hands got too excited when he pulled your card.

3. The Experience - sure millennials always talk about how they value life experiences over everything else, but they continue to pay a grown man with sweaty hairy hands on a video camera to open their high end boxes for them. Little known to them is that yes, there is a difference between opening a box yourself versus watching it be opened, kinda like playing basketball in person or being intimate with someone in person. If you don’t understand how that is different than watching a bald fat guy play basketball for you on a computer screen or watching someone being intimate on the computer instead of experiencing it yourself, I feel sorry for you. Maybe you never had a chance to know any better. The old hobby was better because you could do it yourself in person and that was a major part of the enjoyable hobby experience.

These are the reasons why the insane wax prices have changed the hobby for many hardcore veterans and it’s unfortunate many newbies will never get to experience this perspective ever again. The corporate group buyers and online degenerate gamblers have won.

[anusinha]

Originally Posted by Brobocop

I'll third this. Used to open all kinds of high end boxes back in 2012-2015, not anymore.

4th'd

[GoSportsball]

C all day. Buy singles on EBay.

[Yankees2020]

F. buy singles

[bigjbasketball]

The last high end box I broke was 2018-19 Immac FOTL…bought directly from Panini for $600. My FOTL RPA was a JJJ and I think it was #’d /24. At the time that was a decent hit and I think I sold it for around $800, so I made money on the box, but man I wish I still had that one sealed!

With the current pricing, I can’t even imagine buying a personal high-end box to break for myself. Sadly I think those days are long gone and are never coming back.

[nera20]

The funny thing is that the high end breaks are far worse now content wise then they were even 3-4 years ago. The amount of crappy sticker autos, and crappy jersey cards is ridiculous these days. The price is sky high now and you are actually getting worse content then you did a few years ago and paying stupid prices. There isnt much at all that I break anymore except for a little retail and that is boring as hell because its the same crappy cards over and over. I just buy nice singles and occasionally a nice lot here and there or I find still reasonable hobby wax to rip (which there is still some but not alot.)

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by nera20

The funny thing is that the high end breaks are far worse now content wise then they were even 3-4 years ago. The amount of crappy sticker autos, and crappy jersey cards is ridiculous these days. The price is sky high now and you are actually getting worse content then you did a few years ago and paying stupid prices. There isnt much at all that I break anymore except for a little retail and that is boring as hell because its the same crappy cards over and over. I just buy nice singles and occasionally a nice lot here and there or I find still reasonable hobby wax to rip (which there is still some but not alot.)

Yep..I saw Packman open his box of Immac and the first "hit" he pulls is a JOSH RICHARDSON plain white swatch jersey card...even plain regular jersey swatches of superstars command little money..even if it's Immac..but JOSH RICHARDSON?! Rather have another serial numbered base card

[MavsRChamps]

Originally Posted by Chris P

Yep..I saw Packman open his box of Immac and the first "hit" he pulls is a JOSH RICHARDSON plain white swatch jersey card...even plain regular jersey swatches of superstars command little money..even if it's Immac..but JOSH RICHARDSON?! Rather have another serial numbered base card

Plus he’s on the Mavericks on the card ... this is another issue with releasing a 2020-21 product halfway through the next year - when a guy changes teams the card is even less collectible. Last year perhaps a Mavs collector would bid it up to $5-$10 ... who would even want this card for $0.99 now ?

[Kobefan]

Originally Posted by Yankees2020

F. buy singles

Buying singles are the best way to get value out of the hobby, even back then; so I would think that most of those who opens high end sealed products are not chasing after the most value, but rather the thrill of opening the packs and getting expensive cards out of it. As such, if the current pricing of sealed products is too much nowadays, going after singles isn't a viable alternative, cause it doesn't fulfill the itch/addiction of opening sealed products, at least for many collectors I know.

For for me, the last time I opened a truly high end product was during the exquisite nba days. I can't imagine I would spend that kind of money cracking high end boxes and cases, if the chase weren't some sort of high end MJ, Kobe or LBJ autos, unless the rookie class is unbelievable, and that's before the covid price jump. As of now, I can't imagine ever buying a high end sealed product.

[Kenflin]

C. Buying isn’t reasonable now. Besides, you can’t find anything.

[Nomad]

There is an argument that all the crap makes the valuable cards all the more rare. Look at the 250-card Flux base set and compare it to "all hits" Chronicles.

[gomiamigo]

Originally Posted by Brobocop

I'll third this. Used to open all kinds of high end boxes back in 2012-2015, not anymore.

I opened all the high end products until about 2017. Broke so many cases and boxes of UD and then Panini. After that, I would do maybe one box break for self, and a few group breaks here and there. Now, nothing.

Last high end self-break I did pulled the Luka/Trae dual rc auto from Immaculate. Decided to end on a high note.

The box price isn't the issue, it's the lack of value.

[Ed Ande]

C. Buying Singles
Lately I’ve been more aggressive on base parallels from high end sets. Definitely big sleepers in terms of current values.

[jzx1103]

My last high end break was way back in 2012 with immaculate. I was already one foot out of the hobby at that time and decided to open one box after a friend talked me into it. Ended on a high note and pulled a Kobe Jumbo Patch with a part of the Letter "K" from Lakers. I think the card was serial numbered to 12 or something. So I pretty much went out with a bang. A few months later, someone contacted me after seeing my break and offered me $1500 for the Kobe. $1500 was quite a high offer for just a non auto'd patch card at that time so I sold it. Really regretting it now cause 1) I saw a similar 2012 Immaculate Kobe Patch sell for $6500 back in March this year, and 2) had I known I would not get the chance to bust high end wax ever again due to the current outrageous prices, I probably would've kept my final big pull regardless. Since coming back into the Hobby in early 2020 I've only bought singles, but do wish one day prices can come down to respectable levels again in the future so I can bust maybe 1 or 2 high end wax per year or something.

Btw this topic just made me go into my post history to revisit all the breaks I posted from years ago. Wow it's depressing to see how many pulls I had back then that are now considered monster cards that I sold back then. Also sad that we probably will not be able to have those experiences again without paying out multiple mortgages lol.

[Beavers98]

C , But it would be really cool if I could say A. HAHA

[mindcycle]

Sucks to say it, but at this point high end breaks are only for gamblers or social media narcissists who want to show off how big their peener is.