Dangers of buying individual packs at LCS?

[FreddyPancakes]

Hey guys, I'll be picking up some cards at an LCS this weekend with my little brother. An LCS has a bunch of wax, but also individual packs. Some ultra-modern like Stadium Club, Topps Chrome, Prizm, but also some going back to the 90s and 80s. They're not completely loose, they're packs inside of the box, opened up and ripe for the picking. Rather than dropping money on one box, I thought it'd be fun to get a variety of packs from different sports over the last three decades.

Is this a bad idea? Of course the recent buzz is about CT scanning, but what are the things I need to consider when buying packs? Here's what I'm pondering:
1. per-pack price is likely higher than it'd be buying a full box, but I'd just do the calculations/negotiate in the store if need be, so I'm not worried about this.
2. did the owner or other customers somehow check the packs?
3. would it be more likely for cards to get damaged in case I want to grade?
4. how likely is some sort of foul play? would online reviews help paint a picture of trustworthiness?
5. i've heard many LCSs are more likely to sell by-the-box rather than open boxes up and sell individual packs. Why?
6. seems tough at times to know if looking at retail or hobby

Maybe all these are valid and that tells me it's better to buy one box. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I came here for you guys to tell me if I am

[The Accountant]

Its risky for a few reasons. Some customers will buy half a stack and open, if they hit the box hit, they'll stop opening. Otherwise, they might rip the rest and repeat. Its good to scratch the itch but usually better to just buy the box

[hermanotarjeta]

Simply depends on the reputation of the store and its employees.

A sealed box will assure for the most part allocated hits.

24 loose packs will not in many instances for many reasons.

[jduds]

I worked at a store in the 90s and we had to always mix up the packs and not let customers touch them as many products had the inserts or hits in the same location every time and others that were easy to feel. Companies got better at it eventually, but it still can be a problem with modern products. If the shop is reputable, you should be fine, but there is always the chance they bought stock from another store that searched packs.

[hermanotarjeta]

Some stores could buy loose packs back from customers, so beware.

[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by jduds

I worked at a store in the 90s and we had to always mix up the packs and not let customers touch them as many products had the inserts or hits in the same location every time and others that were easy to feel. Companies got better at it eventually, but it still can be a problem with modern products. If the shop is reputable, you should be fine, but there is always the chance they bought stock from another store that searched packs.

Same. We mixed the packs.

[speedyjg13]

I've seen customers open one pack at a time and stop ripping after they get the box hit.

Shady but it is an allowed practice by business owners.

[Rbradleigh]

With loose packs I’d worry more about pre-weighing than CT scanning.
Hits tend to be on thicker stock for chrome cards and of course relics.
An actual LCS likely doesn’t weigh their own loose packs but if they buy back customer loose packs/open boxes who knows.

[FreddyPancakes]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I didn't think about the LCS buying packs individually, I'll have to ask how they acquired them. I'm thinking 90's cards might be safe from weighing, I don't think thicker (patch) cards came out until later, right?

I'm not sure I'd strictly be after a box hit. I'd be fine hitting a few Knicks in a 90s Stadium Club or Topps Chrome pack, or a rookie. Same for 2024 Topps Chrome Baseball. I'd be happy with some rookie refractors or inserts. Can't imagine any shady folks would be able to find those, right?

I thought about opening a pack at a time at the shop, but again, not necessarily looking for the box hit, just something I'd like. Favorite player, team, cool parallel, rookie to grade/flip, but I can see why that might be seen as shady.

[FreddyPancakes]

Honestly I really wish there was a more affordable hobby option, which is why I'm looking at packs. Sure, if I've got $150, I can buy some blasters or other retail option, but retail has brought me more disappointment than anything so far. Granted, it's a small sample size on both, having bought only 2 hobby boxes and maybe 8 retail fat packs/hangers/blasters in the last year, but retail just seems junkier.

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by FreddyPancakes

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I didn't think about the LCS buying packs individually, I'll have to ask how they acquired them. I'm thinking 90's cards might be safe from weighing, I don't think thicker (patch) cards came out until later, right?

I'm not sure I'd strictly be after a box hit. I'd be fine hitting a few Knicks in a 90s Stadium Club or Topps Chrome pack, or a rookie. Same for 2024 Topps Chrome Baseball. I'd be happy with some rookie refractors or inserts. Can't imagine any shady folks would be able to find those, right?

I thought about opening a pack at a time at the shop, but again, not necessarily looking for the box hit, just something I'd like. Favorite player, team, cool parallel, rookie to grade/flip, but I can see why that might be seen as shady.

It’s not worth the price unless the box is dirt cheap. If the product has parallels or auto’s of the mid 90’s, much of the hits were located in the same location in the box. Those packs were pulled first and then the rest of the box was left for others to clean up until the same people were able to open a new box and buy the “Hit” pack to restart the same process.

[hche]

There are times if you are a regular customer of the LCS and the owner knows the box hit has been hit by someone else, he will open a new box to sell packs to you. When you stop, then he put the rest of the packs back into the opened box.

[hche]

Originally Posted by Stifle

It’s not worth the price unless the box is dirt cheap. If the product has parallels or auto’s of the mid 90’s, much of the hits were located in the same location in the box. Those packs were pulled first and then the rest of the box was left for others to clean up until the same people were able to open a new box and buy the “Hit” pack to restart the same process.

I remember back when bowman autos are in the same spot every box. A friend bought a case and just opened the auto packs. Then he sold the rest of the auto-less packs to a dealer. After awhile, the dealer told him someone bought some loose packs and hit a good prospect superfractor. LOL.

[f2tornado]

I won't lie. As a 14 year old looking to make a buck back in 1991, I quickly discovered the 1991 Leaf inserts were always on the top of the pack and easily distinguished with a slight rub. Likewise, the black 1991 Fleer inserts were way to easy to find by looking at the side of the pack. I learned 1991 Stadium Club football had a sequence so if you saw a certain player on the back then were virtually guaranteed the guy you wanted. 1989 Upper Deck boxes also had a sequence to locate the Griffey.

Nutshell: walk softly on loose packs. I do think things got better later that decade aside from the obvious fat packs you knew had a jersey yet before goofballs started weighing packs.

[hermanotarjeta]

Shop owners may be honest but they frequently employ dishonest workers.

Many will search for thick packs and weigh packs while the boss is away, especially panini and topps promo/silver packs.

[Badgers0821]

I don’t buy from LCSs anymore but when I did and I just wanted packs I would only buy if the store opened a new box in front of me.

[banosd]

My lcs opened a box of Heritage to sell loose packs and the first pack had a purple refractor and that kind of surprised me. I have bought many loose packs of Heritage through the years from different lcs and that was the first time that happened.

Went back the next day and his loose packs still had purple refractors. I thought that was a good test of honesty.

That said, even with an honest dealer, your most likely to lose big buying individual packs.

[FreddyPancakes]

Safe to say loose hobby packs can make for a fun and varied rip, and a nice trip down nostalgia lane, but not the best move if looking for hits, parallels, ROI?
I think I saw the LCS had a box of 1992 Bowman Baseball. I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on getting a Mariano Rivera rookie in there. But I'll be on the lookout to see if you can see inside the pack somehow, and if so, I'd be out

[Skipscards]

This is all about the LCS. We have a great one in the area (Chesapeake Sports Cards), and I trust them implicitly. I wouldn’t hesitate buying a loose pack from them and the girls have always had great luck over the years.