Breaking Down the Pro's & Con's of Group Breaks

Wow... thank you to everyone who left me feedback on the... What's your take on Group Breaks? question. I already had an opinion on the issue, but all of you helped me reflect on the issue... and even revise my personal stance.

Here's a look at the breakdown as of 5:30 this morning:

I probably should have created a poll to begin with, but I honestly was surprised at the amount of feedback all of you gave. I took it upon myself to decipher your feedback and put you into one of three categories. It looks like nearly 60% (11 out of 19) of you enjoy to some extent participating in "group breaks". A little over 30% (6 out of 19), are like me and felt that they're not quite worth it. And just over 10% (2 out of 19) of the people who left feedback are caught in the middle.

After digesting all of your responses, I tried to organize & summarize the information, so that people can see what collector's thoughts (plus added my own thoughts in red) are:

The Advantages of Group Breaks:

- there's the rush you get from gambling

- the thrill of pulling the BIG hit

- they're great for team collectors

- save money, compared to buying a whole box

- affordable way to see new product

- certain teams are better in certain products

- add to the treasure hunt mystique

- opportunity to get cards from sets you normally wouldn't buy

- it's great for overseas collectors (see Tony's comments)

- great way for collectors to interact & bond

The Disadvantages of Group Breaks:

- it's not worth the gamble

- I'd rather buy the cards I want instead

- you only get a fraction of the box, some want it all

- they're not good, if you have very specific "wants"

- there's plenty of "unwanted" extra cards

- not cool when the "breaker" tries to make money

- certain teams are worse in certain products

- sometimes you only receive the "hits" and not the "base"

Other thoughts on Group Breaks:

- it's hit or miss... you can pull a huge hit or nothing at all

- the attractiveness of group breaks can depend on who's running it

I was also intrigued by Offy's (Mr. Traver) comments. He made a few valid points when it comes to running "group breaks". If you're going to let people choose their teams, then certain teams should be priced higher/lower depending on the product.

The fact is... card companies typically do not create an equal amount of cards for each team. Hiflew supported this theory when he wrote, "as a Rockies collector, usually I end up regretting my purchase because of not enough cards."

Here's my updated take on group breaks...

I typically stay away from "group breaks", because I'm not a big gambler and I'd rather spend my money on purchasing specific singles for my collection. However, I definitely can see the benefits for "team collectors" and the fact that it's a way for collectors to "bond".

Thanks again to everyone who left a comment on my previous post.

One of the best things about authoring a blog is the feedback you receive. It's the whole reason I try to include a question in each of my posts. Ironically, I'm not inserting a question today, but I truly appreciate everyone and anyone who has ever taken the time to read and/or respond to one of my blog posts.

My motto is... I'll keep writing them... if you keep reading them.

Have a great week everyone... and sayonara!

Nablo WriMo Daily Total: 595 Words

November Total: 5,324 Words