There's an old saying that goes something like this...
Bottom line... if you keep getting suckered by the same trick... then you've got nobody to blame except yourself.
And that's exactly why my new nickname should be the "Blaster Box Buffoon". Why? Well... each and every year, I tell myself not to get lured into buying blaster boxes. But guess what? Each and every year, I still do.
Now before I get into yesterday's huge blaster box shopping spree at Target, I'd like to preface things by stating the following:
I respect the fact that plenty of you guys enjoy your blasters... and that's your Cardboard God given right.
But after busting these four boxes, I was quickly reminded of why I always walk away shaking my head. See for yourself:
The two boxes of Stadium Club were the lone bright spot in this purchase. I only pulled seven inserts/parallels, but at least I walked away with over 50 new singles for my set. Everything else including the inserts and parallels will go towards the Super Traders group that Wes and Brian put together.
The third box I busted was 2015 Topps Allen & Ginter. Overall this box produced the most inserts and parallels. Although five of them were non-sports related.
My favorite card out of this box was the Aoki mini... which will be heading over to Adam at ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession.
The last box was a blaster of 2014 Topps Heritage that was actually purchased awhile back, but I figured I might as well include it with the rest of these blasters.
Compared to my Target blaster from two years ago... this box was a straight up bust. Last time, I pulled 16 inserts, short prints, or parallels. This time there were only five. Now I accept that not every box is going to have eight purple refractors, but this box lacked 1st Draft and New Age Performers inserts, plus had one less SP. I guess you get what you pay for.
These blasters weren't a total waste of money. I relished in about fifteen minutes of entertainment while opening the packs. Plus... now I have some cards to send out to fellow Super Traders. Unfortunately... there wasn't nearly enough value in these boxes to justify this purchase.
That's why... I will use this experience as a reminder to avoid retail boxes from this day forward. And if by chance I slip... the do me a favor and remind me to watch that video again... because like President Bush said... I just "can't get fooled again."
Happy Sunday and sayonara!
I did the same thing-picked up a couple of those same Stadium blasters, nothing in 'em worth blogging, and burned memory, arr....why do they pull me in...now only if they were the 2009 OPC ones I passed on some time ago-one of the sets I may actually like to finish.
ReplyDeletei say we all get matching 'sucker' tattoos! for some reason the $12.99 gamble is a bite I can't refuse.
ReplyDeleteOne trick to NOT being tempted to pick these up is reminding yourself that the $12.99 could probably get you the complete base set or even the complete master set of whatever product it is on eBay. It's less fun (of course) but it'll help put things into perspective.
ReplyDeleteAlso in your case Fuji, I think reminding yourself that you could find a blaster with the same lackluster contents (opened or otherwise) in a future flee market for less than half of the price of a discounted blaster could serve as a possible buying deterrent.
If nothing else, go to the toy section and find other things that the $12.99 would be better served going to. Like Star Wars toys!
This happens to me with repacks.I always end up throwing out the contents of most of those purchases.Call it sacrilegious to throw out a perfectly good stack of baseball cards,but I call It therapy.Take that you stupid repack!
ReplyDeleteI think we all get suckered into these purchases - I know I've had my fair share. The mystery, chase and thrill of opening packs of cards are all too much!
ReplyDeleteI haven't bought any cards at Target/Wal-Mart/Toys R Us since April of last year. The only thing that will change that is if I feel some need to get cards for SuperTraders that are retail exclusives....
ReplyDeleteBut it is a lot of fun to rip those packs....
J Cole recently put that clip into a song, and I love it
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-VcA7C6meg
It's not so bad. The biggest thrill in this hobby is opening packs. Did you get a thrill? If so, then it wasn't money totally wasted. I'd rather be suckered by the card aisle once in awhile than go around telling everybody, "I haven't opened a pack in 6 years."
ReplyDeleteIf you've got an itch, the only medicine is to scratch it.
ReplyDeleteWell you could try lotion, but that doesn't really help this particular itch.
DeleteI agree that blasters aren't that great but in certain instances they're an affordable way to experience different products in pack form that would normally be out of my budget when buying at the card shop.
ReplyDeleteI love opening boxes, but limit myself to my breaks with Kevin and Brian. My only weakness is Stadium Club. I haven't seen any marked down blasters in my area.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's fun to open some packs, even though the remorse sets in sometimes before even finishing opening the box.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a bit of a let down. We've all been there. Marked down blasters are definitely tough to walk away from.
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ReplyDeleteBlasters are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. But if you know you don't like the fruity ones, or the nutty ones, or the coconut ones you should probably stick to picking your own assortment. That's me at least. I'll take a box of vanilla creams. Or Mint-Melt-Ways. What were we talking about?
ReplyDeleteThat's a bummer...I was pondering getting one of the two Stadium Club blasters at my Target...
ReplyDeletei apologize for taking so long to respond. better late than never...
ReplyDeletebrady - i'd actually pick up another stadium blaster... mainly to work towards my set
julia - yeah... i keep going back to the price which lessens the blow a little. as for the tattoo... not sure about that. not a huge fan of needles ;) maybe temporary tattoos?
zippy - great idea. next time i'm about to spend any $$$ on a blaster, i'll head over to the lego aisle.
big tone - lol. i won't be throwing any of these away... but i like the idea of therapy.
tony b & night owl - very true. however... i think i'd rather just save up and buy a hobby box.
tony l - agree. at least the super traders will benefit from this incident
spastik - awesome. never heard the song before... but it was pretty entertaining. had to look up who nia long was.
john - yeah lotion wouldn't help. but next time maybe a hobby box will instead of a blaster.
adam - agree. they're also an affordable way to build sets. well... that's if you're into building sets.
matthew and the lost collector - i think opening boxes is like drinking. it's all fun and games when you're doing it. but afterwards... i'm like what the heck was i thinking.
bulldog - yeah... but i think i've gotten my fill for at least the next month or so
hackenbush - my favorites are the ones with fruit... especially cherry. also like the caramel filled ones too.
jafronius - hey don't let me talk you out of it. good news is that it only increases the odds of you pulling an autograph since neither of my boxes had any.