The Art of the Group Box Break.

I've been collecting Sports cards all my life. I've always loved opening boxes and packs of cards... even back in the day when the best you could hope to pull was a decent rookie card or one of the cool holographic stickers. Unfortunately, most of my collecting took place between 1987 and 1998 and there weren't a ton of good cards to even hope for back in those days. Presently speaking, there are many many reasons to buy boxes and packs, and it has become more addictive than ever.

That's where Group Box Breaks come in. I think of it as a form of gambling in a way. Although legal for now, Ebay has tried to stop the auctions, but you know us sports card people... we found a loophole and continued on with them anyway. For those of you who don't know what a group box break is let me explain. To average out all the sports, lets say there are 30 teams to sell out. You list these teams for sale, whether by auction or whatever manner you wish. People will buy their favorite teams, (Ranging from $3 a team to as high as $70 on rare occasions) and when all teams are sold you open a Hobby box of cards and everyone gets every card from any teams they purchased. These breaks are done on video, either live or recorded.

Although a great way to get awesome cards for next to nothing, there are some drawbacks to this. For one, a Hobby Box will usually only have 3-4 good cards in it meaning you are going to have 26 unhappy customers. Basically, with the rewards go the risk of sore sports that do not understand the nature of box breaks; that being that they are mostly for fun, and although you may hit a thousand dollar card for 10 bucks, most of the time you are going to get nothing from the box. When I sell box breaks, I send out some kind of card to everyone no matter what, but not all sellers do this. That is a drawback for the seller and buyers. Another negative aspect for the seller is that these are not big profit makers...especially if you sell the higher end boxes. Most buyers won't pay much more for a spot in a 200 dollar box than they would for a spot in a 75 dollar box. As a seller, your best bet for profit is to stick to the less expensive sets. The problem with the less expensive sets though is that most of them have 24 packs, and 95% of people that buy into these breaks only want the 3-4 good hits in the box. This basically makes opening 24 packs a long and boring process for them to watch, and is going to make you one of the less popular sellers. For the best results, stick to mid-end sets that contain 10 packs or less. I find Upper Deck Ultimate Collection to be a great choice except for the fact there is only 1 hit in the box.

Whatever you do, don't go into selling box breaks expecting to make a fortune...you may make a little money on each break, but there is no guarantee. One of the ways I make sure I get a lil more out of running the breaks is to keep my favorite team that I collect, and then, at the very least, I might end up with a nice card for my collection here and there. Also, if teams do not sell, I take them for myself and sell off any hits from these unsold teams. If you do venture into the break business, and decide to list some of your own, take heed, if you do this via Ebay make sure you calculate in all of your fees...listing fees, final value fees, shipping, envelopes and toploaders. These expenditures can add up, and, if not accounted for, can cost you a lot of money. Also, you're going to want to prove to buyers the break is just for them, and not a prerecorded scam. One way to accomplish this is to do it live. If you are not comfortable with that, you can use other methods such as showing the ebay time on your computer screen on the video or having a list of all buyers and their teams in the background. Just make sure your buyers know you're not selling from previously opened boxes you're already aware contained no good hits.

The break business is built on honesty, and it won't work in anyone's favor if the honesty isn't there. Check feedback before you buy into any break on ebay. I myself have a Bowman Sterling and a Topps Tier 1 break listed right now on Ebay under Jibba4all. If interested, search for me. I am always listing new ones, and my feedback is spotless and 8 years deep.

So, in my opinion, Box Breaks can certainly be profitable for both Sellers and Buyers. No matter which you are just make sure to do your research, and you should be fine. Go into these understanding it's basically like a lottery ticket, you win some but lose most.