• Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
    • Write About Your Sports Collection
  • Hot on Ebay
    • Most Watched Baseball Cards
      • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
      • Hottest Topps Living Set Auctions on eBay
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Hank Aaron Cards
      • Mickey Mantle Cards
      • Willie Mays Cards
      • Nolan Ryan Cards
      • T206 Cards
      • 1952 Topps Cards
    • Most Watched Basketball Cards
      • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards
      • Michael Jordan Cards
      • LeBron James Rookie Cards
      • Stephen Curry Cards
    • Most Watched Football Cards
    • Most Watched Hockey Cards
      • Connor McDavid Cards
      • Bobby Orr Cards
    • Soccer Cards
      • Panini World Cup Stickers
    • Rookie Cards
    • PSA 10 Cards
    • Sports Autographs
    • Vintage Sports Memorabilia
  • Ending Soon on Ebay
    • Baseball Cards
    • Basketball Cards
    • Football Cards
    • Hockey Cards
    • Vintage Sports Memorabilia
  • Search 268X60

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports collecting news - Sports cards and sports memorabilia industry news.

Top Mobile

  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Affordable Vintage Cards, Collectibles
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • Around The Hobby
    • Editor’s Blog
    • David Cycleback’s Identification and Authentication Advice
    • What’s Hot in the Shop
  • Popular Stories
  • Sell Your Cards
You are here: Home / Popular Stories / Ramblings: Are Sets the Next Group Break Idea?

Top Banner 486X60

Baseball Card Exchange

Ramblings: Are Sets the Next Group Break Idea?

August 3, 2014 By Rich Klein

We talk a lot about how case breaking can allow collectors to acquire cards from a certain product instead of having to shell out money for the entire box. They can reserve a spot in advance either through selection or through a random process by participating in a group break.  We all know by now, several of them signed up to do breaks at the National this year and it was heavily promoted, although we’re not yet sure how successful the idea was.  Competition among breakers is stiff indeed.

Rich Ramblings 2014While as both a prospective client and as a possible breaker I would prefer a totally random selection, there are some breakers who do allow teams to be selected in advance and possibly even at different price points depending on the team and the players involved.

The next step after case breaking might be ‘set breaking’.  Find a set and then break it randomly for a profit and give everyone an equal chance at the “key” cards.  It may only  work for certain sets with cards that are highly sought after, but it’s an interesting concept and we’ve seen it happen recently with a 1986-87 Fleer basketball set that was broken and distributed.  A smaller, valuable set like that seems ideal but others would be candidates.

Mickey Mantle PSA 8 1952 ToppsTo give a simplistic example, a complete 1952 Topps set graded PSA 8 was sold in its entirety at auction several years ago.  To make our example easier to understand, let’s say the winner of the set paid $307,000 for it and then and charged collectors $1000 per card to enter the drawing. With 407 cards in the set, that would give the set breaker a $100,000 profit before any expenses.

And while I realize many of us don’t have $1,000 lying around to take a chance on the Mantle card which would be the big winner, but there are many other cards which would bring a decent return for your investment. In fact, I always thought  many dealers missed out on a great marketing opportunity when the Barry Halper collection was auctioned off about 15 years ago. To me, and I think I posted this on some hobby message board of that time, a sharp dealer would have bought those sets, which did not sell for a great deal of money, put all the cards in envelopes along with a video showing that was done, and then selling the cards randomly.

I remember my dad having a couple of cheaper stamps from back in the day which were certified as being from the King Farouk collection and I always that was such a cool item to have. And I would have been thrilled to have a small piece of the famed Barry Halper collection when it was sold.

So, my opinion is that you can adjust the monies to a level where most people would join.  I think just about pre-1974 set can work and even a whole group of sets after that as well. Many sets would likely require only a $2-3 buy in and most can afford that.  It can be a headache for 500+ cards but keep in mind many collectors would purchase multiple slots.

Legal issues?  That’s something that would need to be thoroughly investigated before anyone opted to do it on a regular basis, but I suspect it could be done.  And in thinking about this, I’m pretty sure that back in the 1980’s some dealers actually did this with some sets while set up at various shows. So once again, everything old is coming back around again.

So I have two questions for you: The first is what do you think of this concept?  Secondly, if you approve, what sets would you break in this way?  My email appears at the bottom of this column.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Digg

Related Stories:

No related stories.

Bottom Mobile

Bottom Banner 336X280

Filed Under: Popular Stories, Rich Klein's Ramblings

Left #1 200X50

What\\\

Left #2 200X150

Left #3 200X150

Right #1 160X240

Memory Lane

Right #2 160X240

Left #4 160X600

Right #3 160X600

  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Hockey

Right #4 – 160X240

Bargain Corner

  • Mickey Mantle Cards Under $100
  • Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards Currently Under $5
  • Pre-1980 Graded Football Cards Currently Under $5
  • Pre-1980 Graded Basketball Cards $5 and Less
  • Pre-1980 Graded Hockey Cards $5 and Less
  • Complete Sets Under $10 with Free Shipping
  • Baseball Hall of Famers for $5 or Less
  • Football Hall of Famers for $5 or Less
  • Hobby Boxes Under $30
  • Rookie Cards Under $1

RSS Auction Report

  • Iconic Auctions February 23, 2019 Autographs & Memorabilia Auction In Progress
  • Bid Now On The Current Weekly Sunday Auction by EvansArchive on eBay
  • Landmark Mystery Fiction Collection of Otto Penzler Offered by Heritage Auctions in March 6 Rare Books Auction
  • Clemente’s 1972 All-Star Ring, His Final Baseball Award, To Be Sold in Mile High Card Company March Auction


Categories

  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Editor's Blog
  • Library of College Football
  • National Sports Collectors Convention
  • Old Hockey Card Sets
  • Popular Stories
  • Rich Klein's Ramblings
  • Shopping
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Sports Memorabilia
    • Around the Hobby
    • Sports Memorabilia News
  • What's Hot in the Shop

Sponsor Links

  • Buying Vintage Sports Cards
  • Game Used Jerseys
  • Every Athlete Autograph Event
  • 1952 Topps Baseball
  • Championship Rings For Sale
  • Vintage Basketball Cards
  • NBA Signed Items
  • Signed Sports Memorabilia
  • UFC Memorabilia
  • Autographed Baseballs
  • NASCAR Autographs
  • Vintage Graded Baseball Cards
  • Player Pictures
  • Vintage Football Cards
  • Sports Card Boxes
  • Sports Collectors Store

Left #5 200X50

Sports Card Forum

Pages

  • 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • 20 Hottest Barry Sanders Football Cards
  • 2016 Cubs Replica Championship Rings Don’t Cost a Fortune
  • 2017 Topps Definitive Collection Box Breaks, Most Watched
  • 50 Hottest Kareem Hunt Rookie Cards
  • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
  • About Us/Contact/Advertise
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
  • Affordable Vintage Sports Cards and Collectibles
  • Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Best Derek Jeter Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Best Display Cabinets for Sports Memorabilia
  • Best Joey Votto Rookie Cards
  • Current Most Watched Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Eagles Super Bowl Champions Memorabilia Guide
  • Fanatics Under Wraps 2017 Next Level Edition Autographed Baseballs
  • Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Great Gifts for Cubs Fans
  • Guide to 2018-19 Clemson Tigers National Championship Memorabilia
  • Guide to Houston Astros Championship Memorabilia
  • Guide to Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup Memorabilia
  • Hank Aaron Cards on eBay
  • Henrik Lundqvist Rookie Cards a Strong Long-Term Play
  • Hockey Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Hottest Lonzo Ball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Panini World Cup Stickers on eBay
  • Hottest PSA 10 Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Hottest Topps Living Set Auctions on eBay
  • Hottest Topps NOW Cards on eBay
  • Hottest UFC Relic Cards
  • Hottest Xander Bogaerts Rookie Cards
  • LeBron James Lakers Jerseys Already Available
  • Links
  • Mickey Mantle Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched 1/1 Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Basketball Cards on eBay
    • Hottest Michael Jordan Basketball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Hockey Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Soccer Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Autographs on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Jerseys on eBay
  • Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay
  • Patriots Super Bowl 51 Champions Merchandise
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Test
  • The 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Kris Bryant Auto Saga: A Timeline
  • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Top Selling Patriots Super Bowl Championship Items
  • Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon
  • What’s Hot on eBay
  • What’s It Worth
  • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Write About Your Sports Collection

Copyright © 2019 SportsCollectorsDaily.com | Genesis Web Design by Wickam Group