Call it “no fuss, no muss” breaking. A newcomer to the game has launched a new way for collectors to sell cards pulled from its daily box and case breaks within minutes—without ever touching them. The concept is the brainchild of Maine Sports Cards owner Dan DeCosta, a long-time collector and former shop owner who launched his site in May of this year. While … [Read more...]
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Notes: Case, Set Breaks at NSCC; ’55 Koufax Giveaway; Shop Owner Profile
The National Sports Collectors Convention will have a Case Break Pavilion again this year, this time keeping some longer hours and including an area for vintage set breaks. Show organizers say the area will open for a “Preview Night” on Tuesday, August 2 from 6:30 PM -12:30 AM. Attendees interested in joining breaks or there to watch and/or learn will be admitted free. The … [Read more...]
US Distributor, Case Breakers Look to Asia for Business
A crew of case breakers from the United States is bringing the concept to Asia this month. Eight representatives from GTS Distribution, along with Ripping Wax Inc., which encompasses Ripping Wax, Jaspy’s HobbyLand and Nasty Breaks are currently spending eight days in the Asia-Pacific region in an effort to further develop breaking initiatives and expose shops in those … [Read more...]
Case Breakers: Good or Bad for the Hobby?
Last week, in our discussion on Case Breakers and the Value Cycle, we noted how the rapid emergence of the case breaker has created increasing pricing pressures on the initial secondary market for new releases, squeezing case breaker profits. Worse, combined with Topps' “print to order” policy, increasing case breaker demand has also pumped up the supply of new issues, … [Read more...]
Case Breaker Stays Busy All Day…All Night
The margins can be tight. The hours are long. The competition is everywhere. The success of the products they're selling is often based on factors out of their control or even who happens to be online at any one particular moment. Still, it's sometimes a lot easier than selling cards the traditional way. Case breaking has become a cottage industry and for trading card … [Read more...]
The Four Basic Types of Ungraded Strategies
Editor’s note: What follows is an excerpt from Jeff’s new book The Modern Baseball Card Investor. When it comes to ungraded cards, players in the game generally employ at least one of four basic types of strategies: 1. Case breaker 2. Case breaker/grader 3. Boxes 4. Singles It should go without saying that in a game where autographs often come at a rate of one or … [Read more...]
NSCC Will Have Case Breaking Pavilion
The National Sports Collectors Convention will add a ‘Case Break Pavilion’ when it sets up shop at the I-X Center in Cleveland this summer. Amazon.com Sports Collectibles is the title sponsor for the pavilion, which will be housed in a 12,000 square foot arena, adjacent to the Corporate Pavilion and across from the autograph area. Show Manager Mike Berkus says the special … [Read more...]
Margins Tight for Case Breakers
It sounds like fun. Buy a bunch of cases of the latest baseball card product, grab a friend or two if you can, and rip, rip, rip. The more you buy, the better cards you pull and, if you're so inclined, the better chance you have of 'flipping' them for a profit. But it's not that easy. First, there's the amount of work. Buying multiple cases, opening packs, sorting, … [Read more...]
