Saw this on the Big League Stew blog, not cool

[quambomb]

I was reading over Yahoo's Big League Stew baseabll blog and came accross this post:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Sign-No-732-you-have-a-baseball-card-collecting?urn=mlb,229701#remaining-content

I know this kind of stuff goes on, but this guy is nuts and hurting the hobby significantly. I refuse to buy packs at Target any longer because ingoring this problem is just being nieve. I can't believe he is using a scale! what a creep.

 

[VeRTiGo91]

My wife saw something similar at Target a few weeks ago. She saw a customer rummaging through some Star Wars cards, feeling for thicker cards or premiums. She said an employee approached him and asked him to stop, which he did. She was buying me some Heritage (ironically!), and said he came back, and started up again. She then said two different employees with Target security asked the man to leave the store. WOW is all I can say!

 

[indigo27]

I just don't care. If I'm buying retail packs, I'm buying with no expectations whatsoever that I'm going to get anything more than base cards, and hopefully, some inserts/SPs. The searchers can have all the $3 GU they can find. That means I don't have to be one to find a place to store them.

 

[quambomb]

It is sad that they are so desperate. Lots of little kids buy retail packs and I can only imagine their excitement once they get a premium card. pack searchers are bad for the hooby, no question about it.

They must not have much self-resect to scrounge around for a "$3 GUed". I honestly appreciate these cards alot and I don't thinka nybody should feel burdened by them if they are a true collector and appreciate the game & hobby. That is my rant

 

[Dugout Blues]

That's pathetic! I think this guy is just doing it for the thrill of beating the odds moreso than actually getting a G/U card.

 

[dale]

One good thing is that Target packs have random theft detectors in them (which would weigh a little bit extra) so maybe he would end up with all of those instead of good cards. But I suppose he's feeling those in there and factors it into the weight. I work at a Target and chase pack searchers whenever I see them, but I know most employees have no idea what they're doing, or care.

 

[DaClyde]

Seriously, stores need to move cards back to the candy section by the register, make them an impulse buy again and I bet the card companies would see a good 10% jump in the sales of retail packs, and you'd probably reduce this pack searching issue a bit.

 

[Jaybo374]

This plus the price of packs is exactly the reason I haven't opened "wax" in years. I truly miss the days when I was 11 and went down to the card store or a local convenient store and bought a box for about $8.00 or so with some of the money I earned from my paper route. Those were the days when there were only 3 sets per year with no inserts nor any GU/Relic/AU cards.

 

[tinman]

I have heard some searchers claim that if it is okay for people to look through the Hot Wheels cars, then it should be perfectly fine to search through the sports cards. But...

Hot Wheels: Clear plastic front to show what is inside. Hasbro (or whoever makes them; I have no clue) obviously wants people to see what is inside.

Sports cards: Packaged so that in order to see what is inside, you have to purchase it.

I have actually pulled decent game used out of retail just to find a huge crease from some idiot who bent it. The stores should be mad at them for that, because they are destroying merchandise and not purchasing it.

Also, I have seen some pathetic repacks- like the wrapper for a pack that held 12 cards stuffed with 30 and duct taped. WHY WOULD THEY ACCEPT THAT RETURN???

 

[mintman2]

This plus the price of packs is exactly the reason I haven't opened "wax" in years. I truly miss the days when I was 11 and went down to the card store or a local convenient store and bought a box for about $8.00 or so with some of the money I earned from my paper route. Those were the days when there were only 3 sets per year with no inserts nor any GU/Relic/AU cards.

LOL

When I was a wee one my father gave me a quarter on fridays and I would get off the school bus way before my stop so I could buy 5 wax packs of wacky packages and I would open them on the walk home.

He'd probably be crucified nowadays because I had to cross two roads to get home, OH MY.

Yeah, times have changed, and not for the better imo

 

[Jaybo374]

LOL

When I was a wee one my father gave me a quarter on fridays and I would get off the school bus way before my stop so I could buy 5 wax packs of wacky packages and I would open them on the walk home.

He'd probably be crucified nowadays because I had to cross two roads to get home, OH MY.

Yeah, times have changed, and not for the better imo

Wacky Packs. Wow that brings me back.

My favorite was BEASTBALL


http://www.lostwackys.com/Wacky-Packages/13th-series/Beastball.htm

Now compare it to the 1975 Topps baseball cards pack wrapper

http://www.nowbatting19.com/images/75_topps_mini_wax_pack.jpg

 

[redsoxfan1979]

My wife saw something similar at Target a few weeks ago. She saw a customer rummaging through some Star Wars cards, feeling for thicker cards or premiums. She said an employee approached him and asked him to stop, which he did. She was buying me some Heritage (ironically!), and said he came back, and started up again. She then said two different employees with Target security asked the man to leave the store. WOW is all I can say!

I am sorry if I am repeating anything but I just saw this and had to report it.

Ok seriolusly!

Today I took my 9 year son to Target and I saw a guy just hanging all over the cards. 20 Minutes later he was still there.

I knew he was up to no good. Out was the whole box of Rack packs spread all over the place with one in his hand feeling them up and crushing them.


I came up behind him and asked if he got any good hits. He just kept going.
I then explained I like to take my 9 year old here sometimes to get cards and people like him are the reason his #$@$ing cards are crushed and kids cant get excited to get a auto or a jersey card.

I told him to screw and didnt want to see his doing this again or I would report that he was damaging store merchandise.

I bought 3 packs of cards for my son let me bust em and we went on our way.

PS dont worry my lil guy was with my wife when I swore at him lol.

 

[NYMets6986]

IF I do buy from a retail place I do not buy loose packs anymore. I only buy the blaster boxes

 

[mrmopar]

I read the original post on the blog and see some valid points being made about grabbing star on top rack packs and such. So many things are first come, first serve. I remember trying to get decent Starting Line Ups in the heydays. People would literally camp out until the store opened to grab the fresh cases. All the shorter prints and big stars would go out the door with one guy. All that was left was a pile of Jeff Conine, Moises Alou and Brady Andersons!

Treasure Hunt Hot Wheels. I have never seen one, because they were gone before anyone could see them. I don't collect hot wheels, but I wanted to see what the fuss was about. Don't think you'd ever get one as an average Joe consumer either. Sorry, Hot Wheel Sick-o bought them all up in the 16 stores within the 30 mile radius of your house...in one morning!!!

It's not unfair to take everything as the "first come" guy, but it doesn't make the guys behind him feel any better. Pack searching is a little further stretch beyond getting there first, but not completely out of there based on many of the comments on the article.

Some hobby shops stopped letting customers pick their own packs from boxes OR mixed up the packs of a freshly opened box so that people who MAY have known where a certain card usually sat in a box would not have that advantage. Of course, you gain that knowledge either from sheer luck or spending way too much on other boxes, proving your theory on where the packs will lay.

I still firmly believe that it is the responsibility of the merchant to protect it's goods and it's customers. Will this guy with the scale drive away the business of other collectors who want random packs, probably? Will they lose his business if they ask/tell him to stop, maybe? If the Targets and K-Marts and such policed the wax better, this wouldn't happen. I remember a number of stores locked up their baseball cards because that is obviously an easy item to steal (small and flat, fits in pockets, doesn't "bulk" up a coat or shirt). Tobacco, alcohol and cards...keep them behind the counter!

 

[valediction]

It never really bothered me that much. Just someone trying to figure out a way to come out ahead. Happens every day in pretty much any walk of life.

 

[RustyGreerFan]

I used to be that guy. I was 15 and had very low cash flow. I would "skim" packs of 1990 Score looking for the draft pick cards I wanted and any Ryne Sandberg Highlight errors. I was a mess.

 

[David K.]

On another board.....a Target employee was also using a scale and he did not feel he was doing anything wrong! I avoid the open boxes and normally only go for the blasters or value packs. Best regards, David