Integrity Is Key When Selling Packs of Cards

In last week’s mail day video, I showed an empty box of 1993 Topps Finest baseball that I had purchased. I’m also collecting the base set and have a couple of Red Sox refractors. I think it’s probably the most important baseball card set since the 1950s.

What I’m missing is a sealed pack. I mentioned that they sell for too much (roughly $70 each) for me to buy one right now.

Then a viewer who goes by BennyF on Twitter sent me a message telling me to pick one and he’d ship it to me for free:

My mind was blown. What a generous gift. But then he said something that intrigued me.

“They’re light packs (no refractor),” he said. “I’ve been sitting on them for 20+ years cuz I felt awkward about selling them. But I pulled my grail and didn’t care about opening the rest of them.”

What was his grail?

That’s not actually the Griffey refractor he pulled, though. He sold his in 2009 when he had a new job, a new house, and a new baby. But then he bought the PSA 10 in 2012 for $800.

The last 10 sold for over $18,000 on eBay two years ago, in case you’re wondering. There are 42 of them on the pop report.

But this isn’t about his grail card, as amazing as it is. This is about the “light packs” comment. He continues:

“Light packs weren’t a thing back then. If you were weighing packs, you were a scammer. Now it’s acceptable as long as you’re up front.”

He didn’t weigh his packs, though. He pulled a refractor from the box, and he’s never heard of a box with more than one refractor. (Sources are mixed, but generally speaking it looks like 1 refractor was inserted in every 15 packs, and a typical hobby box had 18 packs. It was possible for 2 to be in a box, but he assumes the rest are “light.”

I once talked about a 13-year-old who was selling loose packs at a card show in Augusta, Maine. He told me right up front that he had already pulled the hit from the box, so he was selling the packs for a steep discount. The integrity was amazing. How many would sell them at the going rate without disclosing that the hit had been pulled?

What BennyF is doing is similar. He knows there are no refractors in these packs because he pulled one from the box already, so he doesn’t want to sell them. Could he sell them and disclose it? Of course. But then the next seller may not be as honest. Same argument as the guy adding after-market patches to cards.

I won’t be selling the pack. I might get it graded for my 1993 Finest collection, but I’m undecided.

Go and follow BennyF on Twitter. He seems like a good dude.

Spring Has Sprung In Maine

The first sign of spring in my hometown is the local Dairy Queen opening. It’s a walk-up window with only ice cream, so it closes from October until around the first day of spring. It’s always a big day for my family.

🗣️ YouTube Comment Of The Week

This is kind of what I was asking about in my Sunday video. That film or laminate seemed way too professional for most scammers. I’d love to hear from someone who knows for sure.

🎬 Upcoming Videos

• Conversation with Chris Sewall as MLB season begins

• Attic Find Friday will continue

• Peak nostalgia viewer responses

• #29-25 of my ACE 100 list

• A subscriber’s killer music card collection — I keep putting this one off because it’s big and intimidating

• Amazing ticket collection

• Subscriber collection rooms

📩 Upcoming Newsletters

• Missing Caitlin Clark card in Panini checklist?

• 22-year TTM wait

If you have a cool story about collecting for either a video or newsletter, please send it to me.

🎬 Channel Highlights From the Past Week

Interesting week. I did some videos I was really excited for and proud of, but they didn’t turn out the way I hoped.

First, I was excited to meet channel legend I Am Meatballs:

It was such a great conversation. Kane (his real name… you didn’t think it was really Meatballs, did you?) was really smart and engaging. Unfortunately, a lot of commenters mentioned that his audio was poor and they couldn’t hear him.

To be fair, a lot of people said he was fine. I could hear him just fine. So I don’t know. The video did great! Actually surprisingly well for an interview with someone who isn’t a public figure.

Then I did an Attic Find Friday that I worked hard on and loved:

But no one watched it! Only 1,500 views. Strange situation. Was it the title? The thumbnail? Are people sick of the 1952 Topps Mantle? It’s a great story.

Here’s the article that one was based on, written by Michael Salfino.

🎁 Card I Wanted Last Week

I bid on this on CIA but couldn’t close the deal:

👻 Brief Horror Movie Review of the Week

No horror movies this week after watching 5 last weekend, but here’s what I did watch:

Severance season 2 finale: one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever watched.

White Lotus season 3 episode 5: it is getting juicy. Man, I love this show.

The Righteous Gemstones episodes 1 and 2: a friend got me into this, and I’m glad. Great start to this silly show.

🔗 Links:

Inside MLB's process of authenticating game-used items

Once a Fundraiser, ‘Dream’ Collection of Vintage Hockey Sets Now at Auction

Leader of Group That Stole, Melted Historic Sports Memorabilia Gets 8-Year Prison Term

Man Who Stole Masters Memorabilia Sentenced to Prison

On this date in sports history: On March 24th, 2020, Japan’s Prime Minister announced the postponement of the 2020 Olympics until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.