When I got back into the hobby after 20 years away, I kept coming across this thing called card breaks. What in the world? So naturally I did some research and participated in a few to get a feel for what they are!
A card break is when boxes, cases, or packs of cards are divided up among collectors who pay for a chance at some of the cards. The cards can be divided up by random team, pick your team, every “nth” card, by packs, or randomized singles the breaker is offering.
I know…most of that probably didn’t make a lot of sense, so let’s dive in some more!
What is a Card Break?
Card breaks have exploded in popularity…these days, it seems like everyone is starting one! For a breaker, all you need to do is buy a box or two, and have your cousin, mom, and Joey down the street each pay you 1/3 the price you’re looking for…and voila! You’re a breaker!
Breakers will often open a whole bunch of boxes of a certain product, mix and match products (or even sports), or open a limited quantity of extremely valuable product.
You can probably see the appeal:
- Access to new cards without paying a fortune
- Try out new brands or sports without paying a ton of money
- Potential for big hits
- Enjoy the community!
When a breaker is opening 10 boxes of something, you’re almost for sure going to see the breaker pull a few big cards…and even if you’re unlikely to be the recipient, it’s still fun to see that card get pulled live. Also, it makes getting a big card seem more accessible.
“Hey that guy paid $35 just like I did…and HE got that card worth $300!”
Being live with a fun & energetic breaker while watching them pull several hundred cards is…intoxicating.
Cons of Card Breaks
I’ve already talked about some of the fun reasons to join breaks…so let’s talk about some of the reasons you might NOT want to do them.
Might Get Zero Cards
This is usually the case when doing super high-end stuff where a box only has 10 cards, such as this National Treasures box:
Let’s say a breaker wants to clear $5k, and you want 50 people to join the break, that comes out to $100 per spot.
Except, there are only 10 cards per box!
That means the breaker just filled an entire break knowing that at least 80% of them will get nothing. But the reason people do it is because they could hit a card worth $50k while only dropping $100.
This is rare though—most breaks I’ve been a part of are opening several hundred to sometimes over 1,000 cards. I’ve always gotten 10+ cards in mine.
Rarely Provide ROI
Even though you’ll probably get 10+ cards, they might all be base cards of non-stars! I recently paid $35 to be in a break and I randomly pulled the pacers. I got 2 cards worth about $1 each, and then some commons that I could only give away.
In my mind, you don’t join breaks for the ROI, you do it because they’re fun. There’s also something about branching out, like for example, I’ve never opened a hobby box of Prizm myself, but I have been in breaks where I’ve gotten some.
Seriously Addicting
Breaks are my drug. It’s so flippin’ easy to jump in a Facebook group and be in a break within an hour. You don’t have to drive to the store, you don’t have to wait for a box to ship. You can see what you’re getting fast.
Seriously, I go through times where I click the “snooze” button on break groups so I don’t see their notifications. If I didn’t, I’d have to get a second job.
What Are the Different Types of Breaks?
Really, there are as many as you can invent. I’ll cover just the most popular ones here.
Random Team
A random team break is where you are randomly assigned a team, and then every card pulled featuring a player on that team goes to you!
I’ve also been a part of multi-sport breaks where boxes of basketball, football, and baseball were all being opened in one break (this is less common – usually just one sport is featured). In this case, you’ll have three teams assigned to you – perhaps the Grizzlies, the Bears, and the Rangers might all belong to you!
When there are more teams in one sport, like how there are 32 NFL teams and only 30 NBA teams, whoever randomly draws the two crappiest teams will get another crappy team assigned. For example, if the Arizona Cardinals are one of the most undesirable teams from a hobby perspective, and they’re assigned to you, you might also have the Patriots assigned to you as well.
Make sense?
The costs for joining a break really depends on the type of product the breaker is opening! I have two main break rooms that I join when I’m in the mood – one almost always charges $35, and the other almost always charges $105. Obviously the cheaper one is opening lower end stuff (Donruss, Hoops, retail stuff, etc.) while the other one is opening higher end (Prizm, Optic, Select, and even ones like National Treasures).
Pick Your Team
So just like the random team, you’re going to pay for one slot out of 30 or 32 teams (or whatever the number is if you’re doing soccer or something), but YOU pick the team!
In this scenario, each team comes with a price. For example, a team with the hottest rookie will usually be the most expensive, while popular teams such as Lakers, Cowboys, and Yankees always cost a premium as well.
This one is especially fun if you’re the fan of a cheap team because you get to pay less than the others but still have an equal shot at the players you collect
Every “nth” Card
I haven’t seen many of these around, but this would be where each person gets a number, and you get each “nth” card that comes up.
For example, if you’re the 10th person, you get the 10th card that comes up, then they count to thirty, start over at one, and then you get the 10th card again.
Packs/Boxes
Sort of like the “nth” card, this type of break involved sealed wax (packs and/or boxes.) Then if you’re #10, you get group #10!
Now, sometimes the breaker will open these packs for you on camera and you get everything inside, or they’ll just mail the unopened wax out to you.
Random Singles or Breaker-Built Packs
These ones can be really fun! So, the breaker will offer cards from their collection (many of the breaks I do are from people who own card shops), usually graded cards. So they’ll sell 20 spots, and there will be 20 envelopes with a number on them.
Inside each envelope is a graded card (or just one in a top loader). You only get a single card, but it’s guaranteed to carry some value! So if you pay $35, maybe most of the envelopes contain cards worth in the $15-$25 range, but perhaps there will be 1-2 envelopes that contain cards worth $150-$200!
These are fun because no one gets killed. You’ll at least get something of value, while having a shot at multiplying your value.
Plus, I think it’s kind of fun to randomly have a nice card sent to you—you didn’t research it and it’s not one you would have picked yourself. Kind of like when you tell your wife to surprise you with a new shake flavor (my wife got me a caramel Circus Animal shake last time…weird, but good!)
Serial Number
In some high-end product (like National Treasures), every card will be serial numbered. Breakers will sometimes look for 10 people (who pay a lot) and then they are assigned a number, 0-9. Then, they win any cards with that serial number, or the second number matches theirs.
For example, let’s say you have #3 in your serial number break. Then, a Luka auto comes up numbered 13/25. Because the #3 is the second number, you get the card!
Getting the #1 is clearly the most valuable because you get any 1/1 cards that come up!
Conclusion
While breaks are incredibly fun, you have to realize that you’re very unlikely to produce a positive ROI with them. So if you’re 100% “I’m in this for the money,” then breaks aren’t for you.
If you’re like me, where I’m mostly in it for money but then use profit to reward myself with breaks, it can be incredibly fun!