There's a lot of focus around the 'hits' from sports card breaks. But very little reported on regarding the heavy losses. Check out PSA's Ebay Store Here: ebay.us/IbGQoR #ad $25 OFF your 1st PSA grading submission (1 Card Minimum!) Follow the link below and use promo code SCD25 to get started: It is very important that you add the promo code at the "Shipping & Billing" screen to receive the discount Link: bit.ly/3MA7CHr PROMO CODE: SCD25 Don't forget to check out our website: sportscarddad.com If you have a sports card collection to sell, I have resources to assist. Please email me at the address below. For all non-sports card related collectibles videos, visit my 2nd channel at @collectiblesdad For all your Card Supply & Card Case Needs, check out Card Capsule here: www.cardcapsule.us/sportscarddad Try out Market Movers here for quick and easy sales history data: www.sportscardinvestor.com/pl... Coupon Code: SCD Users will get a 14 day free trial and a 20% lifetime discount on any subscription at any level, monthly or annual. The only place on the internet w/ 10% off Slabmags! Check out SlabMags here: slabmags.com/discount/sportsc... Use Promo Code 'sportscarddad' at Checkout for 10% off your entire order! *Affiliate Link: I may receive a commission from purchases via this link Check out the latest sports card auctions on Ebay here: ebay.us/3cOQx0 #ad *Affiliate Link: I may receive a commission from purchases via this link
Alf looks like he's guilty of overspending on breaks. He's awfully quiet on this topic :) Seriously, I've never done a break but have watched some to see how I would have done if I would have bought into the break with the team I would've picked. At least 10 of them, I would have lost a really good amount of money. I strictly stick to singles. It's not like it's 1987 and we're buying 40 cent packs of Topps anymore. Plus, as a collector, I really don't care for the parallels, cracked ices, and all that other nonsense (I do like a color match though) and that's what people are looking for it seems in those breaks (besides autographs). Maybe a video on how much people have lost in repacks could be on the horizon?
Ive recently lost my mind and have gotten into breaking. I’ve spent over 20k in two months..yikes. I used to be a problem gambler know I’ve moved over to breaking for it gambling fix..I have to slow down
Since the new year I’ve deleted whatnot and fanatics live. I’m in a breakers discord but I’ve told them, I enjoy our sports conversations but I won’t really be buying in. Building more wealth by putting money in savings than spending it on breaks
Never understood the whole thing of having someone else opening a box/pack for you. Opening the packs is a big part of the fun isn’t it? If someone else is opening the packs I’d much rather just buy singles and save the money 😅
One thing that always amazes me about breaking is if a well known breaker is doing a break and says hes looking to hit paul skenes and say bobby witt. Why is it the boxes end up producing major skenes and witt cards?
I buy 1-2 hobby boxes per month from my LCS. It’s just for fun & something to do with my 2 sons. I maybe keep 1-2 cards per box & then save the rest of the cards in the “wax box” they came in. At Halloween we set up a table & give boxes away to the kids who want them. Refractors, serial numbers, patch, auto, etc. It’s just a fun hobby for me. Not concerned about trying to make $$$
Imagine how "belly up" a company would have to go in order for you to lose $244K in a year on their stock. Imagine how stupid you would have to be in order to lose $244K buying single cards in one year. I couldn't imagine, but I also know that you can never underestimate human stupidity.
As an Australian, if you think the fallout from ‘breaking debt’ is bad, wait until gambling is at its peak. Down here, we can go into a venue (can be standalone, can be attached to a bar) that has what’s called the TAB, and there’s big screens of horse races or live American sports (if it’s the morning/lunch time) and you can place your bets there. We had to tell sports leagues in Australia to cut back on gambling advertising during games and in-game segments about odds/markets, it was getting THAT full-on. Think of it like cigarette advertising in the 70s and 80s.
I saw Alf shaking his head 😁 Superbowl prediction - Chiefs vs Eagles. Personally would rather see Bills vs Washington. Excellent point about the change in attitude towards gambling as a whole. I do not have a quarter million to "play" with. Given I did, breaking doesn't appeal to me. I would take far less calculated risks and buy some awesome proven big cards. Mantle, Aaron, May's, Jordan, Montana etc. Plus more importantly have some awesome pieces of history in the collecting hobby. Splitting a box with your friends. Cool. The risk vs reward in breaking doesn't add up for me.
You can have the Title of this Video as a on-going thing "Customer LOST XXXX on Sports Card Breaks in PICK A YEAR" - the title will hold true through ever single person that buys into breaks. Period.
@@TheSportsCardDad You think folks gonna talk about their losses and be real. NO WAY. We live in the "HYPE" world of trading cards. Losses don't count........
I spent over $10k on repacks in hopes of landing the chase cards. There are some breakers like Susi Sport Cards and LMS breaks who are genuine, but others that I won’t break with.
The only thing I've broken are bones (and perhaps a few hearts along the way), so this interests me through historical perspective. When I was collecting Modern in the early 1990s, we didn't have breakers, but loaded packs were a big concern because, depending on the manufacturer, you could find exactly where the loaded pack was - if the dealer didn't mix up the packs. Also, some shop owners would open packs, take out valuable cards and insert others and reseal them. I'm talking ancient cardboard history here, but I don't see why these tactics couldn't be used again? And then there's the gambling aspect. In the 1980s, the cards weren't going for anything close to what they are today, and dealers were really forbidden from doing high dollar deals with kids for what was then obvious. No longer. A lot of the decorum has been lost over time in the hobby because knowledge doesn't get passed down. You and I both have discussed addiction in the hobby before - and this ramps it up, turning impressionable young people into addicts. The manufacturers and breakers are both responsible as are collectors and flippers. As a collector, it's my responsibility to do as much due diligence as possible. And if I've read about xyz product, discussed it with others and get a second opinion, and still don't understand how it works - I don't buy it.
Ive only bought into 10 breaks, im not a flipper, just basically taking a chance looking to get a "collectable card" ...every break ive been in ive wound up msging the breaker and saying dont eve. Worry about sendi g those
The only breaks I buy into is me and 3 buddies go in on a boxes or cases of cards and break them together at each others houses. We then turn around and sell everything from what we broke and split the money 4 ways. We have all been friends since grade school we really don't have individual PC's we collect for and overall we have have come out way ahead year over year in doing this and we have been doing it since 2015. Just think if you spent $244,000 on cases and ripped all the product yourself. I'd be willing to bet you come out ahead. BREAKING is GAMBLING the HOUSE ALWAYS WINS!!!
Ive pulled 3 Downtowns in the last 6 weeks from about a case worth of random blasters from different stores. You dont have to spend a fortune on breaks to hit good cards.
As far as spending on breaks i do. Im not an everyday kinda guy. Once or twice a week. Found some guys that always offer good bang for the buck. I tend to stay away from random team breaks and serials. Randoms cause i always end up with a crap team. And serials cause those are way to hit and miss number wise. I stick to a pick your team. I generally spend around 150 a week in breaks. I have definitely lost more than i have gotten back money wise. But generally its always a fun time. I have hit plenty of color and autos and few 1/1. Singles are still the way to go as far as my overall collecting. Breaks are fun though. Spend your money wisely. Dont get caught up in the casino style breakers with deal or no deal style games, or multiple wheel spin ups.
I thought Jeff Wilson said 2 YEARS AGO, we were in the basement?????? That comment aged about as well as his sports card investing advice………POORLY!!!!!!!!
Man good topic. I dont do much breaks but.. i have not really had anything crazy luck either.. i just find some older people selling vintage about anymore. But man i see people doing pick your players now. Its wild to hope for a player let alone a team card.
Wrestling and tennis are the best breaks to get in to. Very cheap spots for certain players or wrestlers you may like. I stay away from other sports just too expensive
this dude is spot on. you'll likely lose money on a break 80% of the time(I say more like 90%). but if you're 'aware' of it, and are just doing it for 'fun', and/or have disposable income or if your mom/dad can pay for a break here and there, then it's fine. I personally just invest in mid to long term stocks and long term ETFs/mutual funds, have money (liquid) in the bank, and some crypto (not alot), and put money into my Roth IRA/401k, and the rest is just fun money and/or singles of players that I like (that people think 'suck'), GOATs, a few 'hot' players here and there, and the 'fk it...why not get a blaster here and there'. I'm doing just fine. I just allocate and manage my funds and am mindful of my spending.
Without knowing someone's financial situation, it's hard to put this story into prospective. If they're living off a trust fund that pays out $2.6 million a year, maybe they can afford that. I've never done a break. I was planning on trying one when they first became a thing, but I never did.
I’m a huge baseball card collector since the 70’s. My wife and I made $1.1 million dollars combined last year. I would NEVER buy into a break - EVER. I’ll keep it simple…if you buy into a break, you are a moron that’s propping up the greasy breaking industry. Whatnot is almost as gross as breaking. Buying boxes is also stupid. There’s a lot of stupid people that collect cards.
I got two autos from 4 teams on bowman’s best, so i spent 74 got back 70 in value and that’s the best I’ve done out of 8 breaks in 2025, I’ll do a couple of Topps chrome Football,
I do player breaks of my common 9th year PC player. It's cheap, and sometimes I pull some rare parallels. Sometimes I watch them, most times, I just wait to see what gets delivered.
He lost 80% of $244k. Pretty close to a total loss. Since you’re splitting hairs - this means he had roughly $48k in cards to show for it. After 15% seller fees on average, this means he has about $41k to show for that $244k investment. A fool no matter how you slice it.
Buying into breaks is a joke man. Most breakers now only send out colored,numbered cards funny thing they talk this crap this is a 8,000 break but they only sort and ship 1% of the cards “the hits” let’s say spend $400 for mavs in case break and get number Spenser dinwiddie worth $1 only thing they send you because your only “hit” rather you send me my 20 plus Luka base. 8k case only ship 1% of cards so they shit $80 percentage wise worth of the 8k break. Here is the kicker you don’t get no “hits” you still stuck paying the shipping and they send you a couple random base cards. Shit refund my shipping rather have that $5 back then 4-5 crap base cards.
breaking is so stupid i won't even go near it. I spend enough money on the players I like without getting the luck of the draw. The breaker market will collapse within a year or two along with the collapse of the whole industry. Already showing signs My dad & neighbor have been in this industry or around for 47 years or more both say the collapse is coming.
Buy into a break or buying your own boxes whats the difference? Your still not going to get a good ROI either way. Its probably about the same actually.
Wrestling and tennis are the best breaks to get in to. Very cheap spots for certain players or wrestlers you may like. I stay away from other sports just too expensive
There's a lot of focus around the 'hits' from sports card breaks. But very little reported on regarding the heavy losses.
Check out PSA's Ebay Store Here:
ebay.us/IbGQoR #ad
$25 OFF your 1st PSA grading submission (1 Card Minimum!) Follow the link below and use promo code SCD25 to get started:
It is very important that you add the promo code at the "Shipping & Billing" screen to receive the discount
Link: bit.ly/3MA7CHr
PROMO CODE: SCD25
Don't forget to check out our website: sportscarddad.com
If you have a sports card collection to sell, I have resources to assist. Please email me at the address below.
For all non-sports card related collectibles videos, visit my 2nd channel at @collectiblesdad
For all your Card Supply & Card Case Needs, check out Card Capsule here:
www.cardcapsule.us/sportscarddad
Try out Market Movers here for quick and easy sales history data:
www.sportscardinvestor.com/pl...
Coupon Code: SCD
Users will get a 14 day free trial and a 20% lifetime discount on any subscription at any level, monthly or annual.
The only place on the internet w/ 10% off Slabmags!
Check out SlabMags here:
slabmags.com/discount/sportsc...
Use Promo Code 'sportscarddad' at Checkout for 10% off your entire order!
*Affiliate Link: I may receive a commission from purchases via this link
Check out the latest sports card auctions on Ebay here:
ebay.us/3cOQx0 #ad
*Affiliate Link: I may receive a commission from purchases via this link
You’re going to see a lot of young people falling into debt over these breaks thinking they’re going to be millionaires.
100%
Some will. But a lot of the young people are also those, who have millionaire parents.
Alf looks like he's guilty of overspending on breaks. He's awfully quiet on this topic :) Seriously, I've never done a break but have watched some to see how I would have done if I would have bought into the break with the team I would've picked. At least 10 of them, I would have lost a really good amount of money. I strictly stick to singles. It's not like it's 1987 and we're buying 40 cent packs of Topps anymore. Plus, as a collector, I really don't care for the parallels, cracked ices, and all that other nonsense (I do like a color match though) and that's what people are looking for it seems in those breaks (besides autographs). Maybe a video on how much people have lost in repacks could be on the horizon?
I always have one eye on alf lol 😂
I saved 240k by NOT doing breaks ever
Ive recently lost my mind and have gotten into breaking. I’ve spent over 20k in two months..yikes. I used to be a problem gambler know I’ve moved over to breaking for it gambling fix..I have to slow down
Wow yes get help asap, call some hotline for gambling at very least. That's all box breaks are, gambling. I stay away completely
It's really just gambling with a lot more tricky little self-justifications that keep stringing you along.
What fanatics really meant: 10X the gamblers.
Since the new year I’ve deleted whatnot and fanatics live. I’m in a breakers discord but I’ve told them, I enjoy our sports conversations but I won’t really be buying in. Building more wealth by putting money in savings than spending it on breaks
The only way to lose money on breaks is to think you're not going to lose money on breaks.
Breaking is the absolute biggest waste of money I’ve seen in the card hobby so far. As far as addictions go, I don’t even get its appeal.
A ton of people are addicted to gambling (breaks are similar to slot machines)
@ why not just rip boxes if you want to gamble? At least you’re guaranteed to own everything from the box.
Never understood the whole thing of having someone else opening a box/pack for you. Opening the packs is a big part of the fun isn’t it?
If someone else is opening the packs I’d much rather just buy singles and save the money 😅
One thing that always amazes me about breaking is if a well known breaker is doing a break and says hes looking to hit paul skenes and say bobby witt. Why is it the boxes end up producing major skenes and witt cards?
I buy 1-2 hobby boxes per month from my LCS. It’s just for fun & something to do with my 2 sons. I maybe keep 1-2 cards per box & then save the rest of the cards in the “wax box” they came in. At Halloween we set up a table & give boxes away to the kids who want them. Refractors, serial numbers, patch, auto, etc. It’s just a fun hobby for me. Not concerned about trying to make $$$
Awesome, I gave away cards this past halloween too. Kids loved them
Imagine how "belly up" a company would have to go in order for you to lose $244K in a year on their stock. Imagine how stupid you would have to be in order to lose $244K buying single cards in one year. I couldn't imagine, but I also know that you can never underestimate human stupidity.
As an Australian, if you think the fallout from ‘breaking debt’ is bad, wait until gambling is at its peak.
Down here, we can go into a venue (can be standalone, can be attached to a bar) that has what’s called the TAB, and there’s big screens of horse races or live American sports (if it’s the morning/lunch time) and you can place your bets there. We had to tell sports leagues in Australia to cut back on gambling advertising during games and in-game segments about odds/markets, it was getting THAT full-on. Think of it like cigarette advertising in the 70s and 80s.
Reminds me exactly of tobacco advertising
I saw Alf shaking his head 😁 Superbowl prediction - Chiefs vs Eagles. Personally would rather see Bills vs Washington. Excellent point about the change in attitude towards gambling as a whole. I do not have a quarter million to "play" with. Given I did, breaking doesn't appeal to me. I would take far less calculated risks and buy some awesome proven big cards. Mantle, Aaron, May's, Jordan, Montana etc. Plus more importantly have some awesome pieces of history in the collecting hobby. Splitting a box with your friends. Cool. The risk vs reward in breaking doesn't add up for me.
You can have the Title of this Video as a on-going thing "Customer LOST XXXX on Sports Card Breaks in PICK A YEAR" - the title will hold true through ever single person that buys into breaks.
Period.
And yet very few are talking about specifics
@@TheSportsCardDad You think folks gonna talk about their losses and be real. NO WAY. We live in the "HYPE" world of trading cards. Losses don't count........
I spent over $10k on repacks in hopes of landing the chase cards. There are some breakers like Susi Sport Cards and LMS breaks who are genuine, but others that I won’t break with.
Most breakers sound like carnies, shouting out win a Dylan Crews, come on buddy
The only thing I've broken are bones (and perhaps a few hearts along the way), so this interests me through historical perspective. When I was collecting Modern in the early 1990s, we didn't have breakers, but loaded packs were a big concern because, depending on the manufacturer, you could find exactly where the loaded pack was - if the dealer didn't mix up the packs. Also, some shop owners would open packs, take out valuable cards and insert others and reseal them. I'm talking ancient cardboard history here, but I don't see why these tactics couldn't be used again? And then there's the gambling aspect. In the 1980s, the cards weren't going for anything close to what they are today, and dealers were really forbidden from doing high dollar deals with kids for what was then obvious. No longer. A lot of the decorum has been lost over time in the hobby because knowledge doesn't get passed down. You and I both have discussed addiction in the hobby before - and this ramps it up, turning impressionable young people into addicts. The manufacturers and breakers are both responsible as are collectors and flippers. As a collector, it's my responsibility to do as much due diligence as possible. And if I've read about xyz product, discussed it with others and get a second opinion, and still don't understand how it works - I don't buy it.
The last 6 years I have lost a total of $90 on breaks. Joined two breaks early on; realized they are bogus and bought singles since
Ive only bought into 10 breaks, im not a flipper, just basically taking a chance looking to get a "collectable card" ...every break ive been in ive wound up msging the breaker and saying dont eve. Worry about sendi g those
The only breaks I buy into is me and 3 buddies go in on a boxes or cases of cards and break them together at each others houses. We then turn around and sell everything from what we broke and split the money 4 ways. We have all been friends since grade school we really don't have individual PC's we collect for and overall we have have come out way ahead year over year in doing this and we have been doing it since 2015. Just think if you spent $244,000 on cases and ripped all the product yourself. I'd be willing to bet you come out ahead. BREAKING is GAMBLING the HOUSE ALWAYS WINS!!!
Better off buying XRP than breaks
Ive pulled 3 Downtowns in the last 6 weeks from about a case worth of random blasters from different stores. You dont have to spend a fortune on breaks to hit good cards.
Credit Card bubble!!
$244,000 could have bought him some incredible singles.
Only winners in breaks are breakers. Never forget that.
As far as spending on breaks i do. Im not an everyday kinda guy. Once or twice a week. Found some guys that always offer good bang for the buck. I tend to stay away from random team breaks and serials. Randoms cause i always end up with a crap team. And serials cause those are way to hit and miss number wise. I stick to a pick your team. I generally spend around 150 a week in breaks. I have definitely lost more than i have gotten back money wise. But generally its always a fun time. I have hit plenty of color and autos and few 1/1. Singles are still the way to go as far as my overall collecting. Breaks are fun though. Spend your money wisely.
Dont get caught up in the casino style breakers with deal or no deal style games, or multiple wheel spin ups.
Yep I lost a lot of money on breaks in 2024 in the 5 digits won’t do that again
sorry to hear
i only collect baseball, and i have never been in a break, but i watch RGL every live stream, lol. It's free to watch people lose money 😂
244k???🤣wtf…
Good video! I don't do breaks so I haven't lost any money.
Boom batta Ziggy pockets getting fatta
Doubtful 😂
This isn’t really big news. You see this in any of the big breaker rooms on whatnot or fanatics. Most of the people spending like this, can afford to.
I thought Jeff Wilson said 2 YEARS AGO, we were in the basement?????? That comment aged about as well as his sports card investing advice………POORLY!!!!!!!!
con man doesn't like the peanut gallery noticing the obvious - that guy is greasy personified
@ 💯
Man good topic. I dont do much breaks but.. i have not really had anything crazy luck either.. i just find some older people selling vintage about anymore. But man i see people doing pick your players now. Its wild to hope for a player let alone a team card.
I'd much rather blow $150 buying 3 megas from Target or Walmart chasing Kabooms than buying into a break.
Wrestling and tennis are the best breaks to get in to. Very cheap spots for certain players or wrestlers you may like. I stay away from other sports just too expensive
just here to laugh at the headline
this dude is spot on. you'll likely lose money on a break 80% of the time(I say more like 90%). but if you're 'aware' of it, and are just doing it for 'fun', and/or have disposable income or if your mom/dad can pay for a break here and there, then it's fine. I personally just invest in mid to long term stocks and long term ETFs/mutual funds, have money (liquid) in the bank, and some crypto (not alot), and put money into my Roth IRA/401k, and the rest is just fun money and/or singles of players that I like (that people think 'suck'), GOATs, a few 'hot' players here and there, and the 'fk it...why not get a blaster here and there'. I'm doing just fine. I just allocate and manage my funds and am mindful of my spending.
Great plan! Thanks for sharing
Without knowing someone's financial situation, it's hard to put this story into prospective. If they're living off a trust fund that pays out $2.6 million a year, maybe they can afford that.
I've never done a break. I was planning on trying one when they first became a thing, but I never did.
Very true! Context matters for sure
I’m a huge baseball card collector since the 70’s. My wife and I made $1.1 million dollars combined last year. I would NEVER buy into a break - EVER. I’ll keep it simple…if you buy into a break, you are a moron that’s propping up the greasy breaking industry. Whatnot is almost as gross as breaking. Buying boxes is also stupid. There’s a lot of stupid people that collect cards.
Happy saturday. Glad you have a functioning channel. Retail breaks on youtube are not doing it for me anymore. Keep it up.
I just support my local lcs breaks
It's not just breakers, it's the hobby in general that is unstainable at the prices things are now...
all the focus on You tube is over breaks and they have a 10% ROI and nothing on buying collections where I make close to 300% roi over a year...
Breaking out Josh Allen. Autos. WOW .I have RPAs. No debt .
I got two autos from 4 teams on bowman’s best, so i spent 74 got back 70 in value and that’s the best I’ve done out of 8 breaks in 2025, I’ll do a couple of Topps chrome Football,
I do player breaks of my common 9th year PC player. It's cheap, and sometimes I pull some rare parallels. Sometimes I watch them, most times, I just wait to see what gets delivered.
Sports cards in general is ruining people
He said he spent $244K not lost! Clickbait!
He lost 80% of $244k. Pretty close to a total loss. Since you’re splitting hairs - this means he had roughly $48k in cards to show for it. After 15% seller fees on average, this means he has about $41k to show for that $244k investment. A fool no matter how you slice it.
@amyjohnson5174 No he said you will never get 20% of that money back! He never actually says what he lost!
Buying into breaks is a joke man. Most breakers now only send out colored,numbered cards funny thing they talk this crap this is a 8,000 break but they only sort and ship 1% of the cards “the hits” let’s say spend $400 for mavs in case break and get number Spenser dinwiddie worth $1 only thing they send you because your only “hit” rather you send me my 20 plus Luka base. 8k case only ship 1% of cards so they shit $80 percentage wise worth of the 8k break. Here is the kicker you don’t get no “hits” you still stuck paying the shipping and they send you a couple random base cards. Shit refund my shipping rather have that $5 back then 4-5 crap base cards.
breaking is so stupid i won't even go near it. I spend enough money on the players I like without getting the luck of the draw. The breaker market will collapse within a year or two along with the collapse of the whole industry. Already showing signs My dad & neighbor have been in this industry or around for 47 years or more both say the collapse is coming.
Buy into a break or buying your own boxes whats the difference? Your still not going to get a good ROI either way. Its probably about the same actually.
Lol got ya facts from FB post
Awesome episode broski🤙🏽.
thanks man!
ct
3peat GOOO CHIEFFF!!!
Wrestling and tennis are the best breaks to get in to. Very cheap spots for certain players or wrestlers you may like. I stay away from other sports just too expensive