I always considered whether or not I was buying a box solely as an investment (I.e. specifically to sell however long down the road) or because it’s a set of cards that I enjoy a lot. The nostalgia of opening packs from my childhood is worth a certain amount to me so I include that in my mental reasoning.
If, while holding the box waiting to decide to open it or not, it goes up in value significantly I simply reevaluate the same before making the decision again.
I personally do not care to keep sealed product of a set unless I’ve completed the card set already. For me it’s all about the cards.
That being said, it’s always a balance of what I can do within my collection to maintain focus on the task at hand. For that reason I have kept some sealed products in an effort to let the value rise and then sell them to fund what it is I’m focusing on.
Other boxes have not had a chance and I don’t regret it in the least. I opened 2 1st edition Team Rocket boxes in a row without hesitation because that set as a whole was my favorite. I enjoyed the openings so much and was able to enjoy the grading results as well. Except for about 3 of the holos I ended up with a complete Gem Mint 10 Set and a near complete Mint 9 Set minus a few holos. My total investment was high at the time but the end result was worth it for me. I still get to enjoy looking at the boxes and packs as they sit on my desk even though the wrapping is gone!
Now my Jungle, Fossil, and Base Set 2 boxes have remained sealed because they weren’t as important to me when I was young and have more value to me by funding other parts of my collection down the road.
Just my reasoning though. Pretty long-winded explanation that it’s a personal decision based on your collection goals. Which I know is an obvious statement but I feel better now that I’ve let it out.
I totally feel you! Wow nice that you got so many 10’s. Team rocket is also one of my favorite, if not my favorite set, but I have this OCD thing that I must have my entire collection in PSA 10 unless it’s a very high end trophy card or 1st ed zard. So I would feel crushed if I got 9 grades on the holos which is very likely to happen.
Absolutely if you want PSA 10s, don’t open the box. You’re going to be very disappointed because Scott himself mentioned multiple times in his videos that he opened boxes and boxes of old WOTC-era packs and a very small fraction was PSA 10s; it cost him much more to get PSA 10s from packs then to buy the PSA 10 cards himself, back in the day.
Yeah before opening the boxes I wasn’t expecting the results I got with grading. Only 2 out of the 24 were less than 9s and I think I only had to buy 3 other 10s to complete the set. Funny thing is that I usually just sell 10s that I get and collect the sets in 9. I find my money goes a lot further that way. It was awesome to open them though!
Or you spent your money on what you value. And you value the nostalgia of opening packs from your childhood and you value cards you personally pulled higher than those you just bought.
I’m not saying that I feel that way or even would depending on the box. I’m just saying I can understand the sentiment and I believe that what someone does with there money for joy is whatever they want.
To think that opening a sealed box is always going to be the wrong idea is to only buy-in to the idea that this is just an investment as opposed to a hobby.
Some people go on vacations and spend thousands for an experience that they are only keeping memories and pictures from. And they think it’s worth it. Some people think they are crazy for doing that. I liken this topic to that example in my head.