@mrbubbles I guess being focused on Japanese promos removes any sort of thoughts about opening products. Interesting that even though you don’t think about opening stuff you still enjoy watching others do so.
@pfm from everything I’ve read on E4 so far, you seem like an extremely rational thinker so I’m not surprised you steer clear of opening stuff. Do you purchase sealed for your collection or just completely stay away from that side of the hobby?
@Slade congrats on the Gengar! Really awesome card.
@inertgeometry can understand the rationale of opening sparingly and the fact you only get 30 minutes of thrill from the cash outlay. I’m most likely very skewed in my opinion as my daughter gets heaps of joy, which is passed onto me. She’s 2 and a half and says ‘加油’ before every pack gets opened, which is ‘come on’ in Chinese, and for the next few days asks for new ‘cocomon’ cards from the packs. Maybe if I wasn’t a father, or I’d been in this hobby for more than a second, my opinion would differ largely.
@Rattlesnake I’m struggling to justify buying 151 at current prices as much as I’d love to open it. The 6 month rule seems very smart. I’d love the gastly AR from the new Japanese set, but will happily wait for prices to drop.
Never opened a box, only few packs in these years. I like it for the funny experience, it’s indeed something to enjoy especially when you’re with your friends as you’re gonna laugh at your best hit: a reverse raticate or something lol.
From a collector standpoint, it doesn’t make much sense for me. It’s just more efficient to buy singles that I like, without getting in the tedious task of selling all the bulk and doubles.
When I got back into the hobby late 2020 I opened a lot of packs, and this way my main way of growing my collection. I was interested in modern and vintage, but Vintage seemed too expensive at the time. I had 3 other friends who were doing the same, so it was fun to save up a bunch of packs to mass open at the end of the year.
After two years of doing this, I got a better job and was able to buy more singles, which also happened to be the time I started getting very frustrated with modern pull rates so I’ve slowed down a lot over the past 18 months. I did open a decent amount of 151, but I’d say since winter of 2022 thats about all I’ve really gone for, though I do sometime grab some packs to open when with some friends, who mostly enjoy modern.
I dont see myself opening a lot of english in the future, unless the pull rates change drastically. Though SV is friendlier, I still would rather save and buy the JP equivalent singles. I actually really dislike the JP opening experience, especially now with the frequent price increases. One FA per box is just too harsh when trying to get an SAR and the box is higher than MSRP.
I open 2 boxes (or 5 ETBs for special releases) of most English modern releases with my partner. Each reverse holo is put into a binder (two boxes finishes most of the set in reverse holo) alongside the hits (Ultra Rares, IR, SIR, etc.). At a later date when the hit cards are at a low, we try to finish the set.
We do this because we enjoy the art and want to keep a pulse on the modern scene. I loved opening packs of Pokemon, MTG, Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid, and I continue to enjoy it as an adult. I try to post my hits on The Giant English Market Thread.
We buy 3-6 boxes (or 10 ETBs for special releases) of most modern sets. The extras are kept to sell or open later on.
I open one etb per set, sometimes two if there are two different box designs, since I like collecting them and I like swapping out the dice for play occasionally. My wife and I like going through all of the new art together, and I keep set binders of all of the bulk non-full art/AR cards.
I’ll also open a prerelease kit for each set during prerelease events, but those are for the enjoyment of tournament play. Anything I get out of those is a bonus.
I typically open an ETB or 2 for a new set. I used to buy an etb and a booster box but I rarely do that these days. With how much is being opened these days I can just buy all the C/UC/R cards for dirt cheap.
My partner and I caught the tail end of SWSH, and over the course of a year or two shared probably around 50-100 packs from most in-print English sets. More like 200 from Crown Zenith/Vstar Universe since that set is the GOAT and almost every box delivers.
The novelty’s largely worn off now, and I feel kind of fatigued with SV, so we’re opening a couple packs a week now (mostly from the stockpile). I’d rather save my money, for the most part. And a lot of the funds are soaked up by singles.
when i was in a relationship with someone who had a daughter, i definitely was more likely to buy product for her to open, so i totally get it.
but for my personal collection which i itemize every time i buy something, when i buy a box, my immediate thought is “i could have bought (insert cards) instead”.
I don’t really ever open boxes. I just stick to Target shelf and Walmart shelf impulse purchases with some occasional preorders. Opening to complete a set is just beyond crazy at this point. I only really care for the art cards anyways, so why buy thousands of packs when I can just buy on tcgplayer for dirt cheap a few months later…
These days i hardly open much product at all. Every couple months or so, i may pick up a pack of English modern when im at the store just for fun.
In the latter half of SwSh i was picking up a box for each set to open, as that would usually get me all the commons/ uncommons from the set (Japanese), then i would build from there. I would also open 2 or 3 boxes for sets that were really fun like VMAX Climax and Shiny Star V. In SV era i kinda stopped doing that, as it was getting expensive and i wasnt really finishing the sets i was starting.
Opening boxes can be a lot of fun, but when the prices start going crazy, it takes away the fun for me. Like i got a box of 151 at MSRP i was really excited to open, but ended up feeling like it was a bad idea when i saw them selling for like $250
There are a few sets that are generally worth it for me to open. Youre guaranteed an alt art in vstar universe booster boxes so I was going to get something I liked. 151 booster boxes could only have a regular full art which I couldn’t care less for, so I didn’t open any of those.
So in short I only open 1 or 2 booster boxes of specialty sets a year (plus any packs I get bought for christmas/birthday). Although I will be skipping this year as I dont think shiny treasure ex is opening for me.
I’ll impulse buy a tin if I see one, or a booster box if I visit a card store, but both are very infrequent. A couple of times a year maybe. When I got back into the hobby towards the end of 2021 I opened a lot of product but eventually leaned heavily into vintage singles.
My kids and I open four packs every day usually. Lately it’s been 151 because the fun cost is very low and I enjoy every card in the set. I try to balance buying packs to open and buying singles
Myself and friends in the hobby will go four ways on a booster box of each new set and just hang out and enjoy the moment. I don’t open anything on my own though, pretty much guaranteed to be disappointed each time.
