First off, I wanted to say that I have been a Pokémon card collector for well over a decade and I have never participated in a box break. What’s in it for me to buy a pack for a YouTuber or Steve Aoki to open my pack live? The prices are between $900-$1500 for participating in this but I could almost never recoup my money. Maybe I am missing something here? A lot of people are involved and maybe I’m not smart enough to jump in and buy a pack.
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It’s gambling. It’s the same reason people go to casinos despite knowing that they’re likely to lose money.
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For vintage/rare boxes. I get it, a secure way to get a pack straight from the box. But people opening Modern…I have no idea.
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The typical YouTuber box break doesn’t make much sense to participate in (at least in my opinion). They usually overcharge for the privilege of opening unweighed packs for you. Personally I’d rather open my own packs. They do give you a shout out, which for some people makes it all worth it. The YouTuber specifically seeks to profit from these openings and promote their channel.
HOWEVER, other box breaks like Steve Aoki’s are charity events. I feel much different about these. I think they are great since the whole point is to support a good cause, and no one is seeking personal profit. If he charges more than market price for packs, it’s just to support the charity, not for his own gain.
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Its sad that a lot of the old boxes are getting ripped just for the slight premium since they are so scarce. Modern idc they’ll probably reprint roaring skies again next week if we ask for it
You are getting multiple things when buying into this specific box break. “Normal” box breaks a la Pokerev’s weekly Youtube offerings would just skip the first two.
- Donating to charity -Some donate more than this annually anyways and it is a fun way to donate to a good cause.
- Mention from a celebrity -Advertising value of that alone is often worth as much if not more than the price of the pack.
- The actual cards contained -Could get PSA 10 starters worth $200+ each, PSA 10 holos worth $1,000+, PSA 10 zard worth $10k+
- Experience - Some value the entertaining experience of just watching and participating in the event itself.
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For some it’s not all about the cards pulled. For example with the Logan Paul break he gave everyone a shout out who bought a pack. Companies pay him tens of thousands of dollars for ad deals so the exposure from him was well worth it on its own. Some people may enjoy the chat going crazy when someone like PokeRev or Steve Aoki pulls the best holo from the set out of their pack. For others who are maybe not so big or well known it may be more about the experience and community aspect of it. Some people like the gambling aspect of it, the chance to get the best pull and have it be graded a 10 which is likely way more expensive than the cost of the pack. There are a lot of reasons for people to do them and a lot of reasons for people to not do them, it really just comes down to personal preference and what each individual values and deems “worth it”
tl;dr: If you enjoy it do it if you don’t enjoy it don’t do it
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Actually I don’t think it’s so bad that vintage boxes are being opened in this way. True, we’d all like for these vintage products to stay available forever, and opening them decreases a limited supply. However, if it absolutely has to be opened, then at least this way the experience is captured for the entire community to enjoy now and in the future. Unlike if the box is opened privately, and only the owner gets that experience.
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I dont know if a box absolutely has to be opened ever
box breaks are the only way to get 100000%, confirmed, no nonsense, unweighed packs. as much as the top “unweighed” dogs are trusted, you still are doing just that - trusting them. i have not noticed absurd prices when you factor in this very very important factor. and certain people like phantump will let you keep them sealed…i love Z and Pokerev unweighed packs, but there is still a major trust factor involved.
recoup your money? you can also sit there and say opening a pack of champions path is gambling too…but modern is the only thing that moves the hobby forward.
the fact that people buy and open packs, of any set, modern or vintage, is the only reason this hobby is where it is today.
if you think box breaks are a waste then opening a pack of vivid voltage is equally a waste.
as far as modern goes - - i encourage you to go try to buy a pack of vivid voltage - you will have a hard time unless you catch them within 24 hours of restocking.
modern breaks give access to sold out products . . . 90% of people dont stalk stores and websites to get these packs, so buying a vivid voltage break for $1-2 over msrp is not too crazy to me.
$
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I just want to know what happens when your entire YouTube business model is built on opening an ever diminishing supply of colored cardboard.
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youtubers change, I cant think of any of the og youtubers who haven’t changed their content dramatically (most of the time for the worse)
youtuber in general not poketubers, I dont think poketubing has been around long enough to warrent that
Of course. My point was that if the owner has decided that they are going to open that box and nothing is going to change their mind, then it is far better for the community and for the hobby if that opening experience is shared, whether it is in a live stream or in a video upload. It’s perfectly fine if they don’t want to share it, but if they do then it is a net positive for everyone. In my opinion when that experience is shared the pros far outweigh the con (there is only one con, that there is one less sealed box in existence).
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there will never be 0 boxes available as long as pokemon is still in business…
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Wrong. I can go to any number of places online right now and get VV packs or booster boxes at RETAIL. Some people are just more savvy at buying online. Shoot on Virbank people were selling VV ETBs for under MSRP.
To clarify, I was alluding to vintage boxes, particularly WotC era.
The whole joy of cards to me is opening the packs myself.
I’m not going to pay someone extra to open my packs, especially considering how I’ve seen some of you people on Youtube opening packs… very rough lol.
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