How Valuable are Sports Card Repacks?

As a collector, very few things can beat the sheer thrill of ripping open a new sports card box and checking out your wax. Unfortunately, things like stock shortages and exorbitantly high prices can make it difficult for collectors to experience that thrill as often as they’d like to (not to mention the disappointment when your auto is a middle reliever or offensive lineman). Luckily, new offerings like football and baseball card repacks are turning things around, allowing collectors to experience the best parts of the hobby with none of the downsides.

What are Repacks?

A ‘repack’ is a curated card originating from various sports card boxes. Repackers pull or purchase cards on the aftermarket, assemble them into their own packaging, and sell them as a unit. It is a mystery to the buyer what is inside the repack until they open it, and most repacks have some significant chase cards within.  Sports card repacks can come in a ton of different forms:

• Budget Busters: Entry-level repacks featuring less expensive cards, but usually still of really good players. These typically can be found across a variety of different sports. The focus here is on affordable fun and the chance to pull a good looking card of a good player without breaking the bank. The upside and downside are limited on budget friendly repacks.
  
  
• Vintage Repacks: Everybody loves a good retro sports card, but some cards of the best players can carry a hefty price tag. Vintage repacks are typically centered around cards released in a specific era (or from a specific set), with the main draw being both nostalgia and the chance to pull a valuable retro card. As a whole, a lot of vintage repacks have the lowest floor and highest ceiling.
  
  

• Premium Repacks: We all know the frustration of going through a Panini or Topps hobby case only to come out without that one card we were looking for. Premium sports card repacks are built around those exclusive, high-end cards that are so difficult (and expensive!) to come by. A premium football card repack, for example, might include a case hit, RPA and/or a graded parallel of one of the game’s GOATS.

Are Repacks Worth It?

While there is an element of risk with any repack or factory sealed box, repacks can provide good value more often than you might realize. Let’s take a closer look.

• Accessibility: As a collector, you typically have two traditional ways to get your hands on a valuable card:

1. You can buy up multiple hobby boxes and hope to get lucky.
2. You can hunt for singles at local card shops/online stores.

These approaches are entirely dependent on your luck. Local card shops can run out of stock very quickly for the hottest players and releases, and there’s no guarantee you’ll find the card at a reasonable price online either (plus, isn’t it always more fun to pull that great card instead of just buying it?). By picking up a sports card repack built around your favorite sport, you can enjoy a chance to get a card worth materially more than you paid for the repack, while also enjoying a safety net for the floor value you will get back.

• Affordability: A 1st Bowman Auto of a top prospect or a Shohei Ohtani auto can cost thousands in-store or at a card show, but a baseball card repack could give you that very same piece at a fraction of the price. The expected percentage of return pulled from reputable repacks can be far above the expected percentage return from ripping certain cases of wax.
  
  

• It’s Fun!: Sports card collecting isn’t all about value. For many of us, it’s about the peaks and valleys that come with every hobby box. It’s the thrill of finding the elusive auto and the mystery of not knowing what might be inside the box.
  
  Certain football card repacks can minimize the lows and maximize the highs. A premium repack product typically includes zero duds and focuses entirely on valuable graded rookies. 

Sports card repacks are very similar to live box breaks, in the sense that they reinvent how collectors interact with the hobby by offering a novel and affordable way to pick up new cards.

You’re paying for a carefully curated experience designed by the fans, for the fans.

Tips for Buying a Repack

• Buy From Trusted Retailers: Trusted sports card shops work directly with manufacturers like Topps and Panini, which helps hold them accountable. There are many breakers online who have no ties with manufacturers and can run their business like it’s the Wild West. Many of these repackers stack the odds drastically in their favor, where very few boxes contain a card more valuable than the cost of the repack, and a very low floor value, where the buyer can get crushed.
  
  
• Read Listings Carefully: Say you’re in the market for a baseball card repack. Ideally, the listing for a repack should contain some info about the quality of cards included. While most repackers don’t provide a full checklist, the better ones do at least let you know some of the top chase cards and players in each repack series.

• Manage Your Expectations: Mystery sports card repacks, just like live box breaks, are all about the thrill of the hunt. Buying a premium football repack doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to pull a 2017 Patrick Mahomes RPA. Manage your expectations before opening the pack, and remember to have fun!

Find Your Next Hit

Ready to experience a carefully curated repack mystery box and get in on the thrill? Order yours online at Giant Sports Cards, one of the most reliable card shops in the world. Order a Sasquatch Series repack today and Unbox Your Love Of The Game™ at our online sports card store or local card shop in the Atlanta area. Get free shipping on orders over $199.