In 2012, when my hobby of collecting football cards started, I used to go to Walmart on a weekly basis to see what type of cards were available. That year Topps had a special offer, if you buy what's called a blaster box, in certain blaster boxes contained a Captain's patch.
First off, a blaster box is the retail chagrin of what a hobby box is. A blaster box will generally sell from $10.00 to $20.00. But no more than $20.00. That's so the kids that are interested in collecting cards can afford to pick one up at their local shopping stores. A hobby box is strictly for serious collectors that are sold only at card shops or can be purchased from the secondary market like Amazon or eBay.
If your willing to drop several hundred dollars for a sports card that has not been over produced and contains a hit which is either a card that contains an autograph, game worn jersey, or a 1/1. Than hobby boxes is the direction one goes to.
Blaster boxes will and can contain in general anywhere from 50 to a hundred cards. However hobby boxes will and or contain anywhere from just 1 card or an average of 20 cards. This way a hobby box that's released will contain a limited series of cards that make a hit very profitable.
Blaster boxes have hits too. But they tend to be on the lower end of the spectrum. Although every now and then, the card company can and will put in a mega-hit that can be a find of a lifetime especially for a young and or old collector. Keep in mind that purchasing blaster boxes and or hobby boxes are exactly like gambling. You just never know what to expect. But that what's make collecting sports cards so exciting.
The not knowing of what might be a rare card or not. Below is a photo of the 2012 Topps special of which was a football players captains patch card. My hit was a Drew Brees QB of the New Orleans Saints.
When I went on eBay to see if there were other 2012 Topps Captain's Patch card of Drew Brees available, there were several selling between $10.00 to $15.00. When I searched for a 2012 Topps Captain's Patch Complete set, a seller had placed a complete set of 50 Captain's Patch cards for over $150.00.
That's one way to collect a complete set. Of course it's cheaper to buy a complete set in this way than it is to purchase a blaster box at Walmart for $20.00. You'll be going crazy trying to chase down every single Captain's Patch. Even if you had the money to buy 50 blaster boxes your odds are not that good as you'll end up with doubles.
As for the individual seller on eBay that's offering a 2012 Topps Captain's Patch Complete set 1-50, I have absolutely no idea how they were able to complete such a set. I can only assume that the aforementioned seller went to Walmart and purchased blaster boxes in a frenzy to be able to achieve a complete 50 card captain's patch set.
Your friend's, Toshi & Ezra
P.S. The way this works for the card company in profits and how a very young collector can profit from a purchase is if the card company can or will create a special hit. To entice more purchases, as an example, the Captain's patch card will have a complete set of 1-50 or so amount of cards so that a young collector will continue to purchase blaster boxes to create a complete set.
As for the young collector, it's not only the sheer fun and the collecting of sports cards but the idea of creating a complete set from A to Z can make a blaster box purchase a profitable expenditur.
Personally, I have a Queen Midas aka: Mrs. Toshi that turns a blaster box purchase into a rare hit. And for good measure a hobby box hit! Lol!
