Is the Hobby a Gamble? What Are We Teaching the Next Generation of Collectors?

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE: https://youtu.be/hg5vlJ9qbmo

Opening packs has always been part of the fun.

You buy a pack of cards, tear it open and have absolutely no idea what's waiting inside. Maybe you pull your favorite player. Maybe there's an autograph. Maybe you hit something incredibly rare.

Or maybe you get absolutely nothing you wanted.

That element of chance isn't new to sports cards. But the hobby surrounding it has changed dramatically.

Today we have $500 hobby boxes, four-figure premium products, massive chase cards, online breaks, repacks, bounties, livestreams and social media feeds dominated by enormous hits.

So on the latest episode of the Reclaim CoLab Podcast, Herman Moore and Eric Wagenmaker ask a question that goes deeper than simply asking whether sports cards are gambling:

What behaviors are we normalizing through the hobby, particularly for the kids learning from us what collecting is supposed to look like?

Are We Buying Packs, Cards... or Chances?

That's where the conversation starts.

If you spend $10 on a pack of cards, you're obviously buying physical cards.

But what motivated the purchase?

Was it the cards you knew you'd receive?

Or was it the possibility of what might be inside?

Now change the $10 pack to a $30 blaster. Then a $150 box. A $500 hobby box. A $1,000 premium product.

At some point, are we still primarily buying cards?

Or are we buying chances?

And even if we are buying chances, does that automatically make it bad?

That's where this conversation gets complicated.

What Are Our Kids Learning From Us?

This was one of the biggest reasons Herman wanted to have this conversation.

There's something nostalgic and seemingly innocent about handing a kid a few dollars and letting them pick out a pack of baseball or football cards.

But what happens when the entire culture surrounding that pack begins emphasizing the hit?

Kids aren't just seeing cards at the local hobby shop anymore.

They're watching YouTube, TikTok and Instagram videos where adults explode with excitement after pulling a five-figure card. They're watching breakers rip cases live. They're seeing bounties, repacks, chase cards and enormous dollar amounts attached to whatever comes out next.

So what does a 10-year-old watching all of this begin to believe collecting is supposed to be?

Is the goal to build a collection?

Or is the goal to hit something big?

A Very Personal Perspective From Our Guest, Rob

For this episode, Herman and Eric were joined by Eric's friend Rob, whose experience brought an entirely different dimension to the conversation.

Rob isn't approaching this as an academic exercise.

He's spent significant time buying into breaks. He understands the anticipation that comes with waiting to see what gets pulled. He understands the rush when things go right and the temptation to keep going when they don't.

He's gambled big.

He's won big.

And he's lost big.

That gave us an opportunity to talk candidly about something that can be difficult to understand from the outside: the addictive nature of chasing the next outcome.

What happens after the big hit?

What happens after the big loss?

Why can losing sometimes make someone want to spend more instead of walking away?

And how different is the feeling of wanting a particular card from wanting the feeling that comes from revealing that card?

Rob's willingness to share his personal experiences made this part of the conversation especially revealing.

Breaks Changed the Equation

Breaking adds another interesting layer.

Instead of buying a box and owning everything inside it, you might buy a team, player or randomized position in someone else's box opening.

You could walk away with something incredible.

You could also walk away with very little.

But there is another side to it.

For many collectors, breaks are entertainment. They're hanging out with other collectors, watching cards get opened and participating in a community. Someone might knowingly spend $50 on a break the same way another person spends $50 going to a movie, playing golf or attending a concert.

So maybe losing money isn't necessarily the issue.

Maybe the more important question is why you spent the money in the first place.

Did you spend $200 because you wanted $200 worth of entertainment?

Or did you spend another $200 because you thought the next box or break might make back the $500 you already lost?

Those are very different motivations.

Packs, Breaks, Repacks, Bounties and the Modern Hobby

Put everything together and the experience looks very different from opening a wax pack at the kitchen table 30 years ago.

Breaks. Repacks. Bounties. Chase cards. Countdown clocks. Live chats. Instant comps. Another box. Another case. Another chance.

None of those things individually defines the entire hobby.

But collectively, they're worth talking about.

Has the hobby accidentally created a casino-like atmosphere without anybody consciously deciding to create one?

And if so, what responsibility do collectors, content creators, breakers, manufacturers and parents have in determining what comes next?

Maybe Opening Packs Isn't the Problem

This isn't an anti-pack episode.

It isn't an anti-breaking episode.

And it certainly isn't an argument that people shouldn't have fun opening cards.

Herman, Eric and Rob instead wrestle with where the lines might be between collecting, entertainment, speculation and gambling-like behavior.

Because opening packs can also teach kids some pretty valuable things.

Budgeting. Probability. Delayed gratification. Decision-making. Learning that something doesn't have to be expensive to be worth owning.

Maybe instead of teaching the next generation not to open packs, we should teach them how to understand what they're doing when they do.

Give them $25 and explain that when it's gone, it's gone.

Help them understand that the monster card pictured on the box isn't what they're likely to receive.

Show them the difference between spending $60 chasing a card and spending $60 to simply buy the card they actually want.

Most importantly:

Teach them the difference between wanting the card and wanting the feeling of revealing the card.

So... Is the Hobby a Gamble?

There probably isn't a simple answer.

And that's exactly why we wanted to have the conversation.

Sports cards have always involved chance. But the hobby our kids are inheriting looks very different from the one many of us grew up with.

The question isn't whether every pack of baseball cards is somehow inherently bad.

The better question might be:

What behaviors are we comfortable normalizing for the next generation of collectors?

Join Herman Moore, Eric Wagenmaker and special guest Rob for one of the most personal and thought-provoking conversations we've had yet on the Reclaim CoLab Podcast.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE: https://youtu.be/hg5vlJ9qbmo

Reclaim CoLabWhere Athlete, Collector, and Entrepreneurship Collide.