To open or not to open?

[fvzappa]

Okay, so I'm browsing ebay like many of us do. I'm not a type 2 person, I like to play with all those old cards...

Anyhow, I purchased an Urza's Saga tournament box for a great price- it'll be about $175 shipped. So, is this something that I'd be better off keeping unopened, or should I open it up & hope to get all of the good cards?

This isn't an item I 'needed', I just bought it because it was a good deal. I already have a decent amount of Saga- a full set, & duplicates of lots of stuff (the mediocre stuff, because the top 10% of the set is way too tradeable & already gone). I am a collector more than a player, but I enjoy having a large stash of cards at my disposal to play with. I usually buy a few boxes the moment a new set debuts & have way too many cards around here.

So what do you think? Keep it unopened or bust it open?? Do I just hang on to it for a while as these sets' unopened product becomes more scarce?

[wizard1]

If have all you need why are you even asking yourself this question

I say keep it sealed and hold on to it, if you need specific cards its more economical to just go out and find the singles than to open a box to get them.

[PolarBearGod]

Do NOT open that bad boy. If it still has the WotC shrinkwrap, then by all means store it somewhere safe and it should double what it's worth now in about three to four years.

[fvzappa]

(I wanted to post a link and can't. Look under Ebaay's completed auctions)

Well, I guess the mental debate for me is questioning whether or not the singles I get out of this is going to make it worth opening. The value of the unopened product is greater than the $175 I paid for it. Most places I looked were selling it in the $300-$350 range...

I have purchased unopened product in the past just to spice up the trade binder & get something new. Usually I am motivated by needing a card or two... and let's face it- opening packs is FUN. Right?

I also recently purchased a few unopened Japanese boxes (they'll be here this week). But these boxes are newer than the Saga box, & cost me about $50 each, shipped. They at least have foils in them. Not a foil person, but I like getting good ones in packs to trade. Or pay for the box, as the 8th edition BoP I got last week, did.

It just seems to me that there comes a point when the unopened product is no longer worth opening at it's price. At $300 for that starter, there's no way it is worth opening, but at $175, it may be. But, it could also be worth keeping unopened for the reason that it's just not cheap product anymore. And, eeryone seems to be selling it at $300+.

I've been purchasing a lot of unopened product as of late to "catch up". Hadn't done much for a while- I disappeared from here for quite some time, only surfacing when I had weird 'M' cards that weren't on here- & just got behind. I collect sets of everything. Have 98% of all the Alpha-Fifth Dawn cards. Collect misprints too. But just trying to complete these sets.... I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not gonna just go & buy a complete set, there's no fun in that. No extra cards to play with or packs to open!

So anyhow, I digress. There just comes a point, & price, when the price of an unopened pack/box/case exceeds the reasonable value of the product inside. When, in your opinion, does this happen? And do you stay away from purchasing it, buy it & open it (because you just don't care too much), or 'sit on it'? Or what?

[equi-nox76]

I never bought a box just to keep it, every sealed box I received was opened immediately. Reason: I don't want to make profit and

Usually I am motivated by needing a card or two... and let's face it- opening packs is FUN. Right?

No matter the value I can get for it in X years, I open it.
Chris

[thulnanth]

You most likely won't get your money back in singles - too much of a gamble. The real joy of sealed (besides collectability) is that you can run drafts or tournaments with "older" stuff.

Have some buddies over and run a sealed event - lots of fun, and you'll have the cards at the end to boot!!!

Take it easy,
Jared

[Mykeatog]

Keith,

I don't know much about retail prices, as I am more of a buyer than a seller of things, but I know for a solid fact that it is awful business to open that box.

I don't think it is going to up quickly - surely in the next few years you should be able to unload it for a profit, but it isn't a good box for investing at all. It has matured and currently sits in the same range it has for 3 years. Until a card that isn't currently broken gets super broken (the way starter 1999 got expensive), and even at that there is a lot of Saga singles out there.

As far as value is concerned you are going to lose money opening that box, period. Take a list of the top 36 rares, and try to establish a good value for it - realize that it isn't going to cover the cost, the worth, or the potential worth of the box.

Nostalgically it would be pretty fun to open, and you would only be losing 50 - 100 dollars if things went well, so if you can come up with a fun way to open it (like a Urza's Sealed tournament) or something of the sort, then you should be able to justify opening it.

Mykeatog.