How To Become a Junk-Wax Junkie!
One man's junk wax is another man's treasure!
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We've got what you're looking for: Pack-ripping excitement and Hall-of-Famer rookie card hunts -- all for very little money! The first taste is free!
This Week’s Newsletter Highlights!
🏈 ⚾ 🏀 HOW TO BECOME A JUNK-WAX JUNKIE!
🏈 ⚾ 🏀 SPORTS CARD TRIVIA!
🏈 ⚾ 🏀 IF PATRICK IMHOFF BECAME CEO OF FANATICS
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📰🏆📰HOW TO BECOME A JUNK-WAX JUNKIE!
Happy Hobbyist Scott Hedrick steps in to pinch-hit with this week’s article!
I have a bad habit I just can’t seem to kick… junk wax.
See, this habit all started when I began working from home back in 2020, and I needed a little distraction from all the uncertainty going on at the time.
I was already head-over-heels back into the hobby of my youth. So, I thought, what better cure for the doldrums than opening some packs every single weekend?
At first, this became a bit cost-prohibitive, as I initially turned to my usual blasters and megas of current product. However, I soon found that this wasn’t sustainable.
I sought an option that would be wallet- (and wife-) friendly, but still provide me with some quality ripping entertainment. Well, since my drug of choice has always been nostalgia, enter junk wax!
The Research!
First thing, I got out a notebook, pulled out some old Becketts, and started making a list of all the sets between 1987 and 1999 that fit what I wanted. I needed these cards to be reasonably priced and pique my interest. For example:
One of my favorite baseball card sets of all time (1987 Donruss or 1987 Topps)
A set with cool inserts/parallels to chase (1992 Leaf Series 1 baseball and 1993 Fleer Ultra Baseball)
A set with inexpensive HOF rookie(s) (1990 Pro Set Football and 1990 Score Hockey)
A set with interesting features (such as David Ortiz’s and Alex Rodriguez’s first Topps card in 1998 Topps Baseball)
The Hunt
First, I searched Baseball Card Exchange, then Dave and Adam’s Card World second, before finally resorting to eBay last. I wrote down all the prices in my notebook,
I figured, cheap wax notwithstanding, this could get pricey if I went nuts and opened a box per weekend. So, I laid some ground rules for myself.
I allotted myself to open up to 9 packs for each weekend night, which meant wax boxes took at least a couple of weeks to go through, and rack-pack boxes would take at least 4 weeks (each rack-pack has 3 packs).
I don’t always hit the quota, but this keeps me from blowing through my stockpile.
Naturally, I would lean toward the sports that are in season when choosing what is next (although, there sure isn’t much “junk wax-priced” basketball anymore).
The Haul
I made my first big order from BBCE -- and was off and running!
Well, what I once considered a temporary thing, has now gone on for 4-plus years!
In the meantime, I’ve cycled all the way through my list a few times (although, I have had a couple of one-timers because of the price increases that came). These days, I get the ripping itch by Wednesday, and I still enjoy the heck out of it. I sometimes even involve my kids (when they are keen to, although, neither has completely bought into the hobby, quite yet).
On a side note, one thing I have learned from all this that may not be common knowledge to others: even though there’s roughly a bajillion of each of these cards out there, that doesn’t make finding PSA 10 level cards any easier, even straight out of the pack. Quality control, while pumping all these things out, seems to have been thrown out the window.
No matter, though, it’s all for the fun of it, and at this point, it’s got a hold of me. Bring on the junk!! Let all those suckers out there use their card budgets on the likes of Mantle, Mays and Musial… I just pulled my 14th Sammy Sosa rookie!
⚾ BASEBALL CARD TRIVIA!
Send me the answer to this question – you could win a free card from me!
The 2024 World Series pits both league’s Home Run leaders (Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani) against each other for the first time since when and who were the sluggers?
Email your answer to gonoscards@gmail.com for a chance to win this card — 1975 Topps MINI Most Valuable Players 1957: Mickey Mantle & Hank Aaron!
The answer to last week’s question: We didn’t get an answer to last week's question – so check it out and give it a shot!
🏈 ⚾ 🏀IF PATRICK IMHOFF BECAME CEO OF FANATICS: #14 of 23
Imhoff breaks down all the moves Fanatics should make, just two years away from when they unify the baseball, football and basketball card licenses in 2026. He shared his first move in our June 20 newsletter, and he’ll continue to share more of these going forward.
No. 14 – INCREASING INTEREST FROM THE NEXT GENERATION OF COLLECTORS
Getting kids into the hobby would be crucial for the continued success and interest in collecting. I would start with two avenues to generate interest.
The Classroom: If you were in elementary school in the ‘80s, you may remember the Book-It program. It was simple: read books, log them on a chart, get rewarded with a personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut. I would bring this back, but instead of pizza, you would get cards. The more you read, the more you earn.
Presence at Youth Sports: I would partner with local card shops, giving them free product to hand out at tournaments and games to support the hobby and their local businesses. This would require some form of oversite, but that could be figured out.
You can subscribe to Patrick Imhoff’s Substack Newsletter here, and get his Thrifty Thursday picks!
🏈 ⚾ 🏀JOIN THE HAPPY HOBBY SPORTS CARD CHAT!
By subscribing to our newsletter and joining our sports card chat, you’ll get access to other Happy Hobbyists, and if you become a premium subscriber, you can get in on our “Happy Hobby Buddy Breaks,” which we run every couple months. They’re basically, four-to-six box breaks that will be available at close to cost, and you’ll get multiple teams (So, six people in a baseball break would get 5 teams for just one total price. Watch the video for more info!
Coming Next Week!
🏈 ⚾ 13 ANNOYING CARD COLLECTOR TRAITS WE ALL HATE!
⚾ SPORTS CARD TRIVIA!
🏈 ⚾ 🏀 IF PATRICK IMHOFF BECAME CEO OF FANATICS!
🏈 ⚾ 🏀 REMEMBERING THE BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM 2005 IN EACH SPORT!
🏈 CARDS THAT MAKE US HAPPY!
***Important Card-Collecting Articles on DavidGonos.com***
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Have a #HappyHobby!
Podcast Music: "I dunno" by grapes - 2008 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)
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Great stuff Scott! I was on BBCE almost immediately browsing. I have opened up a box of 91 upper deck hockey in the last year, which was the first full box I ever opened as a kid, and it was awesome to relive those cards and experiences, all at a very reasonable price. I may have to find another box, but you are on to something here.
I’ll have to think on that trivia, that’s a good one. Man, Patrick, I love the Book It reference, those personal pans were so awesome back then! And I think it’s a great idea with card to boot!