Ah, how X-ray vision would come in handy.
Trading-card collectors have it tough. So many sports, so many brands, so many cards, so little money. Try to snag just a few key cards, and chances are you’ll end up blowing your allowance opening pack after pack.
There’s got to be an easier way to find the best cards, right? Some folks think so.
Many collectors have made a science of trying to figure out which unopened packs contain the most valuable cards – often limited-edition “chase” cards randomly inserted into the packs, like a signed Ryne Sandberg (valued at $400). The find-it systems range from the high-tech to the if-it-feels-right-do-it approach.
“I go down to the bottom (of a box) and feel around for a good pack,” said Tim R., 11, a Bloomingdale resident attending a weekend trading-card show in town. “It’s an instinct where if I feel a good pack I’ll take it. And if I don’t look at the pack until I open it, I’ll get good cards out of it usually.”
“I usually go for the right upper corner,” said basketball-card collector Joey K., 11, of Roselle. “I picked that one from Skybox, and I got a Shaquille O’Neal.”
But some collectors have gone to more complicated extremes. Some have tried using metal detectors on packs to pick up a special card’s gold or silver imprint. Other cards have been rumored to be heavier than normal, leading some collectors to weigh the packs on extra-sensitive scales. (Of course, you can’t just go into a store and do that – and you’d hope the dealers aren’t doing that either.)
Jay H., 15, of Marseilles, said he uses a system of knowing the sequence numbers of certain Upper Deck basketball rookie cards, buying a pack from the top of the box, then using the numbers to figure out how many packs away his wanna-finds are.
The card companies generally say their cards are so well scrambled that “cherry picking” the best ones is impossible. Dealers say some strategies seem credible but none is foolproof.
“Every week I hear 20 different things that are supposed to work,” said William Mueller, owner of the Silver Reef store in Schaumburg. “I’m not sure that any of them do.”
What are they looking for?
Here are some clues that card-collecting sleuths look for when tracking key cards. Remember nothing is guaranteed:
Sequences. Sometimes cards are mixed in a pattern. If you know the order and can see a card’s number through the wrapper, you might figure out what’s in the pack. Also, if card (number) 14 is in one pack, card (number) 15 may be in the next one.
Magic numbers. Sometimes numbers appear on box bottoms. People have tried to tie the numbers to key cards inside.
Different-colored wrappers. Sometimes one wrapper appears to be a different color in the same box. It may still be blue but it’s the only one that’s this blue.
Weight. Some special cards supposedly weigh a bit more than normal cards.
Size. Special cards are sometimes made separately; they may end up a different size from regular cards.
