The element of surprise in the sports card hobby

The year was 1975 when I first started to collect sport cards.  When this massive "Lot of Cards"  all started.  The first collection was stored in a shoe box under my bed in Peabody, MA.  It was my stash!    My single mom with very limited funds and a great heart would invest what little extra money she had to help me with my passion.  She gave me the .50 cents to buy a pack or two every time we went to the store.    There was something just fascinating to me about sport cards!  It was my introduction to many things and opening wax packs was a lot of fun and that pink stick of gum just tasted delicious!  I did not know too many of the players back then other than my beloved Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and Patriots players.  However, opening packs was my introduction to learn more about players on other teams.   It was the element of surprise of opening packs of cards and not knowing who you were going to get that I liked!   That was the thrill of the hunt! 

Flash forward to 2023 some 48 years later.   There still are wax packs and certainly the element of surprise is there to get an auto, rookie or game used of some great players.   However, for me as a vintage collector I would love to be surprised by cards from my childhood.   

So getting wax packs from the 1970's surprisingly is still a possibility.  However, if I did find an unopened wax that old it would most likely be sent to PSA and sealed forever and then eventually sold for profit.  Opening a pack that old seems just wrong.  It survived that many years unopened you simply should not open it.  Even though it would be so much fun! 

Buying collections of cards has been my focus for a number of years.  I would go to card shows, flea markets and yard sales hunting for a large "Lot of cards" to purchase.  This was my way of obtaining much of my massive collection.  It was my way of trying to rekindle that spark that opening packs did for me as a child.  Finding that hidden gem for that element of surprise and potentially recouping the funds on what I spent on the collection was the goal!   Certainly failed more than I succeeded with this.   However, had some success with it for sure! 

Now it is time to let some other collectors, dealers, and internet resellers to enjoy and profit from my "Lot of Cards".  My way of doing this now is to give people that "element of surprise" when they open my packages.  I always try to include extras.  Cards or packs people were not expecting.     The goal of all of this is for me is to sell my large "Lot of Cards" off in an affordable manner with that element of surprise that I think collectors/buyers will greatly enjoy!