Waiting for mine...

That is, my serious mojo as it's called in the hobby circles.

It seems everyone around is pulling great cards, winning great cards or simply has the funds to buy great cards (I'm so happy the guy in this video actually got excited about a good pull showing he is a true collector to a point). Seemingly everyone except me.

Why is this? Well, I have it pin pointed to a couple of things. First, I don't have the funds to buy any boxes that are more than $55 or so, and I hated myself when I paid that for a 2007 Bowman football box last year. Secondly, my Omar Jacobs collection is to blame to a degree. Finally, the definition of hobby mojo has changed over the years so some stuff that was considered mojo is no longer.

Chances are, if a hobby box has more than two guaranteed autographs and/or relics, I can't afford it. Don't believe me? Check through my posts and see if you find a hobby box break because I bet you won't. The last hobby box I busted was that 2007 Bowman box I mentioned above. As a matter of fact, that is the only decent hobby box I have ever busted. It didn't disappoint as it yielded an Adrian Peterson jersey that I sold for $20, two autographs which I traded for a total of three Omar Jacobs cards and a whole bunch of Chromes of which the majority got resold to one collector for around $15. The only other card of significance was a Bowman Orange Joe Newton rookie serial-number one of 250 which I moved for $5. So, I basically got my money back along with the cards I kept from the box. Not to sound like a greed-laden collector, but that is not major mojo.

I do quite a bit of selling online through The Bench Trading and Sports Card Forum. However, I do quite a bit of buying through eBay and both of those sites which leads me to my second point. My Omar Jacobs collection is potentially keeping me from finding that low numbered, autographed, multi-colored patch card because all the money I make from selling goes back into the market through Omar Jacobs cards. But, it's not as good as it sounds. I have passed up several Jacobs cards this year once they hit the $10 mark because it isn't worth it to me to spend that much on one card.



Just because I do a lot of selling doesn't mean I making thousands of dollars. I did $400 this past year if I am lucky. The reason? I can't afford to buy the good boxes which have the cards people want to buy, hence my third point. Major mojo is no longer an insert that falls one in every 721 packs like it used to. It is the quad autograph or six-jersey card that come from the products that cost $200 for a single pack.

What's my previous mojo I mentioned earlier? That would be a 1997 Collector's Choice You Crash the Game Instant Winners Mark McGwire inserted one in every 721 packs and a 2001 Donruss Class of 2001 Rookie Crusade Autographs Ben Sheets numbered to 15. Not too much compared to eBay's top listings now is it?

My best hope is to get lucky with a product like Bowman Chrome or Playoff Prestige. Unlike how it probably sounds, I don't want to pull some major mojo just for the sake of selling it off. I would likely sell it off, but not strictly for profit. I would turn that mojo sale into some nice Omar Jacobs cards as well as more boxes because let's face it, there's no feeling like opening packs. At least not for me. But, going through retail blasters that I have this year have yielded only base cards and parallels, which isn't that exciting even for a low-end collector like myself.



There is a part of me that wants to buy a box of those Upper Deck Football Heroes because that whole Heroes series has interested, and I plan on building that base set. Enticing...I did get paid today, but I have a new car. I suppose it depends the price. Maybe if I do decide to do that, I'll get a little Darren McFadden autograph mojo...well, probably not knowing my luck.

Meanwhile, I wish everyone luck in their box buying endeavors.