This chapter will take you through the types of sealed boxes/products available and which one is most suited to you.
You may start looking at the different products available from each manufacturer and wonder if a price is too good to be true… Read the below and you should know enough to be dangerous. Big League Cards already has a magnificent guide the different types of product available that can be found here - big thank you as this was the basis for this guide.
Hobby boxes
- A hobby box is the standard that most people mean when they discuss a box of cards.
- Sold at card shops and online distributors.
- Odds of finding a rarer card - variant/parallel, autograph or relic - are much higher than other products. Some hobby boxes will also guarantee a certain number of variant/parallel, autograph or relic cards in the box.
Jumbo boxes
- A larger version of a hobby box - typically with less packs but more total cards.
- Generally the best odds of finding rarer cards - so therefore a more expensive box configuration than a hobby box.
Blaster boxes
- Small box of cards that generally includes an extra pack for the same value as buying the same number of packs individually. For example a pack may cost $5 individually so the cost of five packs individually would be $25 - a blaster box may contain six packs for the price of $25 - this is the value of the blaster box.
- Generally sold at major retail establishments - Target, Walmart etc.
- The odds of finding variants/parallels, autographs and relics are much lower than a hobby box.
Retail boxes
- The packs in a retail box are intended for individual sale - meaning a retail box is meant to be shipped to a retailer who will sell the packs individually.
- Unlike other box configurations - there are usually no guarantees of pull rates for variants/parallels, autographs or relics.
- The odds of finding variants/parallels, autographs and relics are much lower than a hobby box.
Lite boxes
- A smaller version of a hobby box - generally with fewer cards and less rare cards.
- The odds of finding variants/parallels, autographs and relics are much lower than a hobby box.
Hanger boxes
- Designed to be hung from a hook rather than sit on a shelf for retail purposes.
- Generally sold at major retail establishments - Target, Walmart etc.
- The odds of finding variants/parallels, autographs and relics are much lower than a hobby box.
