Football Box – 4 Packs, 1 Graded RC – Bust #0004
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 |I have a confession to make — I’m a sucker for those packaged deals that you usually find at the local Target. You know the one, either the boxed deals or the blister packs that promise “one autograph or memorabilia guaranteed” or the “one graded rookie card guaranteed”. I can’t stop myself. I know I’m going to get absolute garbage. But it’s a sickness and I can’t help myself. I was quite relieved, however, when I was reading another card blog (I don’t remember who it was, or I would link them) and noticed that he also had purchased one of these packages. Suddenly it was okay if I picked one of these up, too. There’s security in numbers. I’m not alone in my dementia.
So a couple weeks ago, at Target, I noticed one of these prepackaged boxes, promising a graded rookie card, four packs and “a bonus.” I investigated further and something seemed amiss. For one, the lid looked tampered with, as if someone tried to peak in to see which graded card they were going to get. Another red flag was the absence of any other similar boxes. Even still, I decided to bite and picked it up. How could I go wrong for ten bucks?
These boxes remind me of picking up a “Grab Bag” at card shows when I was a kid. Remember those? In a little brown lunch bag? For two bucks you hoped you’d be getting an ‘84 Topps Mattingly or an ‘85 Fleer Clemens. But you ended up with an ‘85 Topps Ed Hodge and three ‘88 Donruss Rafael Palmeiros? Yeah, that’s usually what happens when I pick these boxes up, too.
So in the name of busting wax, let’s open the box and see what goodness lies within:
This was certainly unexpected. I actually think Cutler is going to be an above average quarterback. He’s not the next John Elway, but he’s definitely an upgrade from Jake the Snake. So this actually isn’t that bad of a card to get, even if it’s just his base Score rookie card.
Besides the Cutler card, what four packs were included? The four packs were 2005 Topps Total, 2007 Upper Deck NFL Artifacts, 2007 Press Pass, and 2006 Donruss Gridiron Gear. Along with those four was a stowaway pack, a Leaf Stars and Rookies. I can’t tell if this is the “Bonus” mentioned on the box, but I doubt it. It had one of those mark-down stickers you often see on old packs at Target. I think someone tossed an extra pack in, with the intention of getting some free stuff on the side. Well boo for them, yay for me.
They glued the packs to this inner piece of cardboard with gorilla glue or something, because it’s almost impossible to separate the packs from it. I’m certain some of the cards in these packs were damaged as I tried to remove them from the death grip of the cardboard.
More busting awaits!
