So you’ve joined us here in the card break group but so much is going on, you have no idea where to start! Here is a little FAQ to get you on the road to joining us for hockey card breaks! Card breaks are easy, fun, and can be very profitable, on top of the amazing connections you will form with fellow female hockey fans! You will also learn a TON and find yourself more immersed in games when watching them because suddenly you know a lot about other teams and players besides just your own favorites.
Here is a little FAQ to get you on the road to joining us for hockey card breaks!
What is a card break?
A card break is comprised of various Upper Deck hockey card boxes that are going to be opened by me on a live stream that lasts about 75-90 minutes. You will see every single card that comes out of them, with players called out by name and team.
What happens to the cards after they’re opened?
This is where you come in! Every card that comes out gets sorted after the break into each of the 32 teams. They then get mailed to the person who was assigned that team.
How do I get assigned a team?
We have two types of breaks – Pick Your Team and Randomizer. On Pick Your Team, you will purchase the team of your choice. On Randomizer, you will purchase the number of your choice between 1 and 32. After all spots have been sold, we perform a video randomizer lottery. We post this inside the break post comment section before the stream begins. It will show you (on video) the process of assigning teams randomly to each participant.
What if I don’t like the team I got assigned on a randomizer break?
There are many possibilities available to you here. First, we offer a 5-minute trade block at the beginning of the stream, where you can make known to the other participants that you’d like to trade. Many times, others in the group will trade with you. But if they don’t trade during the break – no problem! You can also trade or sell your cards after the fact. When you receive your cards, you can take photos of them, post them in our group and see if anyone is interested in buying or trading. We have an audience of over 1200, so this expands your chances of appealing to someone beyond just the 31 others you can trade with in the stream. OR you can take to eBay and list the cards for sale and make some money back.
What if my team is already gone on a “Pick Your Team” break?
This is where I get to teach you to open your mind and expand your possibilities! Think of a player you once liked from your team that got traded. You could pick their new team and possibly get cards of them.
Maybe choose a team that you know there are many fans of in our group. Hitting the right cards gives you “trade bait” possibilities – you don’t like that guy/team, but someone in our group surely does and they will trade you afterward for guys who are YOUR favorite that they don’t necessarily care for. I make trades with people all the time. There are people in our group who collect in many different ways and are happy to coordinate this with you.
Think of who the hottest players in the NHL are in general and choose that team. For instance, I’m always shocked when Tampa Bay Lightning gets taken near the end of a break. They won back-to-back Stanley Cups and Nikita Kucherov currently leads the league in points – wouldn’t you want to try and get some of his cards, which are hot right now?
Card values for super-hot players in the NHL can range between $1k to $20k, depending on the player and the type and rarity of the card. You can turn around and sell these and earn back the money you spent on the break. This helps fund your hockey lifestyle, OR you can roll it into more breaks and treat card breaks as an investment hobby. The sports card market is HUGE and growing quickly. It is not slowing down, so many cards are even great to hang on to as investments to sell down the road. Take for example rookie cards. If you hold rookies for a few years, and those guys develop, you’re looking at a very valuable collection you’ve accrued. Anyone who has Cale Makar rookie cards from just 5 seasons ago are able to sell them for a mint!
Do I have to be available to watch as the cards get opened?
No, your cards are your cards regardless of if you tune in to watch them being opened or not. However, in my opinion, the social aspect of the stream is even more fun than getting the actual cards themselves! So I recommend you try to participate in the live stream as often as you can!
How much does it cost to participate?
We have a wide range of breaks available for every budget. We offer some as low as $15 and we’ve had a Super Mega High Roller break with a $250 buy-in before. Mostly we stick to the $15-50 range. You will notice in Pick Your Team events that every team has a different price. These are designed based on the number of possible cards that COULD come out for that particular team from the different boxes, also accounting for who the hottest and most valuable players are that you could hit.
How do I sign up to be in a card break?
Every day I make break posts on our Facebook group that show photos of what boxes will be opened with an approximate time. If you visit the comment section, there is a link to click that will take you to Vegas Sports Shop, where we sell the break spots on Shopify. You simply make your purchase there. Then tune into the group at that time to watch the live stream. You can always find every open break by clicking the “Featured” section of our group – I keep them stored there, as well as a “Current Agenda” post that highlights the schedule for each day.
How do I watch later if I wasn’t able to participate live?
If you are on mobile, you’ll simply click the “Photos” section in our group, which also contains all the stored stream videos. If you are on desktop, you’ll click “Media” in our group and then from there choose “Videos.”
When do I receive my cards?
We mail cards on average every 7-10 days. We will group them together if you do multiple breaks. If we send you five breaks or more in one shipment, a signature will be required due to the value of the package.
What do I do with the cards I don’t really care to keep?
Your “Bangers” can be sold on eBay or other marketplaces to other card collectors. Let us know if you need help setting up an eBay store to sell on and we can get you on the right path.
They can also be traded with other members of the group. The beauty of our group is that we have fans from all over the league. So your “undesirables” may be someone else’s favorite team/player. It’s often as simple as making a quick group post with clear photos on it of cards you’re wanting to offload – other members then see that post and message you about trading for cards you DO want/collect, because that is their favorite team/player.
Many people end up donating their “Base” cards to local schools, libraries or programs like “Big Brother, Big Sister” if they have no use for them.