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What should I open?

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What should I open?
« on: December 27, 2011, 08:37:40 AM »
 

awesomeness12

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I got a variety box v4 for Christmas. These are the decks that were inside:

• Bee Smith Back
• Bee Erdnaseum
• Aladdin (from cincinatti)
• Arrco (from cincinatti)
• Fantastique
• Stud
• Smoke and Mirrors v6
• Mirrors v2
• If An Octopus Could Palm
• Tungstene
• Ask Alexander
• Aristocrat (reprints)

Those are the decks from the variety box v4 I got for Christmas. So which ones should I open? And what should I keep sealed?
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Decks I'm looking for: Black Crowns, Smoke and Mirrors v5, Centurions, Sentinels.
 

Re: What should I open?
« Reply #1 on: December 27, 2011, 08:51:22 AM »
 

junjie04

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If i would you, I would keep these sealed and the rest open
• Arrco (from cincinatti)
• Smoke and Mirrors v6
• Mirrors v2
• If An Octopus Could Palm
• Tungstene
 

Re: What should I open?
« Reply #2 on: December 27, 2011, 11:22:18 AM »
 

Lushbob

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Well, are you a collector? Or a performer? A lot of serious collectors will keep all of their decks sealed. Although, as you're asking us, I'm guessing that's something you don't want to do. In which case, I would say you should keep these cards sealed;
• Smoke and Mirrors v6
• Mirrors v2
• If An Octopus Could Palm
• Tungstene

But if you think the Cincinatti decks are worth keeping sealed, then do that too. If it were up to me, I'd probably open those decks, seeing as they're not that rare yet.
While I am a collector, I do also like to handle the cards that I get, although I usually only handle them for a couple of minutes. I prefer to get doubles of decks so that I can handle one deck, and keep the other deck sealed.
Really, it's up to you which decks you open. I have the same problem whenever I get new decks. But if I was in this situation, I'd open all but the ones I listed near the top of this post.
I hope you reach a decision soon, and have fun with your cards. You're so lucky to get a VBv4 for Christmas!  ;D
« Last Edit: December 27, 2011, 11:22:39 AM by Lushbob »
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Re: What should I open?
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2011, 04:48:26 PM »
 

dmbaggs

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If you have doubles of any open one of the decks! That's what I would do.


Also it depends on if you are planning to resell. If you aren't why not open them and enjoy the cards!? It's really up to you though.


I've been thinking the same thing about the David Blaine Variety Box I have coming... Part of me wants to open all the decks haha I don't plan on reselling any of them, so why not right? Part of me thinks I shouldn't open them all though. It's an internal conflict  >:(
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Re: What should I open?
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2011, 12:29:00 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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To me, this is a simple question.

If you want to stare at the box a while, watch it collect some dust, worry about it getting lost, stolen or destroyed, then, at some future point, if it manages to survive under your care, sell it for a profit, then by all means, keep them sealed and locked away in airtight, waterproof, bullet-resistant storage containers.

If you want to see just what all the fuss is about these decks that makes them so highly desirable besides simply the hype, then open them.  If you want to appreciate the beauty that went into the art and design, open them.  If you want to get the pleasure of the way they feel in your hands, glide along a table and along each other, the "new deck" fragrance of the finish, ink and stock, open them.

I open my decks - I don't care how rare they are.  If I have a second copy (or multiple spares), I keep those for posterity, trading or as a replacement when the original gets damaged, worn out or destroyed.  I've said this before elsewhere, I prefer actually taking advantage of the finer qualities like the design, art, handling, craftsmanship, etc. rather than the finer points of the science of creating packaging materials.  'Cause if you don't open them, that's all you'll get to enjoy about them.  Well, that and the resale value if you should decide at some point to flip them for a profit.

I think a good comparison here might be the example of the two guys who each wants to buy a computer.

Now, the first guy, he has enough cash to be a good computer, nearly the cutting edge in fact, but he's so obsessed about getting the cutting edge that he wants to wait for the next new model that comes along.  He doesn't want to buy something today that will only become obsolete within a week, or a month, or even a year.  His major problem is that no matter how long he waits, there's always a new computer waiting in the wings to be released and any model already available for sale is already obsolete as new models are being developed.  The cutting edge isn't a stationary thing - it's constantly being pushed forward as technology improves.  So he ends up waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.

Now, the second guy, he has the same amount of cash.  He takes the plunge and buys a machine.  It's a mighty fine computer, and he gets a lot of use out of it, both business and pleasure.  Sure, it was obsolete the moment he bought it.  So what?  He's got a machine that's good enough, does what he needs it to do, and he's actually getting to enjoy using it instead of constantly waiting for that next, great model that will surpass all the others.

He doesn't even care when his friends with less money buy the same computer, or even a better one, many months later as the hardware becomes more and more obsolete and thus lower in price to make room for the newer ones.  Why, you ask?  Well, he paid more than they did, to be sure, but while they were WAITING to use their computers until they dropped in price, he was USING and ENJOYING his the entire time - it's like the extra paid was for the extra time he spent with his machine that his friends didn't get.

The analogy is an imperfect fit, but it is a fit.  In my story, the first guy would sit on a deck of cards, waiting forever for its value to increase and increase, never once actually getting to enjoy it beyond the pleasure  of mere possession of the object.  The second guy would crack it open and enjoy it for what it is - a GAME, or more precisely, a construct made for the purposes of entertainment.  He is deriving pleasure on many levels that the first guy never will from the possession of the exact same object.
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Re: What should I open?
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2011, 01:02:36 AM »
 

Eyeball

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To me, this is a simple question.

If you want to stare at the box a while, watch it collect some dust, worry about it getting lost, stolen or destroyed, then, at some future point, if it manages to survive under your care, sell it for a profit, then by all means, keep them sealed and locked away in airtight, waterproof, bullet-resistant storage containers.

If you want to see just what all the fuss is about these decks that makes them so highly desirable besides simply the hype, then open them.  If you want to appreciate the beauty that went into the art and design, open them.  If you want to get the pleasure of the way they feel in your hands, glide along a table and along each other, the "new deck" fragrance of the finish, ink and stock, open them.


This. I don't think I could have said it any better. I too open all my decks, although I like to pick up a couple different decks at a time and I'll wait a week or two in between opening each deck. I also love the computer story as I can relate to that situation, and I don't regret dropping the money on my machine one bit.


Here is my advice, start with opening one of the decks you know for sure that you want to open, play with it for a few days, wait another few days (maybe even a week), let the anticipation grow, and than open another :D. I find doing this allows for me to appreciate each deck much more compared to opening all the decks at once or within a short period of time. This also allows you to take time and consider whether or not you truly want to open the next deck, because once you open it, you can't go back ;).
 

Re: What should I open?
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2011, 01:40:03 AM »
 

phantom1412

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For me, i open one each of all my decks. The rest are sealed to be sold or traded.
Everyone might think opening a deck will make it lose it's value. But for me, as long as i open the deck myself. It doesn't lose the value ( its not second hand deck, as long as i dont sell it to anybody). So, the point is are you selling those decks later or not.
 

Re: What should I open?
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2011, 02:54:28 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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For me, i open one each of all my decks. The rest are sealed to be sold or traded.
Everyone might think opening a deck will make it lose it's value. But for me, as long as i open the deck myself. It doesn't lose the value ( its not second hand deck, as long as i dont sell it to anybody). So, the point is are you selling those decks later or not.

You raise an interesting point.  Most of the vintage playing cards you see on sale are OPENED decks and still trade for a lot higher than the majority of the brand-new, still-sealed things we like to think of as rare.  Many aren't even complete decks with original packaging!  Some are just a single card!!

An open but well cared-for deck isn't necessarily completely valueless.  You won't get top dollar for it today for certain, but when you give it to your grandkids to sell on "future eBay" I'm sure it will have appreciated noticeably in value, maybe enough enough to pay for a few minutes of their college tuition...
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