Can I Make Money Opening Mystery Packs?? ($1,500 Experiment)
A father and his sons compete in a $1,500 mystery pack opening challenge at Collect-A-Con, a predominantly Pokémon/TCG trade show with limited sports cards. The father spends $500 on mystery packs and wins the competition with $514 in pulled card value, while his sons struggle to break even despite their purchases.
Summary
At Collect-A-Con in Atlanta, a sports card collector and his two sons (Reeves and Harrison, with Cooper) embark on a mystery pack buying competition with $1,500 combined budget ($500 per participant). The father initially searches the show for sports card mystery packs, discovering that the event is roughly 90% Pokémon and TCG-focused, making sports card inventory scarce. He finds only a handful of sports card dealers at the show. After learning that sports card mystery packs are unavailable, the father pivots to purchasing Pokémon mystery packs to compete fairly with his sons. He purchases three $100 burger-shaped mystery packs (guaranteed PSA 10 Pokémon cards with English booster packs included) and one $150 Chinese New Year-themed mystery pack with a slab, plus additional Pokémon mystery bags, spending his full $500 budget. When opening his purchases, the father pulls notable cards including a $151 card, a $230 card, and a $57 card from the burger packs, achieving $514 total value—a $14 profit on his $500 investment. Harrison and Cooper's mystery packs yield disappointing results, pulling mostly low-value cards and ending with approximately $232 in total value from their $500 spend. Reeves and Mars perform similarly poorly, pulling only $225 in value plus $50 in unspent money for a total of $275. The father ultimately wins by a significant margin and generously gives all the pulled cards to his sons. The video demonstrates that while mystery packs can offer occasional profits, success depends heavily on which specific packs are chosen, with the burger-shaped mystery packs proving most valuable.
Key Insights
- The father notes that Collect-A-Con is approximately 90% Pokémon and TCG focused, making it difficult to find sports card mystery packs, forcing him to pivot to Pokémon products to compete with his sons.
- Burger-shaped mystery packs at $100 each offer guaranteed PSA 10 graded cards plus an English booster pack, but the value proposition is questionable since PSA grading costs $60-80 and booster packs cost around $7, with a maximum potential value of $300 and minimum of $55.
- The father's three burger mystery packs yielded high-value pulls ($151, $230, and $57 cards), while his sons' mystery packs containing Japanese and Chinese cards performed significantly worse with mostly single-digit to low-double-digit value cards.
- Reeves reports selling a PSA 9 graded Hakeem Olajuwon card for $12,000, having purchased it ungraded for $4,100, demonstrating significant profit potential in authenticated vintage sports cards despite the risk of counterfeit late-90s inserts.
- The father ultimately achieved $514 in total card value from a $500 mystery pack investment, making only $14 profit, suggesting mystery packs offer minimal return on investment despite occasional high-value pulls.
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Can you make money buying mister packs at a card show? Well, we're going to take on a crazy task to find out. Guys, are you ready? Yes. Let's go. So, I sent my sons with their $500. By the way, if you want to see the mystery packs that Reeves buys, visit the Card Crew channel. And if you want to see the mystery packs that Harrison is looking for, head over to our new TCG HQ channel, [0:30] where you'll see their adventures. And on this channel you will see how I buy sports cards and mystery packs with sports cards. I hope I can find something at this show, because Collect-A-Con is mostly a Pokémon and…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from Sports Card Investor
Are They Taking the CARDS or the CASH? 👀💰 (THROWBACK)
A video where participants are asked to choose between valuable baseball cards (Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani) or cash amounts. The participants make varying decisions, with some choosing cards for their potential future value and others opting for immediate cash.
We React to $600,000 Card Trades on Veriswap!
Two sports card experts react to and analyze over $600,000 in card trades on Veraswap, discussing high-value deals involving Patrick Mahomes, Shohei Ohtani, Kobe Bryant, and other collectible cards. They evaluate trade fairness, card rarity, player performance, and market trends while demonstrating how the platform facilitates secure trading.
Collectors Are GOING BROKE Buying Young Quarterback Cards
A sports card podcast discussing the collapse of young quarterback card values in football, the legitimacy of an $8 million Cooper Flagg basketball card purchase, and major winners and losers in the 2024 baseball season. The hosts debate investment strategies across different sports, advocating for proven veterans and legendary players over unproven prospects.
2026 Bowman Football Is HERE! Full Breakdown + Box Rip
A comprehensive breakdown and unboxing of the new 2026 Bowman Football product, which features NFL and college players together for the first time. The video reviews the product's various insert sets, autograph types, box formats, and promotional elements while opening a hobby box that yields two autographs and several chase cards.
Don’t Go to Your First Card Show Until You Watch This
A comprehensive guide for first-time card show visitors covering essential preparation steps, negotiation tactics, pricing strategies, and etiquette. The video demonstrates how to evaluate cards, work with dealers, find deals, and navigate the trading and selling aspects of card shows.