I buy lots of cards from Target and Walmart. Those stores are probably where 75% of my purchases occur. But, until about two weeks ago, one particular thing had never happened to me even though I’d heard horror stories of it happening to other collectors.
I purchased packs of cards at Walmart that had been opened, searched, resealed, and then returned!
To say I was shocked would be an understatement. But, I should’ve known something was wrong based on how the packs felt. The two packs I purchased were 2016 Score Jumbos that retail for just under $5. From the moment I picked them off the peg something felt different, which is exactly why I bought them. You could see through the wrapper that all the cards inside seemed to be the same (white borders, etc) so I assumed it was just a packaging mishap of some sort.
Boy was I wrong!
When I opened the first pack, I noticed right away that there was only one insert, as its full bleed color was easily spotted against the white borders of the Score base cards. In my head I immediately know something’s wrong. Then, as I’m looking at the cards around the one insert card (of Johnny Manziel) I see the problem. There were 2013 Topps football cards in place of the 2016 Score inserts that should’ve been in the pack!
Then in the second pack it was the same thing except there were no inserts from 2016 Score left in the pack! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!
Some fraudulent collector had purchased at least these two packs (and honestly probably more than two), taken most of the inserts out of the packs and replaced them with unwanted cards that look like the belonged, at least on the surface. They then returned the packs for a refund or at least store credit.
Luckily, I was able to return the opened packs and Walmart refunded my money without hesitation but I still can’t believe this happened.
If there’s one thing you learn from this story, it should be that even fraudulent hobbyists think Johnny Manziel cards are worthless!
Happy collecting!
That’s the #1 reason why I no longer buy wax packs. The stories of dealers steaming them open and resealing them. Then they have the nerve to put them on the racks in their stores knowing full well that the packs are virtually worthless. I’ve never heard of regular plastic packs being an issue. Good to know!
That is crazy! Once as a kid I got a pack that had a different brand of card in it. I never thought about someone doing something like that but I guess it’s possible. That would have been in the early 90’s though. Can’t remember the specifics now though. People do some crazy, messed up stuff!