Community Break: Three 1996 Baseball Boxes & 20 Hits! Now Open!

It’s been a while since I’ve done anything card related, so what better way to jump back into things than with a good old fashioned group break.

This has been in the works for a while.  I bought these boxes months and months ago.  I think it’s finally time to share the wealth and bust these bad boys.

Looks like we know two of the cards already!

1996 Finest, Series 1 & 2

24 packs per box, unsure of how many cards per pack back in those days.  If my lack of research is correct, there should be two refractors in each box.  There could be only one, though, so don’t hold me to that.

"Hobby Exclusive," screams the wrapper

1996 Fleer – Hobby

36 packs per box, again not sure how many cards per pack.  Each pack has one Tiffany Collection Parallel which is essentially a glossy version of the normally matte finished set.  There is also one insert per pack including the hobby only Team Leaders.  Other inserts are “Post Season Glory,” “Prospects,” “Smoke ‘N Heat,” Golden Memories,” “Rookie Sensations,” “Tomorrow’s Legends, “Road Warriors,” and “Zone” which are holographic foils.  The box doesn’t give me odds other than to say they range from 1:5 to 1:90 (probably the Zone)

Get a good seat for the Hit Parade

2004 Topps Clubhouse Collection

10 packs per box, 2 cards per pack, but they are all hits.  I don’t believe there is any chance for an autograph, but there are lower numbered parallels possible.  Every card in the “set” is a relic of some kind. There are contemporary (at the time) players as well as retired and Hall of Fame guys to be found.  With 20 hits in the break, hopefully just about everyone is likely to walk away with a hit.

RULES OF THE BREAK

Sign-ups
Now that you know what’s all included,here’s how it’ll all work. I’m going to keep sign-up open until August 3rd for people to join and buy up a team. After that,I’ll just keep whatever teams are left and hopefully trade them off for more quality stuff.

Cost of the Break
Unlike my past breaks, I’m going with the pick one team, get a random team method.  We’ll see how that works out for everybody.  The first slot is $23 shipped (may be more for international.  If you’re interested and okay with paying more for shipping, reserve your slot with $23 and I will quote the exact price USPS charges after your slot has shipped).

If you want to claim an extra slot, it will be only $20.  I’ll ask that you stick to two slots max since only 13 total will be available.

There are four teams that I’ll be keeping in hopes of adding to my personal collections, so they are off the table for claiming purposes.  They are: Braves, Cubs, Padres, and White Sox.  This will count as two of the 15 possible slots.  I, as organizer, am the only one able to pick both my teams.  Participants can only pick one team per slot. The other will be randomized after sign-ups have closed.

I would also suggest that people not pick the Diamondbacks and Rays as your non-random team.  They didn’t exist in 1996 of course, so that means you have only 20 cards in the whole break that MIGHT go your way.  You’re welcome to still pick them if you want, but consider yourself warned.

Fine Print
-I reserve the right to reduce the price for unclaimed teams as the deadline approaches (unfortunately not as likely to happen this time around), or allow people to claim more than 2 teams at that time.
-Any cards featuring multiple teams will be given to the team without a hit after the break is finished, or randomed off between those teams if neither/both have a hit. Any cards featuring no team will be randomed amongst all teams without a hit.
-If it’s between me and someone else,the someone else gets it (the only exception is if it’s one of my player collection guys, which I will take and compensate you for in other ways).
-If some other unforeseen circumstance arises,we’ll take a community vote as to how it should be handled.

Video
The box breaks will be done on video where you can see the cards and not my ugly mug. I won’t be able to swing a UStream feed because I’ll be scanning in between boxes. I’ll be opening them during the day on a weekday, so most people wouldn’t be able to watch anyway.  All videos will be shown on the blog here and on YouTube.  The plan is to post each box video and scan recap on it’s own throughout the following week.

Payment Due Date
******Payment is due on the closing date of August 3rd. Paypal is cracking down on “gift” payments, so feel free to send it as “goods” to avoid the hassle. That will help with shipping labels anyway.  This is coming from my own pocket (not the business, so please send it to: djibuti80 at yahoo dot com — or email me through our communitygum at gmail address to arrange something else). I will likely be breaking these on video on August 5th during the day and uploading the results and scans hopefully shortly after that, so payment must be in before that for sure.*******

Enough yammering, claim your teams!

Teams Claimed – Only Claim One Team per Paid Slot

Slot 1 – Jon, Community Gum (Braves & Cubs)
Slot 2 – Jon, Community Gum (White Sox & Padres)
Slot 3 – Play at the Plate (Rangers)
Slot 4 – Dodgers88 (Dodgers)
Slot 5 – Baseball Dad (Indians)
Slot 6 – Dave (Blue Jays)
Slot 7 – Daddyoho (Phillies)
Slot 8 – Nachos Grande (Reds)
Slot 9 – Junior Junkie (Mariners)
Slot 10 – Play at the Plate (Yankees)
Slot 11 –
Slot 12 –
Slot 13 –
Slot 14 –
Slot 15 –

The latest Community Break is open! Tell your friends and leave a comment if you’re in and for what team. Also feel free to call dibs on teams for trading if no one picks it up.

Ready????? BREAK!!!