looking to start collecting again

[steve B]

Originally Posted by swish54

Just be careful if you buy packs from the big box stores....people like to search those packs looking for the "hits." Retail also has lower odds for better cards than a local hobby shop.

In my experience, the retail blaster boxes are all over the place as far as sticking to the odds. I've had some where I got nearly nothing, and some where there were a lot of inserts. I mostly do the less "normal" sets though, so I think what happens is that the last blasters of a product that hasn't sold as well as expected get packed out with the leftovers. Some of those leftovers are pretty nice.

I also buy packs, either just a couple to see if I like a set, or if they have retail exclusive versions of the cards.