Hobby Box reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 165 Reddit reviews across 13 subreddits and 49 posts to rank the best Hobby Box brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/hockeycards, r/baseballcards, r/sportscards, r/footballcards, r/basketballcards. Top-rated brands include Upper Deck (4.0/5), Topps (4.0/5), Panini (3.8/5).
Stats
Reviews165
Subreddits13
Posts49
Brands57
Products61
165 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Upper Deck
4.0
(27)
"Hobby box of the cup that way you'll stop the gambling instantly after and save yourself alot of money in the future"
"Go big or go home... start with The Cup and then work your way down"
"I second OPC Plat. Such a fun set to rip."
"Since you said “mainly autos” SP Authentic is the best bang for the buck."
"I like Allure. It's basically a poor man's OPC Platinum, but it's a fun rip."
"I’m a big fan of UD Series 1 & 2 boxes as well as OPC and OPC Platinum."
"Wait for O-Pee-Chee Platinum to come out, or get Upper Desk Series 1/2."
"Wait for O-Pee-Chee Platinum to come out, or get Upper Desk Series 1/2."
"Allure is pretty and a bunch of fun/shiny cards."
"Midnight sons is probably best bang for buck when it comes to hits."
#2
Topps
4.0
(21)
"Thumbs up on Stadium Club - this year's color parallels look great & the photography on the cards is amazing, plus 2 autos per box."
"Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary is my favorite set every year. They look good, the retro style is fun, and I always seem to get good hits."
"Stadium club routinely has some of the best photography. It is easily my favorite set."
"I'd get a chrome platinum anniversary if it's available! Such a fun rip."
"Just buy a hobby box of 2023 topps chrome platinum. Nothing else will feel as nice as that."
"I would recommend 2023 Topps Chrome Platinum boxes. Especially blasters."
"I usually pick Chrome as most traditional, but I also like Merlin quite a lot."
"I would choose Chrome."
"Flagship Series One/Two and Extended HOBBY (not retail) is a great place to start!"
"Flagship series 1, Series 2 and extended are generally great entry boxes into the hobby."
#3
Panini
3.8
(16)
"My favorite value wise is certified personally, I think the base looks really clean and you get a bunch of hits with one of them being a guaranteed RPA."
"Donruss can hit big with downtowns and they look good."
"Certified is cool."
"Value wise id go certified or rookies and stars."
"Of those, I’d avoid Donruss. I’d probably go with certified."
"Certified is a good looking product and gives you good hits."
"Apparently the new Optic Hobby Blasters will have 4 mem cards and 1 auto."
"Fun rip without breaking the bank."
"Buy mosaic, black, or wait a bit for Absolute"
"So decided to go with this 2022-23 Panini Donruss Basketball Choice Box - wish me luck!"
#4
Hobby Box
3.4
(7)
"Unlimited budget? Then the cup! Less than that but still decent? I like premier and stature and ultimate."
"Found the box for $79 on steel city collectibles and $75 by a few card shops online and through stores on eBay storefronts."
"I’d probably buy one from 401 games too for the same price but yeah I don’t think it’ll go down anytime soon."
"If 500 is your spending limit, I would honestly do a box for no more than 300 and spend the rest on an insane patch."
"But yea hobby boxes can be good."
"Why not just buy singles you like instead? 300-600 is a good budget to have."
"People are disappointed with any hobby box there is. That is why ripping boxes are a gamble."
#5
Stadium Club
4.0
(6)
"A couple boxes of Stadium Club.. you won’t be disappointed."
"Stadium club is a fun rip."
"Stadium Club and Archives are the best value for the money in my opinion."
"Can't go wrong with one compact box of 2023 Stadium Club and a Hobby box of 2024 Big League together."
"Stadium club"
"Stadium club"
#6
Bowman
4.0
(5)
"Anything bowman, who knows maybe a superstar or 2 in 10 years has his bowman 1st."
"A lot of todays players will be out of the league in a decade."
"Bowman chrome is a good choice. The possibility of a high dollar Bowman 1st auto is huge."
"Bowman chrome and 2023 topps chrome would be my go to."
#7
Merlin
4.5
(4)
"Merlin always has solid checklist for rookies imo."
"Definitely get abox (or two) of Merlin."
"I would definitely say any of the Merlin boxes."
"Merlin, Stadium Club, Topps Chrome are my favorites in terms of value."
#8
Allure
4.0
(4)
"Allure is $70 for 21/22 and $80 for 22/23. Very fun set."
"Allure or trilogy are your best bets if you want an auto at that price."
"Allure would be my go-to, it’s my favorite."
"Allure has one sticker auto per box and both 21-22 and 22-23 hobby boxes are well under $100 USD."
#9
Big League
3.8
(4)
"Every other box has an auto on average for less than $30 a pop."
"Get him the Big League box for cheap."
"Big league is realllly cheap on DA cardworld."
"Not a ton of relics & autos but a lot of good cards for kids to enjoy."
#10
Artifacts
4.0
(3)
"Artifacts."
"I found artifacts to be a fun rip, and got several jersey relic cards from just 1 box."
"Artifacts. You can get 21-22 for like 70ish right now."
#11
Archives
4.0
(3)
"Stadium Club and Archives are the best value for the money in my opinion."
"I'm going a different route and going to say archives."
"2023 Archives is great. Hobby box has two on card autos."
#12
Donruss
4.0
(3)
"I think you can get a case of donruss blasters for 240-250$ range"
"2017 donruss NASCAR is anywhere from 30-50 bucks a box."
"I did a similar thing and I went with Donruss. I liked the look of the rated rookies."
#13
OPC
4.0
(3)
"Personally I’ve always like OPC platinum."
"22-23 OPC. Very much enjoy this set."
"22/23 series 1
Beniers, Boldy, Powers, Johnson, Reichel, the list goes on."
#14
Illusions
3.3
(3)
"Illusions is great. I don’t care if it holds its value, it’s an awesome rip."
"Illusions Hobby box has at least 3 autos and 2 mem."
"Illusions probably"
#15
Donruss Optic
5.0
(2)
"I personally love Donruss Optic"
"My favorite is Donruss Optic. I think the cards look cleaner as far as the design is considered."
#16
Credentials
5.0
(2)
"I just bought 2 boxes of credentials. Awesome cards."
"I personally like the look of credentials the best."
#17
2022-2023
5.0
(2)
"He is going to be a very happy kid!"
"Incredibly cheap, guaranteed autograph and very colorful cards."
#18
Court Kings
4.5
(2)
"Court kings cards are beautiful."
"I second court kings."
#19
Prizm
4.5
(2)
"For football prizm is the gold standard."
"Look for something high gloss products (Prizm, Select, etc)."
#20
SPx
4.5
(2)
"I Pulled a Cole Caufield Black Lustrous Rookie RPA out of a 2021-22 SPx box I got for half price."
"I pulled a Patrick Kane gold shadow box auto /25 from a 2021 spx. Pretty happy about it!"
#21
Select
4.5
(2)
"Select is probably my favorite of this year."
"Go to walmart, buy a $7 rotisserrie chicken and a few Select blasters, walk out a champ."
#22
SP Legends
4.0
(2)
"Has 2 or more, but from players from the past."
"SP Legends!"
#23
Optic
4.0
(2)
"Optic is the way to go."
"Optic if you’re willing to spend $800-1000 for a hobby box."
#24
Heritage
4.0
(2)
"Honestly I think Heritage is best for set building."
"I would say that now I prefer more of the higher quality, less cards products like Inception and Chrome Black."
#25
SP Authentic
4.0
(2)
"Usually yields 2 per hobby box."
"SP Authentic is a pretty good box for two on card autos."
#26
Fleer Ultra
4.0
(2)
"Matriarchs is up your alley as it is a fleer ultra set."
"Ask for matriarchs you can’t go wrong with a box of that set."
#27
Ultimate
4.0
(2)
"I really enjoyed opening 22-23 ultimate it’s $150 here."
"Not sure how much ultimate costs these days but that was my favorite for relics and autos."
#28
Marvel
5.0
(1)
"This set easily has my vote. It has the cleanest sketches... I've opened 3 boxes already and am lining up a deal for 2-3 more!"
#29
Marvel Masterpieces
5.0
(1)
"...the Marvel Masterpieces '92 Platinum has to be the best available right now."
#30
Joey Logano
5.0
(1)
"Just buy Joey Logano cards off eBay. You will save a ton of money and you’ll get exactly what you want."
#31
PSA 10
5.0
(1)
"Use it to buy PSA 10 cards on ebay you /really/ want."
#32
SPX
5.0
(1)
"I'd personally rip it for fun at that price."
#33
Immaculate
5.0
(1)
"I'm a fan of immaculate myself."
#34
Leaf
5.0
(1)
"I highly recommend Leaf Trinity for nice patches."
#35
Recon
5.0
(1)
"Recon in my opinion is the best bang for your buck."
#36
Revolution
5.0
(1)
"Revolution gets my vote as well. About $100 per box."
#37
Chrome Update Sapphire
5.0
(1)
"Chrome Update Sapphire. Buy 2."
#38
Midnight Sons
4.0
(1)
"The Midnight Sons set is cheap now too but those cards are thicker."
#39
Flair
4.0
(1)
"I'd buy the Flair it's cheap now."
#40
eBay
4.0
(1)
"Ebay sold can also be used and I think there are sites that keep a record of some of ebays sold history."
#41
COMC
4.0
(1)
"Go to COMc and look up the ‘22 Allure set."
#42
Artifacts Jersey and Patch Cards
4.0
(1)
"SP retail has jersey cards as does Artifacts, Allure, and SP Game Used."
#43
Mosaic
4.0
(1)
"Mosaic for now"
#44
MLS Foil
4.0
(1)
"I personally really like the mls fomest 2022 box."
#45
Allen & Ginter
4.0
(1)
"Allan and Ginter. Fun rip."
#46
Metal
4.0
(1)
"You can pick up Metal for less than $100cad on eBay now."
#47
AEW
4.0
(1)
"You can usually find good deals on AEW hobby boxes."
#48
Dave and Adam's
4.0
(1)
"I bought a hobby box from Dave and Adam’s for $108."
#49
O-Pee-Chee
4.0
(1)
"I love regular opeechee but it sounds like you want shiny cards."
#50
Panini Revolution
4.0
(1)
"2023 Panini Revolution it’s under $100 for hobby and the cards look good design wise."
#51
Extended
4.0
(1)
"Is always fun."
#52
Trilogy
4.0
(1)
#53
Chrome
4.0
(1)
"Regular chrome hobby has potential to hit autographs."
#54
Inception
4.0
(1)
"2023 Inception - beautiful cards, guaranteed hits."
#55
Series 2
4.0
(1)
"Definitely 22-23 Series 2."
#56
Donruss Blasters
3.0
(1)
"You have just as good of a chance to pull any driver as you do Logano."
#57
Old Collection
3.0
(1)
"Buy an old collection from offer up, screw these new boxes and their price tags."
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