What should I do with 300 unopened unlimited boosters?

[imnotbrown]

So i recently found out that the father of a friend of mine has been collecting magic cards since the game came out. Except there's a catch; he collects them in the form of unopened boosters. Now he had stopped collecting them pretty early on, but upon further inquiry i learned that he had around 300 boosters from the third print run (his words, not mine). Now with what I know about the history of the game I can only assume that this mean Unlimited edition. So after talking a bit, he asked if I could help him organize the boosters, see what sets they are, and maybe if we could get some money cards out of it, because though he collected the packs, neither he nor his sons ever played the game. Upon mentioning this to my friends, one of them who's played longer than I have said that in the early sets, the land would be mixed into the pack, if there was one, instead of at the back. He then said that you could push up the rare in the back to see it through the transparent packaging, and that I should do that, open the ones with money cards in them, and then sell the rest. But I know there are many other non rares that go for a lot more than some rares do (I'm talking to you, Berserk). So, my questions are:

Is what my friend said about older packs true?
Should I do what my friend said, and then sell off unopened packs? Or should I just open all of them, because of the poential value in the uncommons and commons?
If i were to get any of the power nine, for example, what would e the best way to sell them? Should this man sell these cards now, or wait?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[GGoober]

If you're looking to sell for money, then find out the market price of unopened boosters, and compare that to the individual market price of cards and the rarity (% chance to open card X) and see what works out to be the best deal for you. I'm inclined to say to hoard the packs even longer and there are people who would pay a bigger premium for hard-to-find old packs.

[dernestor86]

i dont really believe it is 300 unlimited packs, rather 300 revised packs. i mean if this guy didnt play mtg what does he know to distinguish alpha from beta. both was "limited edition" back then, so to most people like 1 printrun. revised would be the 3rd run.

if it is unlimited packs, only p9 and time vault are worth opening, except timetwister. also not worth opening duals. an unlimited booster can fetch quite a lot, much more than a twister or any dual would bring.

if it is revised, only open duals and sell the rest.

commons and uncommons from revised and unlimited are worth nothing compared to the booster value, so dont bother even thinking about it, you will loose money :-)

[Lemnear]

Sell them unopend, Not even a close decision.

Unlimited had a shitload of rares alongside Duals or power. And even if you draw a non-Blue dual I asume that you make less from selling it than the booster itself because you can Profit from the "draw Duals and power 9(10)!" Hype yourself.

The Trick with the Packs is true to an extend, but you can detect that if it was done as long as you know where to look ;)

He should sell asap because unlike the Price of Duals the value of power struggles for years ... especially Unlimited, which has no value for collectors. Monitoring the downfall of vintage in the Staates and the legal issue of Hasbro against Cockatrice with the Release of Power to MODO this Summer/fall, I have less hope for Paper power to rise which was the driving Force behind the Price of A/B/U booster the Last 5 years

[soltakar]

Booster packs for the older sets (up to Legends if I'm remembering correctly) used a plastic for the wrapper instead of the foil that is currently used. The upper part of this plastic was a white color and the packaging was pretty loose around the cards; this allowed you to push the cards up in the pack one at a time and see the names of all the cards in the pack. A lot of local shops would actually go through all the packs in a box and crack the packs with the high dollar rares to sell as singles, and then sell the rest as boosters to unknowing consumers (this is why I only purchased starter decks once I found out this was possible).

If I had these and was looking to simply make some cash I'd go through them all using the previously mentioned "push-up" technique to see if any high dollar cards are in the packs, and then try to offload the remaining packs unopened.

[Koby]

Keep in mind that loose booster packs are worth significantly less than a sealed box, exactly due to the ability to search them. Sealed Booster boxes are worth $$$, single boosters less so.

[thranmonster]

I think they could be 3rd edition, meaning Revised. You could do the push up trick and grab any blue duals, but I'd most likely sell the boosters unripped.

[Malchar]

The question basically boils down to this: How much do you think that the prices of duals will go up per year? Is it better to sell now or sit on them?

[imnotbrown]

I think they could be 3rd edition, meaning Revised.

The phrase "print run" was specifically used, meaning it would be unlimited, right?

[Koby]

The phrase "print run" was specifically used, meaning it would be unlimited, right?

This is way to vague to even know what it means. Ask him to snap a quick photo and you'll know for sure.

[Mr.C]

This is way to vague to even know what it means. Ask him to snap a quick photo and you'll know for sure.

This.

Probably Revised.

[majikal]

This.

Probably Revised.
Well he'll know for sure if he searches one.

[thulnanth]

The phrase "print run" was specifically used, meaning it would be unlimited, right?

Technically, Revised is the third print run. People often refer to Alpha and Beta as two different printings, but they're actually the "same run" as far as WotC is concerned...

First Edition - Alpha/Beta
Second Edition - Unlimited
Third Edition - Revised
Fourth Edition & on - as named

The first edition was "tweaked" as it was produced, giving us two styles of cards. I would hazard to guess if he knows nothing about Magic and is specifying print run it is most likely they're Revised. As others said, a quick pic would solve everything :wink:

Take it easy,
Jared

[Leftconsin]

I'm bought collections from people who haven't played in a very long time. Keep in mind that Unlimited was printed almost 20 years ago. The owner might be completely misremembering what he has. I've had people claiming they had stacks of Beta cards, but they were all Ice Age and Fallen Empires when I actually got to see them. Based off my prior experience with people who have not played since the early days, I wouldn't be surprised if the boosters turn out to be Ice Age or Mirage.

[pavlaugh]

I'll chime in as the white knight and say you should not do the "push up" method unless you are a scumbag; and unless you are judgment-proof, because doing it is likely fraud and a violation of your state's deceptive practices act.

Also, yeah, these are probably revised a.k.a. third edition. But you just gotta take a look at them.

[Jim Higginbottom]

I'll chime in as the white knight and say you should not do the "push up" method unless you are a scumbag; and unless you are judgment-proof, because doing it is likely fraud and a violation of your state's deceptive practices act.

Also, yeah, these are probably revised a.k.a. third edition. But you just gotta take a look at them.

This. Also, there are ways to tell if packs are searched.