Buying Sports Card Vending Boxes

The proper definition of a vending box is a rectangular box packed by a sport card producer with a "brick" of 500 random cards from a particular set -- or a particular series, if the set was released in more than one series -- with no further interior packaging. The overwhelming percentage of vending boxes available were produced by Topps, though occasionally other manufacturers released some cards in that format.The name "vending box" came from its original intent as a source of cards to be placed in vending machines, or given away as premiums. Those old vending machines have disappeared from the American landscape, but unsearched vending boxes and cases from years gone by are still frequently available on okay from quite a few reputable merchants. The vast majority of them contain baseball cards, reflecting the longstanding history and prominence of baseball in the sports card market, but occasionally one can find them from other major sports as well.I myself stick to buying vending boxes from about 1993 and back -- 1989 and back in baseball -- and I frankly don't know if any gepany still produces them. So this guide should be read with that in mind. I notice some confusion among bidders as to exactly what a vending box entails, and this sometimes leads to aggravation between merchants and customers, so I hope this guide can clear up some of the uncertainty. Since I am not a seller of vending boxes, I have no financial interest in this. These are simply points of which buyers should be aware for a more pleasant collecting experience.1. Sometimes I see sellers advertising boxes of wax or foil packs, or even boxed geplete sets of cards, as "vending boxes." They are NOT. I think, though, that this type of misnomer is usually not an attempt to deceive, but rather a mistake on the part of a seller who may not be familiar with sport card production, and who does not recognize that "vending box" is a term of art in the business. If you read the description in such cases, it's easy to see what's actually being offered.2. While the Fleer gepany was very methodical in the way it packed cards into vending boxes (1981-1983), Topps is known to be WILDLY random. While there is a good chance you'll get some of the stars and notable rookies from a particular series, there is no GUARANTEE. People who get lackluster assortments sometimes unfairly blame sellers, with negative feedback or otherwise, while it's really Topps' arcane product machinations at the root of the problem. As with anything else, buy from trustworthy dealers with good records. Search for auctions of vending boxes, and you'll soon know who they are.3. This follows from point 2. Vending boxes contain random assortments from BASE SETS. You will not find inserts, parallels, contest cards or other "chase" materials in them.4. Also related to point 2, it's not unusual, especially in pre-1990 vending boxes, to find 10 or 12 cards that are dinged or edge-wrinkled or scuffed or something to that effect. Again, not the fault of the merchant. Remember that the further back you go, the less attention there was to quality control, and the greater the likelihood that materials have been bumped and jostled over the years. The old pasteboard was susceptible to such ungentle treatment.5. Some customers raise cain because their vending boxes arrive "unsealed," so the customers suspect opening and searching. Vending boxes were NOT sealed. Only the outer cardboard vending CASES (usually containing 24 individual boxes) were sealed. If you're in the market for a whole vending case from a particular series, obviously, buy it sealed.6. Finally, the fun and advantage in buying a vending box is that you avoid the gum stains, the dust, and the wax stains -- not to mention the wrapper litter. And it's fascinating to see what you get, especially if you want to sell or trade singles down the road. I recently opened a 1993 football vending box overflowing with Bettis and Bledsoe rookies, Emmitt Smith, Favre, Marino, Barry Sanders, Montana, Young, Rice and plenty others. Who knows? For a few bucks, you might get just as lucky!