Cardsmiths Breaks Quick Group Break FAQ:
What is a Group Break?
A group break is where people share a box or case of cards by dividing up the product by team, player or some other method.
How do I join a break?
Click on the Group Break Store and choose the box or case that interests you, grab a team or a slot in a random team break!
When does my break happen?
Check the Calendar, all breaks are shown here with times shown in PST. Breaks start at 3:00pm PST and last into the night. We break 3 to 4 days a week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday!
When do I get my cards?
After a Group Break is completed, the cards will be sleeved, toploaded and sorted promptly. Orders for each week ship out Tuesdays. Remember, there are usually several cases worth of cards being sorted and shipped at any time!
What cards do you ship?
We always ship any and all autographs, memorabilia and numbered parallels and rookies from the breaks. For new release multi-box or case breaks we generally ship all cards including base. For some base-heavy products, we like to donate the veteran base! Check the description of the break before purchasing to be sure if all base ships!
Where can I watch the break and where do I see what teams I have?
You want to watch the breaks from my “live video feed” which is on the main menu of the website. We now use Twitch for streaming. If you’d like to chat, get a free account at twitch.tv!
I missed the break, can I see what was pulled?
Past breaks can be viewed instantly on my YouTube Channel.
What different types of breaks do you do?
There are several types of group breaks run on this site which cater to all types of collectors, so feel free to browse and choose the product and method that works best for you! Remember, your participation gets you every base card, insert, relic, autograph or other hit with your team’s name on it.
Team Breaks – these allow each collector to buy a single team from an entire box or case of cards. Teams are priced fairly based on the market demand for each team. This is the best option if you are looking for a certain player or a fan of a certain team.
Random Breaks – all teams found in a product are priced the same and randomly distributed. You are buying a guaranteed slot in a break with a team to be assigned just before the product is opened. Sometimes if you don’t feel like buying your favorite team and just want something different, this can be a fun way to get some cards from a different team!
Team Draft Breaks – all teams found in a product are priced the same and drafted just before the break begins. Draft order is randomized and each collector who bought in gets to pick a team, like fantasy sports but with cards!
Hit Draft Breaks – All buy in slots are priced the same. After the break is complete we randomize all participants and you will draft from the pool of hits.
Drafted Team Breaks – NEW! You can now rank your teams after purchase and everyone gets a drafted team!
Mixers – sometimes instead of opening large quantities of a single product, it’s fun to mix it up! We combine boxes from a single sport that may be from multiple years or brands!
Terms and Conditions:
- What am I getting when I purchase a group break slot at cardsmithsbreaks.com?
Purchasing a slot in a group break at Cardsmithsbreaks.com does not mean you are getting the entire box or case of cards. This is a group-break service where multiple people share the cost of a box, boxes, or case of cards. It’s a service designed to allow you to buy a team from a case, box or boxes, or a random team from a case, box or boxes. You will receive all cards from the team you purchase, or the random team you are assigned.
- What happens if my team doesn’t have any autographs or memorabilia items in the break?
By purchasing a slot or team in a break you are acknowledging that you understand that there is no guarantee that you will receive any particular card(s) for the particular team. You will always receive a team, or random team, or drafted team, or drafted item for the breaks.
In the event your team does not receive an autograph, relic, or numbered parallel card, you will be shipped an unopened pack of cards. Everyone always receives cards from each break!
No Purchase Necessary. You are not required to make a purchase to have a chance to obtain randomly placed cards and other items that are contained in some but not all of the card packages. For more information, see the card manufacturer’s No Purchase Necessary statement that appears on its packages.
- This sounds fun, but how do I know it’s legit?
All breaks are completed first on live streaming broadcasts at https://www.twitch.tv/cardsmiths/videos/all – no breaks are ever shown from recorded video. Boxes and cases are opened live and all activity is kept on screen so no funny business can go on behind the scenes. I’ll be seeing the cards pulled from each box at the same time you do! Feel free to register for a user name as well and participate in the live chat.
- What if I want to buy in, but cannot be present for the break?
All live breaks will be recorded and posted to YouTube after the break is complete. Feel free to watch the break later that day or whenever you have an opportunity. Either way, the cards will still show up in your mailbox!
- How do I know your random process is fair?
All randomizations are completed on http://www.random.org/ via the list randomizer. Each random can be verified through the “validate random” button generated after each break with a timestamp!
- You just pulled a multiple autograph or relic card with a bunch of players on it, who gets the card?
Here are the rules on how multiple team or player cards are divided:
This section is split up between breaks that are “Purchased Your Team/Team Auctions” or “Random/Drafted Team”
- Random/Drafted Team Breaks:
Unless someone owns more than 50% of the teams on the card, the team on the top, left, or top-left will automatically get the card. If there are duplicates of a card we will try to alternate them to attempt to give a copy to all teams represented.
Everyone has an equal chance in a random or drafted break to get any team. So there’s no reason to random a card after we already randomed to get the teams in the first place!
2. Team/Player Purchase Style breaks:
As of September 1st 2020, we are now doing randoms on cards where the players or teams were purchased in a team purchase or team/player auction in the method below:
As we do for all randoms if someone owns more than 50% of the teams on the card they get it automatically.
For a team purchase, team auction or player auction, each team or player on the card will get one entry into the randomizer equal to the amount of the winning bid or spent on that player or team!
Once names are put in the randomizer, the top name after 8 randomizations will receive the card.
Example #1: If a card has the Giants, Dodgers and A’s on it and John has the Giants and A’s and Bill has the Dodgers, John owns the card automatically because he owns more than half the teams on the card.
Example #2: If a card has the Giants, Dodgers and A’s on it and the Giants cost $50, the Dodgers cost $100 and the A’s cost $30. We will put the Giants in random.org 50 times, the Dodgers 100 times and the A’s 30 times. Whatever team is #1 after 8 randoms gets the cards
- How do you assign players with no professional team shown on the card?
Sometimes college or non-licensed cards do not list the city, or team name of a professional team on the card. In that case, we go with the team they are currently playing on when the product is released, or if retired, the team the player played the most years with! Not the team they last played for! If we break a product months or years after the original release date we still assign the player to the team he was on at the time of release of that product.
- I’ve purchased cards online before and was very upset when I received a plain white envelope in the mail with my card in it. How do you ship your cards?
We take pride in the speed and quality of our packaging and shipping! Anything of value including numbered cards, relics, autographs or just stuff that looks nice will be well protected with a penny sleeve, top loader and sealed in a team bag to protect the card from slipping out during delivery. Small orders will use bubble mailers and larger orders may arrive boxed. All packages will have delivery confirmation and orders over $200 will usually require signature on the package to assure that it gets to you.
- Do you reward your loyal customers?
Customers participating in breaks at CardSmiths have a great community as is evident in the chat rooms during the live events. We appreciate all of your business and have in the past featured giveaways that may include free boxes being added onto breaks, free slots in future breaks and of course the Cardsmiths Loyalty Program. For every dollar you spend here, you receive points that you can exchange for store credit and discounts off future purchases. Check your account page to see your current point total; you may notice the option to take money off your purchases when you go to check out!