Group Breaks 101 – All the basics you need to know!

July 1, 2014 |
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What are Group Breaks?

The basic setup of a group break is that multiple people split the cost of the boxes (or a case) in the break and then the cards are divided up amongst the people in the break, sports breaks usually by team or hit, for non-sports breaks by character, hit, or pack.

It is a great alternative to buying a full case or box and they are a great way to be involved in a large break at a lower cost.

 
How Do Group Breaks Work?

The breaks are all done LIVE and you can participate in the fun by chatting with the breaker and others collectors in the group break. If you cannot watch the break live than don’t worry!! All our breaks are recorded so you can watch the replay once the break is over.

After the break the breaker will sort all the cards and send them off to the collectors that bought spots in the group break.

For example, if you were participating in a sports group break there would be X amount of spots available, where X is the number of teams in a competition: e.g. NRL = 16, AFL = 18 NBA = 30, NFL = 32, MLB = 30. Sometimes teams are combined to form a spot. This is usually done if those teams do not have many hits available in that product.

Each spot purchased would represent ONE TEAM.

You may choose to purchase one spot, or multiple spots. Once each spot is purchased and paid for, the boxes or case will opened and you will receive cards of your team for the group break that you purchased a spot(s). To cut down on cost of spots to the collector, usually the HITS only are sent out. Breaker will sometimes offer to send out all the base cards. With case breaks generally one FULL TEAM Set will be sent out.

Sometimes for random and draft breaks there will only be half the spots compared to the number of teams in the competition. This means that you will get two teams in that break. When this is done, generally a MIRRORED approach is applied. For example in an AFL random break, if you get spot 1 you also get spot 18, Spot 2 you get spot 17 and so on.

On Gimko the following types of breaks are available.

 
Team Break

A team break (aka Pick Your Team or PYT) is where every person in the break buys a specific team; then throughout the break cards pulled of each team will go to the person that they belong to. For example in an AFL break if you purchased Carlton, then the Carlton cards from that group break are yours.

 
Random Break

A random break is where every person in the break is randomly assigned a team (via random.org); then throughout the break cards pulled of each team will go to the person that they belong to (e.g. if you draw St George in an NRL break, all St George cards from that group break are yours).

If you are purchasing a spot in a random break on Gimko, you will be given the opportunity to swap teams with other participants before the break. Just log onto our forum and enter the relevant thread to do so.

 
Draft Style

A draft style break is where every person in the break is randomly assigned a draft position (via random.org or via live draw); whoever gets 1st pick in the draft gets to select first, 2nd pick gets to select second and so on. Drafts may be done by team (users will select which team they want) or by hit (users select which “hit” they want). Examples of both can be found on the forum.

If the break is based on teams, the results of the draft will be posted on our forum before the break and users will select the team they want in the corresponding order to what pick they got in the draft; then throughout the break every card pulled of each team will go to the person that they belong to (e.g: if you select St George, all cards opened of them are yours).

If the break is based on hits, the results of the draft will be posted on our forum before the break, once the break has been completed all the hits will be scanned and posted on the forum; users will then select the hit they want in the corresponding order to what pick they got in the draft.

 
50-50 Draft Random

A 50-50 break (aka Draft-Random, Pick One, Get One) is just as the name suggests. Half the break (first half) is draft style and the second half of the break is random style. So for the first half you get to pick your team as you would in a draft break and the second half the remaining teams that were not picked are randomed, one to each spot in the break.

 
Pick-a-Pack

A pick-a-pack break is just as the name suggests. You get to pick a pack from the box and the cards that come out of that pack end up going to you. This style of break is used when it is hard to divide a product evenly to each random spot.

 
Why do breaks on Gimko?
Gimko does not run any breaks ourselves. Rather we partner with sellers that have a good reputation in the hobby and are trustworthy and have been involved in the hobby for over 10 to 30 years.

Our breakers on Gimko try to offer something to every collector from the little guy collecting his favourite player or team to the high end guy trying to hit a great white whale. We try to make it as enjoyable as possible for every collector by doing the breaks LIVE with chat and try to accommodate requests made were best possible.

The best part of our breaks is the price you see is the price you pay. There are no hidden extra charges. Our breakers factor in regular shipping, supplies used, PayPal fees, the USD to AUD conversion, import duty taxes, GST paid, international transaction fees etc into their spot price. The only exception to this rule is registered shipping (if buyer elects to use it) and international shipping. The reason for this is because we want to keep the cost down of each spot to the minimum as possible.