The Differences Between a Rack Pack and a Grocery Pack of Sports Cards

22 August

The Differences Between a Rack Pack and a Grocery Pack of Sports Cards

We had a great question asked during our card breaks today. Perhaps this particular ask is a burning question you have, too. What is the difference between a RACK pack and a GROCERY pack? We can explain that for you.

With modern cards it is a little easier to tell the difference between the product types of sports cards you see. Using a Blaster box VS. a Mega box, you can compare both boxes and realize quickly that the Mega box lives up the the name; it is bigger than the Blaster. Card products from the pre-Internet days could be tough to decipher, though; you simply won't find a "grocery" pack of cards on your store shelves these days. When asked in our live card breaks today what the difference was between a "rack" pack and a "grocery" pack, we wanted to not just answer on our stream, but also write about it here for you to see the differences.

RACK PACK

1984 Topps Baseball Rack Pack

This is a 1984 Topps baseball rack pack we can use as an example. The important piece of information is the HOLE you see at the top of the pack. Right in the middle of the top of the pack, next to the "54", you can see a hole. A RACK pack was designed to place on the prong that extends from a store shelf. Like you see with batteries in a store today or little packs of screws in a hardware section. A "rack" pack would hang right on the rack of a shelf in your local five and dime. You can also see the top three cards and the bottom three cards on pack.

GROCERY PACK

1982 Topps Baseball Grocery Pack

You see a 1982 Topps grocery pack above. The big piece of information here is there is NO HOLE in the grocery pack. A grocery pack was not designed to hang from the store rack but was placed on the actual shelf. Another noticeable difference is you cannot see the cards in the grocery pack like you can a rack pack.

The number of cards and wrappers will vary by year but the easiest way to spot the difference between a rack and a grocery pack is the hole in the top for the packs to hang.

Have you also wondered what the difference was between a Topps and an O-Pee-Chee OPC pack? We have that info HERE for you

The rack and grocery packs take us back to the pre-Internet days when all the big decisions in your life were which lunchbox you picked out for school (I wanted ALF or Thundercats but oddly rocked a SilverHawks) and if you could play Keystone Kapers on Aarti after dinner.

We have broken both rack packs and grocery packs here at Vintage Breaks. We have a wide variety of products and sports on the site for all of your needs! From vintage Cello packs like this 1962 Topps baseball pack to 2022 Panini Legacy football. You can window shop all of our breaks here:

WHY CHOOSE VINTAGE BREAKS?

Vintage Breaks offers THE BEST VALUE IN BREAKING.

When you check out for a spot on the site, the price you see is the price you pay. Taxes and shipping are included! Your cards always come protected in holders. The last time you mailed a package out had to have set you back more than three bucks, right? If you buy a $3.00 spot, you get your card holdered and shipped for that price.

Lack of product in stores has been a problem; we see the same empty shelves that you do. If you can't find cards, Vintage Breaks is your solution.

FUN! Cards are our passion! Isn't is just more fun to chat with other collectors? Come hang with us and other collectors just like you during our breaks!

A Vintage Breaks, we have our main breaking show in New Jersey (The North), to go with our night owls in the South (Georgia), and the West (Arizona). You can always check our CALENDAR to see when we're breaking.

VINTAGE BREAKS IS BUYING!

If you have sealed wax, vintage or modern, that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. We're always interested in both sealed products of both sport and non-sport. Whether you have that pack of 1977 Star Wars, that rare 1955 Bowman cello pack, a wax box of 1984 Topps football, Pokémon, or 2019 Panini National Treasures basketball you'd like to sell, we'd love to hear from you!

If you have any questions about a product, break, shipping, or even if you're interested in SELLING a collection, reach out any time!