Needed Batteries, Came Home with Cards

Well, as is often the case on Sunday mornings, I realize I need some throwaway item like batteries or some clear tape or whatever, and the options in walking distance from my house are the dollar store and the gas station. The gas station has better stories from the guy who has family in Montreal and Algeria and works behind the counter. but the dollar store has baseball cards!

The choice was as clear as tape. The card display at this store is a wreck, it's a series of gravity feed boxes that are hanging from a rack, laying on their sides, or upside down. nothing is in the same box it arrived in. Even the dollar store has gotten overpriced, with several 6-card repacks being sold for a dollar each (and the two cards you can see are '89 Topps. Instead, I go for the two remaining 20 card repacks, both of which feature cards from the years I was not collecting. This is a lot more promising, even though I am fully aware of what is coming.

First, the good news: The Magglio card on the front was serial numbered! (to 2005) . . . There's a nice Lance Johnson in a throwback uni...

other than that gem and a Ivan Rodriguez chrome card, it was '91 Upper Deck City. The repacks fell flat on their faces.

Is there a secret to a successful repack? Can you tell without being a pack searcher which repacks have potential and which are destined to disappoint? I suppose that is the gamble and the art of it all.