Set Break Definition
In baseball cards, the term “set break” is most commonly used by sellers in order to let potential buyers know that they are selling an entire set of cards, one by one. For example, if I collect the entire 1971 Topps set and then decided to “break” apart the set for sale, I would consider putting “set break” in my listing titles. I’d do this because if someone is searching for my Nolan Ryan for their own set, and they see it’s part of a “set break” they can check my other listings for other cards they need, and combine shipping on their purchases.
Box Break vs. Set Break
Another, probably more common “break” term has to do with a “box break” in which a breaker sells teams or players to buyers, opens a box of cards, and then ships each of the team or player they pull to the buyers of the respective spots. So, if I bought the Mariners in a box break of 2022 Topps Series 2, and two Julio Rodriguez rookie cards were pulled, I would receive those card.
Box breaking is an entirely separate topic that deserves a post of its own. I’m including it here to show that even though “box break” and “set break” sound similar, they really have no relation.
Other eBay Keywords
Since we are on the subject of different keywords sellers use to try and attract eyeballs and/or increase sales, here are a few keywords I feel are important to include along with others I feel just take up space and potentially annoy interested buyers.
Remember the point of your listing title keywords—to get in front of people potentially searching for that card. Instead, some sellers use keywords to try and persuade someone searching for a particular card to instead see their card in hopes that they think “wow, I need this card too/instead.” I don’t know about any of you, but I can’t remember the latter ever happening to me as a buyer.
Keywords to Include/Not Include
When thinking about which keywords to include, put yourself in the buyer’s shoes:
Do they know what the set is called? How specific will they probably be searching? What if they didn’t know the set name, what would they search for? What makes the card special?
Taking all of this into consideration, here are some keywords you probably want to include:
- Player Name
- Set Name
- Insert/Parallel Name
- Variation or Short Print (if it is one)
- Serial Number
- Card Number
- RC and/or Rookie (if it is one)
- Grader Name
- Grade
Of course, not all of this will always apply, and you do have a limited number of characters to work with, but you get the point.
On the flip side, some sellers choose to fill that valuable space with gimmicks or tricks in order to get more eyeballs on their listings. Some of these things include:
- eBay 1/1
- Pack Fresh
- PSA Ready
- SSP (when it’s not)
- Emojis
- Player Names (when it’s not)
- Gem Mint (when it’s raw)
Anyway, all that said, you now know what “set break” is, how it’s used, and how it’s most certainly not related to “box break.”
