u/That_Zone5921

Been meaning to get this one out there, but now finally getting to it….

I have been in this hobby for 46 years!
Of late, like many of you, I have been trying to find the path to existing in this hobby without leveraging myself financially to a point of ruin.
I am buying singles in various marketplaces, buying sealed retail product, and buying the occasional repack from one of the large online repackers (arena, courtyard, etc…)

The gamble with hobby wax is just not worth it to me, as I have not bought a sealed hobby box in a year or two that I had to pay over $120 for…..and those have been far and few between.

I just bought into about 4-5 breaks recently for Bowman, prior to that, I had not done a break in 2 years. Based on the return of my ~$700 , I won’t be walking down that path again for a while…..even if I had hit something, it would have needed to be a whopper to get my money back. The collectibility of what I netted was awful likewise. I know my way around breaks, but if you did them 7-8 years ago, the stink of the current practice really grates on you vs. the cost and return from back then. Won’t be going back.

So I bought a slew of cards on eBay for about $100 that I probably would have had to fork over a thousand to obtain in retail and other outlets…. Singels are still the best return on value and always probably will be.

For thrills I do a repack here and there. You lose most of the time, but outlets like courtyard have at least put cards worth something in the packs….better than a break or sealed hobby in my opinion.

I visited a show recently….it was full of people trying to dump singles to the “buying cards” tables. You know the guys I am talking about….they sit with a wad of cash and are there to take advantage of the desperate people.

I saw some things and my biggest concern is the sheer amount of people in this hobby, leveraged to the hilt and just trying to get 50% of market back in a card so they can buy more wax or enter more breaks.

I sat next to a table that way buying listening to the negotiations…..it was heartbreaking. Like watching drug addicts try to find money for more drugs.

People, if you are poor, stay out of this hobby.

I am looking to buy a printer specifically to print small to medium size TPU parts. My understanding is that Bambu excels at these types of printers.
I currently own a Creality K2 Combo, not something I am willing to be doing TPU with and not something I want to mod.
I have the space and cash and would like a separate, simple stand alone model for TPU. Looking to spend under $500, is there a model that stands out? I see a few in this price
Point by Bambu, but wondering if moving up is necessary? Can I get away with the cheaper one and no headaches or missing functionality? Thanks for any and all tips….