break, wrap-up

A big thanks to you three who participated in the break and I hope you all had some fun.

I'll be sending these cards out to you within the week but first I need an email from each one of you, with your address and top two favorite teams. I will be adding in the bonus stuff based on these teams. Brad you sent an email with your address but I need teams and Derek, I know you're a Braves guy but I need an address. Mike I need both teams and address.

I'll make it good stuff too. Some old stuff, some new stuff, some shiny stuff. You know.


Maybe I can get the want to get some regular posting done because I sure don't have it right now. There is pretty much nothing interesting me in the card world right now. The 1971 set has come to a screeching halt. I'm buying zero new product (Gypsy Queen was a total letdown if you ask me) and pretty much won't be until Series 2 hits. No I don't care that Harper is in it but I also don't mind that Topps is doing it either. Harper can sure drive a product to sell and thats what Topps does, sell cards. Sell cards to make money. It's the simplest explanation that people seem to forget.

Many collectors flock to Harper's stuff and Topps knows this so they cater to it. We all saw it in 2010 when Strasburg was in everything. Should we not buy a product because either of these two are in them and Topps is pushing them both really hard? No. Buy the stuff. If you get something of theirs, sell it! By all means sell it. If someone wants to pay $100 for your Harper 661 SP from series 2, let them! It certainly won't be worth more than that EVEr so do it while you can.

Anyway, enough rant. Maybe I'll drop my GQ disappointment post soon. Who knows.

Anyway, thanks you three and look for your cards soon!

break rds 19-20-21

Final rounds guys. I'll do a wrap up post on Monday.

1-derek-kimbrel
2-mike-walker
3-brad-coghlin

1-brad-howard
2-derek-jays
3-mike-fowler

1-mike-morrison
2-brad-feliz
3-derek-valencia

break rds 16-17-18

Everything in these rounds are numbered

1-derek-rizzo
2-mike-dejesus
3-brad-noesi

1-brad-hanley/rollins
2-derek-couglin
3-mike-glaus

1-mike-halladay
2-brad-kennedy
3-derek-wells

break rds 13-14-15

Some mixed stuff here. Lucky 13 is that bonus round I talked about:

1-derek-lynch
2-mike-jablonski
3-brad-kemmerer

1-brad-diering
2-derek-walker
3-mike-lind

1-mike-gibson
2-brad-hernandez
3-derek-lind/young

break rds 10-11-12

Relics a plenty:

1-derek-ackley
2-mike-romero
3-brad-revere

1-brad-hardy
2-derek-webb
3-mike-giambi

1-mike-guerrero
2-brad-hernandez
3-derek-andrus

break rds 7-8-9

Manu-things are up next:

1-derek-bench
2-mike-roberts
3-brad-dean

1-brad-hamels
2-derek-mauer
3-mike-larkin

1-mike-aparicio
2-brad-jackson
3-derek-lind

break rds 4-5-6

Next rounds are some autos:

1-derek-cabrera
2-mike-bradley
3-brad-crabbe

1-brad-romero
2-derek-bonaficio
3-mike-gamel

1-mike-tallion
2-brad-lind
3-derek-simpson

break rds 1-2-3

Let's get it going shall we?


Three participants is the least amount I've had to work with but I think I have a system that both works and is fair.

Each "round" will have three cards. Each post will have three 'rounds'. One each of these posts, you'll pick first, second and third.

Simply pick which card you'd like when you pick first and your top two picks when you pick second. The third round the card not picked will fall to you, so that doesn't matter anyway.

Each post will probably be ordered the same due to all three of you getting to pick first, second and third. It's just the order you guys signed up in and has no bearing on what will appear when. The best cards aren't posted first or last or anything, it's quite random on which round is where.

Any questions you have just shoot me an email and I'll try to clarify as best I can.

Let's start with some relics:

Round 1:

1-derek-reyes
2-mike-weaver
3-brad-axford


Round 2:

1-brad-rodriguez
2-derek-gonzalez
3-mike-fukudome


Round 3:

1-mike-zimmerman
2-brad-gordon
3-derek-billingsley

trade time

Jim over at GCRL and I completed our first trade. I sent him some 1971's he needed, as we're both working on the set, along with some Dodgers.

In return, he sent one heck of a box of cards.

There were a big stack of Jays, along with cards from my various collections; batting pitchers, broken bats, team cards, stickers, retired players, the lost goes on. Also included were 5 cards for my 71 set as well. He definitely put a lot of time and effort into what he sent.

There's so much going on in the box, that I decided to show the top two of the box:

A Jimmy Key IP auto. I have a couple Key autos but this one is really cool because it's on the All-Time Fan Favorites card, which as a set intrigues me. I've always kind of liked this set and wished it would come back.

The next card just blew me away and was hiding at the bottom:

A 1952 Topps Larry Doby. Doby is one of the players I collect and having a few of the reprints of this card, I always wanted an original and thanks to Jim, I have one. Just incredible and I definitely owe him a little something for these. This also marks my second Hall of Famer from 1952 Topps (remember the Mize from a few weeks back).


A huge thanks to Jim for the great trade and you'll be seeing something from me soon!

card show report

I went to the card show today with the intention of finding some 71's I needed for my set. I noticed the guy I had wanted to hit up wasn't there today. Such the disappointment.

But.



I did not walk out empty handed. The opposite in fact. Remember the dime box finds I had from the last time this show took place? The massive amount of retired players and rookies and such I picked up?

Well, that dealer is a mainstay at this show and I hit his boxes again. I had a slightly different agenda today once I started pulling out what I was.


Rookies.


Rookies galore I picked up from him and it was about a third of what I grabbed from him. I got approximately 180 cards from him total. I picked up some more retired guys from the same sets as last time, a couple players I collect and some great vintage (from his vintage quarter box). The vintage was filler for my Topps binder. I had a few holes in the 50's and 60's stuff I needed to fill and I almost finished the binder.


The best part though and the biggest steals, were the rookies. Here is a small sampling:

Yes, FIVE Kershaw rookies. That Jay Bruce? I found three. Two Longorias, two Gonzalez (plus a different one) and a couple more I didn't scan. Two Piazzas, two Mauers, a Morneau, Russ Martin, David Price, David Wright, Andrew McCutchen, the list goes on. Great stuff for a dime each and impossible to pass up.




On a final note, I plan on emailing the three of you who entered into the break. I am going to go on with it but with no one else wanting to enter, it'll be you three. Expect an email soon, with details on how I plan to go about it.

break update

Only two slots left in the break, grab 'em fast!

Thanks to those that have already claimed a spot and once we fill the last two we will make it a go!

Again the draft will consist of 12 rounds, all of which are autos or relics. Some great stuff in there so be sure to sign up quick if you are interested. See yesterday's post for all the full details!

draft break details

I've gone through my cards today and yesterday and came up with my Draft details.

I'll work it just like I did the past few times.

I'll post a scan of the cards available and the participants choose which card they like, in the order for that particular round.


I've pulled the cards and divided them up into said rounds.

Here are the details:

12 rounds;

2 manu-relic rounds,
3 autograph rounds,
7 relic rounds:
vv vv
consisting of:

4 single relic rounds
1 numbered relic round
1 multi-relic/oddball round (not oddball per say, just stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere
1 serial numbered, multi-relic/auto round


Cost will be $40 for FIVE entrants. Yes, entry will be extremely limited but it will be worth the cost I can assure you. In that cost will be shipping plus what ever else I add as a bonus (I'm thinking vintage cards, good rookies, etc.).

By leaving it at five entrants, it is keeping the concentration high per entrant of getting great things. Plus five is a ton more manageable right now.

Here is a spoiler of what's involved:

Interested?

Leave a comment below saying you're in. Again, I can only accept the first five to sign up. I have absolutely ZERO wiggle room to get another person in here, unlike previous breaks. Once you're in and good to go, send the payment to my email address (krustytheclown138ATyahooDOTcom) via Paypal, using the 'gift' option. Once I have all five participants, I'll make an announcement and start the show.

I'm looking forward to another enjoyable break!


1. daddyohoho (paid)
2. brad's blog (paid)
3. dhill (paid)
4.
5.

file this under the "why do i even bother?" category

I haven't picked up much in the way of cards, as I've continually stated in the past few weeks.

The local shop owner asked if I could work this week and I told him I could but he didn't get back to me, so I decided to hop on down there. Not only to give him my answer in person but to see what else was up. See what he picked up during the week and a half or so I hadn't been down there.

The shelves were fully stocked with stuff I didn't really want to buy. If you've been reading this blog long enough I have a real weakness to opening packs and boxes. I have a real problem. I often buy stuff I don't need just to rip packs. Well yesterday was no different.


I stupidly decided to try a box of 2012 Museum Collection. I knew I shouldn't have done it but I did anyway. See, a real problem. My curiosity and hope always get the best of me, then I spend money I really shouldn't.

Anyway I guess the cards look nice although they look like an Upper Deck product:

Ok base cards I guess.

The parallels and the two base that I'm keeping (Crawford is going to the LCS):

Again, ok stuff, nothing great.


Now the real disappointment of the box, the hits:

Boy, what an average bunch of cards. I was so underwhelmed with this box after opening it up, that the two people there could tell I wasn't happy with the results. Sure its always a gamble and the payout is rarely there but you got to hope for something though right? I knew I shouldn't have done it, I'm just so stupid like that sometimes.

Overall an ok set but I'm not buying any more, even for guys I do collect. That and I'm not doing high end pretty much ever again. I can't keep up with this stuff any more, I just don't have the desire at all. Looks like its vintage and low end for me from here on out.

So maybe it's not a total loss. If I can resolve to sticking to the above statement I'm sure I'll be better for it.

I would say these cards are for trade but there is absolutely nothing I am looking for.

I do plan on doing a Draft soon though and these will more than likely be in there. I've built up a nice cache of autos and relics so it should be good. I have no details yet but would anyone be interested in another Draft over here? I always try to make them as fun and affordable as possible, so let me know if you'd like to be in.

the condition threshold

I mentioned the other day that I would post about my 'condition threshold, based off a post that Nick did over at Dime Boxes.

Nick talks about condition being a big factor in the collecting world today and he's right. With so many "collectors" going nuts over graded cards both old and new, I feel that the cards themselves get lost in the shuffle.

Sure we all like mint cards but when it comes to superstars from the 60's and before, we all can't afford to get mint copies and beat ones do perfectly. Besides, what story does a mint card have to tell? Not a very interesting one if you ask me.


So inspired by his post, here are some of my beaters. I'm glad to own every one of them and wouldn't have them any other way. Well, if I found some nice ones cheap then maybe but that's unlikely.

Some of my newest additions and a few I've had for a little while:

This 1968 Kaline is actually in decent shape, if it weren't for the crease going across the entire card, amusingly enough right where a mustache would be if he had one.

This 1958 Stan Musial All-Star has seen better days even without the paint(?) in his bottom left corner. It's ok though, I won him cheap at $2.84.

This 1964 Roger Maris was the most beat card in my collection for a long time and until the rest of these cards in this post came into my hands within the past month, that held true. It was intentional though, I saw the Maris on eBay for maybe $5. I knew its round cornered, miscut personality had to make its way into my collection.

Whitey's 1963 books pretty high I think but I got this one for about $10 at the local shop. Can't beat that.

This 1964 Ernie Banks was obtained the same day as the Ford and the Kaline above, all from the local shop. How do you make an Ernie Banks card even better? Try stapling it to things about 500 times and you've got a card as cool as this one.

Hank. I'll take an Aaron in ANY condition and this 1962 is definitely no exception. This card is awesome. Creases, soft corners, paper loss, its got it all.


So what could be worse off than that Hank? Well how about the card below?

Wow is this card ready to fall apart. I got this 1958 Mickey Mantle All-Star from the same seller on eBay that sold me the Musial above. I got this card for $8.50. Its shredded and looks like it was in battle at one point. Seriously.


So that's about it. All I can say is that condition for older cards are not a concern for me in the least. I mean, clearly right? Look at that Mantle that would make many a collector cry in their Frosted Mini Wheats. Let them have their "mint", overpriced cards. We'll take the beaters, thanks.

card show saturday

Yes, I'm late posting my show results but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things here on the old blog here.

I've been focused on vintage as of late and especially my 1971 set. If you've taken a look at my progress on the right, you'll notice that I finished up series 1 and 2 and pretty much series 3 as well. I've also gotten enough of the final series (series 6) to actually post which ones I do need as opposed to which I have.

At the show I picked up nothing but 71's.


Well, with the exception of a lone older card, which you'll see shortly. Uhh, unless you cheat and acroll down to see it but don't do that, read on!


Like I said, I hit the 1971 list hard, being able to check off 46 more cards from the want list.

Here are a couple of the better players:

Well, two players and a manager, who was one of the best players ever. Works for me.

I was able to add about 8 high numbers to my set. The majority of the cards I grabbed Saturday were to finish or dent the first three series and tackling a bit of the fourth. When I spotted a high number for say, a buck, I grabbed it.

I think it worked out to a good day. This was the show at Meriden high school, where the dime boxes aren't really present. The other show (in two weeks at the Plainville VFW) is the better dime box show.



So the last card I picked up was pretty much on a whim. The guy had a bunch of cards and had them half of what he had them marked at. I felt for the price this card seemed worth it:

He had $30 on it, meaning I paid $15. I'll take it. Not every day you can get a Hall of Famer from 1952 Topps for such a low price. Sure its creased but as always, who cares?


This card, along with Nick's post, has inspired my own 'condition threshold' post, which I'll do in the next few days. I picked up a card that would make many collectors cry in their cereal. Stay tuned.

disappearing act

I've definitely been in the dumps as of late.

I have little desire to pick up any packs, singles or otherwise. I'm really drained on new releases this year already and I don't see it going away any time soon. Museum Collection dropped this week and I don't really care. I took one look at some stuff on eBay just to sneak a peek as to what they look like. I wasn't unimpressed, just not provoked to buy any. I feel ho-hum about Gypsy Queen too. I just don't have it anymore.

I do, however, want to grab more vintage and get going on my 1971 set. It is coming along nicely, although I've only gotten a few cards as of late and that was in a trade from Matt over at Card Anathema. He was a tremendous help, sending me some high numbers and the Bert Blyleven rookie. In return I sent him a couple cards he needed for his set that he found on my trade page and a Nolan Ryan from the same set that I got online just for him, as he said he needed it. I knew I needed something good to get over to him due to the sheer number of high numbers he sent. Thanks Matt, its a huge help.


Now onto more serious business.

I haven't posted much in the past two weeks, as you guys are well aware.

Well there was an incident at the house and we're both having to come to terms with what happened. Well, sometime in the day on Friday, the 23rd of March, our house was robbed. No sign of forced entry and neither of us were home, so it happened while we were at work, or in the few hours we went to go do our taxes in the evening (we got money back this year, woo-hoo!).

It's really unnerving to know that someone was in our house poking around at our things and helping themselves to what they like. No mess, nothing broken. In fact we didn't notice anything was missing until Saturday.

We did a little cleaning up on Saturday morning because my wife was going to have a friend over later on in the afternoon. I wanted to give them some time together, as they don't see each other often and I remembered I had a Best Buy gift card that I could use. Well, I couldn't find it and had figured it got lost in the shuffle of cleaning. It'll turn up, I thought.

Later on that evening, she noticed her computer was missing. That's when we figured something was amiss. The computer never moves, even though it's a laptop. We phoned the police and filed a report. We figured the gift card and computer were all that was missing. We were wrong.

Sunday was kind of a downer day and we spent it around the house. My wife had told her boss what had happened later that night and her boss said to just take Monday off. That's when she noticed more things missing. Monday she called me in a panic while I was at work and gave me a list of things now missing.

A Tiffany braclet, a peridot ring (her birthstone), my Nintendo 3DS (with Super Mario 3D Land inside) and most importantly, her wedding rings. Both the engagement ring and wedding band, both gone. She doesn't wear them usually due to her working with small children at work and wears a mother of pearl band as a representation. It works out well.

She called the officer we had talked to on Saturday to update him on our newly discovered missing items. I did figure out how they had gotten in the house though and that alone gave me a little piece of mind. I was no less pissed off about the incident but I was a complete wreck not knowing how they got in. Knowing gave me some relief and gave me hope that I could prevent it from happening again. I don't really want to get into how they got in but let me just say that I could have easily replicated it myself, meaning it was pretty easy for them.

So that brings us to the now. Not much from the police. They are checking local pawn shops and will get back to us if they find anything but I doubt they will.

It's put me into a funk of sorts and its snowballed into my 'meh' attitude towards buying stuff, namely new cards. So if my posting is infrequent and erratic this is why. I really want to be here though and that's why I've shared this experience with you guys. A bunch of you showed a lot of thought for and towards us when I posted originally that something had happened and I can't thank you guys enough for the support. It's been surreal but we'll get through it.

I'm just down, not out.

milestone post

I've noticed I have hit over 50,000 pageviews.

Crazy!


A huge thanks to all my followers and readers and in nearly two years I hit the 50K mark for views!




I know I've been silent for the past two weeks but I'll be back with a post on Thursday explaining what's been going on over here. Just to sedate anyone worrying about Mrs. Crinkly and I, we are both fine and no one got hurt or anything like that, regarding my last post about an incident. Like I said, I'll explain it all on Thursday.

Until then, have a good week.